A return visit
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: North of England
Posts: 1,442
Thank you Kaneda - I will do.
On 'day one' today. My 'plan' is to be sober, if still going through withdrawal to some extent for the first session on Tuesday and to stay sober after that.
I have thought very hard about what to do differently, given how many times I have been down this road and I have been reading about carbohydrates, serotonin and their links to craving. My partner who has lost over 50ibs on the Atkins diet has helped me with this.
Some research I have read about suggests that people who stop drinking and replace the sugar and carbs in alcohol with high sugar foods, such as chocolate, which I always do, can get a bit of respite from cravings and their desire to drink but that this is temporary and actually can have the opposite effect very quickly of setting off cravings for carbs (and alcohol). So after withdrawal - maybe four days in - I am going to eat basically the Atkins diet and see if that helps. I could do with losing 10 or 15 lbs in any case - though this is very much a secondary objective - an afterthought really.
More on this here (though there is quite a lot more out there: Carbohydrate craving by alcohol-dependent men during sobriety: rela... - PubMed - NCBI
On 'day one' today. My 'plan' is to be sober, if still going through withdrawal to some extent for the first session on Tuesday and to stay sober after that.
I have thought very hard about what to do differently, given how many times I have been down this road and I have been reading about carbohydrates, serotonin and their links to craving. My partner who has lost over 50ibs on the Atkins diet has helped me with this.
Some research I have read about suggests that people who stop drinking and replace the sugar and carbs in alcohol with high sugar foods, such as chocolate, which I always do, can get a bit of respite from cravings and their desire to drink but that this is temporary and actually can have the opposite effect very quickly of setting off cravings for carbs (and alcohol). So after withdrawal - maybe four days in - I am going to eat basically the Atkins diet and see if that helps. I could do with losing 10 or 15 lbs in any case - though this is very much a secondary objective - an afterthought really.
More on this here (though there is quite a lot more out there: Carbohydrate craving by alcohol-dependent men during sobriety: rela... - PubMed - NCBI
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: North of England
Posts: 1,442
Originally Posted by Kaneda8888 
Hey Mentium
Welcome back. Have you looked up Refuge Recovery? It is a 12 step program with a Buddhist slant though it is allegedly well suited for atheists and agnostics
Welcome back. Have you looked up Refuge Recovery? It is a 12 step program with a Buddhist slant though it is allegedly well suited for atheists and agnostics
Took a look at the web site and it looks very much my thing, though sadly no meetings in the UK. The worksheets look interesting though. Will download them this evening.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 5,937
Originally Posted by Mentium
Some research I have read about suggests that people who stop drinking and replace the sugar and carbs in alcohol with high sugar foods, such as chocolate, which I always do, can get a bit of respite from cravings and their desire to drink but that this is temporary and actually can have the opposite effect very quickly of setting off cravings for carbs (and alcohol). So after withdrawal - maybe four days in - I am going to eat basically the Atkins diet and see if that helps. I could do with losing 10 or 15 lbs in any case - though this is very much a secondary objective - an afterthought really.
More on this here (though there is quite a lot more out there: Carbohydrate craving by alcohol-dependent men during sobriety: rela... - PubMed - NCBI
More on this here (though there is quite a lot more out there: Carbohydrate craving by alcohol-dependent men during sobriety: rela... - PubMed - NCBI
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: North of England
Posts: 1,442
Hello again. Well I attended the initial counselling session described above but it was just an assessment it turned out and there is a waiting list to be seen by one of the actual counsellors - up to two months by the looks of it. I want to do this differently this time as the prospect of drying out, feeling better and starting to drink again because I have detoxed myself a bit is a cycle I want desperately to get out of. I want long term sobriety and I had that for close to a year not long ago so I know I can do it!
Anyway I thought I would wait until I had a date to start the counselling proper, but at the moment I feel so crap and unwell with my addictive drinking that I really must not wait any longer. So this morning I have chucked out all the wine in the house, told my partner I am 'on the wagon' and will do this myself in the hope that my appointment is offered soon. As I mentioned elsewhere a while back part of doing this 'differently' will be to go on a low carb diet once I have gotten over the initial three or four days of withdrawal symptoms. Wish me luck!
Anyway I thought I would wait until I had a date to start the counselling proper, but at the moment I feel so crap and unwell with my addictive drinking that I really must not wait any longer. So this morning I have chucked out all the wine in the house, told my partner I am 'on the wagon' and will do this myself in the hope that my appointment is offered soon. As I mentioned elsewhere a while back part of doing this 'differently' will be to go on a low carb diet once I have gotten over the initial three or four days of withdrawal symptoms. Wish me luck!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
I'm glad you're back!
One thing I don't understand about the 'I'm an atheist' argument is this; what about science?
Science demonstrates chemical processes, biological processes, all sorts of incredible, amazing stuff!
The sun.... Are you a greater power than the sun?
You don't have to believe in God to find the power in AA. Believe in the sun. Simply open yourself to the willingness to believe that the sun is a greater power than yourself and that believing in it may help you be sober.
I hope you find what works for you
One thing I don't understand about the 'I'm an atheist' argument is this; what about science?
Science demonstrates chemical processes, biological processes, all sorts of incredible, amazing stuff!
The sun.... Are you a greater power than the sun?
You don't have to believe in God to find the power in AA. Believe in the sun. Simply open yourself to the willingness to believe that the sun is a greater power than yourself and that believing in it may help you be sober.
I hope you find what works for you
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: North of England
Posts: 1,442
Thank you again. What am I going to do differently Dee? Well I'm putting more structure into my days. I got early retirment a while back and what with feeling crap mpst of the day and waiting for the evening to drink and feel 'OK' again I have gotten into a bit of a downward spiral. From my reading (and the experience of my partner who has lost 50Lbs doing it) a low carb diet might help me with urges to drink, so that will be a huge plus. A friend of mine who goes occasionally to AA and is a counsellor herself wondered if I would truly be able to be non-dependent on alcohol unless I worked out why I drink and its function in my life. Of course there is the simply addiction too, which must be a major factor.
FreeOwl - I won't get into my views about AA here as I know AA bashing doesn't go down well here, but there is new research which indicates a no more than 5% success rate. However if it works for some people then who am I to argue.
FreeOwl - I won't get into my views about AA here as I know AA bashing doesn't go down well here, but there is new research which indicates a no more than 5% success rate. However if it works for some people then who am I to argue.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
