HealingMySoul

Ive gained probably 10lbs since getting clean. I CAN'T STOP EATING!!! It is driving me up the wall!!! I used to spend my day snorting, smoking, eating pills...now I have all this "free time" and I swear I am eating out of boredom or to "replace" the drugs........

Grymt

craving is craving. Awareness meditation may be helpful to allow the pent up stock of craving sensations to pass and things will correct themselves naturally in time. Naturally, educating oneself about diet and related matters is recommended.

BabyJane

I have gained 25 lbs (was way underweight) and I'm 5 months pregnant but it still isn't easy controlling my cravings for sweets. I don't like feeling like I'm out of shape. Just commiserating. I know what you mean.

Paddler

yes.

I finally pulled in the reigns. I've found going to the store the first of the week and buying a bunch of fresh fruit helps. I've replaced a meal a day with a smoothie... I'll throw a ton of fruit, some coconut milk, and a cup of oats in a blender... voila. It fills me up.

I try to snack on anything fresh and grown. And if I want a big meal I try to keep it lean and filling... like potatoes and beef, chicken, etc...

I'd imagine coming off pills is different.... but off alcohol I crave fried stuff and sweets.

FamilyMan2153

The funny thing is that I lost about 10 pounds when I first quit. Now I seem to be gaining again. Have this thing for sweets which is some what normal when you quit drinking. People tell me it balances out after awhile. I hope so!!

ClearLight

Yeah - I was eating stuff like crazy.

Now I'm finally starting to work on that in two ways.

First by being very aware of what I eat. I actually keep a record of everything I eat and the fat and calories. There's tons of web sites and apps to do that. It actually works pretty well for me. and it's easy to do with the web sites and apps.

Secondly I'm starting into exercise. I found that exercise doesn't really make me lose weight. That all comes from what I eat. But it does help me feel a lot better and and actually reduces my appetite.

Good luck!

HealingMySoul

I am very educated on dieting, calorie counting, nutrition, and such. However the cravings are horrible. Better food then drugs at this point.
Your comment leads me to another question. IF this is normal....how long did it take everyone to stop eating so much?

HealingMySoul

I succesfully did weight watchers a few years ago. I made a calorie chart last month and didn't look at it again :/ looks like its time to whip that sucker out again. Exercise is something I DEFINITELY need to start doing!!

janiebluebird

I crave sugar, and I also look at it as a "treat" sometimes for not drinking. The good thing is that I exercise a lot more when I don't have hang overs. Maybe try to integrate healthy eating and exercise when you feel ready. It will only make you feel better! Exercise is a great habit to form

ScottFromWI

I actually lost about 12 lbs since i've quit. I think it's mainly because I drank only beer, and lots of really heavy, calorie laden microbrew beer. And I didn't eat much since my stomach was full of beer more often than not. Now that I quit i have been eating more but apparently not enough to make up for the difference in the lost "bad" calories from the beer. Probaly not the worst thing in the world though to lose a few pounds. I'm coming up on 3 months and my diet is still a bit sporadic, it takes time for your body to readjust.

Grymt

One minor thing to be aware of is that weight is weight but muscle tissue is lower in volume than fat so while exercising is a good way to replace fat with muscle it does not necessarily mean that weight is lost. In cases weight may be even be gained by exercise while one may become 'smaller' at the same time..

nfijules

I put on 50lbs since I got sober....sad...but true. Thats in two and 1/2 years. I will say...other addictions seem to creep in that Im not a pill poppin drunk. Now, I have to be aware of shopping and eating. I am on a diet now...or should I say, stopped carbs and eating a lot of salads and fruit. Im replacing my junk for good stuff...its definately working! Goodluck and try better foods...

RiverFriend

I align with Paddler on this one. I think the best way, in addition to exercise, is to stock up on tons and tons of fresh fruit and veggies. Buy a ton of different kinds and start experimenting with veggies/fruits you haven't tried before and discover new ways to prepare them. You can literally eat as much of this stuff as you want and after a while, you will most likely find your body craves these fresh foods more than anything. It just takes a while to form this new habit/lifestyle change. As I sit here eating Rolo's

Ptcapote

Yep. I thought I was going to magically shed the pounds after I stopped drinking but instead I started gaining. In a way it was a good thing because I certainly had deprived my body of proper nutrition for years in favor of a "liquid diet." At first it was mostly sugar, then almost anything, and now it has leveled off.

I followed the advice of a doctor to let my body eat when it wanted for the first month because it was probably trying to replace lost vitamins and minerals and thrilled that I was no longer starving it. I still exercised regularly and now, at almost two months, my appetite is pretty much normal.

Like others said, try the fruit and healthy foods to replace some of the junk food if that's what you're craving. But I returned to regular eating around week six or so and now I am working on losing that extra ten I packed on initially

Good luck and congrats on staying clean, awesome accomplishment!!

aasharon90

Finding a balance is easier said than
done. At 22 yrs sober, I find it easy
to replace one addiction for another.
Which mean to over do any number
of things. I have to remember what
Ive learned and heard many times
before, too much of anything is no
good.

Also, there's always consequences for
bad choices we make. So, find out why
we do the things we do that's not always
good for us and learn healthier ways to
deal with them. Knowledge is important
and always useful.

Read, Learn, listen, absorb and apply.

In my mid 50's and because I love food
and ice cream, it doesn't like me because
the older ive gotten, my metabolism has
slowed down and weight is easier gained
and harder to loose.

That is why I have my own free weights,
barbells, weight bench, exercise, cut grass,
swim and try not to sit for long periods of
time, which I have to work hard on avoiding.

soberclover

I've finally slowed down on my ice cream/sugar habit that I picked up after getting sober. I've switched to frozen yoghurt. I'm also being mindful about other foods that I eat and to not make the excuse that I "deserve" something because I stopped drinking. I need to exercise more and can't wait to get in to the garden. Not sure how long the food craving dynamic will last for you. I'm a little over 4 months and it is getting a little better. I applaude you for being so mindful!!

Paddler

LOL. My friend, who's 6 years sober, said butterfingers were his antabuse.

I know why now. I could easily go through one of those $1.99 trays of Recess Cups.

Hense why I "try" my best to drink those smoothies. I've never been a smoothie person. So, perhaps the novelty is why it seems to help and work.

I agree the others though... any vice beats the opiates or booze problem.

sugarbear1

I ate a lot in the first year of recovery and gained one size, then got nearer to a size and a half-2 sizes...... I ate a lot of ice cream and cake in the beginning to middle of my second sober year. I do eat well when I eat a meal, as long as I don't keep eating those sweets....

Today, I curb what I eat but I don't deprive my sweet tooth. Through exercise, I am down half a size (I don't really do pounds as women tend to go up and down a lot in one month, so I just keep an eye on that every 4-6 months or so).

For me, the internal stuff needed to be addressed first. That is where change takes place for me. I just keep an eye on the physical stuff, but I did start to get to 2 sizes larger than I was originally, so I was more vigilant with exercising more and eating better (less sweets at that time).

Staying stopped is very difficult, go easy on yourself in the first 8 months (or so) of sobriety!

Heal well, make sure you keep yourself in check every 4 months, exercise, learn to balance everything. It can be done.

mecanix

I put on 40 lbs ,
17 months after giving up drinking i decided it was time to sort out the eating , a problem for me for far longer than drinking . I've lost 28 lbs so far in the last 10 weeks and i have another 98 lbs or so to go .

Day by day, one day at a time i just keep knocking them out ...

Bestwishes, M

BCS

I'm 2 months into sobriety and put on about 10 pounds. Things are finally starting to level off. And by "starting", I mean I'm only eating 2 cookies instead of the whole tray! lol And now that I mention it, maybe it's not really leveling off, but more so that I can actually exert more energy into eating healthier now that I'm getting more settled into sobriety.

In the very beginning, I didn't care what I ate because restricting my diet seems like too much to handle along with getting sober. Then my attitude started to change when I came to the realization that I need to stop eating like crap. I've made some real changes and while I can't seem any physical differences yet I do feel good about my self control lately. Just have to wait it out, I suppose. Not always the easiest thing to do!