Too much ice cream?
 

So I can just cannot get enough ice cream since I have gotten sober and now my family is worried about me getting fat.... really>

What your family thinks is one thing - if you're ok with things, then that's fine.

If you are worried about your weight, tho, try and satisfy that sweet tooth with simple sugars - fruit etc. Avoid processed sugars.

Make sure you're active enough to burn off at least some of the calories you're taking in and you should see an improvement.

I'm not a Dr - This is just common sense stuff :)

D

Didn't you say before that you have an eating disorder? Are you getting any help for it? Perhaps this is what they are really concerned about...?

I have gained a few pounds, like 5 or so and I do need to get more exercise but I wasn't too worried about it. Now I have it on my mind all the time, I guess it's okay though, it is time to get healthier. I am 5'5 and about 120 lbs, so as long as I start now it won't get out of control...

Hey Charliee, I've struggled with those obsessive food/eating thoughts as well, it's rough! I'm trying not to focus on it with sobriety and I keep telling myself that as long as I'm exercising and not completely over consuming it's okay... especially since last month I would have had two bottles of wine instead which is disgusting... Also, it's really difficult when your family is commenting.

Last night I splurged and had Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia... oh yummmm.

Thanks Chaili, the thing is they know commenting just accentuates the problem, so I think that they really just don't want me to gain weight!! I have always weighed about 113 pounds, at the height of my drinking problem I got up to 135 lbs., when I got sober I dropped to about 108 and now I am up to 120 pounds. The thing is they know talking about it will send me into a spin and that's what they are choosing to do...

Just stay off the booze, you'll notice that the cravings for things like chocolate and ice cream will be strong for a while, and eating is not the worst thing you can do. As Dee said, eventually you can substitute tons of fruit into your diet and you'll be in great shape!

I lost about 20lbs since I quit drinking....and I've eaten a TON of ice cream! Those calories are nothing compared to how poorly we treated our bodies during our alcoholism days.

When I first got sober I ate ice cream like crazy. I couldn't stop. Needless to say I never lost weight like so many do when they quit drinking. It's just your body craving sugar and it's normal, at least for us. Don't worry too much, ice cream doesn't do anywhere near the damage that alcohol does. The sugar cravings will go away in time. I had to switch to sorbet. And now I no longer eat either. Hang in there.

Hold on... there's such a thing as too much icecream??? :P Charliee I think that if you feel like you are having too much then maybe you could switch to sorbet or try something like frozen yoghurt??? However if you are happy with what you are doing don't worry about what others say. It's easy enough to lose weight when and if you need too, don't let it stress you too much :)

Me too, Charliee, I lost a few pounds when I first quit but I have put on a few pounds. I love ice cream always have, but more intensely . I figure, eat ice cream rather than drink booze, I don't have hangover in the morning, I haven't upset my husband, unless I eat his ice cream, too, lol.
Don't concern yourself too much, get past your sugar cravings, it will all settle down. If we can beat the booze, we can beat a few measly pounds if we want to.

So true, that's exactly how I think. I had some delicious ice cream last night and a bag of sour patch kids the before a meeting last week... and oh about 7 fortune cookies dipped in frosting within two days... hahaha. I'm trying to get in some exercise and figure hey, if this is the trade off, count me in. Beats waking up in the morning feeling scared that someone's mad at me for being a lame drunk.

Hi chaili, way to go...x

I've talked here before about the two year period when my husband was critically ill (MRSA/flesh eating bacteria in his abdominal cavity, contracted during routine gall bladder surgery, 8 months in intensive care, then months more in the hospital then in rehab before he, miraculously, recovered). It still amazes me that I didn't relapse during that time.

What I did, though, was eat ice cream. Gallons of it. What is it about this stuff? I craved it, every single night. I didn't care about eating anything else, either, although I went through a short rice pudding phase too. I tried to combat the damage by switching to frozen yogurt, but I piled so many toppings on it that it was not really any better. I was partial to one particular brand that had flavors like red velvet cake, blueberry cobbler, sea salt caramel. I just lived on the stuff.

Was it just the amazing amount of stress that I was under that made me crave ice cream so much? I think early sobriety has an incredible amount of stress too, so maybe there is something there. I don't really have an answer or any advise for you. As things got better, the cravings went away (I still love the stuff, though). I didn't gain any weight from it, but it certainly was not good for me, because on many days ice cream was the only thing I ate. I think that, for me, it was the ultimate comfort food. I was so miserable and terrified, eating it made me feel, for a little while, like I was taking care of myself.

Try to eat healthy choices when possible, go for frozen yogurt (sans toppings!) and congratulate yourself for your sobriety...that is the important thing right now.

sugar/fat cravings seem to go on for a while but get less intense with time. I think it helps fight cravings.

Great, it's almost 11pm here in California and now all I want is ice cream :lmao

Eeeeeeat the icecream. It's better than wine!

The key is moderation. Dont change one addiction to an other. Its still an unhealthy pattern. Got to learn to control your urges if you want to have control in your behavior patterns and life.

There is always OA too. Are you in AA?

I would be seriously upset with my family if they pounced on the fact that I would get fat over being sober.

It will balance out later. The cravings for it go away eventually so indulge for a little bit.

I have lost 36 pounds since I quit drinking and I ate a lot of chocolate ice cream but then again I was overweight, still am, but it was the least of my worries at the time.

I used to be one that could take or leave any sweet. It was never on my to do list. When I first got sober I craved it. CHOCOLATE! I had to have it. Now it is not such a big deal. The only thing that changed is now I will take it, in moderation, if it is offered but I don't go looking for it and I don't feel squirrely if I don't have a sweet in the house.