ljames103

I'm almost embarrassed to say this, but one of the things I'm afraid of in quitting drinking is that I'm going to gain weight. Dumb, I know. But I'm afraid that instead of drinking my 2 bottles of wine a night, I'm going to eat instead. Snacking is another thing I tend to do when I'm bored or lonely. But when I'm drinking, I don't feel like eating. So to me, that's a good thing.

My husband did make a good point though. How do I know that the wine isn't making me gain weight? I seem to be chronically about 20 lbs overweight.

Has anyone lost or gained weight after getting sober? I feel silly that this is one of my concerns, but it is.

Fandy

wine is mostly empty sugar calories...about 150 calories a glass with no nutiritive value.

how many glasses in a bottle? X how many glasses you drink equals ????how many extra calories you are consuming. not to mention the lack of solid nutrition.

for the 2 bottles of wine you consume each day you could replace with real food.

try multiplying your consumption on a WEEKLY basis for a real eye opener.

Seared

The calories in the wine (besides the ones in the alcohol itself) are definitely contributing to some degree to not making you hungry. However, those aren't good calories, and are probably contributing to malnutrition, yet another problem.

Obviously snacking isn't a great alternative, but maybe a brisk walk with a decent meal would help.

MycoolFitz

Hey, if you can decide to cut out the drinking you can also decide to not pick up the snacking, you can also add or increase exercise--make it a healthy package committment. Since I quit drinking 3 1/2 months ago, along with adding a nutrient rich diet and daily exercise I've lost 43 pounds and never felt better. One thing does not have to lead to another. Quit the wine and you've got everythibg to lose :-)

CarolD

Try keeping only healthy foods around to snack on...my favorite is
Popcorn. I have no idea of it's nutritional merits tho...

I use a hot air popper and do not add butter or salt It's easy...cheap...crunchy and fills me up.

In early recovery I followed an eating + supplements plan with my doctors ok.
It was in the book "Under The Influence" and I had no big weight swing.
Ask your doctor about hypoglycemia ..many drinkers are unaware of this condition.

I simply can't think of a single good reason to drink alcohol...so I sure hope you will quit
It was the wisest decision I ever made....and Yes! you can too...

MycoolFitz

Popcorn, fixed the same way, is my allowable vice. Must be a proven recovery tool

Fandy

popcorn has good fiber too. also, it is so nice to be able to really TASTE food...i think that (for me anyway) booze dulls my senses.

it's no secret that I lost 50% of my hair when I was consuming mostly wine and little food...18 months later (and I am far from perfect with slips, dips and trips) i not only have most of my hair back, my nails are growing and my skin is much better, both face and body. alcohol dehydrates you, makes your liver work overtime and robs you of so much. 2 bottles a day is heavy consumption.

i hope you quit and see/feel a difference too.

onlythetruth

I do know that some people gain weight after they quit drinking, but I had the opposite experience--I actually lost weight, and I was thin to start with. I was used to drinking most of my calories and needed to learn how to eat them instead. At first the amount of food I needed seemed like it just HAD to be too much!

I guess there's a bit of trial and error involved for most of us because alcohol has so many calories, so there's a food intake issue as well as a no-alcohol issue. The key as far as I'm concerned is to learn to eat healthy even if it takes some time and effort to learn how to do that....and of course, don't use "I might gain weight" as an excuse to keep drinking!

alchy

Don't be embarassed. I had gained 50 lbs over the last 4 years of my drinking, solely due to my drinking. Before I was 190 lbs, very active and into weight training.

Now since I've quit just under 3 months ago I've lost 20 lbs. The first 8 or so came off in the first week but was mostly water weight and the bloating going away. I looked better immediately. My eyes were clear and my face and stomach were noticably less bloated. The rest came off due to the lack of 1500+ extra booze calories a day and because I started working out conistently again.
But don't let anything stop you from getting sober whether you would gain or not. It is worth it and it would be temporary anyway.