Many of us make a promise to quit smoking. And, as a rule, the date is supposed to come tomorrow, on Monday, from the New Year… What’s stopping us? For many, quitting smoking is hindered by fears that you will definitely get fat. There is some truth in this…
There are several reasons for weight gain after breaking up this bad habit:
- Nicotine hunger is similar to normal hunger. After quitting smoking, the former smoker begins to eat a lot, trying to drown out the desire to smoke. Smoking usually reduces hunger. The smoker is not so tormented by the feeling of an empty stomach before eating. Nutritionists say that smoking changes the instinctive need for food. In other words, smokers prefer dishes with a more pronounced taste, lean on fat, reducing the consumption of sweet.
- The metabolism of a person who has quit smoking improves, and he needs less food than before. Usually, a person continues to eat as before, thereby exceeding the required number of calories. Nicotine increases energy consumption: one pack of cigarettes a day burns 200 calories.
- The former smoker is trying to replace the psychological dependence on cigarettes with sweets and lollipops. If each time you eat a candy instead of a cigarette, then you can eat an order of sweets in a day, from which the weight can also be added.
- By stimulating the production of the neurohormone serotonin, nicotine gives a surge of energy, which is then so long remembered with regret by former smokers. If you quit smoking without changing your diet, the extra pounds are almost guaranteed.
According to statistics, in the first two years after quitting smoking, women gain an average of 3.8 kg (in men, this figure is lower – 2.8 kg). At the same time, some former smokers will become heavier by 13 kg (10% of the total), and some – less than 3 kg (50%). Usually, people begin to gain weight two months after getting rid of the addiction. The risk of gaining weight after quitting smoking remains 2 years.
However, it is not necessary to quit smoking at the same time and strongly limit yourself in food, go on a diet. Quitting smoking is already stressful for the body. And double stress is much more difficult to survive. The risk of falling off is doubled. It is advisable to just change your bad eating habits a little, so as not to gain weight dramatically.
The easiest way is to try not to eat junk food for 3 hours before bedtime, to eat natural products instead of preservatives, not to overeat and try to move more, exercise. Experiments have shown that vitamin C helps fight nicotine addiction. Therefore, after quitting smoking, take vitamin C. And for stress relief and good sleep, mineral water with a high content of magnesium or magnesium in tablets helps.
Smoking, of course, contributes to weight loss, but at the cost of the health of your lungs, heart, teeth and skin. But do not start smoking to lose weight. The harm caused to the health of a pack of cigarettes smoked per day can be compared to 40-50 kilos of excess weight.
It is quite possible that by including cigarettes in your diet, you will consume fewer calories, replacing the “smoke breaks” with tea and sweet rolls with real men’s smoke breaks with mountains of cigarette butts and thick clouds of smoke. But if you notice that your teeth have suddenly turned yellow, your breath smells unpleasant, your hair has become brittle and dull, your face looks more like a dried lemon, your voice has become hoarse, your eyes are constantly red and watery, something is playing tricks on your heart, and even after making sure that the extra pounds sticking out from under your blouse have not gone away, you decide to quit smoking,
If you still started smoking, hoping to get rid of the extra pounds, unconditionally quit. Plump, rosy cheeks and an appetizing figure are much more pleasant than a shriveled, yellowed face and a body speckled with diseases.
For a woman, smoking is especially harmful, so at the first puff itching in the throat, increases the heart rate, there is a nasty taste in the mouth, there is a cough, dizziness, nausea and possible vomiting. A young girl can not help but notice that she has a cough (especially in the morning), there is a hoarseness of the voice, bad breath, the skin becomes flabby, yellow teeth and in general the girl looks older than her peers. Due to the harm of smoking in women, the frequency of inflammatory diseases increases, which leads to infertility.
German gynecologist Bernhard, having examined about 6 thousand women, found that infertility was observed in women who smoke in 42%, and in non-smokers-only in 4%. Tobacco causes 96% of miscarriages, 1/3 of premature babies. Tobacco destroys both those who smoke, those who are born from smokers, and those who are close to smokers. Women who smoke, as a rule, age early, they prematurely begin sexual wilt.
So, if you decide to get rid of this bad habit, first eliminate the main danger that threatens your health – quit smoking! And then fight the extra pounds to your heart’s content.