{"id":47937,"date":"2016-03-01T07:15:23","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T12:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=47937"},"modified":"2021-08-26T14:14:09","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T18:14:09","slug":"quit-smoking-exercise-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/quit-smoking-exercise-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Exercise Could Help You Quit Smoking for Good"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Why
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So you want to quit smoking. And, you\u2019ve also had a 5K race<\/a> lingering on your bucket list for\u2026well, a while. Before you dismiss one to focus on the other, what if we told you that tackling both of these goals at the same time might just be the best thing you\u2019ve ever done for your body? It may sound crazy, but we\u2019ve got the research to prove it.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why experts say you should quit your worst habit and commit to fitness, all at the same time \u2014 and what you need to know to be successful.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 12 Things Nobody Told Me About Losing Weight<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Getting Your Sweat on\u00a0Might Help You Quit\u00a0Smoking<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Nobody\u2019s denying the fact that quitting cigarettes can be is-this-really-worth-it<\/em> levels of hard. But according to Carol Southard<\/a>, RN, MSN, a tobacco treatment specialist at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern University<\/a>, research shows that there are higher quit rates when exercise is involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cExercise increases endorphins<\/a>, is a form of stress relief, helps with sleep<\/a> at night and helps [prevent] weight gain,\u201d Southard says. \u201cMost of all, smokers who exercise while quitting recognize the benefits sooner than smokers who quit without exercising. I really push it in my practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

It turns out that the feel-good sensations triggered by exercise are similar to those from nicotine, and could help replace your cigarette cravings. In one UK study<\/a>, smokers who rode a stationary bike for just 10 minutes after not smoking for 15 hours reported they had less of an urge to smoke than people who just sat passively. Plus, among the exercisers, brain scans showed increased activation in the area of the brain associated with reward and motivation \u2014\u00a0the same area thought to be responsible for the feel-good effects of nicotine and other addictive drugs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just cardio that can do the trick, either. Strength training can help ease tobacco cravings too, according to a 2011 study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research<\/em><\/a>. Researchers found that when smokers were given a brief counseling session and nicotine patches, plus 12 weeks of weight training, they were 20 percent more likely to report not having smoked in the past week at a six-month check-in than those were got counseling and patches alone. Talk about major gains.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> E-Cigarettes: The Side Effects Nobody Talks About<\/a><\/p>\n

Just Don\u2019t Try to Diet, Too<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Trust us: While getting fit and quitting cigs are great goals \u2014\u00a0don\u2019t try to lose weight at the same time, too. Nicotine is an appetite suppressant, and about a third of people gain weight after quitting, says Scott McIntosh<\/a>, PhD, associate professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center<\/a> and director of the Center for a Tobacco-Free Finger Lakes<\/a>. Luckily, increasing physical activity can help you avoid too much<\/em> weight gain.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s OK to put a pause on your weight loss ambitions until you\u2019ve got the whole smoking thing under control. \u201cExperts agree that being five to eight pounds heavier is much healthier than continuing to smoke,\u201d says McIntosh. \u201cInstead of focusing on quitting smoking and losing weight, people should focus on quitting smoking and increasing regular physical activity for an overall approach to living healthier.\u201d Among people who do gain a few after quitting, it\u2019s usually easily lost once the body readjusts, says Southard.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> What the Color of Your Pee Means About Your Health<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Your Body Will Thank You<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Neither quitting smoking nor starting a new exercise routine are easy feats. To keep yourself motivated and improve your chances of success, Southard recommends checking in with your body regularly to enjoy the changes you\u2019re feeling and their effect on your energy level, health and appearance.<\/p>\n

There will be unseen effects, too: One study<\/a> compared the blood vessel function of 1,500 people before they quit smoking, and one year later. They found a one percent change in flow-mediated dilation (FMD) \u2014 which translates to a 14 percent lower rate of cardiovascular disease. Plus, according to the American Heart Association, after one to nine months of smoke-free living, you can expect clear and deeper breathing<\/a> to gradually return \u2014 which means you may feel less winded during tough workouts to boot.<\/p>\n

If you want to quit smoking but you\u2019re not sure where to start, talk to your doctor or call the National Quitline for support, suggests McIntosh. Quitline support is available by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visiting www.smokefree.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve been meaning to quit smoking \u2014 oh, and renew that gym membership \u2014 for a while now, here\u2019s why you might want to go ahead and do both at once. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,11],"tags":[217,289,224,341,373],"class_list":["post-47937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-health-hacks","tag-disease","tag-exercise","tag-illness","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2quit-smoking"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47937\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}