Day 36 - Puttin' on the Pounds
One of the biggest obstacles - besides the addiction -- to quitting smoking are fears of weight gain. In fact, on average, people who quit smoking gain approximately 12 pounds. Why? Because for the average heavy smoker, the simple act of smoking burns around 200 calories a day and add to that your increased metabolism, and it's no wonder so many supermodels take up cigarettes to control their weight.
So, when you quit smoking, several factors combine at once to result in the weight gain. First, your metabolism slows, second you're heart doesn't have to work as hard dealing with the smoke, so those 200 calories are no longer being burned, and the appetite suppressant effects of nicotine are no longer at play. Moreover, without the constant cigarette, you're often looking for other things to chew or snack on, to help alleviate your brain's reward system, which has been used to the reward of nicotine many times during the day.
Personally, during my first 30 days of quitting smoking, I only gained one pound. How? Well, it wasn't by exercising or eating better, I can guarantee you that. Though, for many folks, that's the best way to combat weight gain ... if you're going to snack, you may as well snack on carrot sticks, I suppose. For other people, weight gain in simply the trade one makes for quitting smoking. In fact, my advice is not to try losing weight while you are also trying to quit smoking. It's hard enough, man, to quit smoking - you don't want to add to that misery by dieting at the same time.
But the reason I didn't gain weight is simple: The Commit Lozenge. As I've discussed time and again, I think that the Commit Lozenge is the absolute best way to quit smoking (and no, I'm not an employee of GlaxoSmithKline). Not only does Commit help to curb the cravings, but it also gives you something the chew on and helps to suppress your appetite. I'd long believed that my theory was just that - my own crackpot realizations. But, GlaxoSmithKline (as reported by Consumer Reports) offers some actual evidence to support my claim. According to studies of around 1800 people, quitters who used the Commit Lozenge reduced weight gain by 45 percent after six weeks and 21 percent after 12 weeks vs. those treated with a placebo. Unfortunately, the people who succeeded most took the recommended daily dosage of Commit (and most people don't), and they still ended up gaining the weight after they ended their use of Commit.
But, at least your delaying the weight gain until after you've conquered your addiction to cigarettes. This way, you can actually focus on dieting, instead of dieting and smoking cessation.