Even if you keep strictly to your regular diet and exercise routine when you give up smoking, you are still likely to gain a small amount of weight. That’s because when you smoke, your body burns slightly more calories in order to cope with carbon monoxide and other tobacco toxins. When you quit, your metabolism slows down to more normal levels, which means fewer calories are burned.

Another possible reason for weight gain is that you start to taste your food again! Smoking dulls the sensitivity of your taste buds, so when you quit you start to experience the flavors of food in a more enjoyable and satisfying way. This may increase your appetite for a short while.

And of course, food is often eaten as an oral substitute for smoking and to cope with the stresses of nicotine withdrawal. You may find you consume more high-fat, high-sugar snacks and alcoholic drinks than usual, which will result in some weight gain.

Although a few years ago the advice may have been different, health experts now say it’s best not to worry about weight gain while you’re giving up smoking. The new recommendation is to focus first on giving up smoking, and after you’ve achieved that goal, then worry about giving up your extra pounds. This may sound like advice you don’t want to heed if you are concerned about gaining weight, but, surprisingly, it’s actually your best bet for avoiding the unwanted pounds. The research shows that people who try to focus on both smoking cessation and weight maintenance from the outset usually wind up failing at both, and even gain weight. In a 2003 study published by the Association for the Advancement of Behavioral Therapy, women who were encouraged not to worry about their weight only gained an average 5.5 pounds compared with the control group who did focus on weight control and gained an average 11.9 pounds.