least

Just curious if anyone else went bonkers in substituting 'something', food or drink, for alcohol? I have found myself drinking copious amounts of fruit juices, especially orange juice. I find myself craving cold orange juice at all times of the day and nite. Just wondering if anyone had gotten hooked on some special food or drink after quitting drinking.

Ananda

? possibly a sugar craving?

CarolD

When I crave a specific food....I consider it's something
my body is asking for. Hence the urge and I satify it.

This evening...I kept thinking how great
a Tuna Casserole would be.
Really really obcessed over it ...after dinner.

I fixed it...ate a little...Bing! no more craving.

Did I need salt? protein? carbs?
Darn if I know...

Pinkcuda

Alcohol was a two course meal for me. One course for the physical need and one course for the emotional need.
The physical need was replaced with doughnuts. People ask if I lost weight after giving up drinking. Oh the contrary. I gained about 30 pounds of much needed weight.
The second course was replaced with God and Gods will for me. I'm thankful for the progress rather than perfection disclaimer. It's nice to know I don't have to be perfect anymore.

nandm

My thoughts are similiar to Carol's. When I get a craving for some food or drink and allow myself to have it and it satisfies me. I believe that my cravings come from something vitamin, mineral, etc... that my body is needing and the craving is just my bodies way of telling me it needs it. Although I do have to say that although I no longer have cravings for alcohol, in early sobriety my body craved sugars. I drank a lot of beer which creates a lot of sugars for the body. I think that is what my body was craving because it was used to having it. By acknowledging and fulfilling the cravings with as much moderation as possible the sugar cravings passed as well as my craving for alcohol.

Today though I don't believe I have substituted anything for alcohol other than sobriety...

barb dwyer

in almost two years?

at one time or another - everything.

I know what you're talking about - the disease just ...
twists into other obsessions.

which is why I say it's a PERSONALITY before it's a substance...


My FIRST obsession - is horses.
IT's how I was 43 before I really started a drinking 'career'.

So I have to be careful...
because if MY obsession really kicks in ...
I'm gonna have to find a stall for it.
And a truck.
And a trailer.
Cause I will have bought another horse.

I am the worst in the world to go to a horseshow
and come home .. with a horse.

Tazman53

Well in early sobriety I drank a lot more coffee then I used to, I still drink a little more coffee then I used to, but not much more.

I do eat more then I used to, of course there is more room for me to eat without a dozen beers in my gut all the time!! LOL

I have not craved booze since half way though the steps, but I go through phases of craving different things and as a few others have mentioned here, I to view that as my body telling me I need something so I eat what I crave, I do try to keep it to a minimum though..... just enough to satify the craving....... except chocolate!!!! LOL

I forgot to mention the most important thing of all!!!

Sobriety!!!!!!!

Signal30

What have I substituted for alcohol?

1) Being able to live life on life's term's taking each day as it comes.

2) Understanding and enjoying life's journey rather than just the destination.

3) Putting others before myself.

4) Meetings, service work, and working the program.

And many others. I keep busy in AA, and do my best to practice the AA principals in all my affairs. It is more than an adequate substitute for alcohol.

Tom

supernothing

I Seem to be getting addicted to excercise.
With every sober day that passes im planning new challenges/ programmes/ longer runs.
Im absolutely knackered- but at least im sober - haha
I wish to god i could be one of those people who can do things in moderation.........

unigirl

I have major craving for sugary tea. Never was too keen on choc but love that too now! Think it's replacing the sugar level. Despite eating all the sugary foods- i do try n eat lotsa fruit too and walk a lot so i have actauuly lost a lot of weight in recovery - skinny for the first time in a coupla yrs- never really fat but did have a bit of a beer belly thanks to copius amounts of Stella Artois!
Im not sure if it's correct but someone on here posted about orange juice (pure) actually contains some alcohol due to how its made or something. I dont know if this is true or not - i've asked a few ppl n they told me not to worry- but just thought i'd let u know about that incase it is correct- as that may xplain why u drinking so much of it now! Im sure u ca find out on a website or something if that is right. I do doubt it tbh, but thought i'd pass that on just in case.

splendra

During the 60's a group of doctors got together to see if alcoholics had any thing physiologic in common with one another. The over whelming evidence was that the main thing they all had in common was a blood sugar imbalance. I will search the net to see if I can find a link to this important study.

One thing we all need to be aware of is that sugary products saturate the world of advertising on TV. Big corporations do not want the general public to not consume sugar or the even more deadly artificial sweeteners on the market today.

I believe anyone attempting to recover from being alcohol soaked ought to get their blood sugar levels in check. I believe it makes recovery so much more possible.

I think staying away from sugary foods is was fundamental to my being able to recover. Also I stayed away from artificial sweeteners mainly because I KNOW THEY ARE POISON! Please believe my last statement about artificial sweeteners!!!

When we consume alcohol it makes our blood sugar get out of balance. The diet I followed to get this in check is called the "Candida Diet" it is a very strict and limiting diet and a person cannot stay on it for long. It does help bring the blood sugar into balance. I am certain that I could not have gotten clean without this diet. A really good book that describes this diet is called: "The Yeast Connection" . I think everyone in recovery from alcoholic drinking out to be required to read a follow this book's plan.

When a body craves sugary foods it really wants to break down sugar to use for hormone production it is a very complex and important function of the body. If we put the varying forms of refined white sugar or white flour products into our bodies instead of giving it something to break down into sugar that the body can use the endocrine system becomes overly stressed with trying to balance out the blood sugar levels and this really wacks out the brain that has several glands that control most of the vital functions of the body.

So if you are craving a certain food please consider what your body needs when you are reaching for something to eat especially if you want sugar. Eat fruits and vegetable if you are craving sugar stay a way from refined carbs at all cost!!

Sorry I had to rant here about this very important subject and how it relates to recovery success.

tkdan

I used to drink coffee in excess before sobriety and that went to an extreme excess after quitting alcohol. My answer was to quit coffee and take up the art of tea making. At most I'll have four cups of tea a day as opposed to eight to ten cups of mega strong coffee.
I'm with splendra I think diet plays an important roll in my recovery. I stay away from sugars.
So I guess to answer the question I try to replace alcohol with a healthier life style (eating healthy, exercising more).

Tazman53

Even when I was drinking the one thing I tried to avoid was anything that had artificial any thing in it.

To easily understand why I do this read the ingredients on real vanilla ice cream and then read the ingredients on "Fat-Free ice cream!!!!!

If you eat the fat free ice cream you may as well be drinking the spill off from a chemical plant!!!!

Ananda

I hadn't drank coffee or ate sugar for more than 4 years (I think) till I went to treatment.

Now I'm back on coffee and sugar and trying to get off them again.

However, I am still much much better off than before I quit.

Yes - being sober has allowed me to have a relationship with my world, life, and people.:bounce

SF69

Another coffee fiend here. I drank a lot before I got sober, and even more now. Though, I'm starting to replace some of those cups with either orange or cranberry juice, or green tea.

JohnTheQuitter

Iced tea, big time...

warrens

Fruit juice-especially grapefruit juice and orange juice.

Some sweets. Most of my life I never ate sweets. I am one of those who can eat one cookie or one piece of chocolate and be completely satisfied.

warren

sugarssweetpea

sugar, high fat foods & overeating in general.

Rusty Zipper

sobriety!

anything and everything that will keep me from picking up that first drink!

H2O

tellus

I've substituted sweets and diet soda, to excess. I definitely believe Splendra about that stuff--I feel like it's as bad for me as the alcohol was.