To be frank, even if someone would’ve told me that I couldn’t have cared less, because I was overwhelmed by the idea of not touching cigarettes again. But my struggle with nicotine addition is a completely different story…

Weight gain when you quit smoking is going to happen no matter what you do mostly because most smokers are usually malnourished already. Even if this is not visible in the pounds they weight, they surely lack plenty vitamins and minerals and the protein metabolism in they bodies in all messed up. Also, smokers tend to forget about sports, because if they smoke long enough they will feel unable to do some basic exercises. If I tried to run for only a couple of feet, I would feel a burning pain in my chest and the shorted breath stopped me every time. Also, when I was smoking I was consuming a lot less water than normal. Mainly because with every cigarette I lighted I needed something to go along with it and that was usually a cup of coffee. Drinking all that coffee disallowed by body to feel thirsty…or hungry. After quitting, all the thirst and hunger sensation were back and stronger than ever. I was like being born again, and I was happy to see the food tasting better, but never thought about weight gain when you quit smoking issues. Not at that point.

And the months passed, and everyone was congratulating me and the pounds continued to add until it was obvious that I was beginning to fell tired and unwell again. This time it wasn’t the nicotine and coffee that made me feel like that, this time was all that extra fat that was a new addition to by body. Maybe if you are a bit overweighed by nature you feel differently when you gain a bit of weight, but for me this was like a true torture: each pound seemed to weight as much as ten. I was really tired and I went to see my doctor. All my eating, all the fats and sweets caused me to almost double my weight is less than a year. That was huge and the doctor said that I was almost obese. Me, obese!

At this point I had to turn to those friends I used to laugh at back when I had no weight problems. Now it was their turn to laugh, but they didn’t. Instead they helped me lose the weight I’ve gained. You see, having to deal with weight problems their entire lives changed the way they treat others with the same issues, because they understand. I couldn’t understand before, so I was mean to them. We decided that I needed a diet to return me to normal weight. It took me almost another year to do this, and the weight gain when you quit smoking effects are still visible sometimes, because I didn’t know how to stop in time. The frequent eating I did affected my metabolism in so many ways that it is very hard to speed it up efficiently. Anyway, with lost of efforts, I managed to regain a rather normal weight, but I’m on a regular diet plan. Not really a diet but more like a healthy eating plan: I eat cereals, raw foods and foods that are not very processed and fish or chicken, and also seeds. But the main thing that turned my life around was exercising. Without my daily running hour I would still be overweighed.

If I were to quit smoking again now, with all my knowledge against weight gain when you quit smoking I would do everything quite differently. Maybe a minimal weight gain would still occur, but I wouldn’t double my weight for sure. When you quit smoking you can go for a simple detox diet. That should keep you off eating unhealthy stuff because you are stress at least for one or two weeks. The best choice is a meat free diet or a raw food diet. Then, I would try do exercise the very first day I quit. Since the nicotine is gone, why worry I will get tired? I might be hard at first but things will only get better in time. In a word, I would do everything in my power not to let smoking further ruin my life even after I’ve decided to quit.

If you eat more than food compared to the rest of the day after 6 pm and struggle with weight you may be suffering from Night Eating Syndrome as known as NES. This eating behavior is very common with people suffering from weight related issues.

Studies have shown people struggling with weight issues often eat after 6pm at night. This means their bodies are not able to burn the extra calories and carbohydrates consumed after a certain time of the day. There are ways to help with the syndrome of nighttime eating to reduce the chances of weight gain.

NES is generally the lack of hunger in the morning, frequent high stress levels during the day, trouble sleeping, and eating larger amount of calories later in the day. Eating during the latter part of the day and evening increases the levels of higher weight, depression, including reduced hunger during the day with strong urges to eat late at night leading to low levels of self-esteem.

People suffering with NES make it hard for many to lose weight as well as have weight gain. They are not alone in the fact of the weight issues. Studies have shown stress and the intake of nighttime carbs creates this situation. Consuming carbs during the evening increases serotonin, which is a natural mood enhancer. People suffering from depression have lower levels of serotonin within the brain. Frequent evening eating of carbs is one of the characteristics of NES.

To understand the true reasons for the nighttime eating, understanding the entire day’s situations is required. Different situations can and will cause the nighttime eating habit. To do this will help the people suffering from NES find ways to break the habit that leads to their weight problems.

Begin by keeping a journal to track the issues of the day for at least two days to see what the triggers are that is causing the nighttime eating. Recommendations to help stop or reduce the current eating habits begin by recognizing the stresses and triggers of the common day for the individual. Since most people tend to wake up each morning not being hungry due to the nighttime eating, the goal is to start increasing the morning hunger to help with the lower glucose levels that lead to the feeling of fatigue and leading to the nighttime eating habits.

Start the new day by changing the old eating habits with making the changes to the old eating habits. At 3pm, consume one to two tablespoons of whey concentrate with a melted fat. This mixture will help to reduce the nighttime eating urges. At the nighttime meal, eat turkey or another meal without carbs. If you get the urge to consume any carbs during the evening, use the same mixture from 3pm. The removal of fats from your meal will help you sleep and keep your blood sugar low. You will wake hunger the next morning yet that is the goal.

The second day, eat a breakfast of oatmeal with honey for a sweetener plus a piece of whole grain toast, two eggs, and half a cup of cottage cheese. It is important you consume a large breakfast to break the old eating habits so you can remove the hunger later in the evening. Use the mixture at 3pm again today.

Continue using this new eating habit to break the NES you have been suffering from and to lose the weight. You will begin to lose weight since you are no longer eating the calories and carbohydrates late at night.