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Smoking Vs Excess Weight: What Is More Dangerous?

by — Last updated: 2015-08-19 in Addiction & Recovery

Table of Contents

Quitting smoking can indeed cause the pounds to pile on. Why, and just how do you maintain your weight and your confidence when you're determine to quit?

We all know that the excess body weight is not healthy. The really important question is: does the weight gain associated with smoking cessation eliminate the benefits of quitting smoking?

The stress placed on the heart of a smoker who consumes one pack of cigarettes per day is equal to being approximately 90 pounds overweight. While the health benefits of quitting far exceed the problems of gaining weight, many people do not like the idea of putting on a few extra pounds. This is a serious psychological problem for many. Extra weight may drastically reduces the person’s self-esteem, causes stress and may even lead to additional stress-associated weight gain.

Let's not forget the important reasons to quit smoking, either. Numerous studies have shown that smoking is responsible for about one fifth of all deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases. The link between smoking and various types of cancer, lung cancer in particular, is very well established. 

Each year, cigarette smoking causes more than 400,000 premature deaths in the United States alone from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer. Smoking is a major risk factor for many other disorders. 

Tips On Quitting Smoking Without Gaining Weight

The weight gain associated with quitting smoking is not inevitable. A number of things can be done to avoid it. Below are some useful tips for people who would like to quit without putting on weight.

  • Keep your hands and mouth busy. Many ex-smokers find chewing gums helpful.
  • Drink plenty of liquids, especially water. Limit coffee, soft drinks and alcohol — they can increase your urge to smoke. Drinking a glass of water when you really feel like smoking, on the other hand, will distract you for a while and can make your urge to smoke pass.
  • Stay active. Exercise is a good way of keeping your weight down. For example, jogging, taking brisk walks in the neighbourhood, swimming or rope jumping can all help you stay distracted from cigarettes and increase the rate at which you burn calories.
  • Eat healthy food. Let it be healthy "snacks" with fresh fruits or vegetables. Choose carrots, celery, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cocoa with non-fat milk, and things like that. Avoid too much sugar or high fat foods, such as biscuits and sweets.
  • Don’t skip meals. Research shows that your metabolism improves if you eat regular meals. Eat slowly. Enjoy it.
  • Don’t use food or drink as a reward. Choose favourite non-food activities instead.
  • Get more sleep.
  • Professional help may also help in controlling the weight.
  • Ask your friends to hold you accountable. Tell them that you're going to stop smoking and are committed to not replacing your nicotine addiction with a food addiction. 

READ Diet Tips That Will Help You Quit Smoking

One last thing you can do before you quit smoking is to mentally prepare for the possiblility that you will gain some weight. Knowing this will make seeing it play out in practice a little easier. To remind you that you are gaining a little weight for a very good reason, you can hang pictures of lungs damaged by smoking up in places you associate with the urge to light up.

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  • Photo courtesy of eschipul via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/2437593805
  • Photo courtesy of Butz.2013 via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/61508583@N02/13275079045

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