One of the fears of people who make the wonderful decision to quit smoking is to find a few extra pounds in this process. Weight is gained because nicotine affects the thyroid as well as the nervous system, the sense of taste and smell and the ability to assimilate nutrients from food, which leads to an increase in the need to eat without feeling really satisfied.
Also, it is common for the smoker to satisfy hunger episodes with a cigarette. Thus, when someone stops smoking, he seeks to replace what used to calm different episodes with food and not necessarily healthy. It happens that, to appreciate more and better the taste of food there is an interest to consume strong, sweet, salty and / or spicy flavors, which in general terms translates into more quantity sugary products, with more fat and, therefore, more energy, such as sweets, chocolate, cookies, chips and other salty snacks. The consequence of these effects is weight gain.
But is it possible to control this?
Of course, it is! To avoid gaining weight when you quit smoking, you must implement a fresh, balanced diet to quit smoking once and for all. This can be useful:
- Get underway. Including physical activity in the daily routine not only burns calories, but also helps relieve withdrawal symptoms and cravings. In addition, to be a magnificent channeler of stress and all those emotions that have been connected to old habits.
- Smart choices. You already took the first and the wisest. GIVE UP SMOKING! Now, it is necessary to start planning healthy meals that include many fruits and vegetables. Eat smaller portions. Eliminate sugar and refined flours. Healthy snacks will be great as an outlet when you think you need something to eat.
- Drink a lot of water. drinking water helps you eliminate tobacco toxins in your urine, such as nicotine that is soluble in water.
- Ingest many antioxidants: the daily needs of vitamin C are higher in smokers, since this vitamin gives them special antioxidant protection.
- Increase your intake of vitamin B: B vitamins help fight anxiety. They are found mostly in whole grains and legumes.
- Bet on soft flavors. eat foods that don’t have very strong flavors and fresh products. This reduces the temptation to smoke during meals.
Foods that help fight anxiety.
The foods that are recommended to reduce our daily caloric intake are very varied and allow us to make a menu to our liking, such as:
- Whole grains and legumes: Being slow digestion increases the satiating effect.
- Fruit with skin: Take an apple, pear with skin will give us fiber that will satisfy us. On the other hand, we will avoid juices. Since, a glass of orange or peach, although they are natural provide more calories than a fruit, it becomes fructose that will go directly to the liver increasing the levels of insulin and blood glucose.
- Non-sweet yogurt with nuts
- A handful of nuts a day.
- Foods rich in vitamin C: Eliminating nicotine from our body is an important expense of this vitamin. It is recommended to increase the intake of these foods to help our body. Apart from citrus fruits, we can find vitamin C in tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, red fruits, melons, watermelons, broccoli,
A few more tips! Many report having digestive problems, with daily evacuation problems. So, these are three tips that will help you with this transition.
- Increase fiber consumption
- Increase the use of healthy fats such as olive, coconut and avocado oil.
- Avoid processed foods
CONCLUSION
Quitting smoking is one of the most important decisions and must be accompanied by new habits to keep your entire system aligned in the process of achieving a healthier, active and addiction-free life. The metabolism will be reduced to a healthy level, and perhaps, even more, will be reduced before returning to its normal level, be patient and do not lose your purpose. It may take several weeks or even months for the metabolism to return to its normal level.
There are healthier ways to speed up the metabolism than smoking. Exercise is the best way and the smart decision to know how to choose your food.