If I Stop Smoking Will I Put on Weight? By Erika Slater Erika Slater Level: Platinum Erika Salter is a Certified Hypnotist in Massachusetts. Erika

One of the most common excuses I hear from smokers why they don't want to quit smoking is they worry they'll put on weight. This is a myth which I'll put to rest for you. This fallacy has been circulating for eons like pollen floating around in spring time.

The mere act of quitting will not cause one to explode like a Chia Pet! It's what most people do after they quit smoking which causes them to put on the weight...and none of it is smoking-related.

Let's be realistic. How many obese people are there in the world who never tried smoking? And the answer is: you can't gain any weight unless you eat. In this situation, it becomes a case of excessive eating.


Does nicotine affect weight and weight fluctuation?

First, since nicotine is a stimulant, which is a drug that causes a rise in the central nervous system (speeding up one's metabolism), it's natural to assume that quitting smoking removes a built in weight loss program.

So does nicotine consumption affect one's basal metabolic rate and cause the burning of calories? You know what - it kind of does, but not as much as you think. In the beginning, it might have caused the body to burn calories faster than before they started to smoke.

However, some people have been smoking so long that the nicotine has basically reached a point where it no longer has an effect whether smoking or not smoking. As a matter of fact, how many people are there who smoke that are already over-weight or obese in the first place? Why aren't they slimmer or able to keep off the weight? After all, they do have nicotine in their systems don't they?

It is not the nicotine or lack of nicotine per se which creates weight gains or weight losses.

People in 3rd world countries are not thin as rakes because they're smokers. Conversely, many of them don't smoke just as many of them can't afford to eat! It is all about food -added calories! Those who gain the most weight after they quit smoking are the ones who usually do the most eating or consuming the most calories.

Many individuals who quit smoking or quit drinking alcohol usually put on a lot of weight because they compromise themselves - they use sugar and empty carbohydrates as a substitute for their previous addiction/vice. The sugar or empty carbs (junk food) become their new vice, or if you will "comfortable substitute".

For some, idle hands (not smoking) become evil hands (the need to compensate for their oral habit-increased eating). This is when compulsive eating begins taking the place as the "oral action" substitute.

Most people think that smoking per se is all about the consumption of nicotine.

This is a misconception. Smoking is a physical, conditioned habit which requires rote learned skills, such as lighting up, holding the cigarette, inhaling, exhaling, and socializing.

Think about this for a moment...what other activity do people engage in that requires the same kinds of skills? If you guessed eating and drinking, you got it! They require the same kinds of mimicking skills as smoking.

It should come as no surprise that when someone gives up their smoking habit/addiction they find an immediate substitute requiring the same kinds of skills and oral gratification. And when the substitute they choose contains a lot of added calories, is it any wonder many smokers put on weight when they quit smoking?

So the answer to the original question of "If I quit smoking will I put on weight" is... you will if you change your eating habits by substituting calories for nicotine.

Those fearful of falling into this trap are advised to combine their stop smoking campaign with a healthy diet and exercise. After all eating healthy foods and exercising - walking is fine - is something that should be a part of everyone's daily living habits.

Erika Slater is a Certified Hypnotist with a practice in the metro-west Boston area and offers a free consultation session and a private Stop Smoking Hypnosis in Massachusetts program and you can find more service and product details at her web site: http://www.smoke-free-at-last.com


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