Aurora80

and I've noticed I'm eating way more than usual. I started trying to watch what I eat a couple months ago and went from 119lbs to 110lbs, but the past 2 days I've pretty much been eating what I want... more fried chicken and guacamole, less raw veggies.

I'm just wondering, should I put a lid on this eating now? Or should I cut myself some slack with the food and focus on not drinking for now?

ETA: I know 119lbs doesn't sound like much, but I'm very petite with a very small frame and at 119 all my clothes very vulgarly tight and I had a muffin top and felt bad about myself.

GettingStronger2

Aurora -- take this for what it is worth, my opinion. Also know that I am a recovering anorexic, so I have food issues. . .

When I first quit drinking, the first week for sure, and into the next few not as bad, I ate whatever and whenever I felt like it. I am not sure if I gained weight or not. I don't think I did, but then again, I didn't have the alcohol calories on top of the additional food. It slowly taperd off.

Now, 8 weeks later, I am feeling great, eating a healthy diet, and working out again. I have not felt this good in a long time.

I don't think my eating in the first few weeks did me any harm. In fact, it probably helped get me through those weeks without drinking.

So, my take on it is that you should not worry about it right now. Besides, your weight is low. I don't know how tall you are, but 110/119 is not that much for any adult, any age.

Focus on not drinking. Other things will come in time.

TexasNative

Hey there, the first 3 days are very trying I know..just remember..a few more and you will really start to feel better. Im a little over 3 weeks, and during the first 10-12 days my goal was to not drink, my diet and basically everything else took a backseat! I know I can't pound doritos and guzzle pepsi everyday forever, but at first I just did what I had to do to stay sober. Best wishes, keep posting daily it's a gigantic help!

LaFemme

Wow, I could hardly eat anything the first two weeks, and my appetite is slowly coming back, but a lot of foods I used to like I can't stomach anymore.

I agree though that do whatever feels right for the firs couple of weeks in terms of eating and drinking whatever you want.

Aurora80

Well even though I drank almost daily, alcohol was not a physical addiction for me. I basically have to quit drinking completely because for me drinking can lead to using. But it's still very hard for me not to drink... drinking has been a part of my life for a long time.

LaFemme

Gotcha!

You might want to check under "Newcomers Daily Support Thread" There are several threads for people in early stages of Recovery, I found it really helpful, because people were in a similar place and going through similar experiences:-)

artsoul

Aurora - The first week or two sober I was really hungry. I don't know if it's about blood sugar, lack of nutrients, or just that alcohol usually took away that hunger. Whatever it was, I thoroughly enjoyed ordering out from different restaurants each night as a kind of reward for not drinking. After several weeks, my appetite returned to normal, and I find that I'm even losing a few pounds now (after 3 months)...........

At day 3, I think just staying sober is all you have to worry about. Hang in there!!

DUNE

I'm not sure what really causes the increase in appitite, but I have also exspirienced that the first 3-10 days of being sober. I think part of it has to do with your body trying to get back to normal and ridding itself of toxins. I found out that with normal food intake, it takes about 72-79 hours for food to pass through your body, and that during the last 65-70 hours of that your body is still taking nutriants and toxins from that. However 90% of the digestion process occurs in your small intestins durring the first 6 hours.

I whouldn't worry about other things and just focus on not drinking, and reward yourself for that. Weather its in the form of food or anything else (within reason). That helped me a lot, and after about 10 days I stopped being a couch potato and started to buckle down on things. I am now eating heathy, lifting weights, and am about to stop smoking and start adding cardio to my workouts. Hope this helps.

Dune

Larkspur

Yeah, I'm of the opinion that quitting drinking is a HARD thing to do, and it requires focus.

You're 'depriving' yourself of something that you're used to having, and that's difficult. If you're also trying to deprive yourself of food as well, you're dissipating your focus, you're going to end up hungry and angry and possibly tired, and those are three big steps towards convincing yourself that never drinking again was a silly overreaction in the first place.

It'll only take a few weeks, and you're not going to turn into the Michelin woman in that time. Take it easy. Be nice to yourself. If you do gain a little, there is plenty of time to shake off a few extra pounds once you're more comfortable with staying away from alcohol. And as others have said, the absence of alcohol makes a big difference calorie-wise too. I didn't see a drop in the first three days either, but after four weeks, I'm down seven pounds, and that was with extra icecream

Dee74

Hi Aurora

Maybe your focus is best served right now on taking care of yourself? We bash ourselves around pretty good when we drink - I think feeling hungry can sometimes be our bodies way of starting to repair that damage. I feel it was that way for me.

You on day 3. However long it may feel, thats a blip in the journey - pace yourself.

If you try to eat healthy stuff and avoid the sugary processed stuff and, maybe in a day or two, start to exercise lightly, I think you'll be well on track.

The current month support thread is in this forum:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-2010-a-5.html

and I see you've found the 2 weeks and under thread - you'll find a lot of support there

D