Acheleus

What physical changes did you experience when you decided to get sober? Weight loss? Clearer skin? Look younger? Did you feel more confident about you appearance after you quit?

Zee

Weight gain (chocolate fetish) Whiter eyes, thicker hair, (Looking younger is not international, it's more personal)... it won't happen automatically... you have to work at it, good luck x

ABIDEBYLAW

Lost 20 pounds in 2 months, BP down, cholesterol same, pain in abdoman diminished.... find out yourself : )

Zee

Strange that I lost most of my bodyweight while drinking.... do some people eat junk food all the time?

sparky78

When I really binged I wouldn't eat at all and would get pretty skinny, ghost white, horrible skin, bruised easily and everywhere, chapped lips because I was so dehydrated.

There are so many physical benefits to quitting drinking...life pours back into your eyes, your skin improves and then glows with more time, a little weight gain at first as your body craves nutrients and rebalances sugar levels but the bloating goes away, but since then I have lost weight, more energy, healthier hair. Plus not smelling like a bar despite how much perfume you use or showers you take because trust me everyone else can smell it!

But the mental changes are what really rocks...the 2am wake-ups drenched in sweat as you frantically wonder what you did last night are replaced with rising fully rested and ready to take on the day, the wonderful first thought that you have another day sober, no anxiety over getting rid of the evidence or how your going to make it thru the day sick, shaky and hungover..

PeppyGirl

I have only been sober 7 days but I am already down 4 pounds (gained about 20 while drinking). My skin has developed a small annoying dry patch on my face. I am feeling more confident mainly because I am actually taking the time to shower, get dressed (not workout clothes or yoga pants), comb my hair and put on makeup. When I was drinking I didn't care about these things, even though I have always taken a lot of pride in my appearance- alcohol took that away from me. What changes are you noticing?

terribob

Yeah...I lose weight when not drinking. It's not just the calories from the alcohol but my food choices too. When sober I hate greasy food. When drunk, give me chicken wings, burgers and fries.

Mizzuno

My face broke out. I didnt lose or gain weight. Physically I feel more alive, with energy. My brain is focused. There has not been all that much change.
Other things have changed but that is a whole different thread

2granddaughters

The biggest physical change I experienced after quitting drinking was going into recovery at 45 yrs old ....... and coming up on 69 yrs in a few weeks.

Had I not quit I wouldn't have seen 46 yrs.

All the best.

Bob R

DainBramaged

I didn't have such a big head.

DainBramaged

But that was only 3 days ago...

rainyengland

LOL - braindamaged indeed you are!

im not worried about what external benefits to a extent - I just know I feel great and that gives me so much more self confidence

Lyoness

I gained weight and I needed to. I had the lovely junkie look, hollow cheeks, so thin people were asking me what was wrong, bad color, etc. Now people comment that I look healthy, my skin color is healthy and I just overall look so much better.

I also don't dread looking in the mirror which is I guess more emotional than about physical looks but I knew I was looking bad every time I saw my gaunt face. I think I don't bruise as easily or it seems to hurt less when I bump myself. My body looks better without the bruises and track marks of an active user, too.

And like others I am finding I want to take better care of myself too.

Good question!

soopy99

I'm on day 11 and feel like I've lost a little bit of weight so far.

Louise82

Yeah, the biggest physical change I've seen is that I've stopped urinating and defecating blood so hopefully that means I have more chance of seeing 32 yrs old now.

MeFree

The two bad physical effects for me were anxiety and inability to sleep. Both were resolved in about two weeks. Many wonderful phsyical benefits of sobriety....started dropping weight immediately. I am pettite and was about twenty pounds heavier than I should have been. Really wasn't eating that much but believe my liver was too overloaded to metabolize anything. Within three months, I was down from 130 to 114, by only replacing my daily 3 plus glasses of wine a day with healthy food and I began walking atleast a half a mile a day. I have SO much energy now, think clearer, kidneys function better, less depression (probably due to less regrets from things I had done while drinking), whiter eyes, no more muscle pain and I sleep like I havent in years. Can keep my two year old granddaughter after an eight hour work day and she wears out before me. Fantastic!

Grymt

My brain seems to work better. Sometimes I get glimpses of what it was like when I was young. I reckon it's a good idea to stop drinking young. When I roll around in the past I wish I had.

Sazzle

Hi Acheleus

I'm 6 months sober today and I get lots of compliments daily as I look like a different person now. It's getting embarrassing but I just say thanks and try not to let it go to my head!

My hair doesn't get greasy do quickly and is less knotty, my eyes are clear and my skin is excellent now. I was a red wine demon and I would blow up like a puffa fish all over. I had red blotchy skin, I would sweat profusely and I was 20kg heavier.

The pain in my right abdomen has gone and I'm mentally sharp.

As you've seen by the responses, everyone is different, but I think I was also allergic to alcohol or my liver was so overburdened that I could not process anything: food or alcohol.

That's how I feel anyway.

I'm sure I'll miss the compliments when everyone gets used to the new me, but right now it just confirms that quitting was the right choice for me.

S x

Nonsensical

Improved arterial blood flow, as noted by my wife.

Richierich777

More active, doing more, and looking good. Laughing and not taking stuff to serious.