Antone

...hit the junk food hard! Chips, soda, a bucket of chicken and a big thing of ice cream. It's not what I want for myself and it's not what I'd recommend, but I had a really rough day - a day which I would usually have gotten hammered after - and I needed something. I work in social services. I was ready to head home after a 9 hour day when we got an emergency call. Three hours later I got off work. I'll have to take a food hangover over the usual type, but I'll take it.

Maggot4Life

good job man, glad you were able to stay off the booze. You will be glad with your choice in the morning

Katie09

Ah, geez, I hear ya. My last job was as an intensive case manager for troubled youths. It wiped me out! It was very stressful. The only thing I can say is that if you gain weight, you'll have two problems instead of one or more. I should know. I gained 45 lbs in the last year. Didn't do me any good. If I could turn back the hands of time, but I cannot. All I can do today is to try to not repeat the same mistakes. I truly believe overeating is just as bad as drinking, in some ways. It's just another addiction, albeit it will kill you slower. I wish I had some words of wisdom here. Do you work out at all? That used to be a great stress reliever for me. At any rate, welcome to SR! You just might find the kind of support you need here to change your life!

CarolD

Glad you did stay sober.....

I enjoy a bowl of ice cream each day
and I've been a recovered alcoholic for years.

Balance...I needed to find a mental and physical
balance in order to move forward.

I followed the eating plan + supplements
suggested in "Under The Influence"
for about 6 months. I think it helped with dravngs.


Well done....you too can recover....

cab31

Food can act as a distraction and stress reliever. Its not a great habit to get into because its another avoidance behaviour. Try winding down with some exercise (like a walk) or something that isnt a 'numbing' activity. It will help you feel a bit more in control of whats going on.

Having said that - i really know what you mean. Its so tempting to zone out from those intense craving times with a tub of icecream and a warm blanket. But then when i put on weight i start feeling worse about myself and my self esteem gets lower and im more likely to want to drink again. Its a nasty cycle really...

TTOSBT

Welcome Antone!
One day at a time.
Today, you did not drink. THAT is what is important. Congratulations!
Every day, we just need to do our best to make the healthiest choices that we can.
But no matter what, don't drink!

Antone

Thank-you so much for all of the support and insightful comments. Every post has been great! I will not resort to junk food to get through this. It's true I did it tonight. It was a rough long day at the end of a rough long week and I indulged. I'm determined not to make it a habit. The support here is really helping!

Katie09

Great, that is what we are here for. I don't know about you, but I've dabbled in eating disorder venues. Not that this is good, as it is not. I am just highly aware of this stuff. At any rate, please do continue to post and join us in this adventure!

adore79

Congratulations on staying sober. Like Carol said, finding balance is a good thing, not that I have or anything but I'm working on it. When drinking we have no balance and I think alcoholics are by nature resistant to balancing their lives, but it can be done as evident by all the recovering people here.

shaun00

What ever it takes to remain sober.......and you did so good for you.

My sponsor would tell me go dig a hole in the garden....

i laughed.......he didnt.

Dime

Hi Antone,
I know what that is like and after over a year's sobriety I quit smoking three weeks ago. My appetite has been monstrous to say the least. What really helps me is to have a lot of good healthy low fat bulky foods around to eat. So I always have fresh fruit and vegetables around, eat large salads before meals and have a large portion of fresh cooked vegetable with meals. Having fresh stuff and avoiding fats lets me fill up without having an explosive waistline.

But for right now congrats on your sobriety, we can go to the gym later!

vegibean

My sister and her husband just bought me a car a few weeks ago and I wanted to "celebrate". I stopped at the grocery store and bought a pie, ice cream, Stouffers Mac & Cheese and banana pudding. Mind you I didn't go home and eat it all but my head was totally going some where else.

It'll get better. I'm sorry that you had a rough day too, those will also get easier. So proud of you for staying strong!! Congrats!!

vegibean

Oh yeah, and my first thought was "duct tape"? So if it ever gets bad again, make sure you have some on hand and find someone to duct tape you. That'll keep you away from everything.

jh1

congrats! for real. And if every once in awhile you need to do that so be it. Obviously your not going to let it become a habit-but point is you avoided drinking ....more than i can say. props

Antone

Hadn't thought of that. I'll stop at the hardware store today!

tuco70

OMG! I'm so there. I eat like crazy now. The wife and I decided to go to the gym on Monday during the time we snack. Hope it works.

Stay tough, you'll get there.

Tuco

mikefreak

As John Wayne ( with a little help from me) said, " a man 's (or woman) gotta do what a man's ( or woman), gotta do". I've turned into such an ice cream freak it's unreal!!! It's like your taste buds reawake & EVERTHING tastes SO GOOD! But, right now, any port in a storm. I've tried to compensate by having a small breakfast & decent supper. But seriously, Antone, you did good...

laurie6781

It takes your body's a good 6 months to adjust to the new living style. I was fortunate, I had a sponsor who told me not to worry about what I ate, if I put on some pounds it was okay, they would come back off. I was skeptical, but she and hubby had worked with many so listened to her.

By about 6 months, my 'junk food' cravings and carb cravings seemed to have abated, I was eating healthy, weight started to come back off, and by the time I was a year sober, I was 'lighter' in weight than I had been in years, and felt great. I was swimming and bike riding more.

The 'balance' seemed to come on it's own to a great degree. Balance of having a life, making meetings, working on me, and having some fun.

In essence what she told me and continued to tell me, got me to stop OVER ANALYZING everything, and to stop to a degree want to BE FIXED RIGHT NOW, rofl.

So, don't chastise yourself. Last night was your REWARD for a very hard day and week.

J M H O

Love and hugs,

Gypsy Feet

Haha,must have been the way the stars were aligned. I've been following the advice of weight watchers for 2 years now, with really wonderful results, and off booze for 3 months now. Yesterday I was feeling SO run down and cranky. I had already walked 10 miles for work, so the gym was not happening. SOOOO, I went and bought a can of salsa, a bag of tortilla chips, and a bag of animal cookies for the nephew (ya, riiiiight). When I got home, my daughter and her friends had eaten all the chicken we were suppose to have for dinner, SOOOO, I had half a cheese burger and chili fries HAHAHAH. I ended up not touching the chips and cookies though.

And you know what? It worked. The junk food and a good nights sleep, added to a great night with the baby cheered me right up=)

Helene

Hahahaha! I am right there with you! I have been frequenting the ice cream shop 4 blocks away - I take my three year old son and we walk there and then stop at the park on the way back. He is loving it, because he is getting to go out with mommy lots more. I end up eating most of the ice cr eam, but its way better than drinking! I have also been eating a lot more "little" meals. I caulcated the calories though and frankly the booze added up to between 1000 to 2000 extra calories a day! I think it evens out in the end and as long as it doesn't "numb" (as someone else said) you and you stay fairly active don't let it add worry to your sobriety focus.