Monday, February 1, 2021

Quitting And Weight Gain


For people who are worried about quitting and weight gain,  my advice at Beautiful Quitters is to forget it.

 

Stop worrying. You will gain some weight. A survey of the literature bears this out.But never start thinking that you should put off quitting because you think you will gain weight and so quitting isn't such a priority. It is!  


Just decide to quit and make it a goal to relearn enjoying delicious foods, all the foods you never tasted much because smoking interfered with your appetite and taste buds.

 

Studies have been done on this issue too.

 

One researcher, Susan Veldheer, Project Manager in the Department of Public Health Sciences (Penn State) was concerned to find out how big of a problem previous quit-related weight gain really was, when it came to people’s willingness to go on another quit-program.

 

She found that the attempters who had previously gained weight were more likely than the other groups to “avoid treatment to help them quit”. 


She ended the study report by encouraging professionals to ask smokers if they had had a problem with weight gain on a previous quit-attempt. And then the idea is presumably, to encourage them not to be afraid to try again in spite of a possible few pounds more.

http://news.psu.edu/story/314223/2014/05/01/research/risk-weight-gain-deters-some-smokers-seeking-treatment-quit

 

So that’s it. Please decide to quit and as soon as you are able, start getting in touch with your new body little by little. If you are a successful quitter you will really enjoy doing this.

 

And in the process you will want to feel better in other ways, so the motivation is built in. That’s all I need say. Otherwise maybe you can check out my blogpost on diet on the best diet for quitters.

 

If you stay on this diet after quitting you will lose the weight back and especially if you get more into exercise…You will also start discovering that quitting and weight gain will not be an issue for you, even if you do put on a few pounds!

Farley AC, Hajek P, Lycett D, Aveyard P. Interventions for preventing weight gain after smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;1:CD006219.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22258966

blogpost here on “The Best Diet for Quitters”

1.      Allynsays:

August 25, 2015 at 11:28

Your site has great content and your willingness to help others is amazing, Avera. Personally, I have never smoked – never even desired to try one, probably because my eldest sister smoked as a teen as part of her “rebellion” and blew smoke in my face (she stopped smoking after that brief rebellion, by the way). I certainly have known a lot of people who have smoked and wanted to stop, however.

 

Of most interest to me was your description of how a telephone coach helped you stop. I’ve never heard of that type of “program” before but it certainly makes sense. So, I wish you success as you work to build your own help center.

 

Regarding this post on weight gain, I appreciate your encouragement to not worry about a few pounds. I particularly thought your point about weight gain not being as bad as what one does to their body by smoking was right on. All of us gain and lose weight. Extra pounds can be shed!

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3.      Thank you Allyn.

You know it’s amazing to me how many people just can’t smell how bad the stuff is….when they first begin to smoke. It happened to me too…The allure of smoking and being “cool” seemed to override any bodily considerations. When I felt the buzz from the pollutants and less oxygen, I also didn’t take that as a warning. That’s how brainwashed I was, apparently. And yet it all seemed perfectly “normal” to become a smoker by just ignoring the danger signs. I guess that’s how strong my own unmet inner needs were. ASTOUNDING how a culture can do that to people.!!
You were very sharp in getting it though.

I appreciate the candor and the positive support. I quit way before there were any quit lines except those done charitably through certain churches. It was a total accident I found that one place because for sure they were not advertising. But my search for some real help was so urgent and I was so wonderfully rewarded when I accidentally found my own quitline… that I am now offering the same help to others.

For me the withdrawal symptoms were chiefly emotional…ie: I just went crazy and felt crazy for most of those 2 months and then struggled for long afterwards to master all such feelings of deprivation. And I knew if I never did another good thing in my life at least I could try to spare some other aspiring quitters the same anguish. Some say the addiction of nicotine is mostly like heroin. And we have all seen those movies of the cold turkey process. So that’s where I come in. It’s hard to get over an addiction but it can really make you feel as if you have a new life once you do!
Thanks again and be well always,
Avera

REPLY

1.      timsays:

August 23, 2015 at 09:09

Hey

You will not believe this but tomorrow is the first day of me quitting smoking. My partner has bought me a vapo stick, and I am going to give it a good shot.

I have been away from work a while and gained weight already so I’m expecting to struggle there. I wil chech out your diet for quitters.

Love the pic of weighing yourself btw. Very funny

Tim

REPLY

1.      Avera Yugensays:

August 23, 2015 at 18:07

Hey coconut Tim!
I think coconuts are one of the few healthiest foods in the world!! You could be a beautiful quitter FAST with food like that instead of the coffin nails, lol!
Yeah that picture is funny! But it’s not me. I haven’t yet found a way to tape the scale to the ceiling so it sticks, drat!
Good luck with the quitting and don’t hesitate to email me if you’d like some personal and free coaching from me.
Warmly,
Avera

REPLY

1.      Martysays:

August 23, 2015 at 09:05

A worthy cause. The the effects of smoking are devistating .I haven’t smoked in 45 years but I have seen it tear people up.

REPLY

1.      Avera Yugensays:

August 23, 2015 at 18:09

Thanks for that Marty.
Yeah, it’s hard to look at people who still don’t get it, and it’s hurting them and they don’t why they are hurting. Deep down they are still nursing unmet needs, and they can’t trust that the substance is only preventing them from getting their true needs addressed. I hope somehow they can find out the truth. I’m sure glad you did though ;
=)

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