AllieB

Just thought I'd share something I've found helpful so far....when I quit, I also cut down my sweets to a goal of dessert only once a week. (I know...in all of human history, only a teeny tiny percent of the population can refer to sweets once a week as "only.")

I did this because regular binge drinking had erased my waist and because it fits in with a larger effort to take control and be accountable to myself.

But I'm posting about it because I've found that the sweets depravation has turned out to be a great tool of distraction. Instead of thinking about wine or booze, I've been agonizing over chocolate. There's always some tasty pie or cake in view in my kitchen, and I find I spend more time fantasizing about destroying some chocolate than I do craving a drink. (Vampires, your bloodlust pales next to my compulsion to drain melted chocolate right now.) Plus, I can be self-destructive by snagging a bite of someone else's cake instead of by sneaking drinks, and the only real consequence lies in my waist measurement.

Might not help those who were daily drinkers and need/crave the sugar replacement to keep their blood sugar up, but for me it's been a surprise blessing.

And, just writing about this I really, really want some moist chocolate cake with brick-thick, just barely sweet frosting and macerated raspberries and cream whipped within an inch of its life. So, having passed along my serendipitous discovery, I'm going to go do something useful.

Ptcapote

Ha! Great post! Yes, I am doing the same thing now with the sweets, especially chocolate. I was never, ever a sweets person before I quit drinking and now I can't stop thinking about them. It took a toll those first two months of sobriety, however, and I gained weight instead of losing it. So I have also decided to restrict the chocolate and other sweets to a very minimum. And I also find myself thinking about it non-stop. Damn, obsessive, alkie brain, I suppose. But, you're right, I am thinking about chocolate now and not wine. Not sure if this is progress or just side-stepping but at least I know that if I sneak a bar of chocolate and go for a drive the only victim will be my waistline.

(Damn you with that last line, though...that sounds SO GOOD and now I want it, want it, want it...)

Anyway, great post, thanks!!

AllieB

Lol, good to have company, Ptcapote!

I know...it sounds sooo good, doesn't it?

Yeah, it's side-stepping, but all addictions are not equal (after all, marathoning is an addiction of a kind) nor equally harmful, so I'm going to count my massively increased chocolate fixation as a blessing.

Good luck with the reductions! DC gets so wicked hot in the summer that you may sweat off the sweets that helped you through your first months!

Mizzuno

Oh, the sweets I have consumed. I am lucky to not have gained from this OVER THE TOP eating sweets experience. Starburst, skittles, mike and ikes, hot tamales, jujyfruits, all kinds of chewy things. Ive decided to quit. Right here and now. I quit. I QUIT!

GracieLou

Me too. I NEVER craved sweets. I could take them or leave them. I could buy ice cream and it could sit in the freezer for months and get freezer burnt. Now I want it everyday! I was taking Klondike bars and putting chocolate syrup on then with whip cream. I was having one every night. I was getting out of control.

I have started to limit myself to a couple times a week instead of everyday. Soon I will cut it down even more but I crave chocolate so much!

AllieB

That sounds so good, Gracie. I need a cold broccoli shower just thinking about it.

Haven't had a Klondike in years...I didn't think they made them any more!

Garden Girl

I love the gummies too, I want to go buy a top of the line industrial dehydrator and make real fruit gummies! There is this German company that makes these strawberry alligators that are just dehydrated fruit and apple juice that has been reduced as a thickener... I ate a bag in under three minutes...

GracieLou

I love that HAHA! I will tell myself that next time I crave chocolate..lol

Grungehead

I had a really yummy broccoli casserole last night (broccoli, rice, cheese onions), but did have a small piece of chocolate for desert...and a cup of coffee with a spoonful of sugar.

Garden Girl

image-2364500820.jpg

This is my cherry chocolate goat cheese Sunday

AllieB

Pretty! I never thought about pairing chocolate with goat cheese...do you beat sugar into the cheese, or leave it tart?

Mizzuno

I HAVE FAILED! I relapsed into the sweets. Today is another day. I will put my best foot forward today!

AllieB

Lol. Stay strong, Mizzuno.

Yesterday was my designated sweets day, and I abused the system by having dessert after brunch and dessert after dinner. They were delicious. Of course, now my brain is screaming, "cake, cakE, caKE, cAKE, CAKE, C.A.K.E.!"

Torso

heh, when I went to a party the other night there were sweets everywhere!!
Everyone knew I wasn't drinking, but not so much about my healthy diet so I found myself more wound up about the sweets than the booze!!

But another good reason not to eat sweets is that eating sweets can actually harm recovery and make you more likely to drink again. Most alcoholics are non-diabetic hypoglycaemics, there's a thread about it in healthy eating section. Worth a read if your struggling with alcohol and sugar cravings.

Garden Girl

I leave it tart, I like to use a Spanish goat cheese because the fat content is higher and it tastes creamier.

AllieB

It's a delicious looking calorie bomb, that's for sure. I've had goat cheese with honey and nuts, which is delicious....I just never thought of using chocolate with goat cheese.
Thanks for sharing!