How to Quit Smoking Without Gaining Weight

quit smoking quit smoking without weight gain stop smoking stop smoking weight gain Aug 19, 2020

ARE YOU SCARED TO STOP SMOKING BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU’LL GAIN WEIGHT?

Do you want to stop smoking cold turkey, but you’re afraid you’ll gain weight when you stop smoking? Or maybe you’ve tried to quit smoking in the past, but you gained weight, and then went back to smoking?

Keep reading, because I’m going to share with you the three biggest fears that keep people smoking, and I’ll explain why they’re just myths. And the best part, I’ll give you the solutions you need to quit smoking cold turkey without weight gain or other things that you dread.

A BIT ABOUT ME

I’m Rita black. I am a clinical hypnotherapist and a smoking cessation specialist and a weight management specialist. And here's the deal with me. I'm a former pack and a half a day smoker and I smoked for many years. I was afraid that I was going to gain weight when I quit smoking. And in fact, earlier in my smoking life, I stopped smoking for a while and I gained a ton of weight and so I went back to smoking. But one thing I noticed with my smoking was I could gain weight or lose weight, you know, while I was still smoking. So smoking or not, my weight fluctuated.

And here was the really great thing...when I quit smoking the right way, I actually lost 40 pounds. And I’m going to share with you the things that helped me to do that, and that helped keep the weight off. I'm going to share these things with you because I've been managing my weight now. I've kept those 40 pounds off for over 20 years that I've been a non-smoker.

FEAR #1: MY METABOLISM IS GOING TO TANK WHEN I QUIT SMOKING

Here’s the truth...your metabolism does not tank when you stop smoking. Did you know that smoking a pack of cigarettes a day only burns 75 calories? Let’s put that into perspective. 75 calories is roughly the amount of one string cheese stick. Just one. Not much, right?

That's it. 75 calories. Of course, if you didn’t cut out that extra 75 calories, your weight could very slowly creep up. But 75 calories doesn’t really make or break a diet or a healthy eating lifestyle. You literally would only need to cut out the equivalent of a cheese stick each day. Or walk a mile per day to burn close to 100 calories, depending on your speed.

Now if over the course of a week you didn't make up for that, maybe an added exercise or you know, managing your diet a little differently, then over the course of a week, you would gain 700 calories, which there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. So you could see that over the six weeks you might gain a pound and then over a year you might slowly creep up the scale.

So the fact is that your metabolism doesn't tank or drop, but it does slow down a teeny tiny bit. But if you went out for a 15 minute walk, if you walked your dog 15 minutes more, if you did a minimal amount of exercise, like you added another thousand steps to your FitBit a day, that would be enough for you to maintain your weight and not let your metabolism impact you. And, you want to exercise more when you become a non-smoker because it helps elevate your endorphins and your serotonin. It makes you feel good. Research has shown that people who start exercising when they become a non-smoker, they stay non-smokers.

MYTH #2: I’M GOING TO EAT MORE WHEN I QUIT SMOKING

Eating more when you quit smoking is completely avoidable. So let’s break this down.

First of all, your mind has to be in the right place when you stop smoking. If not, your brain thinks it’s being deprived of something, so it will fill that with food. If your brain sees a void there, then your mind isn’t in the right place to quit smoking. If it was, there wouldn’t be a void to fill. You don’t want to go into becoming a non-smoker with a void to fill. Because you don’t want to be a non-smoker who’s eating carrot sticks all day. You want to have the belief and attitude that you are a full person without that void when you quit smoking cold turkey.

One thing to note here is that cigarettes and vaping juices contain carbs. So they do have sugar. Which can result in people who try to quit smoking reaching for extra carbs or candy when they stop smoking. And here’s the solution...add protein into your diet. Protein will help stabilize your blood sugar and insulin levels and help you rid yourself of that addiction to sugar and carbs.

MYTH #3: I’LL LOSE MY REWARD

A lot of times when we try to stop smoking, we reward ourselves. You know what I mean. If you don’t smoke for an hour, or three hours, you get a treat. Something that is a celebration of your success. You pat yourself on the back. But here’s where you need to get to...your freedom, health and strength are your rewards for quitting smoking. The reward isn’t a cake.

That’s where you want to keep your focus-your freedom is your reward-not candy or other rewards. And something to keep in mind, if you make food your reward, that’ll contribute to weight gain, which isn’t something you want. You want internal rewards, and to keep your weight in check as you embark on your non-smoking journey.

GET STARTED ON YOUR NON-SMOKING JOURNEY

Do you wish you could be free from cigarettes or from vaping? Do you imagine yourself as a non-smoker? It is possible! My free online masterclass, How to Stop Smoking Without Withdrawal, Cravings or Weight Gain is the tool you need to become free. It’s online, it’s on demand, and it’s free. You have nothing to lose, except your cigarettes. Register here now.