mishneal

Did you find after you stopped drinking that you lost weight or gained weight? I'm feeling like its a double edge sword. I'm staying away from sugar right now, but have found myself eating a lot more than when I was drinking.

whiskeyman

I lost a lot of weight and really quickly.
i actually went t o the dr cuz i thought something was seriously wrong.
i went from 200 to 179 in a month.
look at the number of calories i was consuming everyday.

Now i am back up but from ice cream not booze.
it isnt a switch addiction but really enjoy a scoop or two.

doggonecarl

I didn't quit drinking because I was concerned with my weight. I quit because alcohol was ruining my life. As long as I stayed sober, I was willing to accept what came down the pike.

I found myself eating a lot more sugar at first, and didn't even question it. I don't doubt my body was needing to make up for the carbs it wasn't getting from beer. As my recovery got more secure, I focused on cutting down on sugar and sweet snacks.

So I would say, stay sober. Eat if you feel like eating. Maybe you weren't getting the healthy calories you needed. Sober is more important than gaining a few pounds if that's your worry. But it's good that you are thinking about healthy eating and a lifestyle that contributes to feeling good about yourself.

But it's all about staying sober, isn't it?

mishneal

I didnt quit because of weight. I quit for me and my health. But I read that people lose weight from the calories they were drinking. I find myself grabbing food now instead of a drink.

Klp9999

My weight dropped like a rock. Scared me so much I went to doctor. 165 to 149 in under three months and I was not dieting. Doctor said I was fine but I did not tell her I was a recovering alcholic.

One thing different is I'm eating healthier, I think it's because I stopped drinking, I'm more mindful of what I'm cooking and buying at the grocery store. When I drank I woke up ravenous, now a piece of toast is fine, and lunch I would eat anything and everthing I could find, now I will have a baked potato or salad not because I'm dieting but because its what my body says to eat, and supper I'm lucky to finish the first plate of food while before I would have seconds.
Is it possible my body was trying to repair the damage of alcoholism with food..eating everything in sight?

mishneal

That's exactly how I'm feeling! I feel like my body is telling me "help" all the nutrients need to come back!

doggonecarl

I dropped weight too, from 152 pounds to 122, but over the course of about a year and I went to the doctor as well thinking I didn't quit drinking soon enough.

I did tell the doctor about quitting drinking and he thought that was probably it, but they ran tests as well to confirm it wasn't something medical.

I was fine.

I've gained a little back, but I'm still underweight for a 5' 8" male.

jazzfish

It can depend. Excessive drinking can diminish the body's ability to absorb nutrition, so some alcoholics are underweight. Sobriety changes that and allows them to gain weight as their digestive system returns to normal. I was a beer drinker, which meant thousands of extra calories per week. No amount of time on the treadmill was going to overcome that. All that alcohol also cause my innards to become inflamed. Sobriety quickly caused the inflammation to go down leading to smaller belly size and some pounds also came off quickly. The rate of decrease slows down pretty quickly. I also eat pretty healthy, exercise regularly, and have thyroid issues - all of which complicate the issue for me.

So far, I have gone from 198 down to 186.

robgt350

i found my self eat alot more now, i started to try cooking meals more as a stress relief and to occupy my time. and yes i have gained a little weight. i want to loose about 15-20 pounds.

Muunray

For me, nothing changed- same weight. That part was kind of disappointing because I believe I am not eating any more than when I was drinking a fifth a day. Don't understand it but whatever.
Now to concentrate on my eating addiction.

mishneal

That's why I posted this I've been getting back into the kitchen to occupy time. It's weird, I'm making recipes I've saved but never made because I was always too drunk to want to cook!

sugarbear1

Home cooking can be healthy cooking.

Use healthy fats (small amounts of good oils--less butter), eat more vegetables (good carbs), a little less bread/pasta/potatoes (bad carbs), and be careful with fatty meats (eat more fish and lean cuts of meat).

I have a mean sweet tooth today, but have maintained my weight since month 4. I did gain one size (I was treated to too many AA outings to really awesome restaurants; size 6 petite to size 8 petite, but everyone says I look healthy), yet I have just begun my regular exercise program (yeah, bad step off a curb while sober and I messed my knee up early in recovery preventing me from exercising for a year).

MrTumble

I was going to start a thread on this.

I had been trying to get below 85 for months and months whilst drinking, but averaged 88kg even when heavily dieting.

3 months into quiting, im now at 83kg, no diet and eating normally with minimum exercise. seems like im still losing it.

i had a massive calorific intake in the form of alcohol sugars from drinking mostly beer and red wine, probably 1500 calories a day on top of my food. ive been avoiding sugar and find that the craving isnt growing and is manageable - using sweetners in coffee and drinking diet drinks.

the majority of the weight loss has come in the last 2 weeks, so for those not seeing any movement, dont fret.

Tetra

I agree with this. I was a wine/vodka drinker and very underweight when I stopped drinking. I remember my first appointment with my GP when I quit drinking, and she weighed me. I went back to her after a month of no drinking, and eating healthily, and she said (and I'll never forget this): "Oh good Tetra, you are looking MUCH better now then you were the last time I saw you" I am over a year sober now, and I'm doing just fine, according to my GP and my neurologist I think our bodies need time to heal, after the damage we did to ourselves

mavrick

This is one of the areas i have to carefull because when i was hungry thats when i thought about drinking and did most of my drinking on a empty stomach.
2 weeks sober after a 3 year spree and i can stop eating sweets and junk food drinking coke as well as healthy meals...
But if this is what its going to take to keep me from drinking as well as my 12step program then who cares if i put on a little wieght..
Because i am willing to go to any lengths to stay sober..

TheEnd

While some people might say this is a good trade off, you need to watch this, because you don't want to trade drinking too much for eating too much. Too much is too much.

jimtinmpls

I lost about 40 pounds in the first three months after quitting. Granted, I started hitting the gym shortly before I decided to quit, but I am sure that most of the weight loss was due to not ingesting all of the calories I was getting from the booze.

Xune

I lost 20 lbs over four months.

Now I'm back in the gym, I suspect to lose 10 more.

FinallyFinished

I've lost 12 pounds in the last four weeks, but I eat paleo and I used to drink two bottles of wine a night. I'm thrilled about this "side effect" of not drinking my face off every night.

mishneal

I hear ya! I've noticed I've been eating more lately. Cooking has become my new addiction. I need a new hobby