Alcohol isn’t a food group
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Alcohol isn’t a food group
I’ve lost a lot of weight since quitting drinking, but have petered out and am stagnant for several months, fluctuating the same five pounds. I really want to get back to where I was ten years ago and I don’t believe it’s impossible, although I do believe it’s impossible to get to where I was twenty years ago.
This isn’t a weight loss post tho, I promise.
So between trying to tune in with my body, discussions with my doctor, and sifting around with research I can find, I’ve decided to cut carbs as a way of jump starting my metabolism and allowing myself to get better, and new habits.
It’s a weird regimen though: cutting out entire food groups in a way, while prioritizing others that I hadn’t really partaken much. Complicating it I am a vegetarian-ish. (I do eat fish occasionally so can’t say I’m strict veg although I’m very strict about no meat and have been most of my life).
Anyway I read a lot of posts here from people detailing a story I know so well - they abstained from alcohol for some good amount of time and then decided to moderate because they had convinced themselves it was going to be ok and they wouldn’t get out of hand again and - we all know the story.
We alcoholics all nod our heads because we have all done it. We know the trap. I guess I’m nodding my head at myself too, with the carb thing, except, I really don’t overdo it on carbs. I’m not one of those people who can’t stop at one donut and frankly I can take them or leave them. For that, I’m a “normie”. I’m just trying to jump start my metabolism after discussing with my doctor that it is not a bad idea.
I gained all that weight from sitting on my ass for years and drinking alcohol and eating the crap that went along with it. Also I think alcohol messed with my hormones and sleep cycles.
Anyway, it’s like in the early stages of sobriety, we approach abstinence like another fad diet, because we’ve subconsciously embraced the idea that alcohol is a food group. If we just give it up for a month or two, and slowly reintroduce it, moderation will come.
I know that’s just a roundabout way of saying “people have to accept they are addicts” but I feel like it’s a good antidote for the AV, obv in combo with other tools and a good plan.
So if you’ve read this far, I’m musing here - for you- that alcohol is not a food group. It’s not something you need, and if you miss it so much that you think about it at all, it’s you craving something your body absolutely does not need, wasn’t built to need, and wasn’t even built to digest. It’s a foreign substance. It does nothing vital for you. It’s not like you’re cutting carbs or fats or something that your biochemistry legitimately uses to function or sustain life. If you have to consciously stop and consciously come to the conclusion you need to stop, you probably have a problem because people who don’t have problems with alcohol don’t have to have these kinds of conversations with themselves. Cutting it for awhile will not reset anything inside you that will make it safe to slowly reintroduce. Alcohol doesn’t work that way.
Because it’s not a food group.
In Gratitude
bexxed
This isn’t a weight loss post tho, I promise.
So between trying to tune in with my body, discussions with my doctor, and sifting around with research I can find, I’ve decided to cut carbs as a way of jump starting my metabolism and allowing myself to get better, and new habits.
It’s a weird regimen though: cutting out entire food groups in a way, while prioritizing others that I hadn’t really partaken much. Complicating it I am a vegetarian-ish. (I do eat fish occasionally so can’t say I’m strict veg although I’m very strict about no meat and have been most of my life).
Anyway I read a lot of posts here from people detailing a story I know so well - they abstained from alcohol for some good amount of time and then decided to moderate because they had convinced themselves it was going to be ok and they wouldn’t get out of hand again and - we all know the story.
We alcoholics all nod our heads because we have all done it. We know the trap. I guess I’m nodding my head at myself too, with the carb thing, except, I really don’t overdo it on carbs. I’m not one of those people who can’t stop at one donut and frankly I can take them or leave them. For that, I’m a “normie”. I’m just trying to jump start my metabolism after discussing with my doctor that it is not a bad idea.
I gained all that weight from sitting on my ass for years and drinking alcohol and eating the crap that went along with it. Also I think alcohol messed with my hormones and sleep cycles.
Anyway, it’s like in the early stages of sobriety, we approach abstinence like another fad diet, because we’ve subconsciously embraced the idea that alcohol is a food group. If we just give it up for a month or two, and slowly reintroduce it, moderation will come.
I know that’s just a roundabout way of saying “people have to accept they are addicts” but I feel like it’s a good antidote for the AV, obv in combo with other tools and a good plan.
So if you’ve read this far, I’m musing here - for you- that alcohol is not a food group. It’s not something you need, and if you miss it so much that you think about it at all, it’s you craving something your body absolutely does not need, wasn’t built to need, and wasn’t even built to digest. It’s a foreign substance. It does nothing vital for you. It’s not like you’re cutting carbs or fats or something that your biochemistry legitimately uses to function or sustain life. If you have to consciously stop and consciously come to the conclusion you need to stop, you probably have a problem because people who don’t have problems with alcohol don’t have to have these kinds of conversations with themselves. Cutting it for awhile will not reset anything inside you that will make it safe to slowly reintroduce. Alcohol doesn’t work that way.
Because it’s not a food group.
In Gratitude
bexxed
Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 11,417
Hey Bexxed;
I'm low carb / keto and I eat giant salads and stir fry and steamed low-carb veggies daily.
It's working great--check out mark's daily apple online for a good starting point.
Yes, moderation is a BS dream--onwards!
I'm low carb / keto and I eat giant salads and stir fry and steamed low-carb veggies daily.
It's working great--check out mark's daily apple online for a good starting point.
Yes, moderation is a BS dream--onwards!
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Right here, right now
Posts: 3,964
Hi Bexxed, Alcohol used to be my favorite “food group” and I traded it often for other food groups to maintain my weight. It was a horrible practice because it put me on the edge of an eating disorder on top of alcoholism.
My diet is a lot like Hawkeyes now. Low carb and Keto. I couldn’t do paleo because I like cheese too much
. I avoid processed sugar most of the time. For many folks I know, to lose weight they cut out all carbs in the beginning including healthy ones like fruit, then slowly reintroduced healthy carbs after achieving their weight goal. Exercise is also super important not just in weight loss but staying healthy in general. Keep plugging away and you will get there!
My diet is a lot like Hawkeyes now. Low carb and Keto. I couldn’t do paleo because I like cheese too much
. I avoid processed sugar most of the time. For many folks I know, to lose weight they cut out all carbs in the beginning including healthy ones like fruit, then slowly reintroduced healthy carbs after achieving their weight goal. Exercise is also super important not just in weight loss but staying healthy in general. Keep plugging away and you will get there!
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