Great American Smokeout 2009 Quit smoking without gaining weight

November 19th is the Great American Smokeout.

Photo by: Wikimedia Commons

Today is the Great American Smokeout, where millions (hopefully) will make the decision to quit smoking for good. But people often worry about weight gain that seems to often follow giving up cigarettes.

Smoking does appear to slightly boost metabolism and burn calories, but the change is not likely the primary reason for the weight gain. Nicotine acts as an appetite suppressant, making you less hungry. Also, tobacco smoke dulls the taste buds, which quickly shed and new ones grow in their place - making foods taste better.

A recent study found that nicotine replacement products are very helpful when quitting smoking. Continuing to have a source of nicotine may help break the cigarette habit without causing too much of an appetite change. But there are ways to prevent or minimize weight gain while quitting:

Eat slowly and chew food longer. If you are used to rushing through meals to smoke, you may find that you eat more calories in a sitting because you are eating for a longer period of time. Take time to savor your food.

Keep healthy snacks close by. When you quit smoking, your hands are often left feeling like they have nothing to do, so you reach for food. Make your snacks low calorie and high fiber so that they are filling without packing on the pounds. Try vegetable sticks, fresh fruit, low-fat popcorn, or sunflower seeds.

Drink something. Often you can quell a hunger sensation with a low-calorie drink, such as herbal tea, water, or diet lemonade. Avoid caffeinated products, such as diet colas though these can actually increase appetite.

Also avoid alcohol. Alcohol is not only a high source of calories, without many nutrients, it often leaves you craving a cigarette since many people associate smoking and drinking as activities to do together.

Keep your mouth busy with sugar free candy or gum.

Go for a walk. Exercise can help you beat cravings for both cigarettes and junk food.

The American Heart Association offers tips for managing the situations that may tempt you to eat more and gain weight on their website.

Great Ways To Quit Smoking

Today, smokers can choose more ways to quit smoking to help them quit smoking for good. Choosing one that is right for you is essentially a matter of preference, barring any medical concerns you may have. It is possible to learn how to replace your smoking habits, manage your cravings, and join the millions of people who have kicked the habit for good!

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

NRT involves replacing cigarettes with other nicotine substitutes, such as nicotine gum or a nicotine patch. It works by delivering "small and steady doses" of nicotine into the body to relieve some of the withdrawal symptoms without the tars and poisonous gases found in cigarettes. It can help relieve some of these symptoms so that you can focus on the psychological aspects of quitting.

There are several nicotine replacement products currently available over-the-counter, including two nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges. Whatever type you use, take your NRT at the recommended dose, and for as long as it is recommended. If you are a very heavy smoker or a very light smoker, you may want to talk with your doctor about whether your NRT dose should be changed to better suit your situation.

Stop Smoking Programs

Quitting smoking is challenging, and having the right people around you can make all the difference. Stop smoking programs are designed to help smokers recognize and cope with problems that come up during quitting. Studies have shown that the best programs will include either one-on-one or group counseling.

Although after knowing the side effects of smoking many people have tried to quit smoking but were often unsuccessful due to addiction. In order to make the smoker quit smoking, several stop smoking programs are available which use their own unique method to get rid of smoking. It provide an opportunity for smokers to help each other without a formal counselor.

Stop Smoking Herbs

Stop smoking herbs have become very popular among the smokers as a method to quit smoking. Compare to other quit smoking methods, stop smoking herb is more healthy natural way. Moreover, you can these stop smoking herbs through the over-the-counter easily.

Combination of the right herbs can be very effective in helping you to stop smoking. For instance, you can purchase calming herbs that help you deal with the stress of quitting, or you can purchase herbs that help with your irritability, depression or moodiness. These herbals are even more powerful if you combine them with other natural ways to quit like acupuncture or hypnotherapy.

There are also several stop smoking tip and smoking cessation program that may aid smokers to finally give up on this tenacious habit. The majority of smokers want to quit and have tried to quit smoking in the past 12 months, but only around 1% of smokers who try to quit on their own successfully do so. So, they must have the will power to overcome the craving for cigarette.

A Great Way to Quit Smoking

It's finally time for you to really do it this time.For years, you have thought about quitting your smoking habit, but you just haven't been able to find something that really works for you.It's a difficult process, this idea of quitting.But you are likely aware of the health benefits that will be included for you and your family in your successful completion of this goal.By starting your quitting process by switching to a special kind of electronic cigarette, you are sure to go farther than you ever dreamed into the important process of kicking your smoking habit.

Sometimes the hardest thing is simply that you've been doing it a long time.Smoking has become a habit--something that you do multiple times a day.It is now part of your routine, and, if it is bad enough, you may even have much of your life revolving around this action.For that reason, it can be difficult to quit cold turkey, or even resort to chewing gum or wearing a patch.Even the physical motions associated with smoking are so familiar to you, that it may even seem almost wrong to not engage in them at all.

The electronic cigarette is designed to help you take gradual steps down from your smoking habit without psychologically sending you into shock by disengaging in your habitual actions all at once.They look, feel, and even taste like an actual cigarette, but are loaded with only a few chemicals and a bit of nicotine, which is a great step down from what you would find in a regular cigarette.It also is made to be smokeless, which naturally helps you and the people in your immediate surroundings to avoid the other negative effects from traditional cigarettes.

Keep in mind that the addiction to cigarettes is also due to the fact the habit of smoking, or rather, engaging in the activity, is a factor in why it is nearly impossible to quit in the first place.

Thus, that's the reason why using cessation devices such as nicotine gum and patches are hardly an alternative since it is not addressing the main issue: the actual habit of lighting up a cigarette. By using your electronic cigarette, you can quickly find that the idea of actually quitting is possible--and not as hard as you thought. Take a good step forward, and purchase one today.