jtb72111

Hello, im new to this. Im 16, im 5 and a half months sober. The first months or so I felt great & healthy.. and now I feel worse and worse every day.. I gained like 40 pounds since i been sober, and i look and feel gross.. I dropped out of high school due to getting high all the time.. i dont have a job, i stay home every day. I never want to go out or do anything because I feel like I look gross. I dont want to see anyone. I felt better about myself when I was getting high. it was easy for me to lose weight. I feel like getting high every day because of this. I want to stay sober so bad but its so hard when I feel so ****** about myself did any one else gain alot of weight when they got sober ?

Dee74

Hi and welcome jtb - I moved your post to its own thread

I gained a lot of weight when I got sober - but I was eating a lot of junk and I wasn;t being active at all.

Do you stay active? Do you exercise? Do watch what you eat & how much?

I think common sense stuff like that really is key - it might take a little effort and time but its way better than going backwards

you'll find a lot of support here - good to have you join us

D

hypochondriac

Have you gotten any help with your sobriety Jtb? I think it is common to gain weight when quitting, if not just to replace the sugar from alcohol then maybe because of some cross addiction going on. Maybe you need more support...?

Welcome to SR and well done on your 5 and a half months x

artsoul

Welcome, jtb -

I was well past 6 months sober before I started to rebuild my life and get interested in things again. I understand that feeling of being overweight and not feeling good about yourself, but I think you'll only get more depressed in the end if you're not involved in school or work. Then, you'll only want to use or eat more, and it just snowballs.

Are your parents being supportive or helping you get counseling? You should be really proud of your time sober. Maybe if you set some small goals and work towards them you be able to feel good about yourself again. Prayers and hugs......

Anna

Congratulations on your sober time.

It could be really helpful to get into some kind of exercise routine and help yourself get back into good physical shape. Are you willing to put some effort into eating a healthy diet? I'm glad you found us.

least

Congrats on your sober time and welcome to the site! Is counseling a possibility for you? There's more to living sober than just not drinking and it can be hard adjusting to a sober life.

My counselor has been a real godsend to me the last few years. I highly recommend it if possible. Depression is also a reason for inactivity and for having negative feelings about yourself. Seeing a doctor or a mental health professional could be helpful too.

I wish you the best.

sugarbear1

You are young enough to lose that weight by eating well and exercising. Maybe enroll in a GED class and work at that along with staying stopped. Maybe seek out a program of recovery to work, too. All of this is possible. I've witnessed many, many older people do all of the above and they are much older than you.

Your brain is able to learn much more than an older person's brain. Can you create a routine to follow? Work at it and build a fabulous life for yourself. Dive in the same way you dove into your addictions. Young People in AA is in most states. GSYP - Garden State Young People of Alcoholics Anonymous

Welcome to SR! Glad you are here!

sugarbear1

Alcoholics Anonymous : Young People and AA

Mizzuno

Hey JTB
Congrats on 5 months!! Getting a handle on alcohol/drug use at a young age is admirable and courageous. You said you were 16? At this age our bodies are still growing and changing. This weight gain that you have experienced could be from numerous things. Have you looked at your diet? ( as in foods that you eat) Are you being active? Going out with other sober friends and enjoying your life? ( I think you said that you werent leaving the house) I know that weight can be a issue for a lot of people. It can be a big issue in our teen years and especially if we are women (IMO)
I assure you that you are not gross. I assure you that you can lose the weight. Once you start to do things a little bit different, as in getting more active and changing your diet up a little things will improve. Keep posting and once again Welcome!

Someguy23

Welcome jtb72111, congratulations on the 5 1/2 months.

You mention getting sober and problems from getting high. Were you struggling with alcohol or drugs? or both?

Are you overeating because you are unhappy with your life (you mention staying at home all day) or are your weight problems the root cause of your dissatisfaction?

If it's the former, forcing yourself to go out there and enrich your days will make it much easier to lose the weight. If it's the latter, you need to make a diet and exercise plan and stick with it and you will soon be more comfortable leaving your house.

Best of luck

Hevyn

Hi jtb. Congratulations on getting sober. I can imagine how hard it was to leave that old life behind. I'm glad you found SR - this is a wonderful place where everyone understands how you're feeling.

I was drinking all day & night when I quit - and I wasn't eating. I had no appetite, and eating looked like a waste of time. When I quit alcohol I found an appetite. I made up for all those meals I missed, plus ate a lot of junk and sweets. It took me a while to sort it all out. It's still early days for you - you're making a huge adjustment. No wonder you're feeling frustrated. I hope you will be able to get some counseling to help you learn how to live in a new way.

You're doing great - be proud of yourself!

jtb72111

I struggled more with drugs, first it was alcohol, then it led to drugs. Mostly pills. I never really cared what it was as long as it would get me messed up I would take it no matter what it was. I was more "thick" before i started using, then when I was using I was losing some weight, and started to have all this confidence but I knew my life was becoming unmanageable. My weight was never the reason for getting high, I was okay with myself before all this. It started as just something to do for fun, and then it ended up being an addiction. But that is just me, I have a very addictive personality. and yes ive gotten help, this is my second time trying to get sober the first time i made it to 60 days, but I would go to parties still and take 1 shot or just a little bit and still consider myself sober, I was "minimizing". ive been in and out of rehabs, but the last time i went it was my choice and i wanted it. It was only for 8 days, but it was really intense, and I had alot of time to think I think i just needed that push. & my insurance would only cover 8 days, i was detoxed there and everything. insurance is another problem, i was supposed to go to "after care" after rehab but my mom lost her job, wich means no insurance. & her losing her job was my fault because she had to take alot of days off due to my court dates, rehabs, things like that. ive gained weight because all i do is sit home, i feel so unmotivated i dont even know where to start ..i want to lose weight, i want to be in school, i want a job.. but im to unmotivated to DO any of it. I guess just feel like crap about myself in general, not just my weight. i havnt gone to meetings since i been sober, i dont know why i dont go maybe because ive gone to alot of them high, or maybe because i dont like to talk at them, or i feel like i dont need it. i dont know. anyway thank you to anyone who replied, i appreciate it.

blueshades

jtb, start with one step that you can do to improve your situation. Whether that's a walk, or going to a meeting, start with something. Don't let your whole situation make you so overwhelmed that you don't get started. You will see that one good choice will often lead to another good choice. You've mentioned getting a job, working toward your education, losing weight, those are all long term goals to move toward. You don't need to fix everything that's not working today, just commit to do something to get started.

Best wishes to you!

Vall

Dear Jtb,

Well done for being so strong in quitting.

I know it may not be of any comfort but there are thousands/millions of people out there who are overweight so don't be too hard on yourself. You have been through a lot these past months and the main thing is that you have recognised that you are unhappy and are reaching out for help.

You have age on your side, you can do anything, the world is your oyster so try and make a plan for yourself to start being more active, slowly and maybe cutting down on portions, slowly. It wont happen overnight but you can get there.

Well done and take care.

jtb72111

Thank you ! this helped me a lot, and made me feel at least a little bit better. I know things wont work unless I do. I just get discouraged. I just have too much time on my hands, I know once I have things do do, such as a job, school and things like that, I wont be thinking about things like this all day, and Ill start to feel better about myself. There's days where I just wanna give up and get high because I know that would be the easy thing to do. But usually the things that are hard to do are always worth it in the end and make you a stronger person. thanks again !

Vall

Just wanted to add that when I was overweight, I was very down and hated the way I looked - I couldn't put on a jogging suit and go out running or power walking down the street in front of people!

So I started with very simple changes which may sound strange but I began by running as fast as I could around the garden, which wasn't very big so didn't take long, but I just kept going round and round, up and down until I couldn't do anymore. Not sure if you have stairs at home? Anyway, I would keep going up and down at least every 10/15 minutes. I then bought myself some dumb bells which I use either imbetween cooking etc or when sitting and watching TV. If you can't afford weights then use tins of food or something else to start with. When watching tv and even in bed (still now!) I lift my legs up and down every now and then for a mini work out.

As you do more exercise, you gain confidence and strength and I did eventually venture onto the streets in my baggy track suit hiding any wobbly bits and power walked my way to how I am now. (many many months later)

I still have my dumbells in the kitchen, I use them when walking around while on the phone or while cooking and I always exercise my legs and tum on the bed if I am watching TV. It becomes a habit. When I walk I pull my stomach and bum in. All these little things are easy to do you just have to think about them all the time until they become a habit.

Gosh sorry I have gone on a bit :> but I am passionate about helping people see that small changes lead to big differences.

Let us all know how you are getting on.

2granddaughters

I attended AA meetings daily in the beginning. Did your detox/rehab not mention that you should go to AA meetings? Mine did.

Please Google and read AA's "The Doctors Opinion", "How It Works" and "The promises of Alcoholics Anonymous".

It might be about time you "got with the program".

All the best.

Bob R

nysuzieny

I can only speak for myself but I feel the same way. Sugar has been my ally since getting sober. I am only 92 days but once I had to come back into reality, I lost that lil pink cloud. Reality sucks and so do alot of "earthlings" . I think I was high so long, that "normal" life is difficult to live in. I guess re learning on how to live in the present and dealing with others is a long going process.
Keep ya head up...and maybe just try to get up a slowly begin a walking regiment. The only thing that really gives me a high naturally is running & working out.

artsoul

I know how paralyzing it feels when you're looking at a mountain of stuff you want/need to do, but like blueshades said, if you just make that one little step in the right direction, one day at a time, you can eventually conquer the mountain.

With drugs and alcohol, we got the good feeling upfront...... with sobriety, the rewards and positive feelings come after we accomplish something. Sometimes I think we wait for a good feeling to get motivated when actually the motivation comes from getting started.

Also, don't believe all those negative thoughts going through your head. Be good to yourself today!

jtb72111

Vall I can definitely relate to not wanting to walk or jog down the street, becasue of the way I look. I feel self conscious every where i go. People always tell me, if you wanna loose weight start walking.. ect. I even joined a gym for a while but hated it, i felt like people were staring at me. It's just so hard to get started, I know things will come together. but theres days where i feel like its been almost 6 months and i havnt accomplished anything but sobriety. and people say well "sobriety is a hard thing to do, and you should give yourself credit" and I do but i feel like i should have accomplished more by now. i get so down especially since it's september now and school just started and im like "wow i could of been a junior this year & everyone is in school and im just home on my ass all day" some days i just feel like what's the point of even being sober, yanno ? im not doing **** anyway