Babescake

How much weight did you lose in the 1st month of quitting? I am so bloated. It sucks.

tealily

Hi I know the feeling. Extreme bloat went away pretty quickly. No more firm protruding belly. Ugh. Weight in pounds has been slower to go, but I feel so much better.

rainyengland

I guess everyone is different but for me I lost a lot of facial bloating especially around 3 weeks in ..I don't reconsider myself in pictures now 😊

After that I've worked hard to loose the weight - about 10kg in 120 ish days..I have changed my lifestyle around in terms of eating and exercising now

You will def notice difference though by not drinking

Good luck ! :-)

Babescake

Do clothes fit better even without weight loss?

notgonnastoptry

Oddball here.

I was very thin (HS weight) at the end and had nowhere to go but up. Up and up I went until I reached my all time high (out of pregnancy weight). Had to seriously diet all summer.

answer: I don't know how much I gained the first month, but the first year sober: 30.

Babescake

God I hope that is not me.

Ariesagain

For most people it takes a while for our bodies to remember how to process actual food instead of just breaking down alcohol toxin as fast as possible. Many organs involved in metabolism are clobbered by alcohol...liver, pancreas, thyroid, intestines...and it takes time to heal.

I lost maybe five pounds on a permanent basis the first few months but I was pretty close to what I should weigh for my height and bone structure. Another way to look at it is that I haven't gained weight that I would have for sure had I kept on drinking.

Babescake

Well I am 20 lbs overweight and always ate when I drank. I would be devastated if I only lose a few lbs, especially with dieting and exercise. It is a huge, HUGE trigger for me.

incognition

I only lost about 10 pounds when I quit drinking, but that's a lot on my small frame. And I'm thinking that's just because I started living healthier as well, not because the alcohol caused me to put on a lot of weight.

I think that, due to my pattern of drinking, alcohol didn't cause me to gain weight excessively. I mainly drank hard liquor, and I drank a lot of it at a time, which causes the body to absorb less of the calories in total (or so I've heard).

Done4today

Drink a ton of water 1-1.5 gallons a day. Also eat a whole food diet this will help clean the toxins and salts. The bloating subsided quickly for me but then I started binging on ice cream and gained 30 pounds my first year.

60andbeyond

Each time I stop drinking, I always lose 20lbs in the first month. I focus on eating healthy and also cut out bread, though. Basically like a detox diet. The times I've been most successful in not drinking are the times I focus on what I'm eating and get creative with healthy meals ... learning how to be good to myself basically. Typically the worst of the bloat goes away around day 11 for me. I always feel that even if you don't eat super healthy you'll lose weight anyway if you cut alcohol because it confuses your poor system so much ... once the booze is gone your body can finally do the job it's meant to do.

Just my .02

Babescake

I have gained 20 lbs in 2 month so i am 155. That is huge for my 61 inch height. It made me relapse and i am so depressed. No motivation. I weighed less pregnant and have never been overweivht until the last 1.5 years. So scared will keep gaining and will never come off. That obsessive thought is harder to deal with then not drinking. Is there any success stories you could share with me?

biminiblue

I didn't gain.

BUT. I had been tracking and logging food for nearly a decade when I quit drinking so I knew exactly how much I needed to eat.

I lost the last 20 pounds I've been hanging onto for years and I'm now at a 21-22 BMI. That happened on purpose after I had been a year sober. I just buckled down and focused in on it.

Healthy food, logging food and exercise.

My obsessive thinking went away with continuous sobriety too.

MindfulMan

Diet and exercise have been a huge part of my recovery.

First 30 days in rehab I gained 10-15 pounds, as I was eating solid food for the first time in months, and it was plentiful and fattening. I had little appetite right after, so lost some of that in the first month. After that, I started keto diet, and at around 90 days started the gym for both cardio and weight training. I'm almost 6 months sober, and in better shape than I've been in years. Physical health is just as important as mental health!

As a result, I've lost 45 pounds from my max weight, 3 inches in my waist, and my body fat percentage has declined by 3%, which meant I've also built lean muscle. The Ketogenic diet, while not a forever thing, is fantastic for kick starting weight loss while retaining muscle mass. Gym is 5-6x a week, 4 days of weights with short cardio with 1-2 long sessions of cardio in the off days. I also quit smoking at around 90 days.

If weight gain is a trigger, I'd suggest adding a well-planned diet and exercise to your detailed sobriety plan, and stick to it. Not on Day 1, give yourself 30-45 days at least to do the more important work of becoming and staying sober.

Sobriety takes work and dedication, especially in the early days. Keep it up!

Forward12

Booze literally fries your stomach and intestinal tract making food absorption poor, also often times makes you so nauseous you can't eat, so you are literally starving yourself.
Much can be water weight as well. I sure as hell wouldn't use some weight gain as an excuse to go back to drinking, there are plenty of healthy ways to get yourself back on track.

PeacefulWater12

I gained weight when I quit. I can't remember how much but was a couple dress sizes. I was far too thin when I was drinking. Didn't eat much food. Plus eating disorder issues.

I am at ideal weight for my height now and eat very healthily.

JoeCree

Your body is all screwed up at the beginning, so give it time to get back on a normal footing again.
As for your weight issues, youre going to need to be kind to yourself during at least the first year of sobriety.
The good news is weight loss/gain is pretty mathematical.
First figure out what your drinking equalled in Calories. Generally 3500 calories = 1lb of weight. Now, if your exercising and eating has remained relatively equal, then basic math dictates that your weight will come off, on not just on the scale but in the mirror too.

I like to give at least a 3 week float to allow your calorie intake to catch up with whatever the scale reads.

Be patient.. it will come.

Im almost at 2 years... and Ive lost 30lbs. I have no desire to lose more. And my body weight has levelled remained the same for almost a year now.

Hats

I didn't loose any weight, I was skin and bones. I was a bit different, during my last 6 months of drinking I barely ate anything. I was on my last belt loop and my pants were way to baggy. I would go a entire day and not eat, but drink instead.
I've been sober now 58 days and managed to put on 12lbs or so.

Kachal

7 weeks here, I don't think I've lost or gained weight but the distribution seems to have changed a bit. My middle is thinner.
I hardly ate when drinking. I eat proper meals now. I've yet to begin exercising but I know I need to soon.

anxiousrock

Definitely didn’t lose any weight.
Gained from starting to eat more regular meals and craving sweets.