If you, dear lady, belong to the group of women who smoke, then you have probably heard such caustic remarks from non-smokers more than once: “did you try to quit?” or the traditional moralizing: “men don’t like women who smoke…” As a rule, all these attacks are perceived with irony by smokers, but the dream of quitting smoking still remains somewhere in the depths of the soul, but many are more worried about: how to quit smoking and not get better.

Since the fact is the place to be, then you just need to understand why the actual weight gain occurs from the moment you suddenly decided to take care of your health and finally quit smoking. Knowing the reason, you will be able to control your body and thereby avoid gaining excess weight, and at the same time enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

Why You Gain Weight When You Quit Smoking

It is known that each time you smoke with cigarette smoke, the body receives a portion of harmful substances. When the process is repeated on a regular basis, then, respectively, the lungs, and indirectly other organs, are polluted with the same frequency. Consequently, the metabolism is disturbed, and the body is not able to properly absorb nutrients. Therefore, it seems to some that by smoking they "keep themselves in shape."

When you decide to quit the habit, and your body does not yet know about it, then a false desire arises, that is, a feeling of hunger. In fact, at this moment, withdrawal begins, that is, an unsatisfied need for another portion of nicotine makes itself felt in the form of a aching feeling behind the sternum, some confuse this feeling with hunger and try to satisfy it. But if you listen to your body, you can distinguish a real feeling of hunger from a false one, and not succumb to tricks.

Important point

In addition, in addition to internal sensations, dependence is also manifested in an external ritual, that is, you must definitely pick up something instead of a cigarette and savor it. What, if not eating, will replace this gesture of offering to the one who quits smoking. Some try to get rid of nicotine addiction by buying now fashionable electronic cigarettes. Then formally the whole rite is observed, but you do not inhale harmful smoke. And what about instead of it in the case of electronic cigarette substitutes? A big question, because it's not a fact that these couples are harmless.

stress compensation

Quitting smoking is not easy, it is a shake-up to a certain extent. Because any violation of the usual routine is stress for the body. At this moment, from the loss of the usual “balance”, there is a feeling of anxiety, irritability, in general, an unpleasant state, which the smoker (and the smoker too) unconsciously tries to compensate for something from the outside. Women often eat stress. And what do they eat? Of course - sweets, because it is they that raise our mood .

Knowing these patterns, stock up on low-calorie cakes and sweets for the period of quitting smoking. Will chewing gum help? For some, yes, it will temporarily replace the sucking reflex.

You also need to take into account that in the first two weeks after you decide to quit smoking, the feelings that are normal for a non-smoker, but for a smoker were dulled, begin to aggravate. For example, the nose begins to capture various smells more, and the work of taste buds improves. Agree, salivation at the sight of delicious food is already faster, respectively, and the appetite begins to “atrocious”. How to resist temptation? Here is the real reason for weight gain when quitting smoking.

Moreover, after a month, the previous level of metabolism is restored in the body. And this means that all high-calorie foods will be absorbed much better than at the time when you smoked. Therefore, think about what kind of food in terms of calories you will eat at least the first months. Someone adheres to a low-calorie diet and there is a reason for this.

In general, decide for yourself what substitutes you can use to satisfy the sucking reflex, and what kind of food you should eat so that disappointment does not force you to return to a bad habit. Withdrawal is, of course, not very pleasant, but if you constantly remember your goal, that is, about a healthy lifestyle and why you need it, then you will cope and gradually everything will return to normal. Or is it easier to be a hostage to your own habit?