behindblueyes

Hello Friends.

I am currently still sober. Thanks for all your support.
Just got back from a morning run. The cycle now goes put child on bus and run for at least a mile every morning. It used to be go back to bed hungover.

On the days I do not run, I am up to 10,000 steps or 5 miles before noon at work as a mail carrier(FitBit).

I was a 10 beer a night, sometimes case-a-weekend drinker. However, in 2 months I have managed to gain 20 pounds sober. I found this out after stepping on the same scale I stepped on while I was sick 2 months ago at the doctors.

The thing that gets me is that I have replaced all of these carbs with running and eating right yet my body is really angry. I am not fitting into my jeans as well either (the waist is tighter). No soda, no before-bed eating.

When I was drunk, I would sit and eat meal after meal (mostly wings, spaghetti) sometimes until 3am then pass out. Anyone else deal with this? *frustrated*

Thanks

biminiblue

Well, unless you have some metabolic issue/endocrine problem then you should be able to lose weight by the tried and true method of calories in < calories out

I did gain about ten pounds in the first three months of sobriety. I've lost it and a few of its buddies since then. I'm sure I was malnourished at the end of my drinking .

zjw

if your doing everything right and it sounds like you are I'd check with your doc maybe theres something going on.

My first thought was perhaps when you drank you didnt eat but rather drnak your meals and where underweight hence the gain but you stateed you ate then and such too so i'd imagine thats not the case.

Its not unusual to gain weight initially once started some new exercise too tho. but 20lbs seems kinda high for that kinda gain.

kamm

I too have gained about 10 lbs since becomming sober (2.5 months). Its mostly because of ice cream binges in desperate times and honestly responding to alcohol cravings with food. I have told myself repeatedly it's got go be better for me than drinking.

The cravings ate beginning to be less and thus my over eating less. I am frustrated with the weight gain but I am also trying to be gentle with myself. My plan is to reach 6 months sober and then address diet. My body is still recalibrating

How long have you been sober? Maybe time to start better tracking what you eat if you are strong in your sobriety. If its still early maybe just focus on one thing at a time?

ScottFromWI

It took quite some time for my body to adjust, I was also an exclusive beer drinker and skipped many meals in lieu of beer. It could be your body just getting used to a different intake, have you spoken with your DR about it?

tursiops999

I gained weight in early sobriety, at least 10 lbs. Like others have said, I was hungry a lot, and I also fed cravings with food (especially chocolate). I figured that was better than drinking and let it go for the first 9 months or so. Once I felt my sobriety was more stable, I started to work on sensible diet and exercise. The weight is coming off, but slowly. As others suggest, in very early sobriety it seems we have to do whatever it takes to stay sober, even if that's eating chocolate.

RoyGBiv

I've been using MyFitnessPal to be sure my calories in < calories allowed + exercise to maintain the weight I was at when i quit. I have still gained 5 lbs in 2 weeks.

I was malnourished. Eating once a day, drinking the rest.

I'm walking 5 miles or more a day with some light jogging. Push ups, sit ups, more exercise than I've ever done regularly . So I am not concerned, I think my body is just finally getting what it needs, maybe making a wee bit of muscle too.

As long as I am not overeating and remaining active, I will let it go for now. If I wasn't so sleepy I'd feel awesome.

zjw

I always hated the whole calories in < calories out model. to complicated for me to figure out and follow. I did a low carb diet to loose weight and ate whatever low car food. but now i do a vegan diet that is high carb low fat and again I eat all i could ever want and manage my weight ok.

IE 3000 calories of twinkies is a lot different then a 3000 calories of bananas

I dont feel all calories are created equal. But this is just my opinion.

JeffreyAK

I gained 20+ pounds in the months after I quit drinking, but I've heard of people losing weight too, so it depends on your metabolism and other factors. For me, I didn't hardly eat towards the end of my drinking days and was malnourished, so when I quit drinking and started eating normally (and didn't have the energy to exercise much) I gained weight. It bothered me at first, but I recognized it as a reptilian trap, the addict voice trying to tell me it was more important to fit into my old pants than to quit drinking, so I ignored it and bought new pants.

zjw

just quiting i lost 15lbs like nothing but then the weight loss came to a screeching halt. I for the life of me didnt understand that because i was consuming SOOOO many calories in booze and eating exactly the same way so it would stand to reason that since my caloric intake was WAY less that i would have kept loosing weight. But nope didnt work out that way. I was eating garbage tho and not exercising.

Autumnlover19

I know drinking dehydrated me so when I replaced booze with water, I became more hydrated and hence, a little heavier. I hope that starts to change though.

Hawkeye13

This book really helped me--
the issue I had was insulin resistance / inflammation from years of drinking.

http://www.amazon.com/Starts-Food-Di...arts+with+food

Try doing a "reset" (there is a website you can download free info)

It Starts With Food | The Whole30® Program

This site is Paleo and has great recipes and information after the reset:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

For me, it wasn't "calories in calories out" but a combination approach of what I ate plus exercise.

You're doing great--this will resolve with research and dietary changes
as well as keeping up the exercise.

Weight training really shows up quickly if you want faster results.