Faceless

When I cut out alcohol I noticed that it's been even harder for me get my measurements to budge. I work out regularly (well, except the ast week due to kidney infection), and I don't overeat, and I try to stay away from unhealthy foods, except I do have to eat what I can (poor food can be unhealthy, for sure). Has anyone else ever experienced this? I'm not overweight, but I am trying to slim it down in the body fat %, but if anything I've been getting bigger. What gives?

PurpleKnight

When I was drinking I didn't eat much, I was skipping meals all the time, so when I finally got Sober, I ended up on a daily basis eating more as I was then having breakfast, which I always skipped, and a proper meal in the evenings, so I only lost a few pounds in the beginning, as the increase in food, simply though normal eating was making up for the lost calories from alcohol.

In early Sobriety I was consuming a lot more sugar to deal with cravings, but I'm now within a healthy weight range, but I would have to step up my exercise for an even further drop in weight as things have hit a ceiling at my current weight!!

mfanch

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Faceless

We're you going to say...something?

Purple, i think the only thing I've been doing differently was eating some brownies here and there, but wow, I never would have expected such a weight/size issue from just a few brownies and a hell of a lot less empty beer calories. It's really depressing. Do you think it may be a hydration thing?

PurpleKnight

I was pretty dehydrated when I first got Sober, so the first few months I was putting away a lot of fluids, it was a natural consequence of years of alcohol consumption I guess!!

Faceless

Oh ok. I was thinking maybe this weight issue for me is due to water weight. I just look and feel bigger. Sure, I have been doing weight training but I kinda just don't see the results from that; just a bigger body.

sugarbear1

talk with your doctor or a nutritionist.

how long sober? sometimes the body needs to get a bit normal before any results with anything happen.....

Faceless

Well, I binge drank twice a week till June 15, had a few blips along the way, but still goin strong. Maybe my body is just adjusting, Idk.

Rosie88

Eeeeep! I was hoping to drop a few lbs from quitting drinking! I gained 60 lb in a year, some due to meds I am on but I'm sure a lot of it was the 2+ bottles of wine a day and drunk/hangover eating!

I don't have any advice as I am new to this, but best of luck!! :-)

Faceless

Sorry, Rosie, I didn't mean to scare you. I just noticed beforehand that my measurements fluctuated, whereas now they just don't budge and it makes me nervous. Before, I was able to slim down but now it's been hard, although I have noticed I have more strength, thanks to the weight lifting hehe.

zjw

I drank something like 12,000 calories in booze or something like that a week. I did the math i figured for sure i'd drop weight when i got sober without even having to try. I didnt change my eating just cut out the booze. I lost like 17lbs then nothing. I mean that kinda intake would have you thinking I would have been HUGE or slimmed down to a toothpick cutting that out. But nope!

I'm convinced not all calories are the same. I know its true I eat 5-6000 calories now a day on a high carb low fat vegan diet and dont gain a thing.

Its possible your body is just at a platau theres so many variables really. A good diet tho and exercise almost always works but I wont lie when i lost weight the scale sometimes didnt budge for a month or something I just had to be patient and wait it out and keep following the rules and not give up then the scale would budge again. Our bodies are wierd as they try and readjust.

Rosie88

I need to get my butt back to the gym! I always loved the feeling I got from weight training. Made me feel like super woman! Haha

DoubleFelix

Another thing to keep in mind is that the way weight is culturally understood now is pretty simplistic and misleading. Most of us are taught that a + b - c = weight loss but it actually is way more complicated than that. Weight is affected by a ton of factors, a big one being genetics. A lot of us have the body size and shape we have because we have it, and there is only so much we can do to change it. Learning to love and accept our bodies as they are is an enormous favor we can extend to ourselves each and every day.

Sobritishty

I've been sober for 16 days and I have definitely lost a lot of fat but my weight on the scales says I've only lost 3lbs. I'm 18st 2lbs so I'm putting it down to muscle gain due to the amount of walking I've been able to do due to not being hungover all the time. Could that be the case for you?

Faceless

Son, that's a possibility. I've been working out like I have always been, so I was hoping maybe, but I look in the mirror and say Yuck. But then I've taken pics and I look pretty decently! I've read somewhere that alcohol inhibits muscle growth, so maybe that's why my body measurements fluctuated a lot. I don't know, I hope this is the case for me.

Doublefelix, I agree. I have gained the self appreciation, but it is recently that I've become self conscious and viewed myself as fat. It's a huge slap in the face for me, because I came so far with my confidence and body image, too.

Edited to add that I've always been small, then gained weight in HS because I was not curvy (I was young and stupid), so I ate a LOT. After high school I got my weight problem down, but of course, I am getting it back again.

Croissant

I think something I held onto in early sobriety was that weight would drop off me. It did not. I will not lie....I was massively pissed off. Didn't I deserve one good thing for getting sober (insert bratty alco voice)?

Then a few months in I lost around 7kilos ....around 14 pounds.

I then developed a huge sugar craving and have gained that back over 5 months.

I don't feel so entitled to lose weight anymore. I screwed with my body for near on 10 years. Even extremely dieting whilst guzzling wine, which was probably my only nutrient at times.

Bottom line is, I don't expect my body to do me any miraculous favours. It's been 12 months of mainly being sober and I'm probably about the same weight as when I quit.

But I'm not drinking, and I've learned that that is the greatest gift, and to expect my body to just co-operate after years of abuse, was harsh and unfair.

Give it time.