Quit Smoking and Stay Slim (part 2)




As it has been already said, weight gain happens with many ex-smokers, but not all of them. Twenty percent of smokers do not have a problem with extra pounds and many of those who put on weight lose it after six months anyway. However, having weight under control is not hard. Healthy lifestyle leads to good body shape.

So, the first thing to think of is eating. Any kind of diet that used to help the person before smoking is fine. The majority of them say that in order to control weigh the person should limit fat consumption, increase the intake of fruits and vegetables, reduce carbohydrates, and snack with healthy food. Since ex-smokers snack more than average people they are advised to stay on carrots, celery sticks or other vegetables and fruits, and take pretzels instead of potato chips and crackers.

A good way to control fat intake is to check the labels. Many products contain all necessary information on nutritious facts. Some food contains more hidden fat than people might think. Sodium information is also useful because it shows how much salt there is in the products. High concentration of salt makes one drink more: besides sugar in the drinks that adds calories, any beverages cause water retention, which affects weight. This fact especially concerns women.

Sweet food adds calories in enormous quantities. It is interesting that ex-smokers tend to eat more of them. This is why they are advised to watch any desserts and sweet snacks. If the cravings for sweets are too hard to resist, it is fine to look for some sugar-free sweet products which usually have less calories, but still satisfy the sweet tooth.

Thirst is also one of the main symptoms and the ex-smokers are recommended to drink ice-cold water or suck on ice cubes instead of any sweet or carbonated beverages. Somebody might prefer to go with diet carbonated drinks, but they are not recommended either because they wash calcium out of bones being too high on caffeine.

For some people eating and smoking is a matter of calming down the stress. In this case ex-smokers have to eat more because they cannot have a cigarette after a meal as they used to. Overeating results in upset stomach and additional weight. There are other ways to cope with stress: trying to make hands busy right after a meal with some job, reading a book to concentrate the mind on different problems, etc. A good way to control the amount of food taken is to keep a Diet Diary where the person will keep notes about all meals and snacks. After all the food and calories are written down and calculated, the ex-smoker can decide where they can be cut down without problems.

Exercises after smoking lead to several good results. First of all physical activity burns calories and even if it is hard to reduce the amount of food, more intense exercises will help to handle any weight gain. At the same time they depress appetite reducing the desire to eat. Physical activity breaks down fat and moves it out of the body through the bloodstream. This gives the feeling of fullness and the person wants to eat less.

Smoking poisons the body, resulting in cramps and shortness of breath. After quitting the ex-smoker has more fun with exercises because they go easier since there is more oxygen in the body. So, physical activity does not only bring health, but also allows to enrich the body with oxygen, make one eat less and in some respect, if the person cannot think of any other way to take away the stress or urge for a cigarette, exercises can be considered as an option.

Lena Jackson

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Posted on July 24, 2009 
Filed Under How to Quit Smoking, Smoking and Diet, Smoking and Health, Stop Smoking

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