Nutrition for Weight Loss Eat Well Inspiration Foods and Diet Tips That May Help You Quit Smoking By Shereen Lehman, MS Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig). Learn about our editorial process Shereen Lehman, MS Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Armeen Poor, MD on January 29, 2020 Armeen Poor, MD, is a board-certified pulmonologist and intensivist. He specializes in pulmonary health, critical care, and sleep medicine. Learn about our Review Board Armeen Poor, MD on January 29, 2020 Print MmeEmil / Getty Images Quitting smoking is a hard thing to do, but it's an important step in taking charge of your health and reducing your risk of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. Making a few changes in the foods you eat may help make the process a little easier. The Link Between Your Eating Habits and Smoking Cleaning up an unhealthy diet may seem like an overwhelming task to take on while you're also giving up cigarettes, but since smoking, food cravings, and concurrent habits are fairly common, taking some time to focus on the foods you eat may be a good idea. Smoking affects your sense of taste. During a smoking cessation program, you may find that foods start to taste differently. This may be a great time to try new, healthy foods to find some things you like. Essentially, eating a healthy diet means increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources, dairy or other calcium sources, and getting healthy fats from nuts, seeds, and olive oil. It also means cutting back on foods high in fat, sugar, sodium, and calories. How to Avoid Weight Gain From Snacking When You Quit Smoking Helpful Foods and Diet Tips It's not possible to say that eating any one specific food will work like a magical medicine and take away your cravings for a smoke. But, for better or worse, the habits and situations that trigger your desire for smoking are often intertwined with the foods you eat. For example, if you typically start your morning with a habitual cup of coffee, a donut, and a cigarette, switching to herbal tea and toast may soften the trigger a bit. Eat This Crunchy veggies Peanuts Popcorn Mints Gum Fresh fruit Not That Cookies Candy Deep fried foods Alcohol Excessive caffeine Here are more ideas that may help you feel better or change your focus when you feel the need to reach for a cigarette. Set a regular meal pattern and avoid skipping meals. Feeling hungry may make you feel like reaching for a cigarette, but if you stick to a healthy pattern of three meals and two or three small snacks you can avoid that feeling. A bonus is that it may help you with your weight.Munch on raw carrots or celery. Nibbling on something crunchy will keep your mouth distracted. Plus, since these veggies are low in calories they won't add to the size of your waistline. Don't like carrots or celery? That's okay, go for raw broccoli, cauliflower, or sliced peppers. Add a little lite veggie dip or dressing if you want a little extra flavor.Be prepared with mints or gum and reach for those every time you feel a craving coming on.Make popcorn—but leave off the extra butter. Popcorn is high in fiber and low in calories, plus it keeps your hands busy. If the popcorn seems bland, try spraying it with a butter-flavored or olive-oil spray and add a blend of herbal seasoning, garlic, and onion powder, or a little red pepper powder. Fresh fruits such as oranges, pears, apples, and bananas are good to have on hand if you have a bit of a sweet tooth. They're sweet but they're also high in vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. That's important because antioxidants and vitamin C are depleted by smoking. One study found that, according to many smokers, eating meat makes cigarettes taste better. Cutting down on your meat intake might make it easier to stick to your quitting smoking resolution. Smoking Cessation and Weight Gain Your body is going to go through some changes while you adjust to a life without cigarettes. One of those changes may be an increase in your appetite. While you want to increase your intake of healthy foods, you may need to watch your caloric intake so the extra pounds don't pile up. All the suggestions made here are good for weight watching, but in addition, you may find it helpful to keep zero-calorie gum, mints, and candy in your pocket for when you feel the urge to smoke. Starting a light exercise routine can help, too. A Word From Verywell Quitting smoking is hard but improving your diet at the same time may help you along your way. Remember, it takes some time to change your older habits into healthy new habits. Don't get down on yourself if you slip up. Take it one day at a time. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get nutrition tips and advice to make healthy eating easier. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Heart Association. "Food and Quitting Smoking." Chao AM, White MA, Grilo CM, Sinha R. Examining the Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Food Cravings and Intake, Depressive Symptoms, and Stress. Eating Behaviors. 2017;24:61-65. McClernon, FJ, Westman, EC, Rose, JE, & Lutz, AM. The Effects of Foods, Beverages, and Other Factors on Cigarette Palatability. Nicotine Tob Res. 2007; 9(4): 505-510. doi: 10.1080/14622200701243177. American Cancer Society. "Quitting Smoking: Help for Cravings and Tough Situations."