I have to admit it, although my weight reduction practice is far from booming with ex-smokers, some of my 400+ smoking clients have gained weight after they quit. I simply had to find out why.
Well, since I wrote a whole chapter on this in Stop Smoking for the Last Time, I’m not going to repeat it here (for my clients to get a free PDF copy see the Stop Smoking University post). But since the book, I’ve made some interesting observations.
We all know about the belief that metabolism slows when you quit. Well the 1988 Surgeon General’s report concluded that this really isn’t the case. Increase in weight is usually due to increase in consumption.
Also, as I’ve pointed out to all of my clients, cigarettes contain sugar, so it’s very important not to satisfy sugar cravings with white sugar. Fruit usually does the trick.
But what I’ve recently discovered is many ex-smokers are carboholics — they eat a high percentage of “simple” carbohydrates. This is simply a ticket to weight gain.
Now, I’m not a doctor or nutritionist (you need to check with them before changing your diet) but I believe any smokers that gains weight needs to look at the amount of simple carbohydrates they are eating. Books like The Atkins Revolution and The South Beach Diet do a good job on explaining a diet that helps reduce weight using the low-to-no carb solution.
What’s a “simple” carb? Almost anything bleached, sugared, yeasted and/or baked by man (or woman). Also, if it crunches and comes in a box or bag at from the supermarket, it’s most likely a” simple” carb.
Examples are candy, cake, cookies, crackers, muffins, bagels, most breakfast cereals, pasta, white rice and anything with sugar, yeast white flour and/or corn syrup. Bread is also in this category, especially since most bread contain corn syrup (so does most catsups and many fruit juices). Also, soda is an obvious no no.
My theory is that once a smoker becomes healthier, certain yeasts in the body that feed off these simple carbs can thrive. These yeast conditions can cause weight gain. Also, allergies to wheat and pasteurized dairy can have the same effect. Now, this does not mean smoking keeps you thin, it means that this condition can be dormant in a very unhealthy body, after all, smoking greatly reduces anti-oxidants levels in smokers, it probably also kills yeast (while it may also be killing you!)
I admit, my conclusion about yeast is a hypothesis, but I helped one client lose over 200 pounds based on eating protein and helping them discover their yeast and allergy problems.
So, to conclude, quitting smoking does not make you gain weight. But if you are one of the unlucky few who have allergies and Candida/yeast infections a change in diet and supplementation may be a solution for you (again, see your doctor, although you may need to talk to a Naturopath to have these conditions taken seriously).
For further assistance, read chapter 8 of Stop Smoking for the Last Time and read up on low carb diets.
