How to stay slim while quitting cigarettes

Stop Smoking Without Packing On The Kilos

 

Everyone wants to know how to quit smoking without gaining weight. But not everybody who stops smoking will put on weight.

People who smoke heavily tend to put on weight as they are adjusting to life without cigarettes, but as they get used to the new lifestyle they can lose that weight again.

 

What Makes You Want To Eat More After Quitting?

There’s no doubt about it; It’s a big adjustment when you finally work out a way to quit cigarettes. Firstly there’s the ‘what am I going to do with my hands?’ dilemma.

Secondly, your sense of smell and taste wake up so you’re more inclined to be tempted by pleasant tastes and smells. Add to that the absence of the security blanket that smoking provides and you have a recipe for disaster if you don’t know what you look out for.

The three main factors that cause you to eat more after quitting are:

  • Increase in smell and taste sensations;
  • Your habit of needing some kind of oral gratification to replace the cigarettes

 

What You Can Do Instead

While you’re navigating the flow of exactly how to be a non-smoker, give yourself the best possible chance of success. If you’re used to having something in your mouth you could chew gum or place something else in your mouth such as a toothpick or a straw.

If your ritual was to have a cigarette with your coffee, switch to tea for a while. If you used to love a smoke with a drink, stay away from the pub until you’re feeling stronger. Do whatever it takes to break the physical and psychological addiction to cigarettes.

 

The Importance Of Exercise

Exercising regularly is a much healthier way to increase your metabolism than smoking. Not only does it help to regulate your moods, it decreases your appetite as well.

Have you ever been ravenously hungry before a workout only to find that when you finish your workout that hunger has disappeared? I know I have experienced this plenty of times. Get out and get moving and you’ll have a better chance of keeping your waistline intact.

 

Snacking Between Meals

things you do that will help you maintain a healthy weight after you stop smoking

There are plenty of low calorie, high volume foods that can keep your hunger at bay without making you pile on the kilos. Stay away from high calorie snacks or processed foods and drink water to give your stomach the illusion of being full.

Just as if you were on a weight loss plan, you need to plan your day so that you have plenty of healthy foods on hand for when the munchies come.

Here are just a few examples of what you could eat:

  • Raw vegetables;
  • Cottage cheese;
  • Berries;
  • Apples;
  • Tomatoes

 

First and foremost your goal should be to learn to stay off the cigarettes. If you slip up in the food department every so often, forgive yourself. Once you’re confident in being a non-smoker you can focus more of your efforts on maintaining a healthy weight. But for now your main focus should be avoiding cigarettes no matter what.

Feel proud that you have quit because that’s a big achievement. In the meantime if you would like to learn how to quit smoking without gaining weight visit my contact page and send me a message.