The thought of gaining weight is a common concern for people who are in the process of deciding whether or not to quit smoking and of course this is only natural. Our health is of great importance to us but on the other hand, so is our appearance. A question people often ask themselves is - do I carry on smoking or do I quit and gain 10 pounds?
Of course quitting alone does not make you add excess body fat to your figure; it’s the extra food that you eat to compensate for doing without cigarettes. I have experienced this first hand and can fully appreciate the dilemma. Back in 2003 my children were constantly on at me to stop. This was especially true of my eldest, as she had been learning about the dangers of tobacco in school.
I have to admit that I really didn’t want to quit at first but I knew they were right so the decision was made. I substituted my cigarettes for boiled sweets and got through around half a pound of them a day. Now, here’s the thing. After about two months I hadn’t gained an ounce, in fact I’d actually lost weight (five pounds if I remember correctly).
How could this be possible? Well, I enjoyed cycling but because I smoked I had reached a certain level of fitness and was unable to take it to the next level. Now, not only did I have the stamina to cycle further I could also cover distances in far less time than previously and I felt like going out cycling more often.
I had much more energy and could run around with the kids at the park instead of sitting on a bench watching them play. Every day chores became much easier and I could get through them far quicker than before. Because I had gained a greater degree of cardiovascular fitness by quitting smoking this enabled me to burn more calories than I was taking in.
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