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hovicke 03-10-2017 01:09 PM

Losing weight in sobriety
 
So a quick background: I'm 24 years old and was always 'big' when I was a kid. I got into good shape in high school and was weighing in at about 160 lbs at 6'1. When I went to college and years after I was a very heavy drinker and now I weigh 225 lbs. I was drinking about 2500 calories worth of alcohol a day and ate maybe 500 depending on my mood. I had fluctuations where I could get down to about 205 lbs. if I was working at it and would walk for about an hour each evening but now that I am sober I can't shed a pound at all. On average my caloric intake is between 1000 and 1500 per day and I still try to get in that hour walk each night, but in the past 2 months of recovery and sobriety my weight has been between 223 and 228... I know losing weight takes time, but I was honestly expecting to be able to hit 200 pretty easily because I could lose weight easily when I was drinking vodka like it was water.

Did anyone else have any issues like this? If so, can you give any advice? I'm at the point where I'll be fat if I can stay sober and happy, but I've always been very self conscious and would like to at least get down to 200 because my goal of 180 is now just seeming impossible.

OpioPhobe 03-10-2017 04:31 PM

hovicke - I turned things around as far as weight goes. In early sobriety I put on quite a bit of weight because I just let myself go. I had to start tracking everything that I ate in a journal as a first step. That helped tremendously, and I was able to stick to my daily calorie allotments. I added the gym to my routine about three months ago, and I go religiously now. Losing weight and adding exercise has made a huge difference in how I feel. It is like night and day.

Something seems off if you are really at 1,000 to 1,500 calories per day, and you haven't been losing weight over 2 months. Are you tracking everything that you eat during the day? Could you be missing something like creamer in coffee? Are you weighing yourself at the same time each day? I always weigh myself in the mornings as soon as I get up. You may want to go to the doctor to get a physical and check thyroid function.

As far as the timing goes, most people target 1 to 2 lbs of fat loss per week. I think I have been averaging 1.5 lbs over time.

The choice isn't between being fat or getting drunk. If you set a plan and stick with it you will lose weight while you are sober. If you want to get to 180 lbs then you CAN do it.

shortstop81 03-10-2017 04:50 PM

I'm not a dietician, but 1000-1500 calories seems pretty low for a 6'1" 24 year old. I'm a 5'1" female and that would even be on the low end for *me*.

biminiblue 03-10-2017 05:00 PM

I have been sober this time for three years. I also lost quite a lot of weight while I was still drinking (on purpose, I was over weight.)

When I got sober I focused on sobriety, exercise and healthy eating. I needed good nutrition.

I agree with OpioPhobe, I think your calories estimate is likely off if you aren't losing. How are you tracking your food? In addition, when under stress it is harder to lose - and undereating combined with new sobriety is a stress on the body.

How about bumping up to 2000 calories a day but logging it all, still exercising and eating good wholesome food with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and plenty of lean protein. Maybe add in some weight-lifting, it will give you strength, shape, and confidence (...and muscles!)

You might want to hop over to MyFitnessPal, it's got a weight-loss and fitness forum and a really good Goal wizard for weight loss combined with the very best food database for logging food.

Be kind to your poor body. You're not that much over weight. Focus on health and everything will fall into place.

Congrats on the two months sober. :) That's really awesome.

hovicke 03-10-2017 05:00 PM

Thanks for the responses. And that really is my caloric intake me I've been keeping it that low because I haven't seen the results. I was a little more laxed the first month, but this past month I have been eating the same things every day at the same times and weighing myself at the same time. This isn't something I am going to keep up (eating the same exact thing everyday) I was doing it more because I just don't understand what's going on. I will definitely be making an appt at the doctors as I am supposed to be going anyway as directed by the nursing staff at my rehab. I've gone through weight loss before and know how to/what works for me, or so I thought...

Again, thanks for the advice, guys!

Edit: Thanks blue! I'm going to check with the doctor too and see what they say but I'll most likely give it a try. I'm more just confused how I could easily cut 20 lbs in a few weeks when I was drinking more calories than I'm currently eating.

I might just be feeling sorry for myself so i apologize if it's coming across that way as well :/

biminiblue 03-10-2017 05:38 PM

You don't sound that way at all. Hey, I've been there.

I really think it's about healing for your body though.

It needs nutrients after being deprived. Alcohol can stop absorption of nutrients. Many alcoholics have deficiencies. Are you eating eggs or meat? B12 is a commonly depleted nutrient for alcoholics.

Good plan to see a doctor.

Flavia2 03-11-2017 08:18 PM

Make sure you go to a doctor and have your thyroid checked, it seems that may be off. Your caloric intake is way low - are you also feeling tired, dry skin, fuzzy thinking?

SnazzyDresser 03-12-2017 03:16 AM

I second the MFP recommendation. I'm 70 pounds down in the year since I quit drinking, and that's eating 1700-1800 calories most days, a little more on the weekends. I do walk daily but nothing crazy, sedentary is my middle name. I weigh and log every bit of food I eat.

zjw 03-12-2017 03:55 AM

the whole get your thyroid check thing is never a bad idea.

for me i tend to loose weight pretty easily if i cut out carbs or cut out fat from my diet.

I lost 100+lbs by low carb and walking each day. That being said I seem to be feeling a lot better doing this vegan high carb low fat thing i'm doing vs the low carb thing. But everyones different. I think I screwed my metabolism up a bit with the years of abuse and the low carb diet while effective in the short term I think in the long term I might have casued myself more issues.

In the end though weight loss takes time and dilligence and steady exercise. I found if iw as not loosing fast enough or to my liking i had to up my game either adjust how i was eating or adjust my excercise up or down etc..

the body tends to hit these plataus and I had to figure out how to bust through them each time. Usually doing something slightly diff would work.

BrendaChenowyth 03-12-2017 07:52 AM

You should eventually lose weight if you stick to 1500 calories a day as a man. Women can lose weight at 1200.

There are days I eat 1000 and days I eat 2000 and I am very, very slowly, but surely losing weight. I've lost 30 pounds since I quit drinking. I need to lose 20 more to be healthy.

BrendaChenowyth 03-12-2017 07:53 AM

zjw that seems to be a perfect formula, to be honest. Very low carbs, and walk every day! Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

WW2gamer 03-13-2017 11:08 PM

Yeah just stick with it. I find it strange how some people drink a lot, but don't also eat a pile as well.

The only times I'd really eat less than sober, was because I'd be too drunk, too quickly to cook found. So usually As soon as I'd wake up and start again, I'd cook early enough to eat.

JamesfrmEngland 03-14-2017 12:28 PM

You need to log everything you eat an the calories in eacch meal, use a diary or myfitnesspal, you can often eat more than you think without realising it or deceive yourself. For your height and weight (unless you had some very rare genetic abnormality) you would be losing loads of weight eating 1,500 calories per day. Don't forget exercise is important too. If you concentrate on diet only you often lose 'water weight' rather than 'fat weight.'

6502ASM 03-15-2017 10:14 AM


Originally Posted by shortstop81 (Post 6362355)
I'm not a dietician, but 1000-1500 calories seems pretty low for a 6'1" 24 year old. I'm a 5'1" female and that would even be on the low end for *me*.

I am 6'0 male, 202 pounds. I had my metabolism measured with some sort of oxygen measuring machine at the hospital. It came up as 1600 calories for my RMR. The dietician told me if I just did office work (no exercise) my maintenance would be 1920 calories a day (with a 1600 RMR). That is well below what the online calculators tell us. If I followed the online calculators I would be eating an excess of 300 calories a day and gaining 25 pounds a year. If I want to lose just one lousy pound a week, I need to net 1420 calories a day EVERY DAY, either through dieting or a TON of exercise. It's not easy to lose weight!

BrendaChenowyth 03-15-2017 12:46 PM

Insulin resistance! I could write about it all day but I'll just let you look it up, cause I'm lazy just like your pancreas.

jessicamae 03-15-2017 01:43 PM

I can tell you what I have experienced with my weight loss and what has worked for me. When I got clean and sober I went from 165-216(at my highest weight) at 216 I was very unhappy and I knew if I kept that up it could completely mess me up health wise...long story short I tried carb cutting, I tried calorie cutting and I tried killing myself at the gym. I cam across a forum called "the warrior diet" What it is basically is not eating all day and then when you eat dinner you can eat what you want to an extent and don't have to count and worry and stress. For me when I was cutting carbs and calories, I would beat myself up if I did not follow what I was supposed to. Shopping was a nightmare and trying to pack lunch for work was also because I had a hard time with what to eat. I have 2 kids work full time and must put 4-5 meetings into my schedule weekly as well as step work and other things. I did not have the time nor energy to cook every night for the next day and so on. When I saw this diet I thought it might work but that I would be hungry during the day but I decided to try it anyway. This is what I do: no breakfast just coffee (never been a breakfast fan) at lunch time I go home and make a slim fast smoothie and bring it back to work and slowly drink it. Right now it is 4pm cst and I am snacking on sunflower seeds. I will go home tonight and eat a regular dinner with my family and through out the day I drink a long of water. I started this about 4 weeks ago and I started at 216 now at 207. I had to accept the fact that weight will come off when it comes off but I am happy with my results. The downside of this is that it took about 2 weeks to get used to it but now I am. I am going to continue with it and start incorporating a little exercise in it. And yes I have heard all the people that tell me its bad for me blah blah blah...I told my DR my plan and she said if it works for you then you are fine. I take vitamins also and some days (1 a week) I will cheat...I don't feel so guilty because I just don't have the need to eat so much on cheat day.

steve-in-kville 03-16-2017 04:30 PM


Originally Posted by jessicamae (Post 6368324)
"the warrior diet"

IIRC, this was kinda the rage before the paleo/caveman thing took hold. Its basically intermittent fasting. I know some folks that got results, but like anything else, you gotta give it time and stick to it!

MrTumble 03-18-2017 12:34 AM

If you are eating 1000-1500 calories a day, aged 24, 6'1" - you *must* lose 2-4 lbs a week.. simply impossible to not do so, which means you are not calculating correctly.

Post you diet here... Lets see what you are eating.

Ina123 03-18-2017 01:33 AM

Perhaps the problem is you're not getting enough calories? I know many people cut down their calorie intake too much in an effort to lose weight and it's actually counterproductive. Just maybe something to look into. As others have said, talking to a Dr is always a good idea. Congrats on your 2 months!!!

maz36 03-18-2017 05:36 AM

I might be because you've developed insulin resistance? You could get yourself checked. I strongly suspect that I have too so I have been following a low carb, high fat diet, NO sugar with intermittent fasting (Look up the dietdoctor.com for all the info). Weight loss is slow for me but it's gradually going down. Lost 21lbs. Also with insulin resistance exercise is important - high impact interval training is meant to be best. :)


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