airyfairy123

Hi all

Just wondered if anyone had any different cravings after they've given up drinking?

I keep eating SO MANY sour sweets/sugary things and it's really bad!!!

No idea what's got into me, but it can't be good - but I just can't seem to help myself....

Worried about the amount of sugar and rubbish, it's like swapping one set of rubbish for another! And I mean like I can easily polish off a whole bag of Haribo in one evening!

August252015

Starburst was my thing for a month or so. Bags of Starburst.

Oddly, didn't want Haribo gummy bears which were always my thing.

Then it moved on to ice cream. Still battling that one!

You are not alone

Winslow

Coffee...don't care if its black,creamed,iced,bitter,flavored,my doctor said its cuz I'm missing that dopamine rush,I dunno I just think it tastes amazing,maybe cuz I couldn't enjoy it while drinking cuz of the shakes so now I'm indulging😊

GAHaley

Yes! I am going through the same thing right now. I usually do not really like sweets. I usually skip dessert even. But last week I bought a huge bag of Laffy Taffy and last night I could not stop myself from buying a huge box of chocolate chip cookies at Costco -- the very large, "homemade" ones. It is taking all my self control not to eat 5 or 6 in one sitting!

From what I have been told, your body is basically also going through "sugar withdrawal", hence craving the sugar. It was suggested to me to just allow yourself a couple of weeks to a month to just roll with it (giving your body time to somewhat adjust to not having alcohol) then start trying to cut back.

I'm actually trying to go back and forth...I had my cookie earlier so right now when the sugar craving hit...I went for the blueberries instead

airyfairy123

Thanks guys... I was worried I'd end up with a sugar problem too!

Ended up eating a bag of Maynards sour pastilles - but hey, better than 2 bottles of wine! Only thing is sugar before bed means it's adding to me not sleeping, so I need to find something with the same 'hit' but without the effect of keeping me awake, so that might be a challenge.

Thought about maybe making some sugar free jelly as it's sweet, but obviously isn't pure sugar. I'll have a look round Tesco after group tomorrow and see what I can find.

I'm also finding I'm wanting to eat a lot more. I don't think it's boredom eating, I think it's because my body was so messed up with knowing what/when to eat and how to deal with it. Never ate breakfast and today I went to breakfast club at the centre and had a slice of toast and some birthday cake later on as it was someone's birthday. Didn't get much chance for lunch as I had to literally run from one venue to football - and it was an intense match, so I was STARVING when I got in. Ended up cooking what was basically an English breakfast for dinner.

I suppose in one way this is good because before I wouldn't even bother cooking. I just wanted to go to the shop for booze and wouldn't think about food. Eat once per day if I remembered to. Now I'm thinking I want to make stir fry prawns and noodles tomorrow haha. It's so weird how your body and mind work when one simple substance is removed.... just my random thoughts this evening (and a sugar rush lol)

Mountainmanbob

Wouldn't worry about it too much in early recovery. Is it common? From what I have seen -- yes.

When I went through treatment not only did the hospital give us a lot of ice cream and sweets but, we also bought a lot of candy at the hospital gift store each day.

Is it good for us -- no -- but, sure beats drinking and does replace the sugar that our bodies had been getting from the booze.

Many coming into Recovery will gain weight due to the added sugars. And for some this will lead to health issues, diabetes excetera excetera. Best to get a handle before this point in time.

Mountainman

soberaccountant

I have heard of people having different types of cravings once they quit drinking. Some resort to things such as sugar, salty foods, tobacco, other controlled substances, etc.

I agree, your indulgence in sugar is a much healthier choice than going through bottle after bottle of wine. I would encourage you to continue to find healthier choices. When I get a sweet craving I tend to reach for fruits vs. candy. Maybe something to consider?

I grew up around more fruits than candy and sweets as a kid, so I maybe biased. In any case, I encourage you to continue to make healthier choices and substitutions.

Melina

You'll get there. Please don't stress about it. Unless you're diabetic or obese or really NEED to worry about it. If it's like oh wow, I'm eating a lot of sugar, with no other repercussions besides the sleep thing, you are probably fine.

I just say that bc the sleep thing is also common in early sobriety, and can be a random roller coaster.

I don't know your body type and nutritional needs, but I do believe it will all balance out simply based on the collective experience here which also reflected my experience.

Me and my buddy have a joke about how we got sober just to end up eating like stoners! You know how it's common to share drinking horror stories and drunkalogs? We have sober snack horror stories, and actually it's so funny bc we act like little children whispering our forbidden snack stories!

I have my normal snack stuff, which is something random and salty and boring, like Triscuits. And I have ice cream around usually.

But I get on these tears, like these chocolate bars I found which have crushed up potato chips in them. They are expensive and heavenly. My buddy says well why don't you just eat chocolate and potato chips? It's cheaper. And I'm all, but if they were lovingly commingled, it's on purpose and artisanal and ish and almost healthy!

And honestly he just doesn't understand how this company managed to fit crunch and salty and sweet so perfectly proportioned into every bite, so perfectly it almost makes my brain get off the hamster wheel of anxiety and just listen to the crunch. Taste the sweetness. Smell the chocolate. Enjoy the silence of my brain for one minute.

He was very holier than thou with me until I caught him slamming potato chips, sour patch gummy bears and some weird vegan chocolate nut thing for dinner which looked like barf on the bottom of my shoe.

Point is, are we eating mighty weird and mighty off our compass? Yes.

But we treated our bodies weird for years and this could be us feeding ourselves the last feeble kicks into a new lifestyle where we crave salad and are perfect in our organic juicing quest for sober nutritional nirvana. Haha!

All I'm saying is please go easy on yourself. I do believe it'll all work out and if not, you already have the awareness.

Indulging yourself sober with fatty stupid sugary treats and extra sleep doesn't have to imply the guilt and loser feelings with which we did the same things drunk and hungover.

Just my two cents. I am a chef and I have studied a buncha nutrition. I still wouldn't call myself a guru or an expert but I do believe all foods fit.

I hope this makes you feel better! Crunch crunch!

Please do tell me if I have helped or not. I always want to help when people are mad at themselves regarding nutrition in sobriety... It's a chef thing but I always have to remember I'm not YOUR chef and nutritionist and my answers may not apply to all people.

Xoxo