Quit Smoking and Lose Weight

Is it possible to quit smoking and lose weight? Or, do you have to choose between being a thin smoker or a slightly overweight non-smoker?

Smoking and Weight

The big question: why does smoking make you thinner?

The answer: because it increases your metabolism.

Smoking makes your heart beat faster. It also increases your blood pressure. When you first inhale smoke from a cigarette, it can make your heart beat 10 to 20 times more per minute.

Smoking really stresses your heart and circulatory system. Smoking just 10 to 20 cigarettes per day puts the same stress on your heart that being 90 lbs overweight does.

In other words, smoking makes your body burn more calories, which makes you thinner.

But what a price to pay! I’m sure you know what health risks you’re running by smoking. If not, take a look at this article to find out.

Obviously, you need to quit. And, if you can quit smoking and lose weight at the same time--or at least not gain weight--that would be even better!

Changing Your Metabolism

Smoking raises your metabolism in a way that is not only artificial, but harmful as well.

When you quit, what you need is another way to raise your metabolism—hopefully in a healthy, natural way.

One of the best ways to raise your metabolism is to exercise. Besides, exercise helps your body in so many other ways.

Exercise is a great substitute for smoking! That's why it can help you quit smoking and lose weight all at the same time.

Exercise

• Releases dopamine (a naturally occurring hormone in your brain that makes you feel good)
• Breaks down fat
• Lowers cholesterol—smoking increases it
• Helps control diabetes
• Slows bone loss
• Lowers your risk of certain cancers

Okay…so here’s the problem.

If you’ve smoked for more than a few years, you might not be in shape to exercise. What do you do then?

Here are a few tips that can help you get more active. From there you can very gradually ramp it up.

• Take the stairs at work (or at least one flight)
• Park farther away from the grocery store so you have to walk more
• Take an evening stroll
• Take up Yoga or ballroom dancing
• Get the bicycle out of the basement and use it
• Do housework (Yes, I said “housework” ;) )
• Take up gardening

The beauty about all of this is as your body recovers from nicotine addiction, you’ll start to get your vigor back. As you do that, exercise becomes easier.

All you need to do is start slowly and build up from there. Within a few months, or even weeks, your metabolism will be functioning at its optimum.

Calories Out / Calories In

But that’s not the whole enchilada, now, is it?

Nope, not quite.

Exercise is only half of what you need to look at to quit smoking and lose weight at the same time.

There’s the other half of this weight issue—the don’t-eat-it-in-the-first-place half.

One of the big reasons people put on a few extra pounds when they quit smoking is they substitute eating for smoking. Instead of dealing with stress with nicotine, they deal with it with food.

So, you’ll need a way to keep from eating too much of the wrong thing.

Fortunately for you, weight is more a matter of what you eat as opposed to how much you eat.

There are several great diet plans out there that teach you how to eat in a healthy way. Personally, I like the South Beach diet. I lost 20 lbs and kept it off with that diet!

Take a look at the South Beach diet. They have delicious recipes and you don’t starve. It’s more geared toward what you eat rather than how much.

Another way to keep from eating when you feel stressed, is to create better ways of dealing with stress.

Stress Busters

Here are a few ideas to de-stress stress. This is especially important during those first few weeks of quitting smoking.

• Be good to yourself
• Don’t drink caffeine
• Hop in the hot tub
• Exercise (Again!)
• Make sure you sleep enough
• Meditate
• Pray
• Look at funny, light-hearted movies and TV shows

There’s more, but you get the idea

Conclusion

I’ve had more than one person say to me, “Lee, I would like to quit smoking, but I don’t want to gain weight.”

Now, you have some insight and tips that can help you both quit smoking and lose weight. (Wouldn't that be great!)

You don’t have to gain weight when you quit smoking. Through finding a better way to deal with stress, exercise, and a good diet, you can control your weight.

If you do all of this along with quitting smoking, I can almost guarantee you’ll feel twenty years younger. (And look it, too!)

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