GreekGuy

Hello all,
I have been sober now 26 days. I feel great, so much more energy. I don't ever want to drink again. Guess I was in the right frame of mind this time when I quit. Health scare (all healthy thank God)... I was wonder 2 questions...

1. I have always had good skin. But now that it has been a bunch of weeks sober my skin looks like crap. I look older, which is odd because I thought giving up drinking would make my skin look better. I drink a lot more water, gave up 99% of my caffein intake (about 1 or 2 cups of Coffee a week, no diet cokes or sodas) and all the tea I drink is naturally caffein free. Why does my skin look so old and tired?

2. I dropped 5 lbs the 1st week I stopped drinking, these past 2 weeks now I have only lost 1...??? I give my dog an extra walk every day, at least 1/2 hour each time. That is 2 hours a day, not including walking to and from work. have been eating really healthy, lots of veggies and fruits for hydration, mostly chicken, salmon and skim milk as my protein source, more beens & nuts. For my sweet tooth I'll have some tea with a teaspoon of natural honey. I eat processed sugars, table or white sugars, on very very very rare times. Everything I buy is no-salt added, and all my nuts are raw and unsalted. My calorie intake is def 75% lower then when I was drinking (I don't eat junk food I don't even remember eating but have wrappers on my table...)... I won't miss that. So....

My questions are, why do I feel so bloated and why can't I lose weight? and why does my skin look look like crap over 3 weeks later? I'm going to see family in Greece in a month, and hope this stops. Any suggestions? :rotfxko

MsJax

Hi GreekGuy Your diet sounds really good. I always keep in mind that when we abuse alcohol for years, it's going to take quite a while to really get looking good & healthy again. Months, not weeks/days. How old are you? I'm 44 & sometimes I think my skin looks super old and awful too (16+months sober). I take fish oil capsules & I think that helps skin elasticity & tone. Also, as my skin lost it's alcoholic bloat in initial sobriety, it seems like some of my wrinkles became more apparent...

Your weight will come off. Change up your exercise and be forgiving of yourself as you get sober. If you're hungry~eat. It keeps your metabolism high. It took me about a year but I went from 178 to 140. Lost it very slowly and didn't beat myself up.

Congratulations on getting sober Best wishes.

GreekGuy

I'm 42, so we are about the same age. I'm not really worried about looking my age, just don't want my skin to look tired. Weird term but it looks tired. I was taking fish oils for a while, but now the Dr. wants me to take a high dose of folic acid for a while and of course the B vitamins. I don't want to take too many things, not sure how good that is easier in pill forms.

Maybe it looks fine, and I just thought it looked better when I had vodka or whisky goggles on... LOL... I do have to say my bowls (not to be gross) have been great!... he he he...

Congrats on being 16 months sober. On January 28th I celebrated my 6 years of not having a cigarette. In 2018 I shall do the same with booze... I do have to say, since I stopped drinking I have picked up a nasty Club Soda (no sodium added) habit. For some reason I can't stop drinking the stuff!

katan

Thanks for the posts! I am day 24 and have having exactly the same issues regarding weight and skin. Also, not sleeping well. Having strange dreams, and today woke up feeling like I had a terrible hangover!

GreekGuy

Yeah, I've woken up a few times feeling hung over and thinking "How much did I drink last night" then realized, I have not drank in weeks! :-) That and having some weird dreams. That is normal from what I read. Congrats on stopping. I do have to say my nails and hair look good. Never really gave my nails that much thought, but I think because I am eating healthier and drinking more skim milk it has made my nails stronger. I was actually thinking of going for a manicure (I'm 42 and have only been for 2 my whole life... again I guess the guy thing, just don't think about it). Interesting also is my body coloring has gotten much nicer. I was drying my feet when I got out of the shower and I actually took a double take, like "who's feet are those"... They looked really healthy. Interesting no?

MsJax

Another thing that can help with your skin is to use a really good exfoliator once a day before you wash your face with cleanser. Really scrubs it. Gets all the old dead stuff off. Then moisturize well. I do it in the evening.

GreekGuy

I wouldn't even know what to buy for that? Can you recommend a good exfoliator for a man? Never bought anything like that. Just used good old soap and water. :-)

Any suggestions for getting rid of male bloating also?

justhadenough

I use probiotics which are great for reducing bloating

Sasha4

You can use any any exfoliator, does not just have to be one for men.

There are someones for men made by the more expensive brands - like Clarins or Clinique. They are usually in department stores.

You can buy cheaper ones though, or even make your if you google it.

I find peppermint capsules are good for bloating.

Also google body brushing - good for general health.

You will be going to beauty school next!!! Only kidding. x

Change4good

dermologica daily micro exfolient is incredible for brightening tired skin!

vegan

Hey Greek guy my dad is from Athens (I am a Yia Yia) awesome you going to Greece so beautiful!! Anyway I am a vegetarian and eat very similar to you (minus the meat) I am in day 22 and figured I would be wasting away without the 100 beers a week I was drinking..but I am not...I had to cut back on the fruits (sugar) and beans (fiber = bloat) and nuts( high fat) unless you are watching portion sizes of these items very carefully they will add up very quickly! Now I am trying to fill up on more veggies (instead of half a watermelon I like protein powder (whey... I use vegan) and ad it to green tea or almond milk for a nice snack. Also muscle weighs more then fat so if you are toning up it could be you are losing fat (so go by clothes fit) You sound like you are doing extremely well and in tune with your body more now that alcohol is not clouding your perception..... I like your posts they help me..

yayday

bummer...only 3rd day sober ~ but one of the many reasons i want to quit, i'm looking like hell skin wise hoped to look better.

Sloinge

Can't help on the skin thing - go get a facial with all the money you save on booze you can afford it.

On the weight side, here's my guess from my experience. Alcohol gives you bad calories and makes us eat garbage. So what I found was that I lost weight which was just the excess water weight and junk in the short term. Bloating, poor diet and higher blood pressure all make you feel and carry more unhealthy weight or something like that.

Afterwards, I found that I started to increase healthy muscle mass again and this adds more weight as muscle is denser than fat. I didn't think that I was doing a huge amount more but the truth is that even pottering around the house doing chores instead of slouching othe couch drinking burns more excess calories.

A better gauge in the short term is how your clothes fit and how you feel.

Btw - cannot recommend exercise enough - especially in the short term. If you get a really good sweat on it will help leach toxins out of your system and improve your complexion. Blood flow and circulation improves and one just looks better.

Just my guess, but I found that my weight went down and then up. What I did notice was that my face stopped being puffy and saggy. That was definitely worth it.

Someguy23

Hi GreekGuy, I'm living in the NY area and am originally from the balkans as well (though further north than Greece).

In my experience, the success of a new diet cannot be gauged until you've been on it for at least a month, preferably two. I also suggest you start counting your calories rather than just guessing, it's very easy to under-estimate how much you're eating.

I've found beans very good for weight loss. Filling without being too calorie-heavy. Not so sure about the nuts, I could eat kilos of pistachios without filling up. I try to eat olives when I crave a salty and oily snack and I've found I can even replace meat with olives when cooking (sometimes).

In any case, not drinking and getting more exercise can do nothing but good. Congrats on 26 days and I'm jealous that you get to visit your home country soon and I'll be stuck here... Best of luck.

Dee74

None of this is my area of expertise, but welcome GreekGuy

D

sugarbear1

I don't even remember eating but have wrappers on my table

are you getting up in the middle of the night and eating? You gotta burn more calories than you take in. nuts have a lot of calories. maybe drink more water.

sugar and lemon juice mixed into a paste makes a great exfoliater, just don't get it in your eyes.

give time time, you are healing. exercise more and eat less. sometimes our body is just getting to the even point, yet we think we are exercising more than our calorie intake and this is just not they way it really is....

relax, stay stopped, and give time time. chew more slowly and chew a lot. give yourself several more weeks and you'll look terrific!

Are you using a program of recovery?

GreekGuy

Thanks for the tips. Just to let everyone know...
I don't keep sugar in the house
I don't keep salt in the house
not because I quit drinking, I just don't use them.
I eat nuts daily, but usually buy raw and unsalted (Walnuts, ALmonds, Brazilian and sometimes Cashews)... and I measure them out.. it equals about a palm full...
I'm not a big fruit eater but since I've had a sweat tooth since quiting, which I hear is normal, I've decided fruit is better then ice cream or cakes, and my sweat tooth should calm down in another month or 2 form what I read. I know I'm def. not taking in more calories, sodium, fat or carbs then when I was drinking. Didn't realize my organs were bloated? That is new to me???

Hey Yia Yia....

Hey SomeGuy, what part of the Balkans?

katan

From what I have been told, it will just take time and ongoing commitment to not drinking for the body to figure out the no-alcohol thing. Figure three to six months minimum.
Each day sober is one in the right direction.

jakec

I'd say for your face, use an exfoliating face scrub, gets all the dirt and dead skin off. Normal soap can leave a residue on your skin, maybe that's why it looks tired?

Also, try moisturizing after washing. Theres a lot of different facial/skin moisturizers on the market or you can use something natural like coconut oil! A wee bit of that is amazing for making skin soft!

Someguy23

Romania

About the sugar cravings, it seems there's three things people like to replace alcohol with: sugar, caffeine or nicotine. I went with caffeine myself which, in retrospect, wasn't very smart since I consumed a lot of it to begin with.

Good for you to tackle the side effects before they become real problems.