Eastsidelady

I am a week sober today and I feel pretty good the only bad thing is I can't stop eating. I choose healthy things but now I really crave sweats. When I was drinking I ate healthy all the time and worked out 4-5 times a week. Now sober I'm eating more carbs than ever and afraid I'm going to get huge. Any suggestions?

Anna

Hi and Welcome,

I don't have personal experience, but it seems that it might be a good idea to just listen to your body and give it what it wants (and hopefully needs) during the first weeks. Then, gradually you could switch the carbs to healthier carbs like whole-wheat pasta and bread, fruits, etc.

I'm really glad that you found us and that you are making the decision to take care of yourself.

Stoogy

Hi and well done on your first sober week, great going.
I was also craving all sorts of sweets and chocolate etc in my early days, which is strange as I was never a big eater of such things, I just put it down to the amount of sugar in alcohol and my body was simply craving what I had taken away from it,I may be wrong but that was my thoughts.
Anyway, well done.

Dan1888

I was a massive binge drinker, getting totally drunk every weekend.

I didnt over-eat when I was actually drinking but once the alcohol wore off I would be absolutely ravenous and over eat for days. Probably a mixture of feeling sorry for myself and my body craving energy. It was a cycle of binge drinking followed by binge eating junk food. Basically abusing my body big time.

Once I got myself sober I had a similar experience as you, I found it hard to get into a healthy lifestlye and stop over-eating. My advice would be to give yourself two weeks of being sober then really make a determined effort to start going back to the gym. It will take a bit of will power and self-motivation but im sure you already know that. The hardest bit is actually starting the healthy living lifestyle again, once you are up and running you wont crave junk food anymore (or nowhere near as much anyway).

This is what worked for me. Once you start feeling the benefit of feeling fit and losing some weight, you really wont want to go back to eating cr@p everyday.

Applekat

Eastside, I hear ya! Day 8 here, and I'm eating a lot, including sweets. I'm giving myself a pass right now. And countering with drinking lots of fluids including water and herbal tea.

I say give yourself a break and re-evaluate food/exercise in another week.

LBrain

Hi Eastsidelady, it happens to the best of us. I consumed more chocolate than ever.
Just don't get too caught up in it like I did. I became aware of it, well my wife did, and after a couple months I had to make an effort to stop. I can honestly say that now I don't crave any kind of sweet fix or anything else. I am getting back to my normal diet of salads and fresh veggies once again.
Let your body adjust for a few weeks, then make a concerted effort to get off the sweets. You'll be back to normal before you know it.

Welcome to the forum.

curliQ

I too was ravenous for the first couple of weeks. I think it is starting to even out now.

least

Don't worry too much. You are very early in recovery and your body and brain are just starting to heal. Pamper yourself for a while. Then slowly cut out the 'bad food' and switch to healthier eating.

yeahgr8

I drank for 20 years...it took more than a couple of weeks to balance out, more like 6 months to a year. If you get heavy you have the rest of your life to lose the weight and get fit, the same cannot be said if you continue drinking.

hypochondriac

It's very common I think. You need to replace the sugar you got from alcohol. I found the really over the top hunger died off after a few months, and I was still losing weight then anyway, probably because of the lack of calories from beer. Don't worry about it for now x

serious

it will even out... but if you are concerned and want to help with the process eat things like goji berries, natural raw honey, aloe vera (in shakes.. but you have to find real stuff, actually it's very easy to cut up and peal an aloe vera leaf and add the jelly to a shake).

google "polysaccharides" for more details.

ImperfectlyMe

I have a trick that really works. This may induce eye rolls but that's ok I'm use to it when I suggest this tactic.

Craving sweets or junk. Drink 12 oz water and a piece of fruit. Apples are great because they ate bulky. Then have at it. Eat your heart out. Give yourself permission to eat as much junk as you want.

But guess what more then a few bites will nauseate you!

Be kind to yourself too, your body's going through a huge change.

Congrats on 1 week!

Holli

Put me in the eat fruit bucket, too. :-) And eat whatever else you want, for that matter. One thing at a time...

firstymer

I did the math and figured out many gazillion calories I was consuming in alcohol, not to mention the drunken late-night eating binges that I went on while I was drinking. If you do the math yourself, you may actually find that your caloric intake is the same as or less than when you were drinking. And if you are consuming more calories now, so what. You are still much, much better off. Focus on your sobriety. The rest of it will fall into place soon enough.

LittleBlue71

I am the same, bags of crisps & biscuits. I am 11 days sober now & have been putting grapes in the freezer so when I fancy something sweet I can grab a few. I haven't had a sweet tooth before so it was a surprise!
Well done on your 1st week.

Kevin78

I do this as well. On my 3rd packet of crisps today. Not even hungry. Could be boredom? Day 5 almost over. I might try snacking on more raw veggies.