How to Stay Thin After Quitting Cigarettes

Today, we have learned to associate smoking with staying thin. And since we're thinking about our weight more than ever, its perfectly natural if we question the 'health benefits' of quitting. Why would anyone want to quit if it means gaining weight?

Its true that hormones and other things change within our body when we quit. However, the idea that these changes mean we can't avoid weight gain is absolutely false. As long as we learn how to stay in control, we can balance the forces within and stay free of the appetite or hunger that causes extra pounds.

Knowing specifically how our body changes can help us tremendously.

1. Blood Sugar.

When we inhale nicotine from a cigarette, it reacts chemically within our body to produce an instant increase of blood sugar. This suppresses our appetite when we actually need to eat, or make us 'feel better' right after a meal. It is a false feeling, however. Blood sugar is supposed to be regulated by eating, and normally takes up to 20 minutes to change after a meal.

So, after quitting, we have a tendency to overeat because we don't 'feel full'. Without the instantaneous blood pressure spikes caused by nicotine, we continue eating past the point at which we're actually full. We're trying to compensate – and that's bad.

The solution is to eat normal portions at mealtime and avoid excessive snacking in between. Usually the body restores normal blood sugar operation within a few days after quitting.

2. Calories

For a few reasons, we burn about 200 calories more per day when we smoke. Lipid (fat) burning, the 'movement' of smoking, and certain chemicals within the cigarette all contribute. While it may not seem like much, an extra 200 calories daily can lead to several pounds per month.

Possible solutions are a slight decrease in your normal food intake, switching to healthier low-carb food, a light exercise program (walking 20 min/day), or all of these.

3. Emotion

Perhaps the greatest factor affecting our body weight after quitting is our emotions and the habits they form. We're used to reaching for a cigarette every time an unsettling situation occurs; be it stress, excitement, whatever. Without the ability to smoke, we feel a strong desire to alleviate our 'discomfort' in some other way. For many, this is done through eating – the body releases a range of chemicals which calm us down afterwards. But snacking to alleviate discomfort will quickly lead to weight gain and other undesirable effects on our body.

There are several ways to approach this problem for a solution. The first is to find something healthy with which to replace cigarettes for alleviating your discomfort. This could be exercise, video games, chewing gum, movies or TV, and other forms of 'acceptable' distractions.

Another method involves confronting your discomfort head on. Although we can't always change what happens around us, we can certainly change our reaction to it. Our emotional responses are like computer programming – in that we 'learn' to react to something as bad, good, stressful, etc. But if we just let the problem occur, feel our emotion, and bear the pain temporarily, we can grow 'stronger' so that it affects us less. Meditation can accelerate this process by helping us understand ourselves better. Certain exercises such as jogging or Yoga can also assist in this process. Then again, if you have enough willpower, you can simply confront the stressor in silence and wait it out. Gradually you will realize it affects you less and less each time you try.

Cigarettes really don't have to control our lives. We don't have to smoke them to stay thin, reduce stress, or feel better. After quitting, our minds will naturally learn so many other superior ways to cope with the very real issues surrounding us.

Learn How to Quit and Stay Thin Easily Right Now at SmokingRevealed.com