There is no need to 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, having once again failed, simply refuse further attempts, believing that they will be just as unsuccessful. This is especially true for girls who are afraid of gaining weight if they quit smoking. Indeed, many people think so, but do smoking actually make you lose weight? This is what we will find out today.
Do you lose weight from smoking?
Many women, believing that smoking actually makes them lose weight, give up the difficult 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 to lose weight. 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 actually contribute to weight loss, but nicotine, as well as tars, carcinogens, and other substances contained in tobacco, have no effect on fat cells at all. Having started smoking, a person simply changes his lifestyle and, accordingly, his diet, which sometimes causes weight loss.
Do you lose weight from smoking?
One of the loudest topics on the Internet. The problem with excess weight is now so great that people are ready to do anything to change for the better. But are they making the right choice? Is this statement true or is it a myth? At the moment this remains a mystery. Scientists cannot pinpoint the connection between weight and cigarettes. “Can a bad habit really do something good and play a big role in a person’s life?” – these are the words you can hear from various specialists who study this issue. Most smokers claim that they have actually lost weight since they started smoking. Enthusiastic feelings are very often displayed on various forums. People have discussions about how smoking is not only a means of relaxation and calm, but also an insane fat burner. Many people believe in the powerful powers of cigarettes. Others, who refute this hypothesis, cannot accept the fact that a cigarette really affects weight. Is it really? On this issue, scientists are divided into two categories. Some, earlier ones, believe that smoking, like nothing else, affects a person’s weight. Others are sure that there can be no connection between a cigarette and kilograms. Let's look at it more precisely.
Smoking makes you lose weight
“As sad as it may sound, it is true. Smoking cigarettes really affects the weight of the human body,” says one of the professors at an American university. According to American researchers, nicotine accelerates the work of AZGP1, which increases the rate of fat breakdown, as a result of which the mechanism of “drying” of a person begins. These data have been confirmed. Afterwards, a statistical analysis of the weight of smokers and non-smokers was carried out, it was revealed that smokers weigh 4-5 kilograms less than those who do not use tobacco. But their lighter weight did not make them better, since the health of each of them was undermined.
How does this process of losing weight with a cigarette work?
The thing is that when a person smokes, he inhales a dose of nicotine, which dulls the feeling of hunger and appetite altogether. At the same time, it triggers the processes of fat breakdown, which leads to weight loss. This is due to the fact that nicotine promotes the production of a hormone that is responsible for metabolism - catecholamine. As a result, the person loses weight. But this statement does not mean that everyone who is struggling with kilograms needs to run for cigarettes. Smoking does not help you quit smoking - it only helps to kill the body, which is why it will begin to lose pounds. But there is one thing. When a person loses weight, he most often loses the necessary kilograms, that is, he forms an “wrong” figure. Fat begins to be deposited in places where it will be more difficult to remove. Due to tobacco smoke, dehydration occurs in the body, and weight begins to “go away”. As a result, it cannot be said that the transformation was completed with a bang; on the contrary, a certain resemblance to a person appears, with a thin body, pale skin and yellow teeth. But the number on the scale becomes smaller. But is it worth it? Professors who belong to the group who believe that there is a connection between cigarettes and weight still cannot confirm this, since it is considered nonsense, and there is no direct evidence of the existing connection. Therefore, this remains only a guess and scientists continue to further clarify this strange relationship.
The effect of nicotine on the body
Nicotine has a complex negative effect on the body. When smoking, it quickly spreads through the bloodstream throughout all organs. As the number of cigarettes smoked increases, the amount of toxins entering the body also increases.
Nicotine has the following effects on internal organs:
- From the cardiovascular system, vasoconstriction, tachycardia, and increased blood pressure occur.
- Damage to the respiratory system is characterized by impaired drainage function of the bronchi, increased formation of viscous mucus, and worsening of its discharge from the lungs. As a result of the resulting bronchial obstruction, a cough with difficult to separate sputum and shortness of breath appears.
- Nicotine causes a decrease in oxygen levels in the blood and an increase in carbon dioxide. This leads to poor circulation. The color of the skin changes, it becomes dull, with a gray tint.
- Even small doses of nicotine lead to the production of adrenaline and norepinephrine. A person experiences a state of imaginary euphoria and their mood improves. But this effect is short-lived. Immediately after it, the smoker becomes irritable, nervous, and anxious.
- In pregnant women, when smoking, toxic substances penetrate the placenta to the fetus. They can cause developmental disorders in the unborn child and various physical defects.
- Nicotine penetrates muscle tissue. The transversely striated muscles of the heart (myocardium), the smooth muscles of the intestines and skeletal muscles begin to contract excessively. This can lead to the development of coronary heart disease, diseases of the large and small intestines, and myopathy.
- Nicotine causes a redistribution of circulating blood volume. As a result, all processes occurring in the body slow down.
Smoking increases blood pressure.
Smoking also has a negative effect on cognitive functions. A person’s memory, speed of thinking, and attention decrease. He needs more time than before to concentrate, remember something, or quickly make a decision. All reactions slow down, and a gradual decrease in intelligence is possible.
Smoking does not make you lose weight
“Smoking helps you lose weight - it’s a myth,” say scientists from the University of London, who have been studying the problem on a global scale for many years. Here is a statement from one of the scientists studying the relationship between smoking and weight: “For almost seven years, we studied children from ten years of age until adulthood. As children, they were all practically no different from each other in terms of weight. Over time, children began to grow up, and many became addicted to cigarettes. This was good for science. As a result, upon reaching the age of eighteen, a final analysis of the mass of the bodies described was carried out. It was found that smokers were absolutely no different from non-smokers (the subjects were taken of the same build). It follows from this that cigarettes have nothing to do with a person’s body weight. For many years, we were also ready to lean towards the hypothesis that this connection exists, but we believe in what we saw.” Such different statements, but they always had something similar, namely the harm from smoking to the body. Even if a person actually loses weight from smoking, one should not resort to this method. When you have a choice between your figure and your health, you always need to think 10 times so that your choice does not become fatal.
How to deal with this?
To successfully combat the consequences of nicotine addiction, such as obesity, you need not only to teach your body to live without cigarettes, but also to change your behavior and lifestyle in general. What steps need to be taken to do this?
Quit smoking, because only by getting rid of nicotine addiction can you normalize the functioning of your body.
The extra pounds acquired during the smoking period will not go away on their own; the body will need help. To combat excess weight, you need to carefully plan your diet. You should not resort to fasting or a strict diet, but the number of calories consumed at first will have to be controlled. It is best to eliminate fatty, high-calorie foods and flour products from your diet.
The next step is to count the calories you eat per day in order to reduce them by 25% through the following foods. This will allow you to maintain weight without resorting to a strict diet. It is best to observe such a restriction until the craving for cigarettes decreases. This period usually lasts 2 – 3 months.
The main products excluded from the diet will be: candy, ice cream, chocolate, sausage, nuts, cakes and cookies. It is better to replace fried foods with stewed ones, and avoid fast food completely. Literature about the dangers of nicotine and cigarettes, as well as the benefits of vegetables and fruits, as propaganda for a healthy lifestyle, would also be useful here.
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There is no need to 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, having once again failed, simply refuse further attempts, believing that they will be just as unsuccessful. This is especially true for girls who are afraid of gaining weight if they quit smoking. Indeed, many people think so, but do smoking actually make you lose weight? This is what we will find out today.
Do you lose weight from smoking?
Many women, believing that smoking actually makes them lose weight, give up the difficult 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 to lose weight. 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 actually contribute to weight loss, but nicotine, as well as tars, carcinogens, and other substances contained in tobacco, have no effect on fat cells at all. Having started smoking, a person simply changes his lifestyle and, accordingly, his diet, which sometimes causes weight loss.
Smoking makes you fat
This statement is definitely true. Since everyone knows that nicotine dulls all brain processes, therefore, metabolic processes slow down, which leads to an increase in body weight. This statement is officially registered as valid. But still, more often than not, people get fat after they quit smoking, because at the time of smoking, they were actually smaller, this was due, again, to the fact that cigarettes cause dehydration, so a person’s weight was always stable. That is why, most often, people are advised to quit smoking gradually, otherwise a failure may occur, due to the loss of nicotine, the body will begin to relax and the person himself, with the gone habit. Buy a new one and eat a hearty meal. Whether you lose weight from smoking or gain weight - this will always have its own meaning for everyone, everyone on the planet has the right to choose. But not everyone can make the right decision in time. If you decide to lose weight, then find a safer way that will not harm your health, but, on the contrary, will help you overcome excess weight and raise your fighting spirit for many years to come.
What experts say
At the same time, smoking is not always accompanied by slimness. Long-term smokers often experience serious hormonal imbalance, when the body can no longer fully process nutrients. Therefore, even in those people who eat relatively little, the reserves of adipose tissue rapidly increase.
Former smokers also tend to gain weight faster in the first months. Due to severe stress, the number of meals per day can increase up to 8-9 times per day, because of this, people sometimes gain up to 10 kg in the first month.
However, these problems can easily be avoided if you eat right and remember to exercise. Then the metabolism will soon normalize, the work of the endocrine glands will stabilize, and within a few months the weight will return to normal. And other “bonuses” of a nicotine-free life will be added to a slim figure - radiant, smooth skin, shiny hair, strong nails and excellent health in general.
