Do Vapes Have Calories?

Calorie intake is always a key consideration in the fitness journey. 

For fans of vaping at the gym, you may be wondering. 

Does e-cigarette liquid contain calories? Will smoking e-cigarettes affect my weight? 

Does nicotine itself have calories? And how many calories are in an e-cigarette? 

All of these questions are of concern to fitness professionals. 

This guide will answer all these queries for you.

What is Vaping?

Vaping is when you use a small, handheld device (like e-cigarettes, vape pens, or mods) to inhale a mist of nicotine and flavoring (e-liquid). 

It’s similar to smoking a cigarette, but vaping heats tiny particles out of a liquid rather than burning tobacco.

Does vape juice contain calories?

Vape juice is what produces the vapor that you inhale while vaping. 

Vape juices come in different flavors, but their general composition is the same: freebase nicotine or salt-based nicotine e-liquids.

Vape Juice typically contains propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavorings, and nicotine.

Propylene Glycol

Propylene glycol is a synthetic liquid substance that absorbs water. 

It's widely used in food processing because it mixes well with flavorings. 

Technically, it contains 4.1 calories per gram or milliliter. 

However, it's worth noting that it's not ingested during vaping, but rather inhaled.

Vegetable Glycerin

Vegetable glycerin, another key ingredient in e-liquids, is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting liquid derived from vegetable oils. 

It contains 4.32 calories per gram, but similar to propylene glycol, it's inhaled, and not ingested.

Flavorings and Nicotine

E-liquid flavorings and nicotine, on the other hand, don't typically have a caloric value. 

Their primary role is to enhance the taste and provide the nicotine 'hit' many vapers desire.

Bear in mind you burn about 50 calories in one hour's sleep… 

So a measly 8 calories is hardly posing a threat to your waistline.

Does Vaping Make You Lose Or Gain Weight?

Studies have shown that not only does nicotine reduce appetite and food intake and reduce weight, but nicotine increases a person's resting metabolic rate, which is the number of calories the body burns at rest. 

It also increases the breakdown of body fat.

Nicotine intake through smoking increases energy expenditure by about 10 percent over a 24-hour period, which equates to about 200 calories burned every 24 hours. 

Over a year, along with a steady calorie intake, this may result in a weight loss of up to 10 kilograms.

Despite this, the study also highlights that while there is clear evidence from trials of a short-term reduction in weight gain from using nicotine, there is no evidence that short-term use prevents long-term weight gain. 

Vaping is not a good way of losing weight over the long term. Because it can suppress appetite in the short term. 

It is estimated that people who quit vaping can gain up to 10kg within 12 months after smoking cessation—and sometimes more.

Is vaping considered an effective weight-loss tool?

If you want to lose weight by vaping, we still recommend safe weight loss methods such as regular physical activity and limiting calorie intake. 

Because vaping can pose health risks, such as respiratory problems and reduced blood vessel function, its potential weight management effects wouldn’t necessarily outweigh these risks.

What about Vaping While Fasting, or Doing Keto?

Diets like keto and those that introduce elements of fasting into your lifestyle have become popular ways to lose weight and get in shape and some may vape at the same time. 

While it’s not recommended to fast with keto, but rather stick to particular food groups – fats/oils and proteins but mostly avoiding carbohydrates – some people would wonder whether consuming vapes while at the same time, fasting is wise if they are required to abscond meals for a certain period. 

Luckily, vape juices don’t contain carbs, so people who are under a ketogenic diet can continue vaping.

If you're fasting for religious reasons, you may not be able to consume anything for the duration. 

Even drinking water might be out, as is the case with Muslims observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan, from dawn to dusk. 

But if it's something like intermittent fasting, you can take liquids during the period. 

Since vape juices have a negligible number of calories, you can still vape while you’re on a fasting schedule.

Intermittent fasting is recommended to last 16 hours for men and 14 hours for women.

Conclusion

Vapes contain calories, but not enough to affect your body’s weight.

If you have never smoked or vaped, then we stress that you must not start using nicotine in any form as a weight control technique – nicotine is highly addictive, and vaping should only be used as a method of tobacco harm reduction.