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did alcohol make me fat?

Old 07-09-2016, 10:09 PM
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did alcohol make me fat?

I started taking olanzapine about 2-3 years ago and started drinking heavily about 1-2 years ago. Before I started drinking and taking olanzapine I only weighed 85 kgs but now I weight 100kgs and some days I weigh 100-1-5 kgs. I hear olanzapine makes you gain weight but I also hear alcohol does too but quitting the medication is out of the question because even if i wanted to stop taking olanzapine i cant but i can with alcohol.
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Old 07-09-2016, 10:15 PM
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Yes alcohol will make you fat. Many empty calories and it taxes the liver so all the other fat and calories get put on hold.
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Old 07-09-2016, 10:37 PM
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Yes. There's a huge amount of calories in alcohol, plus it can lead to overeating. Alcohol inhibits your ability to tell when you're full, and its an appetite stimulator too.
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Old 07-09-2016, 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by SoberJohn View Post
Yes alcohol will make you fat. Many empty calories and it taxes the liver so all the other fat and calories get put on hold.
Wouldn't empty calories make it so you don't put on weight?
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Old 07-10-2016, 01:11 AM
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Originally Posted by ozm8ey View Post
Wouldn't empty calories make it so you don't put on weight?
Empty calories just means calories with no nutritional value
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Old 07-10-2016, 02:01 AM
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I used to binge eat to stop drinking for the night.

In the morning, I was a swollen, bloated, weak, red eyed, pathetic, remorseful Dad.

Plus, I had to go to work like that sometimes.

We are not designed to drink booze. It slowly poisons us after we are addicted.

Quit booze.
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Old 07-10-2016, 03:51 AM
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When I was drinking 12 drinks a night, every night, I gained 50 lbs in two years.

When people saw pictures of me before I started drinking, it was always the same response: Who is that?! they couldn't even recognize me. Perhaps it was the red face and puffy eyes?

When I became completely sober I lost 40 lbs without even trying.
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Old 07-10-2016, 06:15 AM
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Originally Posted by MelindaFlowers View Post
When I was drinking 12 drinks a night, every night, I gained 50 lbs in two years.

When people saw pictures of me before I started drinking, it was always the same response: Who is that?! they couldn't even recognize me. Perhaps it was the red face and puffy eyes?

When I became completely sober I lost 40 lbs without even trying.
That's encouraging, because I feel like I've replaced every drink with candy, lol! I know what you mean about becoming a puffy, red-faced mess. One of my (many) small wake-up calls was when I attended a conference and saw someone who definitely knows me...he hadn't seen me in a while, and did the not-so-subtle eye flick down to the name tag because he literally didn't recognize what I had become. I think I read somewhere that stomach bloating continues through early recovery (I'm only on day 44), which I hope is true. I still look like I'm in my second trimester of a non-existent pregnancy!
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Old 07-10-2016, 06:21 AM
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Yes, alcohol can absolutely make you fat!
I gained about 60 lbs over my years of drinking, and no matter how hard I dieted I never lost more than 10-15 of that (and there was a long period I only drank on Saturdays, then dieted/exercised like mad sun-fri!), and still that extra weight barely budged.

Finally, after 7 months off the alcohol, serious weight is coming off, and I even have cheat days (with food, not alcohol), lol.
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Old 07-10-2016, 07:12 AM
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Originally Posted by luvmygirls View Post
That's encouraging, because I feel like I've replaced every drink with candy, lol! I know what you mean about becoming a puffy, red-faced mess. One of my (many) small wake-up calls was when I attended a conference and saw someone who definitely knows me...he hadn't seen me in a while, and did the not-so-subtle eye flick down to the name tag because he literally didn't recognize what I had become. I think I read somewhere that stomach bloating continues through early recovery (I'm only on day 44), which I hope is true. I still look like I'm in my second trimester of a non-existent pregnancy!
Yes, it can make you fat for the reasons mentioned above- ingesting a lot of calories and/or a lot of bad foods. Often in binge/starve cycles.

When you get to the point that most of your calories are from booze, you may not eat at all or do it sporadically; I did this and lost weight. When I quit I needed to gain 10-15lb and have gained about 18. Most of that in my stomach so your bloated or mid-heavy situation is common.

You also tend to be anemic and otherwise vitamin-deficient bc the alcoholic body (or the very heavy drinker's body) usually cannot absorb any good nutrients you do ingest.

Craving sugar is very common in early sobriety. I am just now really weaning myself off the ice cream (and I am nearing 5mo). Letting myself off the hook for that, knowing it will pass, AND having begun a running routine again are the ways I am handling it.

Your health will return in so many ways; I won't say all bc underlying medical conditions may remain. But you will get so much more healthy, overall, if you stay sober. Nothing in my physical life was better when I was drinking, from energy to sleep to cardio health and overall flexibility.

Keep going! Also read this - it will help explain what is going on with you - even if your symptoms aren't severe or extreme (mine were) this is an in-depth article on how and when our bodies heal:
https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/
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Old 07-10-2016, 10:22 AM
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It made me fat! When I quit last year, I focused on eating a healthy diet and list 20 lbs in 2 months! But then I started drinking again and slowly was putting it back on. Alcohol will do all kinds of bad stuff to ya!
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Old 07-10-2016, 10:23 AM
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I gained about 40-50 lbs as an everyday drinker over a year. I averaged 12 tall cans of beer a day, which is 2500 calories. That is on top of another 2500 calories from food. The weight gain is so gradual I didn't notice it. However, I did notice the looks of concern when I saw people who I hadn't seen for a long time. My perception and self awareness was horribly distorted so I didn't see the bloated mess I had become.
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Old 07-10-2016, 10:54 AM
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Alcohol (especially right before the hospital) made me drop to my HS weight. I was malnourished and dehydrated (among other things) when I was admitted. I was 120--my HS weight (down from a steady 140 through 150). I couldn't eat, at all. I had zero hunger mechanism and go for a week without food, and then a week with some. The last few weeks, I ate nothing. It wasn't a game, I wasn't worried about weight. Actually, I take that back, I was super worried about it because I could not eat. Nothing could pass my lips (except vodka). It was the first time in my life I didn't desire thinness and I told myself I'd give anything to be struggling to lose a few pounds. This sounds vain and petty, but I looked good and could wear anything. I'm sorta modest and have body images (though, I was never fat) but at this weight, I wear short short dresses and mini-skirts.

Alcohol did make my face chubby, round, and red. The first few days out of the hospital I got my appetite back and I was ordering those 1000 calories coffees from coffee shops without thinking twice (the ones I always avoided during yo-yo dieting). Now I'm up to 123 which is still too thin for my height, but honestly, I don't want to go above 125. I've been eating like a horse and craving sweets. I hate it. I never ate sweets because of all the sugar in the vodka.

So yeah, I have the opposite experience. Weight is not falling off now that I'm sober. It's falling on. Yikes.
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Old 07-10-2016, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by August252015 View Post
Yes, it can make you fat for the reasons mentioned above- ingesting a lot of calories and/or a lot of bad foods. Often in binge/starve cycles.

When you get to the point that most of your calories are from booze, you may not eat at all or do it sporadically; I did this and lost weight. When I quit I needed to gain 10-15lb and have gained about 18. Most of that in my stomach so your bloated or mid-heavy situation is common.

You also tend to be anemic and otherwise vitamin-deficient bc the alcoholic body (or the very heavy drinker's body) usually cannot absorb any good nutrients you do ingest.

Craving sugar is very common in early sobriety. I am just now really weaning myself off the ice cream (and I am nearing 5mo). Letting myself off the hook for that, knowing it will pass, AND having begun a running routine again are the ways I am handling it.

Your health will return in so many ways; I won't say all bc underlying medical conditions may remain. But you will get so much more healthy, overall, if you stay sober. Nothing in my physical life was better when I was drinking, from energy to sleep to cardio health and overall flexibility.

Keep going! Also read this - it will help explain what is going on with you - even if your symptoms aren't severe or extreme (mine were) this is an in-depth article on how and when our bodies heal:
https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/
My story is the same.

When I read the stories of people who are drinking x amount of calories in booze and eating a bunch of food, I think, well, it hasn't hit rock bottom, yet. I don't mean that as encouragement and I know you can still get very sick at that point. But really, at the end stages--when your body is failing--you don't eat. I've read the science behind it. The organs are all busy with the alcohol (that's a simplistic explanation) and one doesn't feel hunger. Was also fighting with my husband and very anxious, so that contributed to not eating.
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Old 07-10-2016, 01:01 PM
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I lost around 40lbs by quitting, I don't even workout. So yeah, I'd say drinking makes you gain weight.
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Old 07-10-2016, 01:43 PM
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After I relapsed last year (after several years of sobriety), I gained 40 pounds and the only thing I changed was re-added alcohol into my life.

Alcohol makes you FAT and slows down your metabolism.
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Old 07-10-2016, 01:49 PM
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I lost 40 lbs so far (since January)) and have not done much other than quit drinking.
I made bad choices last month and drank for two weeks... Gained 5 lbs.
Quitting drinking for me is much more than a weight loss plan (weight barely figures into the reasoning) but it can be an unexpected pleasant side affect.
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Old 07-10-2016, 02:06 PM
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Originally Posted by MelindaFlowers View Post
When I was drinking 12 drinks a night, every night, I gained 50 lbs in two years.

When people saw pictures of me before I started drinking, it was always the same response: Who is that?! they couldn't even recognize me. Perhaps it was the red face and puffy eyes?

When I became completely sober I lost 40 lbs without even trying.
I've had people say that in real life as well. Both on the heavy side (when I got really big for my size) and on the other side (when I was practically starving at the end).
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Old 07-10-2016, 03:00 PM
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Alcohol definitely made me gain weight and just get puffy and bloated in general. I would make poor food choices when drinking (on top of the added nightly wine calories), and the next day i would eat high fat foods because they seemed to help ease hangover symptoms.
When I'm not drinking my weight just seems to normalize without much effort. I look back at pictures of myself when I was a year sober and not only was I not puffy and fat, my skin glowed and there was a hint of life in my eyes.
Thank you for this post, I'm on Day 3 and its served as a good reminder of the damage alcohol causes on all levels. I'm ready to be healthy for good 😊
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Old 07-10-2016, 04:17 PM
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Alcohol, and the crap I would eat when I was drinking made me gain weight. I have lost 32 pounds since January. I would like to lose 15 more, but I'm not stressing myself. I have been able to maintain the weight I am at with little effort. I will need to up my exercise and cut out a snack to lose the last 15.
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