This Is so shallow
 

When I told people I was giving up drinking I was regailed by stories of how much weight people lost!! I'm a big girl and I'm quite upset to be putting on at least 2lbs each week, I'm walking everywhere as was banned for drinkdriving the day before I stopped drinking!!! I know people will think this is shallow but I don't want to get any fatter 😭 I am not eating badly!wasn't expecting this.

I gained 28lbs through drinking. Since I quit, it's falling off.
Perhaps your friends were trying to be supportive of your decision, however clumsily ☺

You are not shallow at all!

I gained weight, too, when I first quit, but soon my body regulated itself and the gaining stopped! :hug:

It's okay, it's not shallow. The body will take time to adjust. Just keep focussing on staying sober.

Keep up the walking. There are plenty of people who will tell you they lost weight after getting sober but not overnight. A couple of months seems to be common - that was my own experience.

Sobriety must still be the No 1 goal, but of course you know that! Stay patient.

Have you tried a no carb diet I've been on it 3 months and lost a good chunk of weight already

I don't think this issue is shallow. I was hopeful too - will be at six months next week and mass quantities of weight didn't just fall off :)

That said, physically I do feel better.

If you think about it, loads of people who haven't had a drink in their life struggle with their weight - simply dropping alcohol isn't a magic cure. The first 30 (to 60) days I struggled with insomnia and sugar cravings which led to weight gain.

The sugar cravings have levelled off thank God

Drinking like we do makes it nearly impossible to stay healthy. It raises high density lipids and other things. Allow your body to regulate and as time goes on you will have more energy to go on walks and other healthy activities. Getting to a healthy weight is a lifestyle that takes time and drinking will really mess that up. Stay strong!!

I don't think its shallow either. I also actually gained weight after I quit. Alcohol really screwed up my digestive system. Now that it is healthy, I have a "normal" appetite and eat well. I counter it by exercising...a lot. You can too. Just don't go back to drinking!!

Alcohol wreaks havoc on the body's regulatory systems and it takes a little while for it to reset and start functioning normally. Don't get discouraged and keep doing what you're doing.

Shallow it is not! I too hope to see pounds fall off and take great pleasure in improved skin and shining eyes. Its only day two for me so cant report any real changes other than feeling better in my head. I have turned to sweets in the past but this time I am hitting the gym, swimming, cycling and throwing everything I've got at it. Good luck

Not shallow at all, I had gained 48 pounds drinking, and was NOT happy with how I looked at all. I started Weight Watchers the same time I stopped drinking and in a little over 8 months I have lost 41 pounds. I am also trying to exercise on a regular basis. With three kids and work finding time to exercise is not always easy so I fit in several 10-15 minute walks throughout the day.

Give it some time, and investigate what may work best for you.

I gained weight after I quit. I was more concerned about getting some sober time than I was about calories. I had terrible sugar cravings. Now, I've cut way back on sugar and actually I'm doing weight watchers. I've lost 15 lbs. I think in the beginning, we have to be gentle with ourselves and just focus on giving up the booze. I was unfortunately not one of the people who lost weight when I quit. But it's ok....main thing is to break the drinking habit.

I seem to gain weight when I stop drinking and when i'm drinking, lose weight. Could be because i'm dehydrated....and I don't eat when I drink.
Sometimes, I want to get that skinny look so I drink - so bad! It's something i'm going to be more aware about.
And like others have said, once the body regulates itself....after being sober a while, our weight will go to a healthy number. I'm sure my hormones are out of whack...due to all that drinking.

I thought the weight would just fall off once I quit too. Considering I basically just cut like 600 empty calories or more a day out of my daily intake.

On day 35 and haven't lost much, but I do know I'm at least not as bloated and puffy as I used to be! Lol

Hang in there!

I think it takes time for our metabolism to adjust . I agree with others, be kind to yourself, keep things simple, eat nutritional foods, exercise and don't drink.

I am interested in reading more about this. When our regulatory systems reset and we see the benefits.

I don't think it's shallow at all, and I bet a lot of us feel the same way. I had spent most of my life of the thin side, but I put on a lot of weight over just the past 3 yrs as my drinking got totally out of hand (and I'm sure being in my 40s didn't help matters as I hear that's when metabolism starts to slow.). For me personally, the weight gain was actually a trigger to drink more because every time I tried to sober up, I just felt so horrible about how I had let myself go. I hated especially running into people I didn't see often, and became more and more isolated to avoid chances of running into people. Very vicious cycle :(.

This time I took getting sober a lot more seriously. I think I finally reached that point where I just felt completely defeated. I joined SR (class off April 2016) and joined AA/got sponsor/started very slowly on the steps.
I wanted to lose weight quickly but I repeated over and over to myself "Sobriety first ". And since like many folks, I had intense sugar cravings, I was kind to myself for a while and just went with the flow.... Especially chocolate and ice cream. I eat fairly healthy food other than the sweets, so I also tried to balance that with lots and lots of walking my dog. I would listen to audio books to pass the time and so I could lose myself in the walk. My dog was oh so happy, and those walks helped quiet the restlessness and anxiety that were so strong the first month or so.

I think I lost 15 pounds fairly quickly...probably by about 2.5 months. That made me feel better, and then by 3 months,, the weight loss slowed, but I was feeling so much better that I was ready to ramp things up. I intended to increase my exercise, but as things were getting so busy at work and at home with the kids, I haven't gotten there yet. But what I did do, was give up processed sugar for about a month and ate low carb. And that's when the weight loss started to ramp up. Had a very active sober vacation, then started allowing myself an ice cream treat on Fri afternoons with my kids. Other than that, still no processed sugar and low carb eating. Yesterday was 5 months and I've lost a little over 35 pounds. My goodness, I feel so much better physically and emotionally. I still want to lose about 15 pounds, and next step is finally upping the exercise, including strength training.

I just want to encourage everyone just starting to tell yourself over and over that your sobriety is the most important thing. And if that means having ice cream when you have cravings, then so be it. You WILL start feeling better physically in the near future and that will motivate you, and this can turn that vicious cycle around. If you are feeling blah about yourself until you start to lose the weight, then do something else to pamper yourself, like a facial, or buying some new clothes that flatter the size you are now. Mostly, treat yourself kindly. You are doing the most important thing you can do for yourself and everyone around you by not drinking. And if that's all you can focus on right now, that's just fine.

I don't think it's shallow either. It was always easy to tell when I'd been drinking routinely even if not that much, my face would puff up.
I gained weight too when I quit. I found I was hungry all the time and I ate a ton of sugary candies and pop. I was never really a sugar eater and got most of my carb calories from booze like most of us do.
When my sugar cravings subsided I changed to a low carb diet and cut out as much sugar as possible and tried to exercise at least 5 times a week and 2 or 3 of them had to be HARD exercises.

Be kind to yourself! Staying sober is a task unto itself. I agree with others- focus on your sobriety for now unless you find getting fit a really great motivator and you feel healthy enough to make those changes. I know I sure did and it really helped me feel a lot better about myself.

I gained a little weight at first as well (and I certainly didn't need to gain any). But it soon stabilised. Now I'm working a proper program of recovery and my alcoholism isn't 'coming out sideways' (my continuous search for feel-good from outside factors, such as sex, food, buying stuff, as well as the alcohol, has always been an issue to be honest) and I'm not trying to make myself feel better using (abusing) food, my weight has stabilised and I've been able to lose the excess weight that I'd been carrying for the last few decades. I had to do that recovery work first though. My boyfriends mother bought me a birthday gift yesterday while we were out and I needed to get a UK 10. My 12 jeans are starting to get a little loose as well. Not had that since my teens and I'm in my forties now.

I do follow a healthy diet plan, but it isn't one where food groups are cut out, and there are plenty of foods that can be eaten in unlimited amounts (Well, til you're satisfied) and space for (measured) treats each day. It's called Slimming World, but think it might just be in the UK.

Anyway. One thing at a time. Remind yourself of why you DID decide sobriety was a good aim for you - just because others are putting 2 and 2 together and making 7, it doesn't mean they need to affect you. Sobriety and recovery give us lots of things. Eventually. Once they have led us to an altered perspective and our attitude to things has started to change. It is not a quick fix. And just abstaining from alcohol doesn't do it.

While you are starting to kid yourself that sobriety was just a weight loss tool, you're really giving your AV some prime material to work with.

Might be time to refocus. Why did you decide you needed to stop drinking? And what is your recovery plan?

(If you want a weight loss plan, get one, but make it separate from your sobriety. Plus, cutting out food groups at this stage can quickly backfire. Better to find something that is long term sustainable, healthy, and relatively hassle free).