Wendolene

I just wanted to hear of others' experiences, and possibly gain some reassurance that it is normal and some advice.

Since ditching the booze, I literally cannot stop eating junk. Things that didn't bother me when I was drinking suddenly seem very appealing. I thought my sweet tooth had diminished as I had grown older, but now I can't get enough of chocolate. One or two packets of crisps a day has turned into four. I don't lead a particularly sedentary lifestyle, as I am always busy with housework, enjoy going for walks along the back of our village and have days where I have so many chores to do, I barely get time to put my feet up. I do need to do more exercise, but the idea of going to a gym puts me off, since I am very shy and self-conscious about my body and have always felt like the biggest person in the world when I see the slim and trim figures that reside there. I have gained a stone and a half since last September and just feel so miserable, yet I am unhappy enough not being able to enjoy a glass of wine with everyone else when we go out, let alone depriving myself of absolutely everything I enjoy.

Are there any other forms of exercise that people have had success with and are reasonably enjoyable? Has anyone else managed to control their diet, whilst still being able to enjoy the occasional treat? I feel like my habits are similar to when I was drinking, i.e. it's just too easy to put it off and say 'I'll do it tomorrow'.

Thank you in advance!

soberclover

I experienced the same; I'm trying to incorporate more walking in to my day. I take the long way to places within the building I work, I park further away in the parking lot, I also try to get out for a walk during my lunch break. Start small and you will be more likely to notice change Also....let's be real....I'd rather be a little rounder than drinking again

Kitkat331

I am in the same boat--I'm glad you posted. I want to start limiting what I eat but I'm also afraid of making sobriety harder by demanding too much from myself.

jdooner

I lost 12lbs in first month and gain 25-30lbs in months 2-4. Month 5 I decided to quit processed sugar and wheat as I noticed the same addictions towards foods with these ingredients. I have since lost 35lbs and am in month 9 now.

I swim 3x per week (>2K yds), play tennis 3x and weights 2x too. But the diet was the key.

robgt350

yea i ate alot too when i stopped drinking. i soon realized that i traded one addiction for another addiction. i went from alcohol, to candy over night. i soon tried to eat healthy food like veggies.

karate

I had to get away from sugar ,I never gained weight .

But all that sugar and caffine had me feeling bad .

I do eat a lot of fruit now ,and drink at least 6 bottles of water daily .

newman23

I gained a little over 50 pounds when drinking in 7 years. I felt like I needed an award anytime I giving up drinking. "Well, I'm not getting 2,000 additional calories from booze today, so Taco Bell is fine again for today", lol.

The good news is, I have been able to get my diet under control with healthy foods for the most part , and with very little exercise, lost 20 pounds since May of last year. You can do it!

MrTumble

I agree, diet is the way to control weight, not exercise.

I have lost 7kg (14lbs) in the last 2 months by simply cutting out breakfast and lunch and only having an evening meal. I was finding it impossible to slow my weight gain since I quit the smokes and not drinking causes a sweet tooth.

Now I can have some sweets but I just dont have breakfast or lunch.

jdooner

Breakfast is the most important meal. You may want to cut out dinner and add breakfast and lunch. Sugar is not bad but processed sugars and foods add nothing, just like alcohol.

Try chowing on fruits and veggies instead of that cookie and you will be amazed by the progress. I am down 35lbs since January by cutting out anything with wheat and everything with processed sugar.

MrTumble

Hold on. There are no "most important meals".

The three meals a day paradigm is a recent construct, not a biological requirement.

For hundreds of years breakfast didnt come into the picture at all.

History of breakfast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is no requirement for 3 meals or even the 5 that some people suggest... If you want to lose weight, skipping meals is a very effective way of doing it..

MrTumble

I like my way, I can have the cookie and the veggies and the meat and the fruit. I just dont have breakfast and lunch

RoyGBiv

23 days sober.. at first I gained 6 lbs in a week, I assume my body was grabbing the things it wanted but hadn't been getting. Also becoming less dehydrated.

I'm steady now. I walk/jog 5 miles one day, cycle 8 miles the next, then take a day off with just a light 1 mile walk. This weekend I hiked 19 miles in 3 days on steep hills.. I am very sore today !

Diet wise, I'm counting calories.. making sure I don't go overboard.. and avoiding added sugars. This has me eating a lot of fruit for one thing.

No idea how it will work out ! But I'm hoping this beer gut eventually goes away. It's definitely a much more healthy diet and lifestyle than I had before.

SoberMama13

My thing is: I gained a bunch of weight.
And: I am sober. RIght now, that is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
One day, losing weight may become a priority again, along with quitting smoking. But right now, sobriety is my most important goal.
You're not alone.

lunar

As a general rule, I slowly lose weight when sober, eat better meals at the right time, my face and body lose the bloat, my clothes loosen up.
BTW, I would suggest drinking a quality psyllium husk mix to cleanse the colon.
Not the drugstore junk, something high quality from a reputable health food and vitamin shop.
Sugar free. Also milk thistle capsules and spirulina.
Not offering medical advice here, ask your doctor.

Alysheba

Your story sounds very much like what I've been going through. I kept praying I'd get motivated to go on a diet. Finally after months of eating badly and a lot, I guess it's better that drinking and smoking again, I am getting back on a diet. It's taking me a while to change my mind set, but after a week or so, I'm feeling glad to be doing something good for myself. I just want to fit back into some of my clothes!

Good luck to you and I hope the tide changes for you. From what I've heard and my own experience, it seems to even out, but for me it wasn't until I'd gained some weight.

zjw

i lost about 15lbs right off the bat just from stopping booze. but then that was that. I did the math I dunnow how i wasnt a whale with the amt of calories i consumed in just booze alone. That being said i was pretty ticked off that all i lost was 15lbs and that was that. I figured for sure taking that amt of calories out of the equation would have equated to some substantial weight loss. No such luck

6 months later or so in a desperate attempt to feel better since i still didnt feel all that great from just quiting booze. I put down cigarettes and started walking and watched my diet. In about 6 months or so I dumped over 100lbs of weight and made it appear to be easy tho it was not People felt I made it look simple.

One thing quiting booze taught me was that i can change some other big bad habits too utilizing the same stuff i learned to quit booze. I could even get some better new habits useing the same line of thought that keeps me sober.

I've read tho that there are a couple types of drinkers some are the types that basicly drink there meals and forego real food in favor of booze they can tend to be rather skinny from the start and will gain as they probably should upon quiting. Others are like how i was I ate whatever i wanted and slammed down however many drinks as i wanted as well. I was rather obese the day i quit. Tho while i had all that extra weight i was malnourished and extremely unhealthy.

karate

Exercise is very important ,for mental well being -imo .

It sounds like your plan is working well ,for you .

I would give up the sweets ,personally .
But that's a choice I base on my blood sugar issues ,

Kitkat331

I'm definitely one who "picked up" sweets when I put down the booze, which explains how I have managed to gain weight in sobriety despite eliminating roughly 1000 calories of booze from my diet.

I'm now on day 3 of following the Colorado diet--really sensible eating plan that involves lots of lean protein and veggies and cutting out the junk. So far so good--I'm not craving sweets at all or feeling deprived, so (so far at least) it's been totally positive and not a threat to my sobriety (which is still priority 1 for me.). My plan is to weigh every 2 weeks so I don't obsess, but it's clear to me I'll loose weight if I stick with this since it's so healthy.

If anyone else is interested in joining me, I'd love an accountability buddy.

Dan1888

This type of thing has been posted on here quite a few times since ive started using the site. I stopped drinking two months ago and yes, I have put on a lot of weight. Substituting alcohol for food, particularity at the weekend when i would have normally been drinking a lot.

Im going to the gym tomorrow and my plan is to really make a concerted effort to exercise and eat more healthily, the truth is if i keep putting on weight the way i have been I end up seriously fat and could end up having a heart attack. It got to stop.

slipped

I lost 15 pounds. I didn't think I ate any different. No more empty calories from the alcohol I guess. Plus I dealt with my cravings and anxiety by walking my dog 4 miles a day.