8000 calories sure puts things into perspective! I went from quitting drinking during the week about 4/5 months ago(only to binge/blackout every weekend), to quitting completely 24 days ago. All in all, I lost about 20 lbs( I think...I was afraid to weigh myself there at the end...so who knows what I actually weighed). But I paired it with cardio about 5 times a week. So, to answer your question, yes.
I'm with you on the food tasting better! It's nice to enjoy actually enjoy sweets again, instead of gorging on greasy foods in the morning to "cure" the hangover.
