Lynne86

Hi there. I'm 3 weeks sober and feeling amazing. I have noticed I have put on weight but I am assuming it's from the lack of food I was eating when I was actively drinking daily. Has anyone else experienced this?

Dee74

Hi and welcome Lynne

My body was certainly crying out to be fed - I think it's pretty common

D

ProfessorD

Yes. Literally reading this while eating a sandwich in my bed

Readygo

I feel like too, at least for me, I eat or ate more to keep me distracted sometimes or to curb that crave. I also sometimes indulge and justify because it’s not booze. It’s getting less like that so maybe the weight shedding will happen later on??

Hevyn

Congrats on your 3 wks. Lynne! That is wonderful.
Yes, I gained too - craved sweets. I got it under control eventually though.

August252015

Great job on 3 weeks! I found that I too had to start eating pretty much at all, then progress to regular and consistent meals.....it took me a while to get it all worked out and I definitely went round and round with ice cream and sweets around 60-100 days....and the sweet tooth has not totally gone away but otherwise my diet is healthy and I am really active, here at almost 2 years.

Be good to yourself- learning to listen to (and heed) what my body was telling me has been a big party of my journey.

least

I noticed I had more appetite after I quit drinking. I gained some weight initially, but soon went back to my normal weight and have stayed there.

Welcome to the family and congrats on three weeks sober!

Lynne86

Thank you all so much! This is so encouraging and amazing. Been craving chocolate everyday and I am not a chocolate person! I got MyFitnessPal to record what I'm snacking on all day but my meals are pretty healthy. Doesn't help that for over half a year I was maybe eating 400 calories a day and then thousands in alcohol. Feels so good to be this far along. Skin is brighter, eyes are actually bright and not bloodshot, nice to not wake up hungover everyday and waiting in the parking lot of a liquor store for "breakfast" to open

Komplex

This is awesome! Congrats on 3 weeks.

Verdantia

Welcome, Lynn--and fabulous job on 3 weeks. We look and feel so much better without alcohol poisoning our bodies. I had horrible rosacea and peripheral neuropathy in my hands and feet that cleared up beautifully when the drink was eliminated.
It's normal to gain some weight--after years of starvation I craved food and packed on some pounds, but that was fine. In my two years and one month of sobriety I've lost 45 pounds through cycling and yoga.
So don't worry about a little weight gain--gaining sobriety is well worth it.

Rar

Awesome job on 3 weeks! I had a sports injury in September, 2016 and because of my injury and subsequent surgery in January I gained 35 pounds. I started to diet while still drinking. I counted all of my drink calories (frequently over 1000), but wasn't eating much because I didn't want to go over my allotted daily calories. I'm only on Day 17 now and have gained a couple of pounds. I am happy I can eat more and still remain within my allotted calories. However, I am drinking so much water, sparkling water and tea that I am bloated and retaining a little fluid as a result. I am also eating lots of cereal for snacks. Have no idea why I'm craving cereal.

FlawedNFntastic

On one of these forums, a nursing student broke down how the body processes alcohol, how cravings work and why, and various other bits of information that I'm not equipped to re-explain properly. What it boils down to is this:

If you've been drinking long term, your body has been in a prolonged state of dehydration and it's going to take a while before it trusts that you aren't going to return to that state. So it hoards water and you get some extra bloat as a sobriety gift. It does go away.

You'll crave sugar and carbs when you're newly sober. Do what you can to eat low carb, refrain from sugar when you can, exercise, and don't beat yourself up over having a bad day (I ate half a pint of ice cream right before bed last night. Everyone has bad days).

I'm sure there are plenty of people who can explain it better. Please feel free to do so!