grubby

Wow time flies, i just realized tomorrow will mark 7 months since my last drink.

Seems to be pretty auto-pilot now, i haven't really had any actual cravings since May or so. Mostly i get the occasional fleeting thought of "wouldn't it be nice to have a cold one?" but that's about it, usually it lasts a second or two and then my mind goes back to whatever it was doing.

Next on my immediate to-do list: weight loss. You guys have any tips or what you did?

Anyone else on here really pack on the pounds during their drinking?? the other day i was looking at an old photo from 2009 and realized just how much i had ballooned up since then, in particular the belly and thighs. I am amazed by how subtly all the weight came on, it happens so slowly we don't even realize it. It really has affected me - in particular i notice a dull knee pain throughout the day, it seems to be a thick, dense, and packed fat in the areas mentioned.

the "beer belly" myth seems to be true, for most of my drinking career i drank mainly beer and it shows. The hard liquor in the last year only seemed to make things worse.

Anyways, i look forward to my 1-year anniversary (02/17/2015). I hope to be a lighter person then, i just want to get the health part of my life back to "default" status ............ it seems to be the only area of my life that is lacking at the moment.

Sober: check
Social life: C-
Financial: check
Car: check
Health: F

silentrun

Go Grubby!!!!
I seem to have problems with sugar. Just can't get enough. That would be my pick for weight loss is trying a whole30 way of eating. There is a great section on here about healthy eating.

paloverde

Seven months is a long time! I'm at 4 and some days are tough, REALLY tough, but I really want to stay sober. What helped me drop some weight (about 25 lbs) was cutting back on carbs, eating more vegetables, avoiding quick, processed foods and take out. And of course not taking in the 1000-1500 calories a day from booze!

soberclover

I've gained about 30 pounds since becoming sober. I went from a size 6 to a 16; totally not happy about it. The sugar cravings are tough. The whole ice cream thing is a total downfall for me. Now that the cooler weather is moving towards the north, I'm starting to crave carbs more...not good! I will have to check out the healthy eating section of the forum...haven't seen that before.

grubby

I hear that brother, before i started incorporating the "hard" liquor my favorite value bottle was "Olde English 800" malt liquor - only cost like a measly $2, Mickey's 40oz being right behind. After i got sober and started learning about all this alcoholism stuff, i went and looked up some of these brands and was shocked! 700..... 800...... 900 calories in some of these booze brands. I had no idea, but was drinking the stuff like a fish!

Nowsthetime

7 months woo hoo!!! Are you being active? That will make a huge difference! Imagine how much heavier you would be if you were drinking...

bigsombrero

Congratulations on 7 months! Great achievement! Keep focused on the positive, and keep making healthy decisions at the dinner table...just like you did when you started making healthy choices about drinking. Just stick to a basic healthy diet, one day at a time. You'll get there!

Dollyangel17

Oh yah...I packed in weight with my drinking. I always struggled a little with weight and since teen years ran an average of 25 pounds overweight, but later years if drinking really had me balloon up.

I am now sober almost 17 months, and have lost a whopping 110 pounds!!!:-). I really focused on healthy eating, and exercised a LOT:-)

grubby

That's the rub, my knees are bad and so i can't really partake in the more effective/calorie scorching exercises such as running. It's the classic catch 22 scenario.

I'm thinking my strategy will revolve mainly around diet to start with, and later on introduce some exercise into the mix.

Hevyn

Wonderful news grubby! 7 months is huge.

happyandfree

I'm a week past you and have gained weight also. I have to give up the excuse to eat ice cream and switch to fruit.. I plan to cut down on carbs and sugar. Congratulations on 7 months!

PurpleKnight

Great stuff grubby!!

Jupiters

congrats on 7 months grubby!!!
have you considered swimming as a ways of exercise? it's not hard on the joints and you can still burn a nice amount of calories when paired with a healthy diet

LBrain

congratulations grubby! well done on reaching 7 months.

The only advice I can give for losing weight is to burn more calories than you consume. It really works.

SonomaGal

I went Paleo and exercised a ton around 6 months. It definitely pulled the weight off. My fiancée also went paleo, didn't really exercise that much, and his weight loss was miraculous. We are no longer on that diet but have not gained it back. Not only did it help with weight but we felt great, we are talking about going back. It's pretty simple: no refined sugar, no processed carbs. Tons of veggies, healthy fats, and protein. I recommend it highly. You can find all the info and recipes online, but feel free to ask me any questions if you're interested.

I've lost about 30 pounds since getting sober.

Oh and a huge congrats on 7 months!!

LBrain

I second what sonomagal says.
Also, I started a spinning class a few months ago. My knee couldn't take it after a couple weeks. Now I use the elliptical trainer. You can start slow and work up to a pretty good fat burn or cardio tempo. I am dripping with sweat by the 30 minute mark.
Just figure out a pace that your knees can take and start slow. Resistance is better than speed I think.

Nowsthetime

Do yoga, swim, stretch... There are things you can do at any weight. Moving in any way will make a difference.As you lose weight your knees will improve.