You know how smoking increases metabolism...

[AngeNZ]

OK so smoking increases your metabolism. Have you guys found a difference when moving to vaping? Stopped smoking 2 months ago, now I'm vaping 18mg ejuice regularly and I've gained a wee bit of weight. But I've also got a broken leg so I'm not exactly as active as I was 2 months ago!

Just interested in other peoples experiences on this. Not worried about gaining weight, but I am curious about this.

Thanks,
Ange

 

[Izan]

OK so smoking increases your metabolism. Have you guys found a difference when moving to vaping? Stopped smoking 2 months ago, now I'm vaping 18mg ejuice regularly and I've gained a wee bit of weight. But I've also got a broken leg so I'm not exactly as active as I was 2 months ago!

Just interested in other peoples experiences on this. Not worried about gaining weight, but I am curious about this.

Thanks,
Ange

Hi and welcome,

"Although an acute effect due to smoking is apparent, its magnitude is inconsistent across studies, possibly because of variability in smoke exposure or nicotine intake. In smokers at rest, the acute effect of smoking (and nicotine intake) appears to be significant but small (less than 10% of RMR) and transient (less than or equal to 30 min). However, the specific situations in which smokers tend to smoke may mediate the magnitude of this effect, inasmuch as smoking during casual physical activity may enhance it while smoking after eating may reduce it. Sympathoadrenal activation by nicotine appears to be primarily responsible for the metabolic effect of smoking, but possible contributions from nonnicotine constituents of tobacco smoke and behavioral effects of inhaling may also be important. Improved understanding of these metabolic effects may lead to better prediction and control of weight gain after smoking cessation, thus increasing the likelihood of maintaining abstinence." LINK


I would point the finger of blame at your immobility.

get well soon
Cheers
I

 

[Walee]

Has not been a problem with vaping. Other cessation methods were a different story. I could taste and smell and had nothing to satisfy my oral fixation with but food. With vaping it would seem that even though food is much better, I am still not constantly munching from being without something to suck on. At least that's how I read it. As per effect of actual different metabolism, no idea.

 

[listopencil]

I got a guy at work to start vaping a few months ago and then didn't see him again for a while. He looks 20 or 30 pounds heavier. Could just be Winter fat though.

 

[Belhade]

I always thought the weight gain from quitting smoking was from using food to satisfy the hand-to-mouth habit, where vaping covers that.
I personally have a very high metabolism naturally, my body doesn't store fat. The only way I gain weight is in muscle, which requires constant exercise.

 

[chellie]

I gained weight. I also had an injury and was not too active for a bit. Still I attribute my weight gain to quitting analogs. That's been the only downside for me.

 

[Fozzy71]

Nicotine is an appetite suppressant from what I have read, in addition to a stimulant.

 

[Rossum]

I did not gain any weight, in fact, I lost a bit.

However, some months before I quit smoking (without actually intending to!) via vaping, I also changed my eating habits by substantially cutting down on carbs.

 

[Fozzy71]

I did not gain any weight, in fact, I lost a bit.

However, some months before I quit smoking (without actually intending to!) via vaping, I also changed my eating habits by substantially cutting down on carbs.

Diet is king when it comes to weight control and general health. Diet is far more important than exercising if you are trying to lose weight, though obv exercise is important too. I tried low calorie, then low carb, then keto, over the past 4 or 5 years and managed to lose about 25% of my body weight but could never get rid of the cravings for sweets (and blow out cheat days that resulted in a 10 or 15 pound weight gain from my peak low weight when starving myself) until I switched to zero-carb carnivore 3 months ago and finally cut out all the artificial sweeteners. I was finally able to quit tracking CICO and haven't gained a pound while eating 3k or more calories a day (3 pounds of meat on average) and not exercising due to the cold weather. I should be able to drop those 10 or 15 pounds back off easily now on ZC once the weather finally gets above 40 and stays there consistently so I can get back to my daily 5+ mile walks.

 

[Rossum]

Diet is king when it comes to weight control and general health.

I agree. If you do the math on how much exercise it takes to burn "extra" calories, well.. You can't out-run your fork.

IMO, the key is eating foods that that don't make you hungry again soon. Exactly what that means will vary from person to person, but the bottom line is this: Most carbs turn into glucose pretty quickly after you eat them. Then in order to keep your blood sugar under control, your body has no choice but to store that glucose somewhere. Guess how/where? Once it's done done, which usually doesn't take more than a couple of hours, you get hungry again.

 

[JCinFLA]

Just interested in other peoples experiences on this. Not worried about gaining weight, but I am curious about this.

Yep! I definitely gained weight consistently over a 1.5 year time period after I quit smoking. The only thing that had changed to possibly cause it...was that I quit smoking. I've posted about it at length in other posts on here, in the last 2-3 years.

Longer story at least a little shorter - I smoked 1 - 1.5 PAD for 42+ years and had always weighed within a 5lb. range for 45+ years. About 23 years ago, (after losing 18 lbs. in 2 months for no apparent reason, having sleep problems, and an extremely high energy level)...I was diagnosed with pretty bad hyperthyroidism. Since taking the iodine capsule (to essentially "kill off" my thyroid), I've been taking Synthroid as directed. My weight, sleep habits, and energy level were doing fine for all those years since then...until I quit smoking.

After 1.5 years of on-going weight gain and drastically dropping energy level...I insisted on more extensive bloodwork tests, than my usual ones every 6 months to check my TSH levels. It was finally discovered that 1 of my Free T3 or Free T4 levels was a little "out of whack", and I was then slightly hypothyroid. My endo. had me try an additional med to get me back on track, but it didn't agree with me.

So, with his approval, I started to gradually increase my nic mg in my DIY...from the 6mg/mL I'd been vaping for 2 years, to see if I could find "my normal" metabolism again that way. I upped it to 6.5mg for 3 months and lost 9 pounds. My energy level went up noticeably, too. For the next 3 months I raised it to 7mg, and I lost another 6 pounds and my energy level was "to me"...just about what it was years before. I've remained at 7mg since then, have gained no more weight, and my energy level is fine. My bloodwork done for the last year continues to show that I'm no longer borderline hypothyroid and am instead, well-regulated again.

At this point, I wouldn't be concerned with your slight weight increase, especially since you've been laid up with an injury. I was concerned because I'd been the same weight for 22+ years, had no injury, hadn't changed my diet, my snacking habits, nor the amount of food I ate, at all. Yet I packed on 20 pounds in that 1.5 years and my energy level was "in the dirt", so to speak. I knew there was definitely something "not quite right" with me.

 

[90VG]

Maybe you got older... I know my body changed at 44 or so, and I actually have to pay attention to what I eat and exercise. That's about the same time I quit smoking. I'm 10 lbs up from smoking today, but that's including winter fat. (I'm actually at 210 naked.) I'm aiming for 196 this year, and I will make it.

The calories from food (fat) is not pooped out, it's exhaled out. So if you can get yourself moving and breathing hard, you can start burning calories. Doesn't really matter what you are doing, you just gotta start to get winded doing something. The faster you breath from exercise, the faster you burn it.

An example fat molecule:

It comes out as water vapor and carbon dioxide.

I did a somewhat scientific study on this by eating the exact same thing, drinking the exact same thing, and estimating the number of breathes while exercising for a couple weeks. I came up with a result that was I should have lost 1500 kilocalories in a 20-mile bike ride off-road (about 1/2 lb a day). I did.

Keeping that up? A little difficult, but it can be done (but not every day.)

Diet was simple.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 bacon, fried potatoes.
Lunch: 1/2 grilled ham and cheese sandwich
Dinner: Chicken (3/4 thigh), veggies (qty varies) and 1/4 cup rice (dry measurement).

Snacks allowed (protein bars) only during bike trips.

Boring, yes, but I confirmed the study for myself. References available on request.

 

[AngeNZ]

The calories from food (fat) is not pooped out, it's exhaled out. So if you can get yourself moving and breathing hard, you can start burning calories. Doesn't really matter what you are doing, you just gotta start to get winded doing something. The faster you breath from exercise, the faster you burn it.

Oh I love that. I was initially shrinking and thinking back that was when I was on crutches full time. At home I'm using a knee scooter which is convenient, makes me hands free but sure doesn't use as much puff as those crutches do. Used to get puffed crutching to the loo

So I guess I add a bit more walking on the crutches to my PT schedule, if only I could vape & crutch at the same time...

 

[90VG]

I go back to strict workouts tomorrow. Gonna pick up a spin bike so when the weather blows here, I can still workout. Headed somewhere warmer for a week+. Get back into the routine, I don't like the 14 lbs, but winter does that to me.

 

[r055co]

Me, I dropped 40lbs. I credit this mostly due to having more energy, feeling better all around so I naturally became much more active.

 

[90VG]

I was below 200 in summer, due to that effect. But the winters here and location limit activity. Also when I turned 44 beer calories started to count.

@r055co

 

[Fozzy71]

I was below 200 in summer, due to that effect. But the winters here and location limit activity. Also when I turned 44 beer calories started to count. .....

spirits > beer if u r trying to lose weight and don't want to give up the alcohol and their additional calories.

I was a beer drinker when I started trying to lose weight. gave it up completely for a year or two to help with weight loss. When I decided to start drinking again after reaching my goal weight I learned to love bourbon. If you can't drink spirits neat or on the rocks u could try it with some ice and club soda.

 

[90VG]

It's fine, just need more riding. It worked last year dropping nearly 25 lbs.

 

[go_player]

I’m fairly skeptical about most claims regarding metabolism. Unless you have been starved for a while, or have certain medical conditions, your metabolism will not vary much from the norm.

There are in fact some drugs that extreme body-builders take that do affect metabolism, by making certain intra-cellular processes less efficient. But it should be noted that they are extraordinarily dangerous because the excess energy has to go somewhere, and that leads to potentially dangerous higher body temperatures. Even in that extreme case the change in metabolism is on the order of 10%.

People don’t gain weight when they quit smoking because their metabolism changes. They gain weight because 1) cigarettes are a great appetite suppressant, and 2) food is what people turn to when they feel deprived of other things. It’s probably worth it to put down a pint of Ben and Jerry’s every night if that helps you quit, but you will put on some weight if you add a daily pint of ice cream to your normal diet.

 

[90VG]

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