How not to gain weight after quitting smoking. Why do people get fat when they quit smoking: possible causes and solutions to the problem

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According to statistics, about 90% of those who quit smoking begin to rapidly gain weight. This one secondary factor and prevents many from parting with cigarettes. But such an opinion has no proven facts. Extra pounds are not the reason for stopping nicotine from entering the body, but just the inept and incorrect actions of a former smoker. Why does this happen and what to do if you quit smoking and start to gain weight? This will be discussed in our topic today.

Why do people gain weight when they quit smoking?

Most cases of rapidly fluctuating needles on the scales after getting rid of tobacco addiction occur as a result of ordinary overeating. Quitting smoking and not gaining weight sometimes becomes an impossible task for women. But what is the reason for this feature of the post-tobacco period? In the body, where nicotine is regularly supplied, its absence is perceived as failures in the normal functioning of the systems.

Nicotinic acid is an active participant metabolic processes and acts on some receptors of the main organ of the central nervous system - the brain. By eliminating cigarettes from your daily ritual, a person deprives all systems of the body of their effects. Despite negative action nicotine, its shortage is felt most acutely, because a deficiency of any of the incoming substances, including nicotine, will lead to an overload of the system. The body will undoubtedly require replenishment of the missing components, because a lot of effort goes into eliminating harmful consequences tobacco addiction.

It is this reason that is the factor in the significant increase in the need for tasty and high-calorie food. Preference is given to sweets, baked goods and fast food, and all because these foods have a large potential for energy reserves, which is what the body needs.

Also, do not forget that daily smoking accelerates the rate of metabolic processes, and, accordingly, you have to replenish energy reserves more often.

Studies have shown that smokers spend 300 kcal more energy than non-smokers.

Having given up cigarettes, the rate of metabolic processes stabilizes, but the body cannot adapt so quickly and, following its pattern, continues to require the same caloric intake. In addition, smoking can replace a snack. Remember when at work everyone goes for lunch, and smokers go for a smoke break. For these colleagues, a dose of nicotine is enough to saturate their body.

A woman who quit smoking and gained weight becomes an unwitting victim of banal snacks, which the body requires much more often. The subconscious also has its influence, because by ending friendship with nicotine, a person has more free time, which is devoted to inactive pastime.

Sitting in front of the computer, one begins to actively delve into the problems discussed on the forums: “I quit smoking and started to gain weight, gained 5 kg, what should I do?”, “I quit smoking and gained a lot of weight, what should I do?” etc. Being surrounded by constant complaints and the opinions of other former smokers has a strong impact on the subconscious level. There is confidence in the obligatory weight gain after stopping nicotine use. Without realizing this, a person develops the mindset that after getting rid of tobacco addiction, he will definitely get better. In the end, this is exactly what happens.

Benefits of Quitting Smoking Chart

The first few days after stopping smoking, you will certainly feel a deterioration in your health, but after some time you will be able to feel everything positive aspects getting rid of the bondage of smoking.

Body system	Positive influence
Bronchopulmonary system	It became easier and more free to breathe, the lungs began the cleansing process, oxygen fills the whole body.
Cardiovascular system	Improving heart function.
Taste buds	Return of previous taste sensations.
Olfactory receptors	All smells are felt more clearly.
Compensatory reactions (memory)	Memory begins to improve significantly.
State skin	Disappears vascular network, resulting from many years smoking, the skin color evens out and the yellow tint goes away.
Diseases	The risk of cardiovascular, oncological, and pulmonary diseases is reduced.
Reproductive system	Women's reproductive function improves, men's potency improves
Perception	Excluded increased excitability, calm appears.

How to avoid gaining weight after quitting smoking?

Eliminate everything negative emotions, distributed on forums - all advice, negative stories of experiences of former smokers should simply be ignored, because as you know, we are used to sharing our troubles, but we hide our happiness behind seven locks. Find just such rare success stories about people who quit smoking and did not gain weight. IN this kind there is a lot of experience positive points, which the author will definitely share.

Most believe that the answer to the question of how to avoid gaining weight after quitting smoking lies in diet. But this is a mistaken opinion. Any diets are unacceptable, because... The body is carrying out a global cleansing of its systems from nicotine deposits and by connecting fasting you can get the opposite effect. Exhausted by nicotine deficiency, the body will also be forced to deal with stress resulting from a lack of essential microelements. For people looking for an answer to the question of how not to gain weight when you quit smoking, you should make minor adjustments to your diet, but in no case adhere to a low-calorie regimen.

A few tips for a healthy diet

Adjusting your diet will make it impossible for you to form fat deposits on your body. From the moment you give up cigarettes, you need to pay a little more attention to food - the menu should be varied, satisfy the feeling of hunger and, undoubtedly, bring pleasure. Former smokers share their tricks, arm yourself with them and the scales will not rise above your normal weight.

Secret 1: vitamin complex

Quitting smoking should be accompanied by taking a balanced complex of vitamins. It does not matter the company, the form of release and price category- only the contents of the bottle matter.

The main condition for vitaminization is that the vitamins must include nicotinic acid.

If the body does not receive the usual dose of nicotine through smoking, nicotinic acid from vitamin complex. Of course, nicotinic acid is not nicotine, but due to its oxidation, a small dose of it is synthesized. Therefore, the body’s resistance to deficiency of this substance becomes stronger.

Vitamin PP (nicotinic acid) is part of the redox process. Nicotinic acid is synthesized in small quantities by intestinal bacteria, but this is not enough, and it must be replenished with food. Especially a lot of vitamin PP is found in yeast, fresh vegetables, and meat.

The desire to continue smoking is also significantly reduced, which is important aspect for the first stage of the fight against tobacco addiction. Narcologists recommend consuming this kind of vitamins daily for 2-3 months after complete refusal from cigarettes.

Secret 2: meals on a fractional basis

Changing the diet is important rule for those who quit smoking. Fractional meals should be divided into 5-6 meals, while the total grams of the diet should not change. Approximate food regimen should look like this:

• 07:00 - breakfast rich in carbohydrates;
• 10:00 - second breakfast ( sour apple, pear);
• 13:00 - hearty lunch;
• 16:00 - snack on fermented milk products with berries or a handful of low-calorie nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, nutmeg);
• 19:00 - light dinner ( lean fish, steam cutlets with vegetable garnish);
• 21:00 - a glass of kefir.

The International Dietetic Association advises adhering to such a schedule not only at the stage of getting rid of tobacco addiction, but throughout your life.

Secret 3: suitable products

Having given up cigarettes, 50% of the entire food menu should consist of fresh vegetables, fruits and berries, as well as dairy and fermented milk ingredients. Heat treatment by steam or boiling is also possible. It will take a lot of time to cleanse the body of nicotine residues, so it needs to be constantly charged with additional energy, replenishing vitamins and microelements.

There are no specific rules in what form to consume the necessary vegetables - the choice can be made based on your preferences. Vegetable or fruit smoothies are considered the healthiest. With their help, it is useful to satisfy hunger before bed.

Don't forget that fruits and vegetables contain: large number fiber, which helps get rid of bloating and bowel problems that often accompany the post-smoking period.

Low calorie plant foods help fight for the predominance of slim body parameters. You should not exclude dairy products, because... they help gastrointestinal tract readjust to new way functioning. Moreover, dairy products are able to well absorb toxic substances, of which there are quite a few in the body after tobacco addiction.

Secret 4: the contents of a woman's handbag

A woman's handbag will also become an assistant in the fight against extra pounds. Its contents, in addition to the standard cosmetic set, should be expanded with the following items:

1. Vitaminized sugar-free lollipops (containing vitamins B and C) will help you calm down and overcome the urge to smoke.
2. Mineral water which contains calcium and magnesium. These microelements are most often lacking in the body after quitting cigarettes.

The first month of getting rid of nicotine addiction is considered decisive, so a properly designed diet and leisure plan plays a significant role in the fight for a healthy body!

Why does quitting smoking cause weight gain? Let's figure out what are the most common mistakes made by those who decide to quit smoking.

A little theory

Nicotine, entering the body, promotes the active production of the hormone adrenaline. Due to this, metabolic processes are enhanced, and the need for nutrients increases. In addition, nicotine provokes the breakdown of a substance such as glycogen in the liver, which, turning into glucose, serves as a source of energy for the body. As a result, appetite is suppressed. Nicotine also has a certain effect on the human brain. During smoking, “happiness hormones” are synthesized in brain cells - endorphins, which reduce tension in the nervous system, helping to relieve stress. By the way, food also has the same anti-stress effect.

The problem of gaining weight after quitting smoking does exist, however, a person does not gain weight just because he has given up the smoking habit. The fact is that when giving up a harmful addiction, a person is faced with the so-called nicotine or “cigarette” hunger, which is easily confused with a normal feeling of hunger. This is the main reason for consuming extra calories, which contribute to weight gain. At the same time, weight returns to normal after six months of quitting smoking, when the body recovers from long-term tobacco poisoning.

Facts and Factors

A number of factors contribute to weight gain.

Physiological reasons

In particular, this is a change in metabolism. Our body is a complex and energy-intensive organism. With constant poisoning from nicotine and tar contained in a cigarette, it requires much more energy to recover and fully function. Accordingly, more nutrients are needed. After reducing the toxic load on the body, a lot of energy is still spent on normal functioning, hence the need for additional food. Therefore, when you give up cigarettes, you may actually experience some weight gain.

Psychological factor

The cigarette needs to be replaced with something. As a rule, something sweet and tasty. Seeds, sweets, lollipops and other sweets are used. The number of snacks and often high-calorie snacks increases. The person begins to eat uncontrollably. There is only one way out - to control the diet and menu composition. Frequent split meals (5-6 times a day) with a predominance of protein and plant foods in the menu will help maintain optimal weight.

Nutrition rules for those who quit smoking

Fast (simple) carbohydrates are well absorbed by the body and are the main “enemy” of a good figure. Basically, any sweet foods are rich in them. However, the “champion” in terms of content simple carbohydrates are carbonated drinks. The second position is occupied confectionery: candies, ice cream, chocolate, cakes and various types cookies. Third place belongs to fruits. These are grapes, peaches, bananas, apricots, cherries, melons, watermelons, raisins. Fast carbohydrates are also found in some vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, pumpkin and beets. Bread from yeast dough, polished white rice. You shouldn’t give up such foods completely; many of them (vegetables and fruits) are still beneficial for the body. Just eat them in the first half of the day and not much.

Hold on! The most difficult thing is to live the first three days free from the smoking habit.

To avoid the temptation to take another drag on a cigarette, try to avoid places where people smoke. Learn to control your appetite. By the way, experts advise women to plan to quit smoking on the days after menstruation has already passed. IN critical days and so you are “craving” for sweets, and quitting smoking will provoke you to reach for a cake once again.

Become more active: walk in the fresh air, visit exhibitions. However, you should not immediately lean into sports. Physical activity should be increased gradually. Still, the body needs to recover and the loads for it should be feasible.

Find your hobby, read, organize evening viewings of your favorite films. There are many opportunities and ways to keep yourself busy so as not to think about how to smoke, you just have to turn on your imagination.

Unjustified fears and misconceptions associated with attempts to quit cigarettes often force smokers to return to their habit. dangerous habit. And in many cases, smokers, especially women, do not even try to quit smoking, so as not to gain weight after quitting cigarettes. Where does such confidence in the inevitable weight gain after quitting smoking come from? What’s better – to smoke and stay “slim” or to quit and focus your energy on fighting overweight? Finally, how to quit smoking without gaining weight? Let's listen to what experts and people who have stopped smoking say.

Medical science is keenly interested in the issue, so more than enough research is being conducted on this topic. There is also research in this aspect - why you gain weight when you quit smoking. Several tens of thousands of people who passed the test showed a wide variety of reactions to giving up an unhealthy habit, but the scientists were still able to draw some general conclusions.

When quitting smoking, it is important to watch your diet

What happens to the body?

Most quitters experienced weight gain of up to 4.5 kg in the first year without nicotine, and this happened mainly in the first 3 months after quitting cigarettes. Why, when they quit smoking, they gain weight, scientists explain not so much physical, but psychological reason. A person who is accustomed to taking a cigarette several times a day simply feels deprived of the ritual that once brought him:

• deceptive cheerfulness;
• a feeling of relaxation (it’s not for nothing that breaks from work are called smoke breaks);
• elevated mood.

The fact that these effects are short-term does not stop anyone, but only makes them smoke more often. It’s not hard to imagine how confused a person who is used to recharging feels. in a similar way. And it is not surprising that smoking is being replaced by frequent snacking, usually snacks containing large amounts of fat, carbohydrates, salts or sugar. And with such harmful supplements it’s difficult not to gain weight.

But there is also physiological reasons this "phenomenon". Some researchers attribute smoking to its ability to reduce appetite by suppressing the “hunger hormone” ghrelin. Accordingly, when a person quits smoking, the hormone begins to be intensively produced, and the person gets better. But this hypothesis needs proof, since it is known that among smokers there are many obese people, and among those who quit there are many thin people.

Another reason lies in physical dependence. Feeling the lack of nicotine, to which it has already become accustomed and adapted, the body begins to show signs of withdrawal syndrome.

These signs may not be as scary as with alcohol or drug addiction, but for people with a labile nervous system or unstable psyche it can bring a lot of unpleasant sensations:

• changes in blood pressure;
• hormonal imbalance (including insulin deficiency);
• metabolic disorder;
• anxiety and depression.

Scientists emphasize that such manifestations are temporary and will disappear completely after a while. But not everyone understands this or does not want to understand. Having become fixated on depression, most sufferers begin to “eat up” their sadness with various delicacies, sincerely believing that when you quit smoking, it’s possible.

Does everyone get fat?

Those who have experienced this will probably be surprised to learn that quitting smoking without gaining weight is quite possible. But this requires a certain determination. Those who understand this are calm about temporary weight gain, even if they gain more than 5 kg. Those who want not to gain weight do warm-ups instead of snacks. Anything that does not accumulate, but burns fat in the body will do.

How can a woman avoid gaining weight?

Women are the most intractable in this regard. They always have no time, they always have a million reasons and examples of how “one friend quit smoking and gained weight, that’s what she should do now.” And the worst thing is that many women skeptically reject the advice of experienced people on how to quit smoking and not gain weight. But in vain, you can at least try.

1. First, you should stop panicking about every kilogram you gain. It is necessary to understand that this is a temporary and completely correctable phenomenon.
2. It is also important to stop feeling unhappy and worthy of the sympathy of others. They didn’t force you to smoke, so you shouldn’t “take it out” on others.
3. Most experts believe that the reason for weight gain in women is most often the psychological component of the process. Therefore, doctors suggest taking everything more calmly.

This advice is not without common sense, since most women gain weight “due to nerves” - stress and depression, many eat sweets and other snacks, wash down with sweet coffee, or even alcoholic drinks. To quit smoking and not gain weight, a woman will still have to:

• give up snacking, eat rationally, in small portions and in a balanced manner, giving preference plant foods, fish, low-fat dairy products, and;
• drink coffee without sugar;
• drink sufficient quantity water - will help to quickly cleanse the body of tar and nicotine residues and muffle harmful cravings (if I wanted to smoke, I drank half a glass of water);
• do exercises regularly and do what you can physical exercise; even sitting at your desk, you can keep your abs toned, pump up your leg muscles, etc.

There are no unimportant items in this list, but I would like to emphasize that without menu correction and without physical activity It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to stay slim.

Men are generally less concerned about weight gain, but overweight is undesirable in any case, so men should also learn how to quit smoking without gaining weight. The advice offered to women is also quite suitable for men - more movement, less nerves, proper nutrition. We should talk about nutrition in more detail. It will be very useful if, after quitting smoking, a man takes care of enriching his diet with the following products:

• non-fat and non-spicy hard cheeses, matsoni, yogurt - fermented milk products restore gastric microflora;
• greens with high content oxalic acid - sorrel, spinach, green apples - this will help restore metabolism and get rid of anemia;
• prunes, oatmeal, cucumbers, zucchini, celery and other foods rich in fiber - this will help cleanse the intestines and liver of nicotine breakdown products;
• fruits, berries and vegetables rich in vitamin C - currants, citrus fruits, sweet peppers - which will help eliminate hypovitaminosis caused by smoking (nicotine interferes with the absorption of this vitamin).

But experts recommend avoiding hot peppers and other hot foods, especially for the time when you quit smoking, so as not to irritate special needs. taste buds who may “remember” the craving for cigarettes.

Review Reviews

A review of reviews allows us to conclude that weight gain in the first months after quitting smoking is inevitable for most people. Many respondents write that they gained 10 kg in the year after they quit smoking. For more For smokers, fear of gaining weight was the most demotivating factor in trying to quit smoking.

Those who have found the strength and wisdom to overcome fear and prejudice give the following advice:

• do not eat a lot at one meal;
• eat more often – up to 6 times a day;
• find a distracting activity - it doesn’t have to be sports, any hobbies will do;
• monitor the calorie content of the foods you consume.

Useful video

Nutritionist Alexey Kovalkov on how to quit smoking and not gain weight:

Conclusion

1. Absolutely all experts involved in the issue believe that quitting smoking is in any case better than not doing it. Temporary weight gain is incomparably less evil than intoxication of the body with nicotine.
2. In order not to gain weight after quitting smoking, you should return to a healthy lifestyle - eat right, get plenty of rest, avoid stress and move more.

Many argue their reluctance to quit smoking by saying that they might gain a lot of weight. And, indeed, it is often possible to observe former smokers who have gained a fair amount of kilograms. Their example adds confidence to smoke lovers that they smoke exclusively “for beauty.”

Let's try to figure out why smoking makes you slim, and quitting bad habit makes you fat, and is it possible to quit smoking and stay with your own people?

Why doesn't a smoker get better?

Every cigarette smoked is more than 4000 toxic substances . It is not surprising that when all this bouquet disappears, the rate of metabolic processes in the body is accelerated. Toxins must be dealt with, and part of the energy received is spent on them. Moreover, according to experts, the average smoker spends up to 100 kcal per day.

When smoking becomes a habit, the sensitivity of taste and olfactory receptors gradually decreases. And the most tempting food smells like a cigarette... tobacco smoke. She's already doesn't give me the same appetite, as before. In addition, nicotine suppresses the feeling of hunger.

If the average non-smoker is stressed, he tries to eat it. Food causes a rush of endorphins - pleasure hormones. And all the troubles are pushed into the background as soon as something tasty, preferably sweet, is in the stomach.

A smoker, understandably, will reach for a cigarette at the first sign of trouble on the horizon. Then to the second. After all, nicotine also stimulates release of pleasure hormones. And there is no need to eat up the problems anymore - they are smoked!

The most attractive thing about smoking is that busy hands and mouth. An insecure person usually tries to hide his hands. And, if you have to tell a lie, your mouth also hides - usually covered with the same hand. You can lie to a smoker without blushing: your hands twist the lighter or gracefully shake off the ash, and your mouth is busy inhaling and exhaling smoke. You can smoke endlessly and feel much more confident than non-smokers.

In addition, do not forget that smoking is sociable process. Moreover, in some communities, smoking breaks have become not only a ritual of doing nothing, but also a way to solve a lot of issues that are inaccessible to ordinary non-smokers. How can you give up cigarettes without getting fat?

Why does someone who quit smoking gain weight and how to avoid it?

Let's start with the fact that the mere fact of giving up a long-term habit - severe stress for the body. Which, in the absence of a usual way of dealing with it, you have to... that's right, jam it. Usually everything that is fatty, sweet and very, very endorphin-rich is used.

Moreover, the body loses the usual nicotine boost, causing a surge of hormones. And these are additional feelings of depression, self-doubt, loss of performance and other thirty-three displeasures.

The solution is simple. If you aim a cigarette pack at a trash can, inspect the refrigerator. Stock up on vegetables, fruits and grain breads. That is, everything that you can reach with your hand, throw into your mouth at the first signs of withdrawal, and that will not be deposited on your waist.

Try to eat less fatty and sweet foods, and more products containing fiber - this will dull the feeling of hunger. By the way, many ex-smokers mistake it for symptoms of nicotine deficiency. You can switch to fractional meals, which also helps get rid of the feeling of constant “malnutrition”.

In order to gradually get rid of the need to occupy your mouth and hands with something, you may like to drink juices through a straw. Just choose for this low-calorie vegetable mixtures without salt and juices that do not contain sugar.

Here's what to do no need at all- this is trying to eat away the desire to smoke with candy. You can ruin your teeth and gain those extra pounds. You should also avoid chips, nuts and other crackers. They will only contribute to fullness. And it’s better not to look in the direction of alcohol, which also produces hormonal pleasure. This will only help for a short time, and trying to quit smoking may result in binge drinking.

To make it easier to monitor your diet, our experts recommend writing down everything you eat during the day. Visit our website and get access to other personal services that will help you monitor your caloric intake.

When cigarettes have become a "class enemy", it's time to increase physical activity . Firstly, movement helps produce endorphins just as well as sweets. Secondly, during exercise, especially if it is cardio exercises, the lungs work intensively and accelerate metabolic processes. This means that the body gets rid of the remnants of tobacco toxins much faster. Thirdly, movement itself distracts from the desire to smoke. Including morning exercises in your activity plan will help you cheer up before the work day. And if you exercise properly in the afternoon, you will be able to quickly fall asleep without obsessive thoughts about cigarettes. And those same “extra” 100 kilocalories will be spent.

And another argument

Fatness, of course, does not make anyone look good. But the harm from the extra 3-4 kilograms that will appear in the first months after quitting smoking is much less than from the usual pack a day. Therefore, for the time it takes to quit smoking, you should forget about weight gain.

You will definitely be able to lose weight later, when the body has successfully dealt with previous stress. After all, those who quit smoking now have many more “bonus” years of life ahead of them.

A smoker can make a phone call 8-800-200-0-200 (the call is free for residents of Russia), say that he needs help in quitting smoking, and he will be switched to the specialists of the Advisory Call Center for Help in Quitting Tobacco Consumption (CTC). If all KTC specialists are busy at this moment, his phone number will be sent to KTC by email, and they will call him back within 1-3 days.

For those who contacted KTC advisory assistance provided by psychologists and doctors. Psychologists help prepare for the day of quitting smoking, help find a replacement for smoking rituals, together with the client they will determine the optimal ways to overcome addiction, and support in difficult moments in the fight against nicotine addiction. Doctors will advise on the most effective therapeutic methods smoking cessation, will give advice to patients with various diseases about how best to prepare for quitting smoking, taking into account existing health problems.

Many representatives of the fair sex are concerned about how a girl can quit smoking without gaining weight. It is the fear of gaining weight that prevents many women who smoke from giving up their habit, so that they continue to cause harm to their own bodies. Quitting smoking is very useful for you: everything internal organs begin to function normally. But for women, the benefits of this decision are outweighed by the risk of gaining weight by quitting smoking. The fear of gaining weight as a result of quitting smoking is not groundless; weight gain during the withdrawal phase is a fairly common phenomenon.

Smoking causes a variety of changes in the body, including affecting work digestive system. Under the influence of nicotine and other chemicals, penetrating into the body, the gastrointestinal tract does not cope with its functions, absorption is impaired useful substances, the person begins to lose weight. Knowing about this effect of smoking, many women who dream of losing extra pounds, start smoking, considering cigarettes as diet pills. At the same time, they forget that the consequences can be very serious: deterioration of the condition of nails, hair, skin, disorders menstrual cycle, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart, blood vessels, lungs, exhaustion up to complete degeneration.

Smoking does not always lead to weight loss; nicotine can also cause changes in performance endocrine system and provoke weight gain and the formation of fat deposits.

It happens that a woman starts smoking for some reason that has nothing to do with weight, and then is afraid to quit, so as not to start gaining weight. The consequences of quitting smoking are varied; you really have to deal with weight gain often. Let's try to figure out what happens in the body when a person quits smoking.

• Turns on cleanly psychological factor- when your hands and lips are busy with a cigarette, there is less time left for food, and a person who has lost his usual activity is constantly drawn to chew something.
• Smoking suppresses the feeling of hunger; in the first days after quitting it, you practically don’t feel like eating. But already on the 3rd day changes occur, appetite increases sharply, and a craving for sweets appears.
• The consequences of intoxication of the body with nicotine are gradually eliminated, but it still cannot to the fullest assimilate nutrients, therefore, to satisfy the need for them, the volume of portions has to be increased.
• Nicotine is a stimulant; under its influence, metabolic processes in the body occurred faster, and without artificial stimulation metabolism slows down.
• In the first weeks without smoking, intestinal motility is disrupted, constipation often develops, and you have to take laxative pills or do enemas. Bowel disorders can also cause weight gain.
• Quitting smoking causes a stress response, and many people tend to “eat” stress.
• Appetite increases because the secretion of the digestive organs is normalized, and also because the receptors sense the normal taste of food and its aroma.

Rules for women quitting smoking

So how can a woman quit smoking in order to fully experience the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, and not changes for the worse? There are several rules to minimize negative consequences quitting smoking.

1. Take vitamin complexes, especially tablets containing niacin (vitamin PP).
2. Change your diet, nutrition, control your drinking regime.
3. Lead healthy image life: motor activity, fresh air- your best allies.
4. Find something to do that will help you ignore the consequences of quitting smoking.

During smoking, the body develops a habit of increased doses of nicotine, and vitamin PP, as a product of its oxidation, will help reduce stress associated with a lack of this substance. Tablets that stimulate metabolism will also be useful: Riboxin, potassium orotate. Remember to consult your doctor about taking any medicines, even harmless vitamins! And don't self-prescribe fat-burning pills, even if they are available without a prescription. During the period of adaptation of the body to life without nicotine, the consequences of taking them can be unpredictable.

Switch to fractional meals, increase the number of meals, and at the same time reduce portions. Fresh fruits and vegetables, spicy seasonings will help direct the changes occurring in the body in the right direction and quickly cleanse it of toxins. To get rid of constipation, eat more products rich in fiber (porridge, vegetables), drink fermented milk drinks- they act softer than tablets, but are quite effective. But fatty, sweet, floury, fried foods, fast food should be excluded from the diet, this will just allow you to reduce the daily amount of calories by 20-25%, so as not to gain weight. Drink more water, green tea, herbal teas to remove harmful deposits from the body and reduce appetite.

Secrets of the fight against excess weight

The risk of gaining weight by quitting smoking exists regardless of the sex of the smoker. But women have more and less favorable periods to give up this habit. You should not quit smoking on the days of your period or the day before, the consequences will be more severe. Quitting nicotine will add to the stress associated with PMS, water retention in the body will be more pronounced, and this means extra pounds, the craving for sweets will be twice as strong.

To prevent weight gain, you need self-discipline. To make it easier to control your diet, calculate in advance how much you can eat per day, and put all the foods (or notes with their names) in a large bag. When you want a snack, take something out of the bag (or from the refrigerator, but then throw away the corresponding note). Try to limit yourself to the contents of the package; do not add products beyond the norm. If you have planned 5 meals for the day, including snacks, no intermediate sandwiches, sweets or cups of coffee.

Don't eat stress! If the effects of nicotine deficiency on nervous system are very painful, ask your doctor to recommend effective but safe calming pills, antidepressants. A the best medicine against stress and depression it will be a useful and exciting activity or hobby. It will help take your mind off thoughts about smoking and food.

Physical activity helps prevent weight gain, but you can start playing sports only from the 5th month of abstaining from cigarettes. A strength exercises, running is indicated only from 8-9 months, when the cardiovascular and respiratory systems are restored.

In the first months, leisurely walks and a simple set of exercises will be enough. Very useful also breathing exercises, which helps cleanse the lungs and burn calories. If your smoking history is short, you can engage in sports and fitness more actively, and start exercising earlier, but do not forget to control your heart rate.

Treatment of nicotine addiction and recovery from excess weight - 2 individual tasks, each of which is quite a serious test for the body. Therefore, doctors do not recommend taking diet pills or taking any other measures aimed at losing weight until all processes are normalized in the body weaning off nicotine. Diets during the first 3 months of abstinence from cigarettes are generally ineffective; they will not help you lose weight, but negative changes in the body can provoke. The body of yesterday's smoker needs ascorbic acid, nicotinic acid, magnesium, it is better to get them from food, but tablets are also suitable.

If you've smoked long enough, it may help relieve stress. replacement therapy – chewing gum, lozenges, sublingual tablets containing nicotine. Chewing and sucking products are preferable - they distract from the desire to eat something. Avoid alcohol, it contains many calories and stimulates the appetite. If you gained a few kilograms after quitting smoking, do not despair: perhaps this is your normal weight, and the thinness caused by smoking was painful.

Not all women who quit smoking get better, so don’t be afraid or set yourself up for negativity. Better imagine what advantages, positive consequences of giving up a bad habit you will feel in the coming weeks and months:

• the natural color of teeth and nails yellowed by nicotine will be restored;
• hair will become thicker and skin more elastic;
• your breath will be fresher, your clothes and hair will also not “smell” of tobacco smoke;
• a hoarse voice will acquire a normal timbre for women;
• you will forget about shortness of breath, stomach pain, pressure surges and other companions of nicotine addiction.