As someone who struggled with his weight and smoked a pack of cigarette a day, quitting smoking without additional weight gain was quite a challenge.
Smoking a cigarette after eating was my ritual; having one after an alcoholic beverage was mandatory. I’m sure smokers reading this can relate. I was forced to discover effective ways to quit this habit that wouldn’t cause me to pack on extra pounds. But before I share my tips, let’s understand why smoking is so bad for your health and why it’s important to quit.
Smoking Inhibits Healthy Functioning Of Cells
There are billions of cells in our bodies. Cells make up the skin, blood, organs, and every system we need for our body to function properly. Cells carry genetic information. Think of this as similar to your fingerprint, where each cell is unique. Normally, prior to cell death, cells replicate, divide, and re-generate offspring cells. This phenomenon is called mitosis and is needed in order to sustain life.
Smoking severely impacts the mitosis process, which inhibits cellular regeneration and division. This mutation of genes can be experienced for years even after a person quits smoking.
Cells normally repair themselves with the help of antioxidants. However, the toxins and carcinogens from cigarette smoke significantly decrease the amount and effectiveness of antioxidants. Smoking is also said to decrease the number of antioxidants in the blood, which would allow dead cells to circulate and accumulate all over the body.
A body with an accumulation of dead cells is a breeding ground for cancer and other diseases. This cellular rejuvenation interference also causes the body to age much faster than normal.
Nicotine Makes It Difficult To Quit
Nicotine is the addictive neurotoxin that makes it difficult to quit. Nicotine is what makes cigarettes addictive. Since nicotine is a potent nervous system stimulant, it’s highly effective in boosting the mood of smokers.
This is why people often feel much better after having their smoke. However, within minutes after smoking, the nicotine effect dissipates and the euphoric feeling disappears – hence the reason for wanting to light up another cigarette occurs. Having access to a stimulant that makes people feel better makes sense as to why people become addicted to nicotine.
When quitting smoking, cleansing your body of nicotine is the number one priority. The blood carries nicotine to the brain, so it’s important to make sure the blood is free of the stimulant. The faster nicotine is out of your bloodstream, the easier it will be to go without a smoke. On an average, it takes anywhere from 1-3 days for nicotine to leave the blood.
This will depend on the amount and frequency of cigarettes smoked. Having nicotine-free blood will also reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms during your quitting process.
How To Cleanse Nicotine From Blood
The tips are for avoiding weight gain when you quit smoking. Tips on how to help cleanse your blood of nicotine for extra support:
- Include cayenne in your food or take cayenne powder capsules. Cayenne is a very powerful blood cleanser.
- Eat beets and/or drink beet juice. Another potent blood cleanser, beets can help detox nicotine from your blood faster.
- Drink ample amounts of water. Although obvious to some, this may not be so for others. Water is essential for flushing toxins from the blood and body.
- Eat cilantro and parsley (or make juice from them). Cilantro and parsley are incredibly effective at cleansing the blood.
6 Ways To Avoid Weight Gain
Here are the most powerful steps that worked for me. These are the tips that I share with my clients who want to quit smoking while avoiding associated weight gain.
1. Brush Your Teeth
When you have a craving (especially after eating), simply brush your teeth and rinse your mouth with mint mouthwash. This was by far the most effective way for me to avoid having a cigarette after my meal. A cigarette after mint toothpaste doesn’t taste or feel good, so the likelihood of having a smoke is significantly diminished.
To further elaborate on nicotine-induced food cravings, brushing your teeth can also help to prevent you from eating out of boredom or restlessness. Think about it … who wants to eat after they just brushed?
2. Use Tongue Scraper
For food cravings when attempting to quit, try using a tongue scraper. Tongue scrapers have been used for many years to help curb food cravings. By removing the coating on your tongue, you improve your ability to taste foods thus allowing you to have a palate that’s clean and free of any lingering nicotine or tobacco taste or residue. With a tongue scraped palate, you will likely become more sensitive to the pungent taste of a cigarette, which can help reduce or eliminate the desire to light up.
3. Drink Lots Of Water
Another simple and effective way to combat nicotine-induced food cravings is to drink a full 12-ounce glass of water with juice from half of a lemon at the onset of the craving. This method tricks your body into thinking that you’re filling your stomach with food, thus reducing, and sometimes even eliminating the craving. Doing this first thing in the morning can be especially effective. According to ancient medical traditions in the Eastern world, lemon-infused water first thing in the morning has shown to help with food cravings because it flushes toxins (especially nicotine) that were excreted from our body’s cells and organs throughout the night.
4. Chew Mint-Flavored Toothpicks
Another personal favorite tip I enjoyed using on my quitting smoking without weight gain journey was to chew and suck on mint-flavored toothpicks. They give you the sensation of smoking (or vaping), plus they give you a clean mouth. Perhaps one of the more useful qualities of mint-flavored toothpicks is that they replace the constant hand to mouth motion associated with smoking. These toothpicks will also reduce food cravings because who wants to eat when their mouth tastes minty fresh?
5. Practice Meditation
Start a daily meditation practice. Meditation calms the mind and allows you to live in the present moment. When there’s less mind chatter, the urge to smoke naturally diminishes. I found this to be effectively used in combination with all other tips.
6. Find The Reason For Craving
The last tip is of equal (if not more) importance. It is energetically based. Meaning, what is the root of your cigarette habit? Perhaps you need to explore the mental and emotional side of your smoking and/or food cravings? Ask yourself these questions …
Is it based on the past? Are you addicted to smoking or to the memories of smoking? Are you holding on to unprocessed sadness, anxiety, or the reason that triggers your response to reach for a cigarette? It’s imperative to get to the underlying cause of your smoking in order to deconstruct it from the inside out. Make no mistake about it; nicotine and/ or food cravings are just as much a mental and emotional response as it is a physical sensation.
These are by the far the most powerful tips and secrets I have learned for avoiding weight gain while trying to quit. If you struggle with a smoking addiction and want to quit without gaining weight, try these tips and you will likely experience incredible results.
Quitting isn’t easy, but with a little help from articles like this and perhaps even some support groups or coaching sessions, you CAN do it!
