Weight Loss and Smoking - Do You Find it the Right Way to Lose Weight?

Some people can be so obsessed about being thin that they will go to any extent to loose weight, even to doing something that is potentially harmful to them. People who justify smoking in order to loose weight belong to this category.  Admittedly, very few would really do this, but those who do so, do it because they are too lazy to exercise or diet and are looking for the easy way out, never mind the consequences.

Does smoking really cause a person to loose weight?

Yes it does. Smoking affects our vital systems and brings about a change in the way they function. It makes a person loose weight in three ways:   

•    Smoking affects the appetite. It is an appetite suppressant.
•    It burns calories and bring one's weight down.
•    It speeds up the metabolism, which directly affects weight loss.

However, this is not a wise way to loose weight, for while initiating these processes in our body, it also triggers other reactions that produce certain long term harmful effects:

•    It increases the heart rate to an undesirable extent and contributes to high blood pressure.
•    The carbon monoxide in tobacco can suck the oxygen out from the tissues thus depriving them. It has been proved that a lack of oxygen in our tissues is a root cause for many diseases.
•    One of these diseases is cancer. Smoking increases the smoker's risk to various cancers, mainly those affecting the lungs, oesophagus and the colon.
•    Heart disease and blocked arteries are a common ailment in heavy smokers.

Considering the above, the negative effects of smoking far outweigh any probable benefits that smoking might have on the human body. To still consider smoking as a weight loss alternative is irresponsible to say the least.

There is nothing that can substitute nutrition and exercise to maintain a healthy body weight to keep the body functioning at an optimum level for a longer period of time. A diet rich in fruit, greens, fiber, nuts, lean meats, fish and eggs, cooked the right way, with the right oils, and in which fried food is kept to a minimum can never go wrong. As far as exercise is concerned, unless aspiring for a movie star body, cardio vascular exercise for 30 minutes a day is sufficient to keep a person in good health for life.

A person, who has been smoking for some time, can always quit and make a change in lifestyle, although making the change will need some effort. Granted, for such people an added effort will be needed to offset the effects smoking has had on the body. The longer it takes a smoker to make the change, the greater will be the effort required to make the change and if delayed for too long, some effects may never be reversible.