lessgravity

I have never been a sweets guy. Desserts = take 'em or leave 'em. Candy/chocolate etc - no thank you at all. However lately I have developed the craziest CRAVINGs for sweets. I'm also getting myself into pretty good shape, in the gym very frequently, doing some dedicated intermittent fasting/keto.

But holy COW do I now get the most insane cravings for chocolate and ice cream and sugary cereals - wowza.

Anyone else have this happen? Even when they didn't anything close to a sweet-tooth before? Certainly worse things, and I'll take these cravings over booze cravings. But still, it's remarkable.

ScottFromWI

Yep, it's really common - you see that question asked a lot here. I don't know that there's any concrete answer to why, but some think it's due to all the carbo's you are no longer consuming from alcohol.

DreamCatcher17

Hey Less,

TOTALLY NORMAL! lol

With the amount of sugar in the booze, I (we) consumed, our bodies want to replace that. Chocolate it is, ha!

I rarely ate sweets, I love my starches... Not sure which is worse. But I will take my new found sweet tooth over booze, just as you said.

It will calm down! I know mine did at month 3.5/4

Outonthetiles

I've experienced that off and on after two years. It's not ideal, but it's manageable.

january161992

when i was new there was a member nick named Honey AL

because they would stir honey into his orange juice to help wean him off the affects of alcohol

just my experience

Snowydelrico

Got the nick name ‘sweet stuff’ at school due to all the chocolate and sweets I used to eat.
Didn’t really eat it when I turned to drink.
Now I can easily polish off a packet of biscuits with a cup of tea again.
Trying to cut down a bit due to my back teeth not being able to keep up with the pace.

MC555

Yup. I never, ever, ever ate sweets until I quit and now all I want is chocolate and ice cream all day.

ProfessorD

For me, I think the alcohol and sugar cravings are kind of one and the same. Hard to explain, but I'm having a much easier time combatting them as a single, or at least united, addiction.

Forward12

Very common. Alcohol is processed like cheap refined carbs, so your body starts to crave them for a little while in early sobriety.

FreeOwl

Between the sugar contained in various alcohols, the crap we ate while drinking, the increased carbs we took in through alcohol.... when we suddenly stop all that our body goes on the hunt for sugarZ.

I’m STILL grappling with this four years on.

Fruits are a great secret weapon.

BDTL

Yea I have been craving sugar since I stopped drinking. It's a pain in the arse because I am on a weight loss program and doing really well except for those darn sugar cravings! Fruit is my friend.

tekink

For at least 6 months I ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream every single day. I used it as a "reward" for making it through the day instead of the booze I used to drink before.

Sweet consumption went back to normal around the 12-13 month mark.

plop

Yes, it's quite remarkable. In early recovery I sometimes had to get up in the middle of the night to eat candy.

csilvers1984

I just completed 5 days in detox and this was exactly the experience I've had!! Before detox I had the worst appetite and NEVER ate sweets. This was probably for the last 1-3yrs.

So here I am in detox eating everything! Everything under the sun including unlimited ice cream hahaha.

Crazy huh?

Keep it up!!

Tonymblue

Great job. Super common. Alcohol and sugar cravings are very similar. It does slowly dissipate.

Ladysadie

Growing up in so Cal my father was an off again on again alcoholic. He worked for an aircraft company which was located near Sees Candies. He would have a ravenous sweet tooth when he wasn't drinking. We knew when he would go back to drinking when he stopped bringing home the Sees!