Somehow, you've encountered someone with claims that the recent pound they gained resulted from quitting smoking. The relationship between smoking cigarettes and weight loss as a topic of interest did not begin today.
Those who quit smoking can gain an estimated weight of about 22 pounds or more after cessation. Weight gain has become a genuine reason many people don't want to quit the habit. This is especially true for high schoolers, many of whom have turned to vaping in hopes of keeping a few pounds off.
Vaping has seen an increase in popularity in recent years. But its effectiveness and safety are questionable when it comes to losing weight. Is it true? Does vaping help with weight loss? How is nicotine involved in this? Are there any safety concerns?
Well, you're about to find out.
Read on or feel free to skip ahead:
What Is Vaping?
Vaping is the use of electronic cigarettes. E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that look and feel like traditional cigarettes. They also come in shapes that resemble memory sticks or pens.
E-cigarettes contain aerosol known as e-liquids or vaping juice. These vaping juices comprise two primary ingredients—propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. The rest are chemicals, artificial flavoring, and varying nicotine levels.
Despite its reputation as a better smoking option, vaping does raise concerns over its long-term use. Still, avid smokers have used vaping as a phasing-out strategy to quit smoking. For novice vapers, the presence of nicotine could result in addiction to vaping.
Vaping and Weight Loss
With little or no evidence to suggest otherwise, yes is the simple answer to this controversial question. Vaping can help with weight loss. Both natural and behavioral science does back it up. Here is how.
The addictive component in cigarettes, nicotine, has anorexic properties. It affects the rate at which the body gains weight by acting as an appetite suppressant. Thus, it can disrupt eating habits. Vaping juice contains nicotine in varying degrees. For this reason, a lot of people use vaping as a way to prevent weight gain or suppress their appetite. This creates a huge hurdle for people attempting to quit smoking. This is especially true for people with high body image count.
Also, behavioral science agrees. Ex-smokers find themselves reaching for high-calorie food instead of cigarettes. Consuming that many calories will increase weight. Hence, the worry behind quitting. Stress and boredom can often push people to find solace in food.
Vaping offers an alternative to this. It provides a certain mouthfeel and olfactory input that is synonymous with eating. The rewarding effect of food finds a suitable replacement in vaping. Its size also presents an advantage. It makes it a lot easier to reach for than a sweet-tooth craving. Hence, a quick vape can provide the same satisfaction instead of reaching for that chocolate bar on the counter.
Even more tempting are the flavors of the e-liquids in vapers. Companies keep developing new flavors or improving the flavors of e-liquids for vapers to try. Fruitier and food-flavored varieties seem to run the show. Even favored in the end at the expense of tobacco vapes by novice vapers. This gradual shift in preference showcases an interesting trend. Flavoring may have a role in satisfying food cravings, inducing satiation, and suppressing appetite.
Current offerings in the market include strawberry apple, mango, blueberry muffin, watermelon, kiwi, peach, and dozens more.
Nicotine and Weight loss
The effect of nicotine on weight loss is significant. For one, it impacts your metabolism by speeding it up. This means that you end up burning more calories even while sleeping.
Nicotine acts on the part of the brain that regulates metabolism. It releases neurochemicals that suppress appetite and facilitate weight loss. These neurochemicals include serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
Do Vapes Without Nicotine Make You Lose Weight?
One of the great things about vaping is its full customization of the nicotine levels. You have the option of zero-strength nicotine vapes. Zero-strength nicotine vapes do not contain nicotine as an ingredient. With this, you no longer worry about the harmful and addictive effects of nicotine.
There is a relationship between the mechanisms associated with smoking and weight loss. There is a certain mouth feel and taste perception from the flavoring that could create satisfaction. Not to mention the hand-to-mouth action still present in nicotine-free vapes.
There is a possibility of weight loss with nicotine-free vapes. The result, however, is a far cry from the alternative.
Why Vaping Is Not a Healthy Weight Loss Strategy
From the outside, vaping does appear as a low-risk and effective way of shedding weight. This is not the case. Although less harmful than smoking cigarettes, vaping still has health risks. Its key ingredient is toxic hydrocarbons that can cause lung damage and death. While it contains a smaller amount of chemicals compared to cigarettes, its contents are still unknown.
Moreover, the presence of nicotine in e-liquid has its drawbacks. For non-smokers, it increases their exposure to it, which could lead to addiction. Also, having control over the nicotine level can lead to abuse. Vapers could expose themselves to high concentrations of nicotine. Sometimes, far greater than what is available with traditional cigarettes.
Dieting and exercising still hold the top spot as the safest way to lose weight. They offer more benefits than burning through various vape juice every day.
Conclusion
If your primary for vaping is to reduce appetite, then sure, why not. Other than this, it is not an effective strategy for losing weight. That said, it demands care and rigid planning lest you fall prey to its risks. Try to incorporate other healthy habits like working out and healthy eating.