stanleyhouse

I noticed a lot of people said they have lost a significant amount of weight since they got sober. Some say 30lbs or more. Has anybody talked to their doctor about the weight loss and gotten any answers/reasons? My doctors have not given me any good answers yet. It is nice to shed some pounds but in my situation I am becoming underweight and trying very hard to gain. It seems like I gain and then I get sick or have times of increased activity and off it comes. I do remember being skinny when i was sober, like when I was thirteen or that year before I got married. So maybe that is the way my metabolism is supposed to roll.
Thanks for listening
SH

Isaiah

After winding up in a hospital after a bad binge back in my earlier sobriety I wound up in the psych ward. They asked me a lot of questions about my diet. Even short-term alcoholism can wreck havoc on our diet and physical health. It's well-known that many alcoholics suffer from malnourishment while using. A lot of people lose weight, but others gain (basically, we forget to think about what we're eating.)

There could be other reasons as well, but that's the one that I know.

Fandy

being underweight is reason to seek out your doctor for some testing....depending on your diet and physical activity level.

you don't say how old you are, but most american women in a peri-menopausal bracket have the opposite problem.

I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but better to find out what is going on with your body sooner than later.

ForwardLooking

I guess you'll be wanting to gain muscle rather than fat. There's plenty of dietary and training advice out there. Such gains take time and effort and will go if you stop training and eating properly for a prolonged period.

Draciack

Eat more sammiches

I lost about 30 lbs. in 2.5 months when I quit drinking/binge eating. Turns out, I never learned how to eat properly. Who knew most people didn't drink a liter of whiskey and eat 3 double cheeseburgers at 3AM every other day? Plus, I'm more active in sobriety than I ever was while drinking. My basal metabolic rate has gone up tons.

It took a couple months of heavy eating and heavy lifting to pack on some weight but now I look less like one of those malnourished kids in Oliver Twist and more like a functioning, adult male.

There are a lot of reasons for being underweight, including the dreaded biological factors. Aside from the doctors, you could talk to a personal trainer about gaining good weight.

Best of luck

stanleyhouse

Thanks guys
I have had many tests done to check for thyroid, cancers, pituitary problems, ect. But they explain it a lot like Draciack does. Apparently his and my diet of a liter of booze and big macs does not do the body good. I will check out the personal trainer. I am waiting on a call from the nutrionist to get a good high calorie diet going. Thirty pounds in a few months is fast. I think i'm down forty for the year and it does not seem right for a peri-menopausal woman. I get labs back tomorrow, again because my flu-like sickness hasn't cleared up yet. I'll let you guys know if I hear anything.
sH

augustwest

i've lost 100 pounds since i got clean almost a year ago, but i was fat and it was intentional. i maintain my current weight of 175, give or take a few, now by eating healthy and exercising regularly.

I consulted my doctor a couple of times early in the process to get a grasp on my general health condition and would encourage anyone else to do the same.

LaFemme

Hey Stanleyhouse...first I wish I had your problem...I eat like a bird, exercice and have a hard time losing weight...I've always had to be careful and during the last 4/5 years of my drinking I stopped being careful. As a result I packed on the weight. Because of my metabolism I expect it will take some time to loose that weight...but at least I now care about myself to put in the effort.

My Mom is like you (I take after my Dad ...sigh) and I have another friend like you...both need protein shakes to keep weight on...ask your trainer about it.

JackNWA

I was up around 300 pounds when I stopped drinking. Obvisously I had neglected myself for some time. I immediately lost about 30 pounds. Mainly from the added calories of the alcohol. Fortunetly, I've been able to stay sober, however i still neglected myself - smoking and major overweight. At about 11 years sober I had a cerebral hemorage. I remmeber asking my doc what caused it. He smiled, and said 20+ years of alcoholism and 25+ years of heavy smoking and obesity. Thanks doc. I started an excercise program, stopped smoking, and now feel better than I ever have in my life. I'm telling everyone all of this because in my experience at least, stopping drinking was the most important part of all of this. If I was still drinking, there is NO WAY I would be going out for a daily run, etc. Stopping is the main thing, but not the only thing.

augustwest

"Stopping is the main thing, but not the only thing. "

you can say that again!

stanleyhouse

Jack
You are right, stopping is the main thing but I have to take care of myself and it looks like I have to push myself. I'm gonna see a trainer and call the nutritionist. My labs came back and all is normal even though I still have acute gastroenteritis going on three weeks now. The dr is suppose to get back to me because I said this cannot go on even if it is viral.
La Femme
Funny thing about body image is I was always comfortable at any size, now I have issues because I'm too thin. Like I think I've gotta gain ten lbs before spring vacation, i never thought like that before. I've got to let go of the ego and concentrate on being healthy. Nothing is a quick fix. I guess we all know that!!!
SH

LaFemme

I actually understand about the too thin bit...my thin friend has people thinking she's anorexic all the time...people told her she was too thin to have kids (turns out they were wrong)...that sort of thing...as long as you feel healthy that's all that matters!

stanleyhouse

I'm off to Bob Evans to eat a big sammwiche! Dr called and I got a referral to Gi DR.
SH

caribbean

Sounds like a good plan. Not medical advice, but it may be there's other stuff going on with your body that might be unrelated to the alcohol. Weight loss is normal because you're getting rid of the empty calories that alcohol was providing (assuming you were also eating normally at the time) -- but no one should be losing past their ideal body weight if they have regular eating habits and aren't drinking extra calories. Hope the GI doc has some answers for you! Feel better.