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Things you can do to control weight gain
when you stop smoking
There are many things you can do minimize or stop weight gain.
Successful weight control while quitting smoking can be accomplished with a
little extra effort and planning. It's important to maintain a healthy
lifestyle. Watch your food consumption and exercise regularly.
Eat more at the end of meals
A more
insidious mechanism of increased caloric intake can be experienced by
unwittingly eating more at the end of meals. The smoking of a cigarette used to
signify the end of a meal. With no cigarette to serve as a cue, the ex-smoker
may continue to consume extra food after every meal whether or not he or she is
hungry. The ex-smoker may not even know that he has eaten more in the
process.
Plan a meal in
advance
Calculate and prepare the amount of food you used to consume
while smoking and acknowledge to yourself that you have finished. Another way
is leave the table immediately upon completion of the meal. If you must stay at
the table have a glass of cold water or a non-caloric beverage present. Don’t
leave a plate with scraps or desserts in easy reach.
Another very good
solution is getting up and brushing your teeth. This can become the new cue for
the end of the meal as well as improve dental hygiene. The clean feeling in
your mouth may be a new pleasurable experience for an ex-smoker.
Exercise
Because quitting smoking slows the
metabolism, getting some form of daily exercise is very important. To combat
excess weight, shoot for at least a half hour of exercise, 5 days a week. It
doesn't have to be a high intensity aerobic workout (30 minute walk around your
neighborhood will work wonders) Exercise is also a great way to beat cravings to
smoke. If you're having a bad day, get out for a walk. It'll clear your mind and
improve your attitude. You can also do 10 minutes of exercise at a time, adding
up to a total of 30 minutes over the day, if you prefer.
Train your muscles
Muscle tissue burns more
kilojoules than fat. You can boost your metabolic rate by including one or two
weight training sessions into your weekly exercise program to build up
muscle.
Keep your hands and mouth
busy
Keep your hands and mouth busy with objects, such as toothpicks
or straws. Or you can chew on foods such as carrots, celery, sugar-free mints or
chew on sugarless gum.
Prepare healthy
snacks
Put snacks together ahead of time so that when the munchies
hit, you've got good food choices within easy reach. If you need to snack, keep
raw vegetable sticks and other low fat, low kilojoules foods on
hand.
Remove high fat foods from your
home
If you're concerned about weight gain, do yourself a favor and
remove tempting, high fat foods from your home. Don't have a chocolate cake on
the counter begging you to cut a slice!
Avoid drinking alcohol
Not only is alcohol
high in calories, it can be a huge trigger to smoke. For many people, smoking
and drinking go together like ying and yang. Avoid the empty calories in
alcohol, but more importantly, don't put yourself at risk of relapse by drinking
early in your quit.
Be patiënt.
Controlling your weight is a process over time. It doesn't happen
overnight. Don't go back to smoking because you gain some weight. Like your
withdraw problems, your weight problem will also disappear if you give it some
time. If you gain a few pounds/kilo while going through the process of quitting
tobacco, so be it. Don't let the fear of weight gain keep you chained to an
addiction that will kill you, given the chance. Weight can be lost, lungs
cannot.
Don’t crash diet.
If
you eat too few kilojoules, the body will respond by lowering the metabolism and
burning muscle tissue for fuel.
Listen to your body first
It can be tricky
telling the difference between hunger and withdrawal cravings. Get into the
habit of ‘listening’ to your body before you decide to eat
something.
Wait before you eat some
more
It takes about 15 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain
that it’s full, so wait before having second helpings. You might find you don’t
want it after all.
Drink a lot of
water
Drink lots of water. It will fill you up and keep you hydrated
so you don't feel as tired.
Be kind to
yourself
If you do put on a few kilos, don't forget you are boosting
your health by quitting.
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