ironwoman

I finally got sober again. I have 33 days under my belt now. I love waking up feeling good and good about myself. I am sleeping well, doing great at work, and...I replaced my drinking with sugar binges. Entering into a semi-conscious state. It is 1 am. I won’t make my morning swim because I can’t sleep from all the sugar. For dinner, I had an ice cream shake, mac and cheese, rice Krispie treats, and pop tarts. And I normally hate all that, except for the mac and cheese. Where do I get it? The convenience store, same one I got my booze at. Heaven knows what they think of me. I am working through this problem, and have more good days than bad now. But it is still disappointing. When I started drinking a decade ago, I loved that it quelled my appetite. I dropped weight. Then I became an alcoholic. If has been a long time since I ate in a present state, not a blackout one. And my hunger scares me. And sugar begets more sugar. I am ashamed.

I still feel better than I did when drinking. And now it is day 34.

PhoenixJ

Okay- lets clear the air.
I eat waaaaaaay too much sugar.
But eating too much sugar does not make me a dangerous driver, I do not hide my chocolate and no one gets hurt.
Sugar fixes are very common post boozing.
That is not to say my sugar fixes are a great idea- BUT it is definitely a lot better than drinking. And yes- I too am aware of it and am trying to cut down.
Cut yourself a little slack....one thing I have seen many do in early recovery/recovery overall- is to try to change too many things too quickly.
Example- one guy gave up smoking after being sober for 3 weeks, enrolled in a course- to be an addiction counselor and found god.

6 months later- he hated Christians, was smoking more than ever AND using a vape, dropped out of his course and was drinking again..

The guy obviously has issues- but my point is one thing at a time.....one day at a time. Not a permission slip for mew to binge eat- being an alcy I am well aware of replacing booze with something else....moderation in all things.

If you are worried- perhaps see your GP.

Mty thinking was (and still is sometimes) absolute- black and white..good/bad, all or none, etc.

Life is not like that. Support to you.

soberista

Im 8 months sober. Same pattern as you drank my calories and lost weight as i wasnt eating. Two things. Firstly addictions move laterally. So your addiction has swapped seats on the bus. Ok lets look at that. With me the food was the primary addiction and started in childhood. Now its habit. I agree with above (sorry dont know who wrote the above post as im on my phone and cant scroll) but its far better to be sugar binging that maintaing the alcoholism but it does beed to be addressed. The other reason why the body craves sugar after giving up booze is that booze is pure sugar and our bodies are looking for the same hit. So do go easy on yourself for now. Your body is still in a post addictive dopamine crazed state. It will calm.

Secondly its been 8 months for me. I havent managed to get the whole sugar thing resolved but ive started exercising again and that does make a difference to how you feel about yourself.

I think the thing to remember is this. Giving up booze is easy. Its the work that comes after you put the last drink down that matters.

All the best

August252015

The sugar thing is really common . We usually want to replace the sugar in alcohol with food sugar. It hit me about 40 or so days in and I have had bouts of way too much over my two and a half year journey.

I hurt my back in Mar, badly, and didn't work for several months. Eventually, I started PT which was the first "exercise" I had in two months. I had been a hard core hot yoga personal and the loss of that plus fear of how serious the injury could be, definitely included a bout of depression. I ate too much, especially ice cream and frozen yogurt. Ultimately. I did a step one on sugar. Not kidding. Once I realized my habits of anxiety about having enough. Etc were very likethosr I had around vodka...it was time.

Most of us deal with this issue and we can get a handle on it. My so,union is a good diet that does indulge my sugar. I work a reasonable amount into my diet. I excise as much as I can now.

Keep going and don't drink- the rest is deal-able!

yinzer

I eat way too much sugar as well. I try to head it off by doing something healthy when I get a craving, such as take some psyllium husks or apple cider vinegar to mess with my tastebuds and get me off my urge. I had to get rid of most of the chocolate in the house but I do keep some mini Lindt bars around.

entropy1964

I switched my impulsive behavior to sugar consumption too. Addiction to it? Maybe, not sure. But its definitely not a good idea, for me.

I drank straight vodka. There is no sugar, or carbs, in straight vodka. So I don't think I'm 'replacing' sugar. I think I'm replacing the dopamine rush....which both addiction share.

The danger in this for me is I'm not dealing with the impulsivity. And eventually the dopamine rush from sugar will not be enough and it usually leads me back to craving alcohol. Now just because I crave, doesn't mean I have to drink. But I have to replace both impulses for sugar and alcohol with something more healthy.

Is it better to eat a bunch of sugar as opposed to drink? Yes. Is it a sustainable strategy for me? No. She says after eating a HUGE amount of crap last night. But I'm in a hotel in Reno right now, surrounded by booze, so it seemed like the lesser of two evils. Even tho I wasn't even craving alcohol...just the sugar. Haha. Oh well. I'll hit the gym this morning.

Culture

I personally could not quit every bad habit I had at the same time, kudos to those who can. I had to learn that by nature I have an all or nothing approach to pretty much everything. Only now learning to moderate with sugar at a year sober.
For me, alcohol was going to kill me and I had to give 100% effort to that before anything else.

Helianthus

Me too, l found myself eating too much sugar and craving it which l hated because I'm a savoury food person plus it didn't make me feel healthy. Now l find that if l stay away from anything overly sweet or take some l-glutamine to squash the craving lm fine (mostly lol).

tekink

Giving up alcohol gave me crazy sugar cravings. It took around 10-12 months for them to dissipate and go back to normal.

ardy

Hi all its called an Addictive Personality .. my hubby is A list for marketing people looking to stock the shelves..

had a friend that was a pill popper anything Uppers the most. then he wanted to stop and started drinking.. oh Mother McCree... stopped that and
would pour chocolate sauce over everything and his dogs hard food. ekek can taste the smell now.. he stopped that to walk out of a Doctors office with a pad of scripts hidden in his brief case... he started writing his own demiss.... yep . lost everything.. is homeless and still screams it is not his fault... well part of it is not. for he is nuts.. and then he could have been a better person and listened when someone said NO don't do that..

Eddie Lee is too. if he has money in his pocket for house stuff. he will pick up one thing and spend the rest on his needs.. and then wonder why things don't get finished or paid for.. Addictive Personality.... I am sorry .. just going in circles today... trying to find a balance in life my Addictive Personality.. yep I am nuts. know it and try hard not to fall apart so much.. good luck kids..

bexxed

Be patient with yourself. Like others said here sugar isn’t as dangerous as booze. Work a recovery plan and trust me when I say that if you work your plan you will come to a place where you even out.

I’ve become one of those people who eats the low sugar ice cream now. Not sure if we are supposed to mention brands here but I’m in the US and I eat about two of those little pints a week, of halo top ice cream. I’d never been a sweets person until I stopped drinking and over time was able to moderate that and then find a substitute that was a little “healthier”. At first, I was all over the place similar to your description here and just hung on and focused on not drinking and working my plan and nothing else. One thing at a time.

I never see this here but I will bring it up. It’s a fact that we crave sweets - the sugar is something we miss because alcohol has simple calories, and it’s usually very simple to administer. Another sub for that I’ve found is bananas and other high sugar, easily accessible fruits, like mangoes, peaches, etc. Try that, too. But if you must stick with the pop tarts, stick with them. Really, it’s not forever and it’s better than booze, no matter what.

zoobadger

I find that citrus fruit, especially grapefruit, helps quell my sugar cravings.

However, I've always really liked grapefruit quite a bit. Many people find it unbearably bitter.

Any kind of fresh fruit helps with the sugar, as far as that goes, but grapefruit especially.

Ladysadie

The fruits help with my sweet tooth. I used to crave chocolate but now only use the high end cocoa kind. It broke me of that craving yet it is still a powerful treat, much like a strong coffee. Has the caffeine kicker so I can't eat it in the evenings.

I think your sugar cravings will taper off and stabilize. Good luck and congrats on being sober!