It is possible to lose weight and keep it off after smoking, but just as with quitting cigarette smoking, the key is discipline when it comes to snacking as well as knowledge about what foods you are eating. You would rather prevent the weight gain than have to undertake the task of losing the weight.

There are two activities that contribute to weight gain after quitting cigarettes. The first involves snacking throughout the day. This is done for a number of reasons – to distract you from the thought of cigarettes and to keep your mouth and hands and busy. The other tendency is to consume high calorie and high fat foods, especially those high in sugar. This gives a person small bursts of energy which may not match the effect of nicotine as a stimulant but may avoid the ‘downer’ periods that one would experience when they would usually have a smoker. Combining both these activities will mean even quicker weight gain.

Tips to Avoid Weight Gain When Quitting Smoking

• Use a nicotine replacement (NRT) product if necessary. This will help you overcome your nicotine addiction without shifting it to food.
• If you are feeling the withdrawal symptoms of quitting cigarettes, try to take a walk or drink a non-caffeinated low calorie drink. Both these activities will help to distract you without poling on the pounds.
• While you should stay away from the smokers, you should also keep your distance from the snackers, especially at the office. Don’t get into the habit of joining the crowd at the coffee pot or for a snack every hour.
• Don’t respond to your body’s every whim. Nicotine suppresses your appetite. Now that you have quit, you will find that you will feel hungry more often. Use common sense to decide when you need to eat or not.
• Start on a low GI (glycemic index) eating plan. This will give you sustained energy throughout the day rather than blood sugar peaks and dips which you may mistaken for the withdrawal symptoms of nicotine.

Remember quitting smoking is not easy. But trying to lose weight at a later stage can be just as difficult.

Weight gain affects one’s health and even if it does not immediately lead to a chronic condition, it does reduce energy levels and impair physical fitness. Being overweight or obese does not only mean that you have larger stores of fat. Your hormone levels, organ functioning (especially the heart, pancreas and lungs) and metabolism are all integral parts of survival that are impaired to varying degrees by being overweight or obese. In order to effectively lose weight, your doctor or physician has to overlook all aspects of your health – physical, mental and emotional – to ensure that you return to your optimal level of functioning without a risk of relapsing or complications.

A medical doctor or physician specializing in weight loss will treat your case holistically. Blood tests, urine and stool analysis and a cardiopulmonary evaluation will allow your doctor to assess your current state of health and level of physical fitness before you stat on your medical weight loss plan. It will also allow you doctor to decide on the best medical options for weight management, which will usually involve more than one course of treatment. This may include :

• weight loss surgery (like gastric bypass surgery)
• medical weight loss diet
• weight loss drugs
• physical exercise program
• psychological counseling
• support groups

Most of these treatment options are not available from a non-medical weight loss consultant. Furthermore, should you start on a diet or exercise program that can lead to medical complications, like a heart attack, a non-medical weight loss consultant cannot be held liable. Most health insurance plans and medical aid schemes will not pay for medical weight loss plans overseen by a doctor or physician. However, you can rest assured that with a medical professional overlooking your program, you are more likely to find lasting results with few or no complications.

After all if calorie input through food is lower that calorie output through physical activity, one would lose weight. In terms of starvation, however, this is not the case as the body switches into ‘starvation mode’ and triggers a hormonal response that is not conducive for weight loss.

For further clarity, any of these conditions can trigger the body to switch into ‘starvation mode’ :

• Calorie-resticted diets that limit consumption below 1,000 calories per day for an adult.
• Skipping meals for long periods during waking hours and eating only one proper meal in a day.
• Undernourishment and malnutrition.
• Eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia nervosa, binge-eating and compulsive over-eating.

The starvation ‘mode’ is a survival response triggered when the body lacks sufficient nutrition for long periods. This reestablishes the metabolic rate of the body and a lower set point is maintained so that the body consumes minimal calories for energy production. The first symptoms associated with this response are fatigue, poor concentration, dizziness and constipation.

If a normal calorie intake cannot be restored, weight loss and muscle wasting will occur. This typically fits in with the image of a starving child due to famine or an anorexic. In this case, a person’s life is under threat unless proper nutrition can be restored and maintained.

Once a normal eating pattern returns, the body will continue to operate at starvation mode, contemplating the next period of starvation. In this instance, the body will store as many calories as possible as fat and use only minimal amounts for the body’s daily energy needs. Fatigue and poor concentration often persists and the person is also at a higher risk of developing conditions like diabetes.

If you are considering a weight loss program, always speak to a medical doctor or dietitian about a medical weight loss diet. Most medical weight loss plans will ensure that the starvation mode is not triggered despite a reduced calorie intake.

The three main components of any medical weight loss diet will be :

1. Calorie reduction.
2. Low glycemic index (GI).
3. High to moderate protein.

Calorie Reduction

The average adult male should consume approximately 2,500 calories per day while the average adult female will require approximately 2,000 calories a day. These average daily calorie requirements may vary depending on your BMI (based on height and weight), level of daily activity and the extent of the weight loss required.

Your medical weight loss diet will firstly assess your current eating habits and estimate your approximate calorie intake. This estimate is derived both by your food journal which will be compiled prior to the commencement of your medical weight loss program. Your current calorie intake can also be estimated scientifically by using biodynamic equations. Your doctor and dietitian will the construct an eating plan to ensure that your calorie intake is gradually reduced until it reaches the average calorie intake for your weight and height.

Low Glycemic Index

Your medical weight loss diet will also consist of a list of low GI foods which can be consumed during the course of your weight management program. Your doctor and dietitian will also provide your with a list of high GI foods in order to make you aware of which foods are counterproductive to your weight loss program.

High Protein

Your doctor will assess your individual daily protein requirement. In order to speed up your weight loss, this daily protein requirement may be increased by up to 50% . This is not advisable if you suffer with high uric acid levels (hyeruricemia) or kidney disorders. Your doctor will take these factors into consideration before prescribing your required daily protein intake.

When your body requires nutrition, it alerts the satiety center in the brain to trigger the feeling of hunger. After eating a meal, the satiety center is able to detect the nutrients that is being absorbed into the blood stream and switches ‘off’. Certain foods like protein will switch the satiety center ‘off’ while other foods like carbohydrates and fats are less effective in doing so. In any weight loss program, protein plays a vital role in controlling your appetite and making you feel full for longer.

Protein is a major component of muscle cells. Since these cells have the most amount of mitochondria (energy factories), it is crucial to keep the muscles in a healthy state. The larger the muscle cell, the more calories it will burn to produce energy. Muscle cells require physical activity and protein to increase and maintain their size.

Therefore protein will indirectly increase your metabolism by nourishing the best calorie consumers in your body, namely the mitochondria rich muscle cells.

Ounce for ounce, protein has less calories than carbohydrates and fats. Apart from the lower calorie intake when eating protein, this nutrient also lowers the glycemic index of foods. As far as possible, high calorie and high GI foods should be excluded from any weight loss program. This is not always possible and by eating high protein foods, you can ensure that the total GI of the meal is reduced.

The importance of protein for weight loss cannot be overemphasized. At the same time, high protein diets with little or no carbohydrates or fats is not advisable. These high protein diets can strain the liver and kidneys ultimately leading to health complications which may be more detrimental than obesity.

1. The rate at which the body’s cells take up the glucose from the blood stream.
2. The rate at which the liver processes and releases the glucose into the blood stream.

High glycemic index foods are rapidly absorbed, processed and released into the blood stream. This causes a spike in the blood glucose levels as the body’s cells will not take up the glucose fast enough. The endocrine system then steps in and increases the production of a hormone known as insulin. This forces the cells to take in more glucose than they need in order to reduce the blood glucose level and maintain it within the normal range. Insulin also triggers the body to convert excess glucose into fat and store it for later use.

Low glycemic index foods are slowly absorbed and processed. This means that there is a gradual release of simple sugars into the blood stream. The blood glucose levels do not increase sharply. The body’s cells are not forced to take in more glucose than they require and glucose conversion into fat will not be necessary.

Simply, the glycemic index of a food is the rank of its ability to increase your blood glucose level which in turn determines fat storage. It is commonly referred to as the GI of a food and is most relevant for carbohydrates.

By understanding the properties of foods you will be able to control what and how you eat in conjunction with your medical weight loss plan. Glycemic index is a fundamental component of any weight loss program along with other dietary aspects like calorie restriction and protein intake.

By consulting a medical practitioner for your weight loss requirements, you can rest assured that your health status, preexisting medical conditions and any other underlying factors will be taken into consideration when developing your own individualized weight management plan.

Your doctor will firstly assess your status and identifying any contributing factors that may be playing a significant role both in your weight gain and in your inability to lose weight. Initially you will be presented with comprehensive weight loss eating plan along with an exercise schedule. This is the simplest and most effective way of losing weight and keeping it off. If you have any underlying conditions, like hypothyroidism, which may be contributing to your weight gain, then your doctor will take the necessary steps to assess the condition and ensure proper management.

A medical weight loss plan is developed with three points in mind :

1. Lose weight gradually.
2. Prevent further weight gain.
3. Improve the patient’s health status.

This is usually done with a weight loss diet and activity schedule.

Your medical weight loss eating plan may encompass one or more of the following approaches :

• Calorie restricted diet.
• High protein diet.
• Low GI (glycemic index) diet.

Failure to yield any results while on a medical weight loss plan will prompt your doctor to investigate further and consider other options. This may include :

• Weight loss drugs.
• Weight loss surgery.

These options are reserved for extreme cases where a morbidly obese patient is at a high risk of complications due to obesity and serious medical intervention is required.

A medical weight loss plan will also focus on the psychological component of weight gain. Your doctor may refer you to a psychologist for counseling and to learn coping skills to deal with improper eating habits like comfort eating. Psychological conditions like depression may require professional treatment to ensure the success of your medical weight loss plan and your doctor may also request that you consult with a psychiatrist at some stage in your program.