Q: How can I give up smoking without piling on the pounds as I have done in the past?

[ukhudshanskiy]

A: It is pretty normal for weight to creep on - or in some cases to pile on - when you give up smoking (average gains are 15.4lb after 12 weeks, with 10 per cent of quitters putting on more than 2st by this point). It's important for you to understand the reason for this and that your history of gaining is probably not simply down to consuming huge amounts of extra food.

First, there is the simple fact that the nicotine in cigarettes speeds up your metabolism. This effect lasts for about 30 minutes after each cigarette. On giving up, the number of calories you burn can drop by 150-300 per day, depending on how many cigarettes you smoked and your individual metabolism.

Second, nicotine also has the effect of suppressing your appetite; probably by blocking the chemical brain transmitter known as neuropeptide Y. In giving up, levels of this transmitter increase along with your appetite.