Even children know that smoking causes irreparable harm to health. In many countries of the world, bans on smoking in public places are adopted at the legislative level. However, this does not reduce the number of smokers. After all, many, especially girls, are sure: if they quit smoking, they will have to forget about a slender, toned figure forever. Does smoking really allow you to lose weight or is it a misconception?

Why do you lose weight dramatically from smoking?

Many people sincerely believe that smoking is what allows them to have a lean, slender figure. On the one hand, this is really so: instead of snacks with sweet tea and buns, three-minute smoke breaks with a mountain of cigarette butts, refusing breakfast in favor of cigarettes and indifference to food, because nicotine mutes the taste buds. On the other hand, yellow teeth, bad breath, unhealthy complexion and hoarse voice.

In the course of their studies, scientists from Cornell University found an amazing pattern: nicotine contained in cigarettes increases the activity of the AZG1 gene, which is responsible for the breakdown of fats and some carbohydrates. However, scientists are convinced that the relationship between smoking and weight changes is much more complex. V 2012 year Italian scientists tested 60 girls who quit using cigarettes. As a result, after 9 months, the skin of girls suffering from nicotine addiction has become younger by 13 years, and the weight is not that it has not increased, but even decreased slightly.

It is scientifically proven that cigarette smoke significantly reduces the sensitivity of taste buds, making food less appetizing, and slightly speeds up metabolism. If you look deeper, smoking just helps to "occupy the mouth" , so as not to eat too much. In addition, people who smoke at least 25 cigarettes daily, despite an accelerated metabolism, are much more likely to be overweight than those who smoke 1-2 cigarettes or do not smoke at all. According to the studies carried out, the body, poisoned with nicotine, resists insulin ( insulin resistance), thereby contributing to the deposition of fat in the waist area.

What happens to the body of a smoker?

1. The very first cigarette smoked hits the digestive system. Nicotine weakens and thinns tooth enamel, as a result of which a person is simply physically unable to chew food thoroughly. In addition, the sensitivity of the teeth and gums is significantly increased. During smoking, there is increased salivation, inhaled nicotine is most often swallowed along with saliva, thereby disrupting the work of the stomach. Stomach activity slows down after 10-20 minutes after smoking a cigarette, which leads to the fact that food enters the intestines not fully digested ... As a result of poor digestion - hemorrhoids and colitis. A decrease in appetite in smokers is directly related to a slowdown in the contractile function of the stomach.

2. Nicotine is harmful to the cardiovascular system and lungs. Oxygen deficiency - a constant companion of smokers, negatively affecting the whole body. In addition, poor blood circulation and lymph flow inevitably lead to the appearance of cellulite formations - the main enemy of a beautiful figure.

3. Smoking negatively affects the endocrine system, often causes disruptions at the hormonal level , as a result of which the figure becomes unbalanced: some parts of the body lose weight, while others, on the contrary, get better.

4. Smoking increases the production of lipids ( fats dissolved in blood) in organism. As a result, atherosclerosis.

5. Nicotine helps to increase the production of large amounts of pepsin-1 - a substance that actively destroys collagen. It is collagen that is designed to keep the skin taut, moisturized, and prevents the appearance of wrinkles. As a result, a person loses weight, and the skin sags in ugly folds.

6. The negative effect of cigarettes on the state of the cardiovascular system leads to the fact that it is very difficult for a person to do any physical exercise. As a result muscle corset decreases and the body becomes flabby.

According to statistics, there are no people with an athletic figure among smokers. These are either very thin people or very fat people. Both are deprived of muscle mass and are terrified of gaining weight if they quit smoking.

How quitting smoking affects weight gain

As soon as a person quits smoking, during the first two weeks he steadily gains 2-4 kilograms. However, later the weight stabilizes. A more significant weight gain occurs only when, instead of cigarettes, a person switches to sweets and does not give up a sedentary lifestyle. But this is just a small percentage of people who have managed to get rid of the bad habit.

5 reasons to gain weight when quitting nicotine:
# 1 Poisoning... While smoking, a person constantly inhales a significant dose of nicotine and other harmful elements that poison the body. As a rule, one cigarette emits more than 4,000 harmful substances, and heavy smokers smoke a pack a day. Thus, contributing to the chronic poisoning of the body. In addition, in people who smoke, part of the food they eat is simply not absorbed, since the stomach and intestines are not able to digest it. Having got rid of nicotine addiction, the body is cleansed, the digestive system completely digests the incoming food, giving the body more nutrients. As a result, the weight increases.

# 2 Improved appetite... 2-3 weeks after quitting cigarettes, the sensitivity of taste and olfactory receptors is restored, and appetite wakes up. The food tastes better, and it makes you want to eat much more. It is quite difficult to cope with increased appetite, however, if you replace heavy fatty and flour foods with vegetables and fruits, weight gain can be avoided.

# 3 Sucking reflex... Long years of smoking lead to the fact that a person gets used to constantly holding a cigarette in his mouth. A so-called sucking reflex is formed, like in small children who are accustomed to a dummy. Abrupt cessation of smoking leads to the fact that a person, by inertia, replaces a cigarette with food. And at first, you should carefully control yourself: eat because you really feel hungry, or you just want to hold something in your mouth.

American psychologists are sure that smoking and binge eating are twin brothers, because they are responsible for the same substances - endocannabinoids. Therefore, gaining excess weight is not so much the result of quitting cigarettes as the replacement of one bad habit with another. In addition, both smoking and overeating were found to be indicative of a psychological problem. After all, girls who are dissatisfied with their figure begin to smoke 2 times more often than those who like themselves. At the same time, smoking does not eliminate dissatisfaction with one's own figure.

# 4 Sweet medicine... Quitting smoking, many heavy smokers notice that they are irresistibly drawn to sweets. And this is normal, because sweets are an excellent antidepressant, and the body that quit smoking is under stress. Nicotine is known to increase blood sugar levels, and quitting smoking causes blood sugar levels to drop, thereby increasing hunger. In addition, it is thanks to sweets that vasospasm, resulting from the rejection of nicotine, can be avoided. However, the excessive consumption of sweets cannot but affect the condition of the figure.

# 5 Sedentary lifestyle... Heavy smokers cannot fully engage in sports, since the cardiovascular system and lungs are polluted. As a result, even climbing stairs causes shortness of breath and heart palpitations. The habit of a sedentary lifestyle leads to the fact that former smokers grow fat dramatically. Regular physical activity not only allows you to maintain normal weight, but also gives the body the adrenaline that previously came with cigarettes, relieves lethargy and drowsiness. It should be done according to a sparing program, giving time to the body poisoned with nicotine to return to normal. Walking briskly in the fresh air every day is just as effective as working out in the gym twice a week, because the heart and lungs need time to recover, and oxygen contributes to this like nothing else.

Spanish scientists from the University of Navarra, who observed 7,565 smokers for four years, concluded that active smokers are more prone to gaining excess weight than non-smokers. This took into account the age of the subjects, gender, weight and lifestyle. The more a person smoked cigarettes a day, the more extra pounds he gained when trying to quit smoking. However, those who did not quit smoking still distinguished themselves with the largest gains in excess weight during the study.

To summarize, I would like to note: the best way to lose weight and get a fit figure is a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Smoking is just a bad habit that poisons the body and prevents it from functioning normally, but not a means for losing weight.

Sometimes one gets the impression that disputes about does smoking help to lose weight is not much younger than the proverbial chicken and egg discussions.

In principle, now it is already possible to answer - yes, a cigarette will help to lose a few kilograms, especially if other factors are included in the process - stress, for example. However, the portal about losing weight "Lose Weight Without Problems" invites everyone who is interested to think hard: a do you need to lose weight at this cost?

Will smoking help you lose weight?

Here, you probably need to immediately define the concepts and priorities - for clarity.

Relatively speaking, you can lose weight in different ways: in one case, to achieve a harmonious physique, when your figure pleases the eyes, resembling an elegant statuette, in the other - simply to lose weight. These are two big differences.

After all, it may be so: you are sure that it is nicotine addiction that "keeps" your usual weight, and the arrow of the scales periodically reassures you, freezing at a completely acceptable and already stable level. This is how the legend is born that smoking helps to lose weight. Nevertheless, the intractable mirror displays a certain vague, not at all textured silhouette, which is far from ideal.

So, it is this situation that smokers should be familiar with. Why?

Let's consider both options.

You are a "figurine"

Smoking can’t achieve such a result. The grace of form can be given to you by nature or achieved through exercise and proper nutrition. Only in this way in your body decreases and "grows" exactly where it is needed, only in this way beauty and grace appear.

You are a "blurry silhouette"

According to recent studies, smokers are, on average, several kilograms lighter than non-smokers of similar build. However, this by no means guarantees lovers to raise a sexy figure.

• Dumping of kilograms in this case occurs, firstly, due to decreased appetite, because nicotine suppresses it. Smokers really confirm for the site the fact that it is quite possible to interrupt even severe hunger for a while by smoking a cigarette. However, this cannot be called a positive moment: those who decided to lose weight using smoking, in addition, receive a hefty portion of carbon monoxide and other nasty things. And this is fraught with the most that neither is real poisoning and oxygen starvation. And where there is oxygen hunger, there is premature aging.
• For the same reason, gradually, as they say, Muscles "dry out". And, perhaps, the most unpleasant thing is that a significant part of the weight of nicotine addicts is lost precisely with muscle mass. Is a cigarette really so expensive that the prospect of one "fine" moment right in front of your eyes does not scare you into a decrepit ruin? After all, not only skeletal muscles are threatened, but all internal organs - heart, stomach, intestines ... Why put this tough experiment on yourself - is it possible to lose weight from smoking?
• But body fat does not behave at all as we would like. That in men, that in women who are friends with a cigarette, often selectively swim the stomach and shoulders. And all because the metabolism of smokers is impaired. And it is not at all happy that it is accelerated, which means that it contributes to weight loss (as it turned out, smoking will help to lose weight at all in the wrong places). Not from this good life! Indeed, as a result of exposure to nicotine, the nervous system is overstimulated, catecholamines, also called stress hormones, are intensively produced, and tachycardia occurs. Such artificial spurring only depletes the body's resources. As a result, the effect is often the opposite: instead of cheerfulness - lethargy and apathy.
• Inveterate smokers in general lack of energy- also due to an acute lack of vitamins, the absorption of which smoking actively prevents. But some are sincerely convinced that by taking a drag on a cigarette, you can partially make up for the lack of vitamin PP, or which you can read about on our website. However, this is complete nonsense, because the human body does not have an enzyme that oxidizes nicotine to it!
• In a word, wherever you throw it, there is a wedge everywhere! There is no time for sports and other great things. Yes and lungs will not stand smoker of serious physical activity. Accordingly, a beautiful waist, buttocks and other parts of the body in this case clearly "do not shine."

So, we come close to answering the question of whether smoking helps to lose weight. It is simple: to lose a few pounds - yes, it is possible. But to "model" a slender, seductive figure and at the same time preserve the feminine charm - No no and one more time no!

And you should not be guided by beauties who demonstrate perfect forms in short, tight dresses and at the same time languidly hold a cigarette in their fingers. This tempting picture will remain for a short while!

It turns out that for aspirants it is beautiful and correct - worst enemy! And you shouldn't listen to different speeches that nicotine addiction is one of the strongest human attachments. You will not allow some bad habit to control your health and beauty, which means your life!

You should not once again focus on the fact that smoking is harmful - any schoolchild knows this well. Despite this, many smokers still cannot free themselves from nicotine addiction and, once again failing, simply refuse further attempts, believing that they will be just as unsuccessful. This is especially true for girls who are afraid to gain weight if they quit smoking. Indeed, many think so, but do you really lose weight from smoking? This is what we will find out today.

Many women, believing that they really lose weight from smoking, give up the hard struggle with obesity and start smoking, trying to get an ideal figure at any cost. Of course, this approach can hardly be considered reasonable, since nicotine not only harms the body, but also does not help in any way. How did the prevailing opinion arise that you can lose weight with the help of cigarettes? The fact is that this addiction in some cases can really contribute to weight loss, but nicotine, as well as tar, carcinogens, and other substances contained in tobacco, does not affect fat cells at all. Having started smoking, a person simply changes his lifestyle and, accordingly, his diet, which sometimes causes weight loss.

So, if you decide that you have found an effective way to lose weight, you have to upset you - smoking does not help, so you certainly should not start smoking for this purpose. However, many smokers are convinced of the opposite, which is why American scientists from Yale Medical College decided to understand the relationship between weight and nicotine.

On a note! According to statistics, the weight of a smoker is on average 3 kg less than that of a non-smoker. Therefore, because of smoking, they lose weight, but the reasons for this phenomenon are completely unexpected.

Researchers have voiced 2 possible reasons why this might be happening.

1. Reason # 1. Smoking negatively affects the functioning of the digestive system, therefore, the process of digestion of food and the rate of absorption of nutrients deteriorate. And this, in turn, reduces the amount of kilocalories entering the body. In addition, because of this, appetite worsens, the body weakens, suffering from a deficiency of nutrients and vitamins.
2. Reason # 2. Nicotine depresses the central nervous system and causes a false feeling of satiety. As a result, the amount of food consumed decreases, so the body has to use up the available reserves of nutrients. Because of this, in fact, a person is losing weight.

The second reason should be discussed in more detail. According to the same scientists, nicotine affects not only the pleasure centers, but also the acetylcholine receptors that regulate human eating behavior. Appetite due to nicotine is suppressed even in mice fed with a small amount of this substance. The mice ate half as much as before. Moreover, studies have shown that appetite worsens not because of nicotine addiction.

For the experiment, scientists replaced nicotine with cytisine, which is not addictive. Both substances significantly reduced appetite in rodents. The verdict of American researchers is as follows: nicotine affects the region of the hypothalamus, which contains special receptors that release POMK (proopiomelanocortin). It is a compound involved in appetite control. Because of nicotine, POMK is released more intensively, so the body mistakenly believes that with a minimum amount of food it has already managed to get the required amount of nutrients.

Another possible reason is the illusion of being busy or some important ritual. Also, smoking takes a long time. The average person who smokes a pack a day spends about 1.5 hours on this addiction. It turns out that smoking is also a way to kill the free time that non-smokers are likely to spend on snacking and drinking tea.

What happens in the body at this time?

Smoking affects the body in a complex way and does not bypass any system or internal organ. Initially, vascular spasms are observed, as well as redistribution of blood volumes. The organs "receive less" the amount of oxygen they are supposed to supply, oxygen starvation appears, and all processes in the body slow down (along with the process of fat accumulation). Due to the fact that digestion is slowed down, food stagnates in the intestines and causes poisoning.

You should also know that the weight is not evenly distributed over the smoker's body. In women, for example, in such situations, the figure becomes pear-shaped, and in men - effeminate. Simply put, fat accumulates in the upper body (including the waist). Such a constitution can cause the development of diabetes, heart disease, gall bladder, and in women, cancer of the uterus or breast.

Note! You can learn more about the types of female figures in our article "".

Why do people get fat by quitting smoking?

There are several possible reasons at once, we will consider each of them in more detail.

1. Improved appetite. 2-3 weeks after a person quits smoking, his taste and smell return to their previous pungency, which increases the appetite.
2. Intoxication. One cigarette contains about 400 substances that enter the body through smoke. A person poisons himself, therefore, part of the food consumed is simply not absorbed. And when he quits smoking, he begins to cleanse the body and normalize the digestive processes. As a result, more nutrients enter the body than before, hence the weight gain.
3. The person chews something all the time. This is already a psychological reason, but this state is familiar to many. Having got rid of a bad habit, a person finds another - to chew something all the time. Previously, he “lit up” stress, but now he is “seized”. Due to the intense consumption of calories, weight also increases, but at the same time it is distributed throughout the body correctly, so the risk of developing the diseases listed above does not increase.

Video - Why do we gain weight after quitting smoking?

Is it possible to quit smoking, but not get better?

According to statistics, in a year and a half after quitting smoking, about 80 percent of people gain 3-5 kg. And often the weight of a person who quit smoking is compared with the weight of a nonsmoker, having similar baseline data. We have already figured out why this is happening. But if cigarettes do not help you lose weight, you have a chance to at least avoid weight gain while quitting this addiction. To do this, you need to adhere to a few simple rules.

First of all, you need moderate physical activity. Yes, every organism needs it, but when quitting smoking, it also helps to remove nicotine faster. You should also give up (at least temporarily) high-calorie foods - fatty, sweet, etc. It is useful to acquire a new hobby - at first it will help to distract from the ubiquitous thoughts about cigarettes. You can buy yourself nicotine gum or a similar drug - so you pacify your appetite.

If you still think that you can lose weight from cigarettes, remember: a bad habit can only worsen your health and appearance. Even if you lose a few pounds by using cigarettes, your body will suffer irreparable damage. After all, we found out that smokers lose weight due to health problems, in particular, the digestive system. In a word, there is no direct relationship here.

The "slimming" effect of nicotine has been proven. Nicotine suppresses hunger, promotes the expenditure of more energy, has a distracting property when a person smokes a cigarette instead of a sandwich with sweet tea.

Nicotine enhances the breakdown of fats, affects the taste buds, reducing the attractiveness and appetizing of food.

Therefore, smoking and losing weight are closely related.

However, this is only one side of the coin, and the negative impact of tobacco smoke on the human body, and, in particular, on the figure, is much greater.

How does smoking interfere with weight loss?

Under the tooth enamel becomes thinner, the gums become sensitive, and food enters the body in an insufficiently chewed form. After a smoke break, profuse salivation begins, the stomach stops digesting food.

Poorly digested food does not leave the body for a long time, having a toxic effect. There is a lack of collagen, which affects the skin, which becomes dry, inelastic, wrinkled, and cellulite appears. If a person loses weight at this time, the skin becomes saggy.

Physical activity does not bring the desired effect. The cigarette helps the toned muscles return to a relaxed state, plus the general physical condition does not allow you to exercise correctly. Due to lack of physical activity, the muscle corset decreases and the body becomes lax.

Smoking can cause hormonal disruptions in the body, disruption of the endocrine system. In this case, an imbalance in the figure may occur: in some places a person loses weight, while others, on the contrary, get better, that is, compensation occurs.

Correctly, weight loss occurs when metabolic processes in the body work harmoniously. Smoking, on the other hand, contributes to their violation. Thus, nicotine, despite the apparent help in losing weight, in the end will have a huge devastating effect not only on health in general, but also on the figure.

Diets and smoking

There are a myriad of diets designed to help you shed those extra pounds.

Mono diet

A diet that involves the use of only one product during the day. The list of products is limited to kefir, cottage cheese, fish, vegetables and fruits.

Russian diet

A diet based on the consumption of cereals, to which milk, fruits and vegetables are added.

Smart diet

The so-called principle of separate nutrition, in which proteins and carbohydrates are eaten separately, with breaks of at least 3 hours.

Dukan's diet and the Kremlin diet

Eating styles with predominantly protein foods in the diet. Be careful with the Ducan diet, there are a lot of negative reviews.

Kim Protasov's diet

Involves eating large quantities of raw vegetables.

What kind of diet is most suitable for a person who has decided to quit smoking and get in shape with his figure? The answer is no! Combining nicotine withdrawal with strict restrictions on food means exacerbating stress for the body. Your willpower may be enough to give up one thing - either nicotine or food. Combining a diet with quitting smoking, you run the risk of breaking loose and taking up a cigarette again.

First of all, it is necessary to "teach" your body to function normally, to digest the incoming nutrients well, to remove waste products and slags in time. To avoid early weight gain, cut your diet by 200 calories - this is the amount smokers spend on cigarettes.

For a person who quits smoking, the most reasonable solution would be to exclude harmful foods - fatty, spicy, sweet, fried, add healthy foods - cereals, vegetables, fruits, fish and lean meat, break the daily diet into 5-6 meals.

Eat small meals and chew slowly to help you avoid overeating. Take your time to succeed in losing weight, even keeping your weight at the same level after quitting smoking will be an excellent result. And a little later, the body will completely rebuild, the metabolism will improve, and you may not need any diets.