Why do smokers gain weight when they quit smoking?

 
 

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I’m guessing if you’re reading this, you’ve quit smoking, gained weight and you’re wondering if your metabolism has completely died. That’s what happened to me.

When I quit smoking back in 2020 I made it 35 days without a cigarette. BUTT (no pun intended), I gained a whopping 15 pounds in those miserable 35 days, hence The Smoking 15.

My withdrawal symptoms were so bad I decided to relapse. When I started smoking again, the weight gain came right off, I regained energy and mental clarity and my metabolism came back. As a smoker, I felt a million times healthier and better!

So why did my metabolism STOP when I quit smoking???

I’ve researched this for a year and have linked data from various scientific studies that may help to explain why weight gain seems to be a non-negotiable part of smoking cessation.

The weight gain smokers experience when they quit smoking is real (and no, it’s not because they don’t exercise enough or eat too much). Slowed metabolism in smoking cessation may be caused by any or all of the following:

What actually slows down your metabolism in cessation could be one of the above or a combination of different things going on in our body when we quit.

Do you feel the “healing” yet? Yes, you do. They’re called “withdrawal symptoms.” Interestingly, when you understand all the hoops your body must jump through to heal and repair from smoking, the endless list of awful withdrawal symptoms become more understandable and also more manageable. As an example, a well documented withdrawal symptom of smoking cessation is low dopamine, which is associated with sluggishness and brain fog.

Whether you seek to quit smoking without gaining weight or just want to manage your withdrawal symptoms when you quit, hopefully the information I’ve compiled for you here is helpful. Quitting smoking is an opportunity for positive change in our lives as non-smokers and also a wonderful opportunity to become more tuned in with how we’re feeling and to really start listening to our bodies.

That said - Always speak with your doctor before taking supplements.

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About Me

45 year old female. I’ve smoked for over 25 years. “Argghhhh!”

Every time I’ve tried to quit, I gain weight, am constantly fatigued and I feel like crap, which is why I keep returning to cigarettes.

Anyone who tells you, you need to exercise more and eat healthier to avoid this weight gain in cessation, has probably never quit smoking without some sort of aid to avoid this weight gain. Anyone that tells you that a few extra pounds are a worthwhile health benefit to quitting smoking probably hasn’t experienced gaining 15% of their body weight in one month and had their metabolism completely stop.

The point is… when we quit smoking, we should feel amazing without going on some crazy health food diet where we also have to give up our favorite foods.

In 2020, when I quit smoking, I exercised, ate less than 1200 calories a day and I gained 15 pounds in one month before relapsing. I’ve spent the past year researching what happens in the body during smoking cessation that can cause this weight gain and all of that research is shared here on this site.

With all this research in hand, I’m quitting smoking again. This time I’m taking supplements to avoid weight gain, and other unpleasant withdrawal symptoms of quitting smoking (like fatigue, lack of energy and brain fog), and as I test out these supplements in my quit journey I’ll be sharing my results and updating what worked for me and what didn’t.