Marijuana and weight loss?

schondell

There is no effect to smoking Marijuana and losing weight. Just preplan some healthy snacks for when you get the "munchies" which some people do and some people don't.

Have fun!

(Marijuana is illegal and therefore, bad)

emtjmac

Watch out for the munchies.

annwyatt69

Well, I have never smoked pot or drank, but my brother, who is 53, and his wife, both have since they were teenagers. Both are severely underweight and probably smoke it to the excess. I know they eat well, but neither of them gain weight at all. And both of them used to be heavy.

WendyTerry420

Firstly, I'm not condoning drugs as a weight-loss solution!! Just to make that clear, lol

But I'm curious what the effects of marijuana smoking on weight loss are. I know alcohol can halt loss for 24 hours (or so I've heard) and is brutal on your liver - but there's not really any info on pot smoking. Now, besides the fact that you can easily eat a day's worth of calories in one sitting, does it cause any other (weight-related!) problems? (Yes, I'm aware of all the other downsides - thanks in advance, haha. )

Which would slam you with more toxins? Alcohol, which we all KNOW screws with your liver, blood, and body.... or weed, which sits in your body fat, wrecks your lungs and supposedly has hundreds of chemicals in it?? :huh:

It doesn't seem to be hampering me at all. It can lower your blood sugars, causing you to feel hungry. ("the munchies") The biggest difference between cannabis and alcohol is that alcohol has calories and it can cause you make poor decisions and not even realize you did it. You can drink yourself into a "black out" state such that you don't even know what you are doing and don't remember anything.

Alcohol is bad... mmkay? It is toxic to the body. It should only be used in small doses so that your body can rid itself of toxins. Cannabis actually has no toxicity unless you smoke it.

WendyTerry420

I just don't understand how so many people say they lost a ton of weight while smoking pot. How can this be?

It's real simple. Don't eat when you run out of calories for the day! Or go for celery which cures munchies and cotton mouth at the same time! (or save calories for dessert) It's no different than ordinary cravings. You just have to plan and be smart about it.

WendyTerry420

Sorry to revive this thread but i have been searching for information on this and found nearly nothing besides that cannabis increases cancer/aids patients appetite.

I cant talk for myslef since i have always been able to eat what and when i liked and not gain weight but i used to smoke cannabis every day for about 6 years and during that time and even now i have met many other regular cannabis smokers. i personaly know 2 people who were overwight when they started to smoke it often and over the next 6 months to a year they lost the excess weight and this was without any diets or extra exercize, and while i wasnt with them 24/7, i know that everytime we were together and got the munchies we would pig out on anything available if we could. and i assume they didnt act differently when i wasnt there as nothing to the contrary was ever mentioned.

i also know 4 people who when i met them where skinny, but they were overweight before i met them and said they lost the weight when they started smoking weed, again with no diets, extra exercize or even trying to deny the munchies. one was my girlfriend who showed me pictures of her before she started smoking weed and she definitly was overweight then, even though when i knew her she was as skinny as a rake, she even used to do sports when overweight but gave that up when she started smoking weed due to being to lazy.

during all this time i have only really met 2 or 3 overweight cannabis users who have been smoking every day for around a year, and when you compare that to the national average for overweight people it is way way below the norm.

i found one study that may confirm this though it was done on rats given just THC, some at doses a chronic pothead could only dream about.

"A two-year study in which rats and mice were force-fed tetrahydrocannabinol dissolved in corn oil showed reduced body mass, enhanced survival rates, and decreased tumor incidences in several sites, mainly organs under hormonal control. It also caused testicular atrophy and uterine and ovarian hypoplasia, as well as hyperactivity and convulsions immediately after administration, of which the onset and frequency were dose related."

the full article says they had reduced body weight even though they ate about the same as the controll rats

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272059096900482

Interesting study. The bad part is that it is only THC being test, not the whole plant which contains thousands of cannabinoids. Cannabidiol (CBD) is less prevalent in most of the Mexican trains, but it's making a comeback thanks to states that have changed their laws. It actually CBD rather than THC that helps your body regulate blood sugar.

It's just too bad that our laws are such that it's nearly impossible to study this marvelous plant! But there are some wonderful studies coming out of Europe!

MemphisKitten

I used to smoke marijuana on a daily basis, and that was when I was at my heaviest weight.

MagicWhispers

i have my medical card, but since i have started this journey, i can only smoke it about an hour before bed. I get the munchies really bad and lose all my willpower.. it sucks because i dont want to take narcotics, and now i'm in pain all day..

rndmbttn

When I quit, I went from 183 to 220 in less than a year. I'm blaming replacing my "relaxation/destresser" onto food.

ttiffanymariee

I think it comes down to controlling what you eat, you pick up bad food and put it in your mouth not the marijuana, haha. If you smoke, like a lot of people do (or like myself ) you are no stranger to the munchies- but in my house I don't have any junk food, or un healthy choices. So when ever I feel like eating something I just eat a bunch of baby carrots haha - I don't think it makes you gain weight. I have been loosing weight pretty rapidly and haven't changed my smoking pattern- hmm intresting thought though I never though of that!

gabriellejayde

My son, who is 20, 6' tall and weighs around 150, smokes weed. So do all of his super skinny friends. His girlfriend is 26 and painfully thin. She smokes too. It hasnt done a thing for them. Lol

danafoxx

i don't smoke anymore but when i stopped i actually gained weight! with munchies and all (though they never were that bad for me) i lost about 15 pounds when using drugs. it may have been a combination of other things but that was just my observation.

emmajohnson747

What it comes down to is you.
I've been smoking for awhile now and its the reason i joined MFP.I gained 40lbs in the past two years from making bad choices while smoking marijuana.I still smoke now just not as often.I used to smoke several times everyday,now its down to twice a month.Its all about your choices when you have the munchies,grab a giant water bottle,and some fruit instead of taco bell.When you're high you're not really hungry you just wanna taste ****.I'm really glad this topic showed up on here because this is something that was extremely damaging to my health.I'm trying to kick this habit,but for now twice a month will do:]

halobender

Wait, why did they unlock this thread?

Obviously it's not hurting anyone, but still.

RyanWilson1993

Well more than likely the weed will make you feel super relaxed and you need to be intense as hell while exercising to achieve great results so it can **** you up there also there is the munchies

BrownEyedGrrl

I think it is different for each person and also depends on the type of weed you're smoking, but I lost 50 lbs in less than 5 months last year while smoking weed, quite a few times per day. If you're a chronic, sometimes you smoke weed instead of eating ( I would smoke it instead of eating to lose weight.) and you also learn to control your munchies cause you've been toking for so many years. Because of the mind frame I was in back then, weed actually motivated me to exercise. I would smoke a joint and go for a 2 hour bike ride sometimes.
Of course I do not recommend using weed to lose weight, a lot of people can't control their munchies and chronic use has negative affects on the brain, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems. I should point out that I have no short term memory now and anxiety problems that likely wouldn't be there if I hadn't used weed to deal with all my problems for so many years.
I quit toking in December of last year, after over 8 years of smoking it almost all day, every day. Weight loss is a lot harder for me now because when I'm stressed out I can't go and smoke a joint. I have to deal with it and sometimes I find myself over eating. All this being said I think if you can smoke weed but not let it control your life then this is not a bad thing. As for me, I found it more addictive than alcohol or any of the other drugs I've tried and even though I quit for my health, I still think about toking every day.
And before anyone starts in on me, I understand it's not the same as an addictions to coke, crack, meth, etc. I know this isn't a thread about addictions but I felt like telling people my experience.

stbrad6896

I've lost weight while smoking heavily (daily) and when not smoking at all (I currentyly have not smoked in over a year). Never quite noticed a difference myself. If you eat more when you smoke then it's probably not beneficial. I guess some people might smoke weed to cope with stress rather than comfort-eating. Both are addictive behaviors though. Best not to worry too much about it. If you're going to smoke, smoke, but try to be as health concious as possible in the meantime. As for the alcohol... if you ask me it's empty calories, late-night munchies (yes you can get munchies from drinking too, I know I do), and let's not forget the hangover the next morning we all know the best fix is a greasy cheeseburger and that's not exactly health food. And yes alcohol destroys the liver, makes it harder for your liver to break down fats and other chemicals in processed food. If you're trying to decided which would be more detrimental to weight loss its the alcohol, but health wise I would advise doing either one in moderation. If you're lungs are shot it makes cardio a lot harder!

MagicWhispers

everyone i know that smokes weed (besides me) is thin. they have been smoking for years, and dont feel the munchies like you do in the beginning. i have my medical card and grow my own because i have a really bad back and dont want to take narcotics. my dr wanted me on morphine and vicodin multiple times a day... i dont want to go that route. i only smoke about once a day because i do still get the munchies and im afraid i wont have the will power to stay the heck out of the fridge.. i smoke it at bedtime... but as i go on in this journey.. esp on bad back pain days... i will smoke during the day...
it is legal in like 14 states, and thank goodness Oregon is one of em:)

timmymon

Everything in moderation. I smoke after workouts sometimes and at the end of the day to wind down. I don't really think it will effect your weight loss at all.

Debbe2

Marijuana and weight loss = oxymoron