Health and dietary advice please
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 598
Health and dietary advice please
I have always been weight conscious even during the many years of heavy drinking. I stuck to low carb, no sugar etc and kept my target weight. Drinking so heavily assisted as I mostly did not feel like eating and had very small portions.
I am 3 weeks sober now and have a craving for “sweet” things. Is this normal?I only allow myself fruit for the craving and so far I have not gained weight. I also have not lost weight despite cutting out half a bottle of whiskey a day..
Will the sweet craving go after some sober time?
I also counter with lots of execise after spending the last 3 years only working and drinking. It should help with the additional fruit intake I feel I now crave.
Any other dietary advice from experience will be appreciated.
I am 3 weeks sober now and have a craving for “sweet” things. Is this normal?I only allow myself fruit for the craving and so far I have not gained weight. I also have not lost weight despite cutting out half a bottle of whiskey a day..
Will the sweet craving go after some sober time?
I also counter with lots of execise after spending the last 3 years only working and drinking. It should help with the additional fruit intake I feel I now crave.
Any other dietary advice from experience will be appreciated.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 591
I’d stick with frozen yogurt, fruit, mini chocolates. Don’t worry about the diet so much right now, just stay sober. Some frozen yogurt bars are only 120 calories and delicious. Also, Greek yogurt. The main goal is to stop drinking, once your liver repairs it will burn calories and fat much better than when drinking alcohol. The liver will only burn alcohol when it’s in your system and processes fat when it doesn’t have alcohol to process. It took me a long time of gym, calorie counting and not drinking to even see small movement on the scales. It’s been three weeks and I just noticed a sudden four pound weight loss this week. After a few weeks of healing and some work the scale will start going down, muscle can be gained and glowing skin makes one look way better than a dehydrated, bloated drinker.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,966
I'm just getting back into low carb dieting, but a spoon of peanut butter has always been my go-to snack. Also low carb snack 'bars' are always nice for a quick fix. Sugar free candies are another option(just don't eat too many).
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,776
Some say it's because the body wants its alcohol sugar and sweets are a good substitute. I craved dark chocolate a lot in the early months. I let myself have it and didn't gain any weight from it.
I considered it was more important for me to stay sober and the chocolate was just one way to stay sober.
I still like dark chocolate but don't have it nearly as much anymore, certainly not to extremes.
One popular remedy for cravings is to eat ice cream. It really does kill the craving for alcohol. At least, it did for me.
I considered it was more important for me to stay sober and the chocolate was just one way to stay sober.
I still like dark chocolate but don't have it nearly as much anymore, certainly not to extremes. One popular remedy for cravings is to eat ice cream.
It really does kill the craving for alcohol. At least, it did for me. 
Ocean Lover!
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: You know nothing Jon Snow - UK
Posts: 2,604
If it grows out of the ground and is not then processed or adulterated by the food industry then it’s fine. Fruit sugar is not the same as added sugar in foods or white refined sugar. In early recovery eating as much wholesome food that covers all the food groups is a great way to give your body what it needs to repair.
I did some interesting things with fruit just to mix up what I was eating. Maybe grill some pineapple rings and have that with some natural pro biotic yoghurt, or bake some bananas, sprinkle with honey and cinnamon and have that with Greek yoghurt. Add chopped apples or grapes to a salad etc.
Good luck xx
I did some interesting things with fruit just to mix up what I was eating. Maybe grill some pineapple rings and have that with some natural pro biotic yoghurt, or bake some bananas, sprinkle with honey and cinnamon and have that with Greek yoghurt. Add chopped apples or grapes to a salad etc.
Good luck xx
Ocean Lover!
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: You know nothing Jon Snow - UK
Posts: 2,604
Also something I learned a lot about in rehab was about how as addicts we don’t like to wait for our reward system in the brain to be triggered and release dopamine. We want it instantly and that is what alcohol did for us. Our brains are just neurons and signals and the brain wants the reward, so it triggers all kinds of sensations to get us to give it what it wants. It’s not personal lol that is just what the brain is designed to do.
Sugar is another quick reward to release dopamine to the brain, it’s the quickest and most accessible and easiest way to get that chemical trigger going so no wonder the brain tries to use that to its advantage!
Sugar is another quick reward to release dopamine to the brain, it’s the quickest and most accessible and easiest way to get that chemical trigger going so no wonder the brain tries to use that to its advantage!
Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 25
Originally Posted by MantaLady 
If it grows out of the ground and is not then processed or adulterated by the food industry then it’s fine. Fruit sugar is not the same as added sugar in foods or white refined sugar. In early recovery eating as much wholesome food that covers all the food groups is a great way to give your body what it needs to repair.
I did some interesting things with fruit just to mix up what I was eating. Maybe grill some pineapple rings and have that with some natural pro biotic yoghurt, or bake some bananas, sprinkle with honey and cinnamon and have that with Greek yoghurt. Add chopped apples or grapes to a salad etc.
Good luck xx
I did some interesting things with fruit just to mix up what I was eating. Maybe grill some pineapple rings and have that with some natural pro biotic yoghurt, or bake some bananas, sprinkle with honey and cinnamon and have that with Greek yoghurt. Add chopped apples or grapes to a salad etc.
Good luck xx
The first sentence is epic.
But its worth noting that fructose is fructose and table sugar is about half fructose because , well its sucrose and thats one glucose stuck to one fructose... I believe the going theory is that fruit is ok stems from thinking that the fiber in fruit makes it slower to enter the bloodstream, etc etc etc. If anybody wants to read, you will wind up reading more than you can imagine, but its out there.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 25
Originally Posted by MantaLady
Also something I learned a lot about in rehab was about how as addicts we don’t like to wait for our reward system in the brain to be triggered and release dopamine. We want it instantly and that is what alcohol did for us. Our brains are just neurons and signals and the brain wants the reward, so it triggers all kinds of sensations to get us to give it what it wants. It’s not personal lol that is just what the brain is designed to do.
Sugar is another quick reward to release dopamine to the brain, it’s the quickest and most accessible and easiest way to get that chemical trigger going so no wonder the brain tries to use that to its advantage!
Sugar is another quick reward to release dopamine to the brain, it’s the quickest and most accessible and easiest way to get that chemical trigger going so no wonder the brain tries to use that to its advantage!
But as I have read no studies on that I will hold my tongue, but thanks for your post.
Ocean Lover!
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: You know nothing Jon Snow - UK
Posts: 2,604
The fibre in the actual fruit means your body stops you consuming more than necessary as it fills you up. An experiment showed that if you drank a full glass of fresh orange juice you could have the sugar content of 10 oranges easily and in seconds, when subjects were then asked to eat 10 oranges they could only manage 2 or 3 at the very most without feeling so full they just couldn’t eat anymore. Eating unadulterated whole food and fruit will let your brain know when your body has had enough.
Also by eating the whole fruit you are getting a plethora of other necessary vitamins and minerals the body needs in recovery which are not present in sugar made to make cakes and sweets and junk food. Xx
Also by eating the whole fruit you are getting a plethora of other necessary vitamins and minerals the body needs in recovery which are not present in sugar made to make cakes and sweets and junk food. Xx
Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Los Angeles, Ca
Posts: 535
This post is not advice, just an observation. Addictions always serve an emotional purpose.
When I buy a box of dark chocolate at Sees, I always feel better, even if I have not eaten a piece yet. In fact I get the exact same feeling that I use to get when I scored some drugs mid week in preparation for the weekend! What is happening here is I use the chocolate to regain control over my emotions my feelings. The candy is a quick fix or mood changer for me. Unlike alcohol, that I would abuse, I don't eat the entire box at one setting. It takes me a month. The point is that instead of drugs or alcohol, I can regain control or alter my feelings, with a more direct healthy behavior, even if not perfect. You could say I am empowering myself and regaining control of my feelings with candy, lol. That's what addiction is all about. How do we empower ourselves and regain control over our emotions? Do we use quick fixes and mood changers of drugs and alcohol or empower ourselves and regain control, or do we use more healthy behaviors that we find valuable. The antidote to regaining control over our emotions our negative feelings, is to replace them with something of more high value to us. No rocket science here just human psychology. When your values trump your addiction there is no addiction.
"the fruit (values) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
When I buy a box of dark chocolate at Sees, I always feel better, even if I have not eaten a piece yet. In fact I get the exact same feeling that I use to get when I scored some drugs mid week in preparation for the weekend! What is happening here is I use the chocolate to regain control over my emotions my feelings. The candy is a quick fix or mood changer for me. Unlike alcohol, that I would abuse, I don't eat the entire box at one setting. It takes me a month. The point is that instead of drugs or alcohol, I can regain control or alter my feelings, with a more direct healthy behavior, even if not perfect. You could say I am empowering myself and regaining control of my feelings with candy, lol. That's what addiction is all about. How do we empower ourselves and regain control over our emotions? Do we use quick fixes and mood changers of drugs and alcohol or empower ourselves and regain control, or do we use more healthy behaviors that we find valuable. The antidote to regaining control over our emotions our negative feelings, is to replace them with something of more high value to us. No rocket science here just human psychology. When your values trump your addiction there is no addiction.
"the fruit (values) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
D♭7♭9♯9♯11♭13
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 336
I craved sweets a lot and gained a LOT of weight because I just couldn't eat enough. Drinking problem turned into an eating problem. Most of it was due to, "**** it, I'll eat this" instead of caving into drinking. I finally got a handle on it.
As mentioned, a better solution to sweets is to go for fruit. I could eat a boatload of fruit, too, but that's a lot better than a boatload of sweets.
As mentioned, a better solution to sweets is to go for fruit. I could eat a boatload of fruit, too, but that's a lot better than a boatload of sweets.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 500
I had the same problem. My doctor said I would be craving sugar, because your body is used to all the sugar from the alcohol. Alcohol is sugar, from what I understand.
I was always craving ice cream and candy. Always. Now I've cut back, but I still usually have a bag of Starburst Jelly Beans around. That being said, my main diet is 50% protein, 30% fat, 20% carbs. I eat a LOT of chicken breast, turkey, black beans, green vegetables, protein powder.
I was always craving ice cream and candy. Always. Now I've cut back, but I still usually have a bag of Starburst Jelly Beans around. That being said, my main diet is 50% protein, 30% fat, 20% carbs. I eat a LOT of chicken breast, turkey, black beans, green vegetables, protein powder.
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