sobersolstice

Ok.. So a number of you know me a bit, and have been on and off the booze since I joined this site, and tbh, I'm not sure if I'd be around without those 'breaks', whether it's a week, a month, or 6 months.

In September, I stopped drinking after getting tired of even 3 light beers, but it wasn't intentional; it was a bit like "I'll take a day off", and it turned into 2 months. The problem was, I was always fatigued, and kept living the dull lifestyle I had been living while I was drinking... Tons of coffee and sugar, then maybe something healthy, but I wasn't replacing the alcohol calories properly. I got back into working out for a couple weeks, but went back to sitting on the couch after work, as my job is laborious.

In any case, I blew it while at a thxgiving football party, and want to give it another go. My question is, did you flip a switch and turn into a totally different person eating healthy and hitting the gym everyday as a way to keep yourself sober?... or was it a slower process with regard to change? I'm finding it overwhelming to learn how to regiment my days better.

The reason I ask is because my last stint of sobriety made me dull and lazy, whereas most times I get manic and productive. Did most of you have to make immediate drastic life changes to make the recovery process more reasonable and a positive experience, or did you slowly work into a healthy life?

Thanks in advance. :-)

Vinificent

Personally I can only focus on one thing at a time. I had to stop drinking...period. Ended up doing exactly what you describe - replacing alcohol with poor eating and sedentary activities like video games and binge watching Netflix. But no regrets - did gain some weight but now getting back to the healthy eating and adding a bit more exercise every day. Honestly couldn't do it all at once and will only keep adding on the diet and exercise as long as it doesn't drive me to drink 🤗

tomls

We are all the same only different. I think you have to do what works for you. I know I had to keep slowing myself down. I have that addict thing where I want what I want when I want it. There is no hurry. I didn't get in this shape over night and it's going to take awhile to get better. Best wishes for you on your journey.

PalmerSage

tomls, I never thought about it in quite that way. Makes sense!
I have that addict thing where I want what I want when I want it.


As for me, I use sobriety as an excuse to indulge in other things, namely food. I'm also pretty tired, although in all honesty, the first week was the worst and I could definitely do some light exercise now.

Dee74

There an interim period between stopping drinking and feeling good again - for some people this passes in weeks and for others it may be a few months.

It really is like recovery from a serious illness.

The sluggishness, amotivational thing does pass

I very much believe change is a process it takes what it takes. If you're worried about feeling lazy and dull again maybe it's a good time to make a plan - get an exercise routine, eat well, sleep as regularly as you can..try and stay active - especially on the days you don;t feel like it?

you may find that foggy period passes more quickly that way.

D

Anna

I focused mainly on staying sober. I didn't go to the gym. But, I began walking every evening, after supper because that was a hard time of the day for me. All these years later, I still walk miles almost every day. In a sense, it did change my lifestyle because I had isolated while drinking. Walking got me out and reconnecting with neighbours and my neighbourhood. I didn't worry too much about what I was eating, and just tried to listen to my body. I think it's important to be kind to yourself.

D122y

Sober,

After each relapse the recovery was progressive longer...but...

In the end, I realized I had never really recovered.

I am convinced that in my case...it takes a long, long, long time....years clean to get used to normal.....coping with perceived issues is my current problem.

I really worry about the obsessing...it is a continuous inner battle that sometimes leaves me angry with myself.

I never learned to cope with life with out booze.

Thanks.

sobersolstice

I felt like I had the healthiest string of sobriety when I jumped into high intensity exercise (boxing) at day 3 in. I weened into stopping, but this go around may be trickier. I put in squats, pushups and pullups in place of the sauce, so I guess I'm going for a year. If I can do a year, I can put it down for good, i think.

PeacefulWater12

I made all the changes very gradually. Over a period of years. Obviously most important thing is to get alcohol out of the way. Allow time to start recovering from that.

Then I slowly started to make other changes. I found I had to make myself slow down as my natural urge was to do it all very quickly but then I would have crashed and burned, picked up alcohol again.

My brain took a long time to heal. My body too.

It is well worth the effort. Best of luck to you.

August252015

Welcome.

A few thoughts.
I was VERY sick when I quit - the decision not to drink again, ever, was made, but the healing and then the healthiness had to come with time and effort - and patience. For me - learning how NOT to go to extremes has been crucial.

I am now just past 22 mo sober. I am VERY active - hot yoga 5-6x a week for an hour to 90 min, one or two runs, a 5K a month and plans for a 15K in Feb....plus work, family, leading a recovery group for the restaurant industry- and my continued diligent AA program.

ALL of this took time.

Self-care, listening to my body, and big things like sleep had to be my priorities after my first choice to never drink.

IME and through watching others, time takes time. I totally agree with Dee and everything he said.

My life is indeed drastically different than it was - it's even quite different than six months ago as far as my exercise habits go, which took a big leap forward with starting yoga- but it didn't get here in three days, weeks, or months.

Take care- do not drink- and IME, consider starting a recovery program first then adding everything else as I saw others do and have done myself.

Gabe1980

Thanks for starting this thread SS. I have been think about/struggling with the same things and not sure how much to expect of myself. I had two settings, working and drinking. I struggle to motivate myself so these posts have been really helpful for me too! Gabe x

Arpeggioh

This thread is helpful to me, as well. 11 months sober, I'm still allowing "at least I'm not drinking" to excuse some pretty unhealthy behaviors. I suffer the same need for immediate gratification that seems to affect most alkies; if I can't lose weight, eat healthy, quit smoking, start exercising, and cure cancer by tomorrow, then I might as well just eat a pie...

doggonecarl

Eating healthy and working out isn't a recovery method for alcoholism.

tnek97

It wasn't a switch, but rather a slow turn of the dimmer. But I think it's very important to realize that, yes, absolutely, your diet make a huge difference in how you feel (alcoholic or not).

When I first got sober (14 months ago), I was still eating like crap: pizza, takeout, cheese, meats, soda, etc. Over several weeks I taught myself how to eat healthier, and still do today. I find that even today, if I slack off with my diet, I'm going to feel out of it.

What I think is more important in the beginning, is to feed your mind. It's not enough to just swear off the booze, and hope for change. You need to teach yourself what happens when you drink, what drinking did to your mind over time, what you can do to change at the physiological level. There are lots of books, and online videos, and Netflix documentaries available to help. I did that, and slowly everything started falling into place.

August252015

this.

thomas11

I'm a gym rat myself, but it is only a tool in my toolbox. I have said this before but it wasn't until I accepted that I was not a normal drinker (ie: alcoholic) that a sense of relief entered my brain and made it easier to live day to day.

katrinka

My health was going downhill fast and that motivated me to adopt some healthy habits along with quitting drinking. Walking was especially helpful because it gave me some time to give myself a pep talk and made me feel less miserable. I still lose and gain weight and find excuses not to exercise (my excuse this morning to not go to the gym is that it's -13 degrees outside!) but the most important thing is that I no longer drink alcohol and I am healthy and happy. It's been 6 years today and if I can do it anybody can do it.

Eaglelizard

When I was drinking, I read about a study in which rats in cages with hamster wheels (not sure if there are rat-specific wheels, but in all fairness, there should be) and various other rat-exercise implements -- were given access to vodka on demand. Of course, most of these rats became addicted to the vodka but interestingly, also exercised more than the non-vodka drinking rat control group. At the time, I used this as a way to rationalize that it was cool to drink as long as you exercise, but in actuality I guess it means that the two activities are linked in some physiological/psychological way. When I quit, I was lethargic for a couple of months and just didn't have the drive to exercise as hard as I had while drinking. That passed, but it was a strange adjustment process as the body learned to actually run on real solid food.

Hawkeye13

I "flipped the switch" and joined a Crossfit, started a Paleo diet.

I was down 40 pounds in six weeks and had serious muscle.

It was very hard but so worth it.
I'm an all or nothing, whether drinking or health

entropy1964

Everyone is different I believe. Recovery, for me, is a mind, body, spirit, community gig. I need to be addressing all those areas to some degree most days. The only thing I have to be all in with however is the not drinking no matter what part. Then I do my best with the rest. For me, how I feel physically (from exercise and good eating) effects how I feel emotionally. When I feel crap physically, I feel crap emotionally and am more likely to ponder a drink. Its synergistic.

Progress not perfection. But I have a schedule that I keep....I write in my meetings, my exercise classes/gym time etc. Just helps keep me on track. I am a pretty 'all in' kinda gal....but I've learned to give myself a break. If I'm moving in the right direction, its all good.