The best action you can take to improve your health is to quit smoking neither you are worried about gaining weight or not. Most people worry about gaining weight while quitting smoking, but some easy changes in your life, like developing healthier eating and physical activity habits, will help you to control your weight gain when you quit smoking.
If you are concerned about weight gain, remove high fat foods from your home. Try to gradually improve your eating habits. Choose a variety of foods each day, to make sure you get all needed for good health. Eat plenty of grain products, vegetables, and fruits. Choose lean foods and low-calorie beverages most often. Choose low fat dairy products, lean meats, fish, poultry, and dry beans to get the nutrients you need without extra calories and fat. Choose less often foods high in fat and sugars and low in nutrients.
Because quitting smoking slows the metabolism, getting some form of daily exercise is very important. Becoming physically active is a healthy way to control your weight and take your mind off smoking. Exercise also increases your energy, promotes self-confidence, improves your health, and may help relieve the stress and depression caused by the lack of nicotine in your body. Simple ways to become more physically active include gardening, housework, mowing the lawn, playing actively with children, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
The health risks of smoking are far greater than the risks of gaining 5 to 10 pounds. You would have to gain about 100 to 150 pounds after quitting to make your health risks as high as when you smoked. At least 25% of all former smokers so fear weight gain they actually lose weight once they have quit! In addition, former smokers enjoy rush of energy and become more physically involved in their daily course of living. This spending of energy results in the burning off of more calories daily ... which then contributes to weight loss … NOT weight gain!