You Can Control Your Weight As You Quit Smoking -- Excerpts

[AutumnWoman]

If you want to stop smoking but are worried about gaining weight, this brochure may help you.  Many ex-smokers do gain a few pounds, but only a few gain a lot of weight.  The best action you can take to improve your health is to quit smoking.  Smoking is much more harmful to your health than gaining a few pounds.  Making some simple changes, like developing healthier eating and physical activity habits, should help you control your weight gain when you quit smoking.

Will I Gain Weight if I Stop Smoking?

Not everyone gains weight when they stop smoking.  On average, people who quit smoking gain only about 10 pounds.  You are more likely to gain weight when you stop smoking if you have smoked for 10 to 20 years or smokes one or more packs of cigarettes a day.  You can control your weight while you quit smoking by making healthy eating and physical activity a part of your life.  Although you might gain a few pounds, remember you have stopped smoking and taken a big step toward a healthier life.

What Causes Weight Gain After Quitting?

When nicotine, a chemical in cigarette smoke, leaves you body, you may experience:

Short-term weight gain.  The nicotine kept your body weight low, and when you quit smoking, your body returns to the weight it would have been had you never smoked.

Water retention.  You might gain 3 to 5 pounds due to water retention during the first week after quitting.

A need for fewer calories.  After you stop smoking, you may use fewer calories than when you were smoking.

Will This Weight Gain Hurt My Health?

The health risks of smoking are far greater than the risks of gaining 5 to 10 pounds.  Smoking causes 400,000 deaths each year in the United States.  You would have to gain 100 to 150 pounds after quitting to make your health risks as high as when you smoked.  The health risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting are listed below:

The Health Risks of Smoking

Your heart rate increases.

You expose yourself to some 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke and 40 of these chemicals cause cancer.

You are much more likely to get lung cancer than a nonsmoker.  Men are 22 times more likely to develop lung cancer, while women who smoke are 12 times more likely.

You are twice as likely to have a heart attack as a nonsmoker.

You increase your rate for heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other lung diseases.

You are hurting not only your own health, but the health of anyone who breathes the smoke, including nonsmokers.

The Benefits of Quitting

When you quit smoking...

Your body begins to heal from the effects of nicotine within 12 hours after your last cigarette.  Your heart and lungs start repairing the damage caused by cigarette smoke.  You breathe easier and your smoker's cough starts to go away.

You lower your risk for illness and death from heart disease, stroke, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer and other types of cancer.

You contribute to cleaner air, especially for children who are at risk for illnesses because they breathe others' cigarette smoke.

What Can I Do to Avoid Gaining Weight When I Quit Smoking?

To avoid gaining weight when you quit smoking, you need to become more physically active and improve your eating habits before you stop.  Physical activity helps to control your weight by increasing the number of calories your body uses.  Making healthy changes to your eating habits will prevent weight gain by controlling the amount of calories you eat.  Try to reduce your chances of gaining weight by being more physically active and improving your eating habits before you stop smoking..

After You Quit

Learn how to reduce cravings for both cigarettes and food.  Once you stop smoking, it is important to learn how to handle cravings for cigarettes and food.  Remember, a craving only lasts about 5 minutes.  Consider these actions to help deal with your cravings.

Replace smoking with other activities.  Snack on fruit or sugarless gum to satisfy any sweet cravings.  Keep your hands busy.  Replace the action of holding cigarettes with activities like doodling, working puzzles, knitting, twirling a straw, or holding a pen or pencil.

Drink less caffeine.  Try to avoid drinking beverages that contain caffeine, such as sodas.  Nicotine withdrawal will make you feel jittery and nervous, and the caffeine may only make nicotine withdrawal worse.

Get Enough Sleep.  When you are tired, you are more likely to crave cigarettes and food.

Reduce Tension. To help relieve tension, relax by meditating, taking a walk, soaking in the tub, or taking deep breaths.  Find something that will help you relax and replace the urge to smoke.

Get Support and Encouragement.  You need a lot of support when you quit smoking.  Talk to a friend when you get the urge to smoke or join a support group...You can also participate in workshops offered by health providers that will help you quit smoking.  If you can, find a friend to quit with you for mutual support.

Try not to do things that tempt you to smoke or eat when you're not hungry.  Keep a journal of where and when y ou feel most tempted to smoke and avoid these situations.  Substitute healthy activities for smoking to help you avoid the urge to smoke or eat whn you are not hungry.

Try not to panic about modest weight gain.  Accept some weight gain as a normal result of the nicotine leaving your body.  Know that quitting smoking is the best thing you can do fo you and those around you.  If possible, before you quit, prepare a plan to quit smoking that includes simple changes in your eating and exercixe habits.  Improving your lifestyle as you stop smoking can help you prevent a large weight gain and become a healthy nonsmoker.

U.S. Dept. of Health ande Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health