So right now I’m working on quitting smoking and losing weight at the same time. On the surface, these seem contradictory goals, because at one time or another I’ve heard, and believed, that -
- While quitting smoking, one will want to eat to satisfy the oral fixation, and
- As one’s palate recovers from being deadened by smoke, food will taste better (and one will want to eat more of it).
These are probably both true, and I’m sure there are a lot of smokers out there who put off quitting because they don’t want to gain weight. And when you feel like snacking but know you shouldn’t, few things are as effective as a cigarette at stifling your appetite.
But!!! All of the facts above are reasons why quitting smoking will lead to increased food consumption, not weight gain. Of course, if you want to increase food consumption without gaining weight, you have to increase your physical activity as well. But if you’re quitting smoking, you
- Are increasing your lung capacity
- Are (after the immediate withdrawl) going to feel generally better, physically and mentally, and
- Are going to be looking to fill the void left by smoking with something else.
And these three mean that when you quit smoking, it’s not a bad time to start exercising. Now, of course, there are some smokers who work out already, so just change “start exercising” to “start exercising more.”
The smoker’s model of maintaining a given weight, or losing weight, is generally to smoke instead of eat as often as possible, and then not have to exercise. While this may “work” for weight loss, it is phenomenally unhealthy. And you can lose weight without being healthy – but if you live a healthy lifestyle, you will lose weight!!!
My advice – for the first two or three weeks after you quit smoking, don’t step on a scale. You probably won’t like what you see, and at this point, your mind and body are just looking for an excuse to start smoking again, and an extra five or ten pounds would be exactly that.
Coming soon – recommended reading for quitting smoking (and not books like How To Quit Smoking In Two Weeks For Good, but literature that happens to help with quitting smoking).
Also coming soon – A delicious recipe for tempeh that is great food to serve to people who say they don’t like vegetarian food.
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