pixy

I am just over 10 months sober and wonder if others have found how profound an effect food can have on their mental well being.

In the past I know I have abused food to both extremes of the scale with too much and too little. All about control/addiction again I guess.

However, when I maintain a really healthy, high fruit and vegetable based diet, with only minimal diary and no meat, my mental wellbeing improves.

What are others peoples ideas or experiences with this.

sugarbear1

absolutely!

TroubledJoe

If you eat good, you feel good.

Obviously that's completely over-simplifying things, but in general I find eating healthy works pretty well for me.

I actually had a somewhat decent diet during my alcohol abusing years. I was a vegetarian (that's right...I had no problem drinking a whole bottle of vodka in one go or smoking synthetic pot off a soda can, but I would absolutely not touch a bit of roast beef) and I loved to cook healthy meals. The problem was I was far lazier then and would often rely on pizzas, processed microwave meals, gorge on terrible food while drunk etc and I rarely exercised.

These days I am a pescetarian (I eat fish/seafood) and I eat healthily nearly every day. I still love pizza and chips, but I tend to keep that sort of thing to once a week and really enjoy it on a Saturday night. The biggest difference is that I actually enjoy exercising now. I lift weights, cycle and even do yoga (well...DDPYoga, which is more an overall fitness program rather than regular yoga). I would never do this if I were still drinking.

I think this has played a huge role in my recovery. The best thing about my 6 months of recovery, and I assume the same goes for most, is seeing positive changes. As well as all the other good stuff that comes with sobriety, better relationships, increased confidence etc I can look in the mirror and see physical improvements in my body and FEEL better physically and mentally. It's yet another thing that makes me never want to drink again. I love watching the progress and the last thing I want is to ruin all that.

So yes, I think eating well is massively important to recovery. If you fill your body with crap every day is it any surprise you end up feeling like crap?

Diet and exercise, who knew?

GreenColor

I actually picked up the hobby of cooking after I sobered up. When I was drinking I would eat absolute crap all the time. Since I stopped, my health has improved across the board. Liver enzymes are normal, triglycerides are way down, LDL is way down, BP is great. I remember meeting with my doctor after I had the blood work done.

gleefan

TroubledJoe - very motivating post. I needed that.

gaffo

Dumping the empty calories of drinking 10+ beers every day allowed me a lot more dietary freedom. Now I love breakfast. I never thought I'd say that.

karate

I wish I could make myself eat healthy all the time .

Agree 100% good diet makes a bunch of difference ,it sure does if you have low blood sugar .

Renarde

You are right - I know I need to clean up my act. I'm feeling so tired and not taking good care of myself.

Bethany57

I think diet is huge to recovery. Many people underestimate this. I know many have sugar cravings after having quite drinking. I think if you remove sugar from your diet you can avoid alcohol cravings. I know many quit drinking and then eat a lot of sugar. Sugar is just bad all the way around.

Croissant

I agree. I also found coffee was a bit of a trigger for me in early sobriety. I think my brain was so frazzled, that any stimulant made the downer afterwards feel like a hangover, or worse, make me crave a drink, just like coming down after a drinking episode, would.

karate

Never thought about that ,When im off .

We make a pot of coffee ,I drink it ALL .

FeenixxRising

According to a recent 60 Minutes segment, drinking 1 to 3 cups of coffee per day correlated with people who lived past 90. Of course, correlation does not equal causation, but I have no plans to ever give up coffee.

karate

AGREE !!!!!!!!!!

If it wont ruin my liver ,cause me to get in fights ,or wreck my car .

Its all good .

hypochondriac

I have found that since giving up drinking my body is more sensitive and more easily upset by too much caffeine or bad food. After being sober for a while and doing the usual excessive eating I turned vegan and I have never felt better. I still occasionally eat bad food and it really makes me feel rubbish so I am less inclined to do it. I have no idea how I coped when I was drinking. I ate chinese take out every night and had fried food for breakfast everyday. I have noticed no if I drink too much coke I get a hangover from it, same with just too much sugar, and it makes me moody and anxious. Cutting down sugar helps make me more stable.

Aellyce

I mentioned my eating disorder issues on other threads. I finally got those on track and developed a pretty good diet (nothing extreme, just balanced) in my mid-20's with a lot of conscious attention and work. It must have contributed to my having a few great, productive, satisfying years and a healthy, meaningful lifestyle - for a few years. I had made lots of changes in my lifestyle back then and it really worked.

The irony is that I picked up the drink several years into that and from that on of course all went downhill again (including my good diet, although that sayed reasonably OK ever since).

I'm trying to do some of the same now, focusing on the alcohol problem, except that this time I want to do it with external help (SR is the first). I never sought help for any of my issues before. Of course they never truly disappeared, just one issue switched with the next...
I'm hoping to get somewhere better / more lasting this time. From all I know now, the outside help / treatment might be an important factor to make it stick.

FeenixxRising

Personally, I think diet and exercise should be a significant part of all recovery programs. Really, there is no downside to healthy eating and exercising, and a lot of upside, both physically and mentally. Moreover, I believe many studies have shown that one doesn't need to be a gym rat to reap the benefits. Moderate exercise like a brisk walk for 20 - 30 minutes each day and cutting out processed foods can make a big difference.

grubby

Not to sound negative, but eating healthy is easier said than done.

First there is the time factor, it is simply easier to buy pre-made or pre-processed food and eat it right there on the spot.

Second, there is the cost of food. Healthy food costs a lot more than the run-of-the-mill stuff found in the grocery store.

I been trying to eat healthier myself, it's hard...........

Exercise on the other hand is free and can be done anywhere, on the plus side

I been trying to incorporate a 1 hour walk every other day or so, every little bit helps!

soberlicious

It's true it may be more challenging in the beginning, that is if you are changing from a diet of processed food to real food, but honestly it's just as easy to pick up an apple as it is a doughnut. Part of the whole eating thing is the preparation...that is lost on our society. I would sacrifice time somewhere else before I would sacrifice the time it takes me to prepare good food that is real.

Soberella66

I found cutting out store bought plastic packaged bread from my diet made a tremendous effect on my mood. Now when I eat it I feel depressed and sluggish afterwards.
I think it also increases yeast in the body which I have heard is a magnet for alcohol cravings.

Dan1888

Definitely but I disagree with the "no meat" part. Meat is very good for you, high in protein, Iron and other nutritions some of which are not found in vegetables or fruit.

Im not talking about burgers or fat laden steaks. I mean fish, chicken and certain types of lean red meat (venison is the healthiest of all red meat) are very good for you.