scottydee1946

Day 18 sober for me; but I have developed a deep craving for chocolate. Is this normal? I quit booze cold-turkey, and have no desire or craving for it. But I can't stay away from chocolate. Any tips on how to give up this latest - even if tastier than the last - addiction?

veryready

Ha. Sounds pretty common for the appetite to increase a bit/or a lot. I did some serious pigging out in the first few weeks. Your post is funny because yesterday I was eating some chocolate and I seriously thought to myself 'wow I've missed you'. I had sweet cravings really bad and they did subside so no worries.

deeker

At least you won't get arrested for driving under the influence of a hershey bar. Give it time. Important thing is you are sober today.

BillyPilgrim

Look on the bright side compared to the calories you took in with booze you are bingeing on lettuce. Enjoy it's one of the many plus points of not drinking

Mdlily

I had something similar happen to me. I was in bed and all of a sudden it seemed like chocolate cake was a good idea. I told myself no. Then my mind went to a list of other foods that are not healthy. Finally since I had said no to all of that list that flew into my head it next turned to alcohol. I discussed this with my doctor and he said it is a soothing mechanism Many people give up booze and replace it with food and/or cigarettes. All of addiction is people trying to make the hurt go away.

coraltint

yep that nails it....that's why we so commonly just replace one with another.

2granddaughters

My disease/addiction/weakness (I call it a disease) always wants to be fed something, usually in excess.

In the past, when I quit drinking, I doubled-up on work/gambling/cigarettes/Valium/sex etc. to fill the void. I hadn't "quit" anything, I just changed "fixes".

The drug of choice is the outward symptom of my disease, the tip of the iceberg. The real truth came when someone asked me "How do you feel now that you aren't drinking" .... I really didn't want to answer truthfully.

All the best Scotty, what part of our great country are you occupying ?

Bob R (1944)

LadyinBC

I went on a pigfest 3 months after I quit. For a whole month I ate anything and everything. Nothing was safe!

soberclover

I understand it is pretty common to pick up some out of the usual eating patterns when we first become sober. My eating when I was actively drinking was pretty much bar food or eating whatever was lurking in my fridge when I got home. I've been recently picked on for my becoming an ice cream brand expert. I used to be a wine snob so I suppose that makes sense! While I wish my sweet tooth would calm down, I am happy that I am sober and ice cream won't kill be or anyone else

escapist

I discovered aerated milk chocolate. Oh yeah so light and sweet and all melty in your mouth. The book Under the Influence offers an explanation for our cravings for sweets. I do get a high on sweets. I have been trying to switch to fruits. I have had some success. Still can't get away from the evening craving though. I don't fight it.

Received

My eating was always based around my drinking. Eat enough to start drinking but not too much as it would interfere with my buzz. Make sure I had a good buzz on before I would eat a bit more in order to give me more drinking time before passing out.

The moment I stopped drinking I made sure to start taking my supplements (I should have been taking all along). It was a no brainer, for me, I was extremely nutritionally deprived.

When I stopped drinking, I was aware of my increase in wonky cravings regarding food but didn't stress over it. Two days ago the strange cravings have ceased and I'm eating healthy.

I do find it interesting that I didn't crave sweets.

I'm keeping an eye on it though.

whiskeyman

or how about ice cream.
I never ate it before but once booze was gone it was just like God created ice cream

scottydee1946

Hi Bob,

I am in the land of ice, hockey and maple syrup - Canada

Applecrumble

Yep, Scottydee. I only very rarely wanted something sweet before. I always favoured savoury and greesy. Since quitting the alcoholic sugars, my body is still demanding other sugars. A complete one-eighty in favourites - weird!

kizzy40

I went coldturkey too after 15yrs 365 days a year...
eerily similar one or two points here, not craving intensely and my tastes have flipped from savory/salty to sweet.
Looked at hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and it was like a lightbulb lit up
Having a blood test following a 24hr fast on mon to confirm. In the meantime trying to keep my blood sugar stable.

2granddaughters

I know.. me as well. No hockey yet though. What part of the Country ??

I'm as far south as you can get.... and more south and I'm in Lake Erie.... then Ohio

All the best.

Bob R

FreeFall

Just reading this sent me to the box of candy lol

Huge sugar cravings initially but they calmed down somewhat after about 2 months.

It's very hard not to use sweets as a reward-definitely feel like I replaced one addiction with another, booze for food. Hoping to work on that soon, feel like a whale.

scottydee1946

Hi Bob - Vancouver here, where it is zero degrees which is quite cold for these parts

TrixMixer

Funny, Scottydee, read my post under "I am constantly hungry" on this thread!

shoreladylu

Before I started drinking heavily I was definitely a dessertohlic. Birthday cake with thick icing was my favorite thing in the world. FAVORITE! lol When I started drinking I noticed I stopped craving the sweets. I was actually kind of impressed with myself until I realized I didn't crave sweets cause I was getting more than enough with all the wine I drank... That being said, I guess your body is craving sugar in any form right now. Chocolate's better than alcohol!
Congrats on 18 days!