How Much Weight Does A Smoker Gain When They Quit?

Have you been thinking about quitting smoking, but are worried about the weight you’ll gain by doing so??
Exactly how much weight does someone put on after kicking the habit??
This FitPerezcious reader wants to know the same thing!

Hi Craig – so the old weight loss and quitting smoking thang. How boring! How much weight does a smoker gain when they quit?

She’s asking Craig Nabat — and luckily, he’s a regular around here!
Here’s his response:

On an average people tend to gain 5 pounds during their quitting process. Eventually the body does get back to normal and the new found pounds do come off.
As long as you dedicate yourself to working out a minimum of 3 times weekly, eat smaller meals, but more often, and refrain from eating late at night, you won’t necessarily gain any weight.
If weight loss is a concern, it is so important to be consistent with working out and eating more protein than carbohydrates when you’ve quit smoking. When a person smokes a cigarette a chemical reaction occurs in the body and sugars are released into the blood stream, this is how cigarettes work as an appetite suppressant. Without cigarettes the former smoker may crave sweets constantly at first. Bring along celery or carrots with you wherever you go, this will assist in making the first month of quitting easier and it helps ward off weight gain.
Don’t let the fear of weight gain deter you from quitting. Smoking ages you and slowly kills every organ in your body.

That last sentence is some tough love, daaaaaamn! But it’s true — 5 pounds is nothing compared to dying painfully!
Good luck, we know you can do it!!
For more tips to quit smoking, feel free to tweet Craig questions @freedomlaser or write to [email protected]!