Wantthatfeeling

Anyone obsessed with food now that they quit drinking? I have always had food issues but I am obsessing about eating ice cream all the time now. It had just been like an ohhh yummy thing every night but ever since some stress entered my life on Sunday I am feeling SO out of control. Last night I wanted to drink (I did not--with the help of SR friends) and tonight, after my AA meeting...I was obsessing about where to get the ice cream and getting home to devour it. Feels like it did when I was bulimic in college (15 years ago). The shame and the yucky feelings are popping up again and I am not sure what to do with them or if I should just be thankful I am not drinking. I am almost 3 months. I am already overweight and insecure about it...I don't want to gain ANYMORE weight!

Anyone?? Bueller?

tommyk

Maybe it is as simplistic as... eat fruits instead of fatty foods?

And YES, be VERY thankful you aren't drinking.

Wantthatfeeling

I wish it were that simple. I tried that at lunch. I think it is my addict mind. Food was my first drug of choice.

Dee74

I know a lot of people craved sugar after giving up - which can mean lots of sweets and weight gain.

My tip is like Tommys - eat more fruit and veg, less processed stuff, more activity - it may not be easy (I'm trying the same switch) but I believe it's possible.

I don't know if this is of use to you, but have you visited our exercise and nutrition forum?
Fitness, Health, and Nutrition - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

We also have a forum here for anyone with food issues
Eating Disorders - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

D

Reese321

I would definitely consult a doctor, but if you're still working on the alcohol addiction and don't want to depend on food as a replacement for a while look into the cookie diet.

It's a cookie you eat that expands in your stomach to make you feel full. It's a hunger-controlling diet.

My mom is struggling with using food for comfort, so I know a little what you're going through.

Good luck to you in the future.

sfgirl

just seeing this post by you as well, ice cream was my other craving besides chocolate, probably had that 4+ times a week, so good, if you eat well at other times and exercise I see no problem with having ice cream a few times a week in early recovery— eat fiber and whole grains, lentils and brown rice, stuff like that, it should help

1_day@_a_time

Suggest Compulsive Overeater by Bill B.

Very spiritual with a great deal taken from the Big Book and written very well.

Every time I crack it open I get more.......

Wantthatfeeling

Great! Everyone's comments really help me re-frame. Thanks!

keen2bclean

Yep, I'm def eating more the last couple of days...nothing too healthy either I'm loathed to say..but for the moment its whatever gets me thru...

Tazman53

Wantthatfeeling you know when I first got sober I too was stuffing my face with everything, but in tinking about it an overweight sober Martin is far happier then a drunk Martin!!!!!

That being said a couple of things that could help......... Hard candies, yes they have the sugar, but that sugar will kill the craving and the calories in one hard candy which can take an hour to consume is FAR less then the calories in a bowl of ice cream which can be (for me) inhaled in a matter of minutes.

As already suggested fruits!

Exercise can actually cut down ones appetite.

Drinking lots of water helps in many ways.

BTW next AA meeting you go to ask some folks how they handled it.

I was over a pack a day smoker and a boozer when I went into detox, the doctor told me to deal with one problem at a time, he told me to get the greater evil under control before I try and tackle the lesser evil. Well when I had a year sober I used the same things I learned in AA in dealing with alcohol and applied it to smoking, I have been smoke free for over a year now.

Wantthatfeeling

Tazman...thanks for taking the time to write SUCH a GREAT response!! That was EXACTLY what I needed to hear.

Have a fantastic day everyone!

flutter

I definitely started eating more after I sobered up, mostly because I was starving myself with a stomach constantly full of liquor..

But if you're having some emotional eating issues and feeling bad about it, you might want to be careful with replacing one addiction with another.

Have you considered any counseling or anything like that to suppliment your recovery?

That's what I did.. and I'm so thankful I did it!

Chamabama

Bulimia is a coping mechanism and so is alcohol for many. It makes perfect sense that giving up alcohol could cause you to return to old coping mechanisms. I struggled with anorexia in my youth and when I quit drinking, those old feelings have come back up and I am still dealing with them. I work with a therapist. Have you considered seeing someone about it?

Hevyn

Me too Wantthatfeeling - I didn't just want food in general, but sweets. We've touched on this before, but the sugar craving is real. I think our bodies were so used to the daily dose of sugar from the booze that we miss it. I was a mess, wanting candy - bought bags of lollipops the first couple of months. They seemed to calm my nerves. I wonder if maybe we are rewarding ourselves subconsciously - you know, "Well, I'm not drinking, but I can have something decadent to take it's place." . Ice cream is the one craving I developed that has not gone away, I stopped buying candy bars every time I went out. I still also have a craving for coffee with flavored cream & diet sodas. It is wonderful that this is has become your main problem now, though - congratulations - you're doing this thing!

bananagrrrl

Have you tried 'Skinny Cows'? They come in ice cream sandwiches and ice cream cones and are low calorie and low fat but they taste great!

One satisfies my ice cream craving and the ice cream sandwich is only 140 calories!

1_day@_a_time

the issue is sugar!

Search & research again & again, always with an open mind. Do your due diligence.

We can abstain from alcohol & drugs, but not food. We must eat to stay alive.

Want to try some controlled drinking & using?

Probably not.........

Since a tremendous number of people are overweight and die everyday as a result of eating disorders, is it possible this is as great an issue as alcohol & drugs, if not more so?

Even remotely possible?

It's life & death.

Thanks for listening.

Sweets79

Hey,

I made a similar post like this a few weeks ago. I noticed that I am craving alot of sugar now that I stopped drinking. I am trying to keep it under control.

And actually it's not as simple as just eating fruits, because some people have specific cravings for carby sweets or for creamy sweets such as ice cream. It would be better to eat fruit than those things, but sometimes it's just not what we want

jamdls

When I quit drinking I became addicted to M&Ms! Massive quantities of them (bought at least 2 4 POUND bags a week), they were a nightly reward! Yes I gained weight but I was sober! I've now lost the weight I gained and I have absolutely no desire for M&Ms. I still reward myself with chocolate but in much smaller quantities.

Wantthatfeeling

I am seeing a therapist and have been for quite awhile. Went originally for food issues--compulsive eating (I FELT SO OUT OF CONTROL) and bulimia. Then it felt like I got some control over that but I took up WINE! And then many years later...started to blackout and use alcohol because I felt so insecure, was happy, was sad, was lonely...you know the gig. Food was SO much worse for me and I feel that out of control (OOC) desire back now that I quit drinking. Which is why I reached out for help. I am having such a hard time with the return of those OOC feelings. I am feeling very anxious about it all.

Chamabama

I'm glad you're reaching out for help! It's understandable that you feel anxious. I was feeling very anxious too. Couldn't believe those old feelings had shown up again! I even had a sneaky little voice in the back of my head telling me, "see, I can't eat if I don't drink... so maybe I should drink..." Blah! I had to shut that voice up! Battle of the anorectic voice versus the alcoholic voice is a no win situation.

Have you talked to your therapist about it? Have you discussed other healthy coping mechanisms? Do you have a nutritionist?

I'm sorry you're going through this but I'm glad you've recognized the signs and are taking positive steps to not slide back down that rabbit hole.

I've been sober just over 3 months now and the food and booze issues are both getting much easier. It's like the ED and alcoholic voices are starting to understand that I simply won't listen to them, so they're starting to pipe down.

Wishing you the best!