Diet for quitting smoking. How to quit and not gain weight?

Cigarettes, like any addiction, will not let you forget about yourself too easily. More than once, in order not to think about nicotine hunger, smokers reach for an alternative in the form of food. An increase in appetite is a common reaction to quitting smoking – you need to do something, forget about smoking, as a result of which the desire for sweets and other snacks increases. All this causes weight gain.

So how do you quit smoking and not gain weight at the same time?

Nicotine craving can have unpleasant consequences. The first days after stopping smoking are full of unpleasant symptoms: headaches, strong nervousness, a huge desire for a cigarette, fears, dry mouth, poor concentration, and a strong feeling of hunger. Smokers miss even just holding a cigarette in their hand. Each of these factors makes them reach for snacks more often.

The diet when quitting smoking must be low in calories. You should limit the caloric content of your daily diet by 300-400 kcal. Tobacco stimulates the metabolism, so when quitting we have to take into account the lower efficiency of its work. Eat 4-5 small meals a day, and in case of hunger pangs reach for vegetables, fruits, cereal bran, muesli and stone fruit, nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.

What you should avoid:

• Limit or eliminate alcohol, because its large amounts quickly weaken your willpower and lead to smoking. In addition, alcohol stimulates the appetite, which is why it is not an ally of a low-calorie diet.
• Try not to consume simple sugars, as cookies, sweets and pastries cause sudden hunger pangs. So give up sweetening coffee and tea, sweet drinks, replace light bread with dark, and replace rice, pasta and groats with multigrain.
• Completely exclude from the menu anything that evokes associations with smoking, e.g. coffee.
• Do not eat red meat, as it improves the taste of the cigarette, making smoking more pleasant.
• Limit spicy, fatty and highly spiced foods as they also enhance the nicotine flavor.

What to eat, what to do:

• Include movement in your daily schedule. Sport in any form will be a great way to relieve stress and tension associated with quitting smoking.
• In the event of an attack of the urge to smoke, reach for chewing gum without sugar. There are also special rubbers available in pharmacies to help you quit smoking.
• Be sure to eat apples, which contain a lot of pectin and fiber. They help remove toxins from the body.
• Include in your menu products that have antioxidant properties: tomato juice, blueberries, blueberries, nuts and seeds, peppers, citrus fruits, peppers, raspberries, sprouts, cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, broccoli.
• Drink green tea. Captures free radicals and removes them from the body.
• Eat bitter and acidic foods as they impair the taste of cigarettes.