Filling the "void" with food.
 

I see myself eating more. :( I brought this up in a meeting a week ago and felt a little better but I keep obsessing over my weight. Is anyone else having this issue? It's like I'm restless and just go to the pantry to pig out. I really don't want to switch one bad behavior (alcohol) for another!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!! :gaah

I've noticed the same thing too,i've been pigging out a lot.I haven't lost any weight since I quit drinking but I haven't really gained either so I guess that's good.I have also been craving junk food more than healthy food.Sorry I have no advice,just wanted to let you know your not alone! :)

P.S. We have the same sobriety date!

Babez, Me too on the weight thing. The people at AA told me "no one's ever been arrested for fat driving." But I don't want to be fat. Not that they were advocating it. I'm just so restless!!!! I've been to a meeting every night for the last few weeks accept Wednesday nights so I usually go chat here. I think if I could go to a meeting I'd feel a lot better.... Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone.:gaah

One of the changes I made when I stopped drinking was to go out for long walks in the early evening, which was the time of day most difficult for me. The walks helped me hugely and on so many levels.

Hello hungry people. I'm noticing a hand to mouth issue. I'm at day 17 and feel great, but from morning to night I constantly shove stuff in my mouth. Coffee, cigarettes, vitamins, 5hr energy, junk food, good big meals, v8, water, gatorade. This is all day everyday. It too, shall pass. What I do notice, and I'm sure it's good, is that back in the drinking days, all of this food consumption would put a strain on my digestive system and probably put me to bed for a couple of artificial hours of sleep. Now, I eat everything and still move along fine all day, maybe sit and have a cig for 5 minutes. Just today I had 6 of 8 slices of pizza for lunch. 20 years of drinking or 20 pounds?

I was one of the folks who always said better eating than drinking...but it did leave me with my heaviest weight ever and that's caused a few other problems.

I'm no Dr but my advice is to try and eat healthy - don't get obsessed but steer away from too much fat and sugars and the processed stuff - try and eat fruits, veges, fibre....make any dietary changes gradually :)

and do keep up with some kind of exercise :)

D

I have experienced the same thing, but I think it's a positive change. I do think it's a good idea to eat as healthy as possible, but I will allow myself this indulgence since I'm in the middle of such serious changes.

I don't find I eat any more but I think balance is a good idea. I actually bought apples the other day. I love a good chef salad and spent years just eating salad with chicken for dinner. I didn't want to eat too much so I had room to drink!
Now I find that at lunch break at work I actually eat a lunch (I pack my own) then when I get home depending on time I eat a light supper or just have ice cream. Ice cream is great at supper. Hehe.
I chew alot of gum. I find when I'm chewing I'm not eating.
If you want to binge on food try to think healthy with fruits and veggies. I hear they are s'posed to be good for you!

I'm sort of the same way, especially with sweets. But I look at it as a temporary thing and in fact my food consumption has been waning over the past week or two.

Anyway it's still way better than alcohol calories. Try exercising (that's my plan if I can get around to it).

I hear ya...I've been on Weight Watchers since October, and it all went to hell when I quit drinking a month ago. I lost 32 pounds on WW and I'm only halfway done. I have gained back a few pounds, but this week I'm trying to get back with THAT program. But it's hard. Food is a pleasure too.

Exercising = less restless

Eat lots of veggies if you are worried about gaining weight. I think the hunger cravings got less and less after a few months.

Baby carrots and low-fat veggie dip...that has helped me out quite a bit when I feel restless. Eat enough of the dip and it'll add up, but I just let myself eat as much of carrots and dip as I want. I like knowing there's something that I can eat as much as I want of and it won't do too much damage. :) Also, when I'm feeling like I want to eat and eat and eat, it helps me to picture my body healing from all the alcohol and knowing that what I put into my body will either speed up the healing process or slow it down. Sounds corny, but it actually works for me most of the time.

I don't know how you feel about veggies, but I bought a wok and have been experimenting with stir frying and making my own sauces. You can eat large quantities of tasty (salty....not too salty) stir fry and not feel guilty at all. Plus it gives me something to do, and it's a lot easier to stir fry when I am not drinking :) Just thought I would share, I am enjoying it, and I too am not wanting to gain any extra weight by binging on food!

With my doctors ok...I followed an eating plan for hypoglycemia that I found in
"Under The Influence" by Milam & Ketcham

I consider it was important in early sobriety...and helped me get back in physical and mental balance rather quickly...:yup:

The plan alone was worth the cost of the book...which is filled with info on alcoholism.
:yup:

I could feel myself switch my drug of choice from booze pills weed to food. Booze, pills, etc is a beast enough by itself. Focus on your recovery. I tried to manage the food and my program it made me miserable. I am at the point now were I do make better choices on what I eat, but that took awhile. The point is STAY SOBER.

The day I quit drinking, I bought a pack of cigarettes and laid a bet on the horses. This was at around 10 in the morning.
I would exhibit many other forms of "filling the hole" for the next 3 years. I would exhibit shopping addiction and food addiction. I have shared in my AA rooms how I chased a jacket on sale for 3 days....following it from one warehouse outlet to the other in an almost manic state.

The difference? I can now identify when I am going into addictive behavior. I could never do that before, when I drank. Thanks to the steps when I find myself going for that chocolate bar or that sale item...or that vacation....I think: am I trying to meet a need here? The same need I filled with alcohol?
Now I have the freedom to identify and then stop that behavior.

No, it is not easy. Sometimes I want to shop/eat like there is no tomorrow. But at least now I know when it is happening and what I can do about it.

Oh yeah. Loving me some food. I gained 9 lbs at first. Have lost 2 of it but I'm not going to obsess. I am trying to be positive about things. I don't need added stress right now. I am on my feet all day at work but that is not enough any more. I started walking on the treadmill 3 or 4 times a week. I have also started taking metamucil daily. It has fiber to fill me up and helps with the new side effect of constipation. Don't fret it.

Been there.
Now when I crave food and know that I'm not hungry, I drink water. It seems to help.

This is a BIG worry of mine
 

I'm a big dude already, and I'm a nervous eater. I fill in that void by smoking and drinking too. Many times I have to decided to just "drink my dinner" but always I snack later, and this of course is no longer an option. I'm wondering if there are any foods that trigger cravings for alcohol (for me would be pizza -beer- and mexican food -margs-) I don't eat either without drinking, like many other types of food I guess. Has anyone had any luck with foods or snacks that curb their cravings? Sounds weird but looking for all the help I can get. Thanks.

~J

Sometimes I eat and I am not satisfied, but I got used to that feeling wrote it out and understand It will pass. The important part is to pause when you are eating and understand that you have been eating/drinking a certain way for years, now when you are changing, trying to scratch that record into a new song, it is going to feel unsatisfying.

Eat. Then write down on a scale of 1-10 if you are hungry, if you aren't hungry pray call someone, turn your mind over to God, read write, do whatever you can until the craving to overeat passes. The first couple times will be hard, but work on it and it gets better. Above everything else stay sober. You can't do anything until you get sober.