End of day 3...looking for "plan" ideas....and fighting the need for comfort food
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: New England, USA
Posts: 129
End of day 3...looking for "plan" ideas....and fighting the need for comfort food
I've heard a lot about having a plan....a plan for cravings and a plan for when things get tough and we think we might drink.
What are the main components of a plan and what should I make sure I include?
Hoping to meet my new counselor in the next two weeks or so.
Does anyone else have a dual addiction of alcohol and comfort eating? Looking for suggestions on battling these issues together. When I had my 40 days sober I turned to food for comfort....so I missed a lot of the "improvements" of stopping my drinking - no weight loss, not feeling more confident in myself.....if anything it contributed to my depression. Although for about 3-4 weeks I was very happy I wasn't drinking, but then all the comfort food started to change me and made me feel worse.
Guess I'm just trying to assess what went wrong and how to avoid those things this time.
What are the main components of a plan and what should I make sure I include?
Hoping to meet my new counselor in the next two weeks or so.
Does anyone else have a dual addiction of alcohol and comfort eating? Looking for suggestions on battling these issues together. When I had my 40 days sober I turned to food for comfort....so I missed a lot of the "improvements" of stopping my drinking - no weight loss, not feeling more confident in myself.....if anything it contributed to my depression. Although for about 3-4 weeks I was very happy I wasn't drinking, but then all the comfort food started to change me and made me feel worse.
Guess I'm just trying to assess what went wrong and how to avoid those things this time.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 2,872
Hi Otter. I've read some of your posts and I thought you had long time sobriety they were so wise.
Don't know much about a plan for the newcomer, because when I quit I just followed where my Higher Power led me. And that was to sobriety.
Can't help with comfort food either, because when I drank I didn't eat.
I do just eat what I like now.
Anyway, it's great to have you here.
Dee is the man with the plan
And hopefully, he can answer your questions.
Best to you and happy new year. And a big congratulations on those three days!
Don't know much about a plan for the newcomer, because when I quit I just followed where my Higher Power led me. And that was to sobriety.
Can't help with comfort food either, because when I drank I didn't eat.
I do just eat what I like now.
Anyway, it's great to have you here.
Dee is the man with the plan
And hopefully, he can answer your questions.
Best to you and happy new year. And a big congratulations on those three days!
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,352
This leads to two of the best links I know for plans:
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ery-plans.html (Psst...wanna know why I'm always recommending recovery plans?)
A good plan should have some ideas on what to do when you have cravings,
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html
what to do in social situations,
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...val-guide.html (Social Occasion Survival Guide)
what to do when you have the opportunity to drink how to deal with the 'eff its' etc.
The short answer to all those things is have a support network and use it.
I didn't give myself any dietary restrictions at the start because every thing felt like a craving to alcohol for me - but eating as little-processed food as you can and engaging in regular exercise is pretty much the basis of all healthy eating plans I think?
D
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ery-plans.html (Psst...wanna know why I'm always recommending recovery plans?)
A good plan should have some ideas on what to do when you have cravings,
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html
what to do in social situations,
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...val-guide.html (Social Occasion Survival Guide)
what to do when you have the opportunity to drink how to deal with the 'eff its' etc.
The short answer to all those things is have a support network and use it.
I didn't give myself any dietary restrictions at the start because every thing felt like a craving to alcohol for me - but eating as little-processed food as you can and engaging in regular exercise is pretty much the basis of all healthy eating plans I think?
D
p***enger
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NYC
Posts: 19,025
In terms of a plan, in addition to SR, I'd say there were 2 giant things for me: a face-to-face community of sober people. I went to AA but there are other kinds of live groups for support, and I know some people who do video support that they say is really good. But talking to people was huge for me -- I was very isolated.
Also, go easy on yourself. Treat yourself like you would treat a kid recovering from a long illness. Rest well, stay hydrated, keep busy but not too busy, and fill your empty time with SR.
A lot of people here really got heavily into exercise when they quit, and found it very helpful. I'm sure you'll hear from some of them.
Also, go easy on yourself. Treat yourself like you would treat a kid recovering from a long illness. Rest well, stay hydrated, keep busy but not too busy, and fill your empty time with SR.
A lot of people here really got heavily into exercise when they quit, and found it very helpful. I'm sure you'll hear from some of them.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 405
For my recovery plan I subscribe to the theory that the best defense is a good offense. Self care and self improvement is the central focus of my recovery. My line of thinking is that if my life gets objectively better then it creates a positive feedback loop where drinking becomes less of an option.
I have short term and long term physical, mental, financial, and spiritual goals and I periodically revisit those goals to see if they need fine tuning. I consider my goals to be lofty but certainly not impossible. After 20 months of sobriety I have yet to say the following to myself:
"Physically feeling 20 years younger is overrated, man I sure feel like downing a fifth of whiskey".
"Getting debt free is lame, time to go drink and drive".
"Who needs to wake up feeling rested to meditate, let's go on a bender".
I've found that the other aspects of recovery such as fellowship, forgiveness, making amends, and so forth come much easier when you love yourself first.
I have short term and long term physical, mental, financial, and spiritual goals and I periodically revisit those goals to see if they need fine tuning. I consider my goals to be lofty but certainly not impossible. After 20 months of sobriety I have yet to say the following to myself:
"Physically feeling 20 years younger is overrated, man I sure feel like downing a fifth of whiskey".
"Getting debt free is lame, time to go drink and drive".
"Who needs to wake up feeling rested to meditate, let's go on a bender".
I've found that the other aspects of recovery such as fellowship, forgiveness, making amends, and so forth come much easier when you love yourself first.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Big City
Posts: 3,895
I'm not sure how your health is, but I found the committing to a fitness plan is also a very helpful thing to do in early sobriety. Not that you have to become this hyper disciplined person, and I think that eating comfort food here and there is certainly fine, but the gym or whatever fitness plan like yoga excetera dovetails with not drinking. I would tell myself in early sobriety that one of the reasons that I wasn't drinking was that I wanted to be fresh to work out the following day. Also you see the progress and results and you feel better when you work out. It's not always easy in them early stages of not drinking, in some ways you just don't feel all that much better and so some sort of fitness plan helps with that.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: United States
Posts: 2,547
Just my experience: As much as possible when I first got sober, I tried to take things as they came rather than trying to over-engineer everything (a true challenge). This included lots of naps and comfort food during the first 6 months. Then, on more solid footing, I started walking for exercise and tracking my food intake, which helped me to lose about 40 pounds and get in good shape. I think there are folks who have done both (gone all-in on healthy eating and exercise at the same time as quitting alcohol, and those who take a more phased approach). For me, it was incredibly important that I didn't feel deprived at all at the beginning, and I just kept reminding myself that I was playing a long game and if I didn't lock down my sobriety first and foremost, I wouldn't experience lasting weight loss either.
As far as other tips, the most helpful part of my recovery was posting daily (or much more) in my monthly class here at SR. Accountability, connection, the ability to vent and ask for advice were all priceless. Good luck, you can do this!
As far as other tips, the most helpful part of my recovery was posting daily (or much more) in my monthly class here at SR. Accountability, connection, the ability to vent and ask for advice were all priceless. Good luck, you can do this!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 64
Hi OtterIsland,
I can relate to the comfort food issue. I live in the cold weather state, so comfort food is all the time food for me. I also used to over indulge in comfort food after a good binge. All carbs of course. Leftover pasta if I had it, or a burrito. A whole bag of pretzels, chips, popcorn..an entire pizza. I don't know why I got overweight
I'm not sure I have advice, just wanted to let you know you're not alone. I'm working on changing my health using some yoga programs and treadmill walks. Along with trying to add in some more healthy eating habits. There are many websites that you can google search what you want to eat, and try to find a lighter version recipe for it. Meatloaf can change to be made with ground turkey instead of beef for example. For myself, I'm committing to at least one day a week of having a salad only night. The more you reduce sugar and simple carbs out of your diet, the less your body will crave them. It does work, eventually. It's my plan to try again too since I won't have the binge drinking to make me go carb hunting so much anymore.
Wishing you the best!
I can relate to the comfort food issue. I live in the cold weather state, so comfort food is all the time food for me. I also used to over indulge in comfort food after a good binge. All carbs of course. Leftover pasta if I had it, or a burrito. A whole bag of pretzels, chips, popcorn..an entire pizza. I don't know why I got overweight
I'm not sure I have advice, just wanted to let you know you're not alone. I'm working on changing my health using some yoga programs and treadmill walks. Along with trying to add in some more healthy eating habits. There are many websites that you can google search what you want to eat, and try to find a lighter version recipe for it. Meatloaf can change to be made with ground turkey instead of beef for example. For myself, I'm committing to at least one day a week of having a salad only night. The more you reduce sugar and simple carbs out of your diet, the less your body will crave them. It does work, eventually. It's my plan to try again too since I won't have the binge drinking to make me go carb hunting so much anymore.
Wishing you the best!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
Five years into sobriety I'm still wrestling with my tendency to use food - particularly sugary, lousy foods - as a psuedo-drug.
But - I am sober, I am grateful, I am present and not giving myself too much grief over it. It's a far healthier position to be in, and I'm confident that as I continue to live my sober journey, my decisions and behaviors regarding nutrition will continue to evolve.
As far as a plan, I kept mine pretty simple. Every single day:
Choose to EMBRACE SOBRIETY (for me I needed to look at it not as STOPPING something, but STARTING something.... made a big difference in my motivation and the image of what I was after).
Reinforce that choice with sober tools: AA meetings, reading the Big Book, a good Therapist, journaling, exercise, meditation, giving in service to others to get outside myself, reading posts on SR, making lists of people who are sober that inspire me, reading about those people, having 'in real life' friends who are sober to connect with and to support and gain support from, gratitude journals, time in nature...... there are many sober tools and for me the trick was to have them specifically defined for myself and to ensure that EVERY SINGLE DAY I was actively using some of them to support my choice of sobriety.
Also - having a sponsor was big for me..... and one sponsor once told me:
"every morning when you get up, just say "please help me". Every night when you go to bed, say "Thank you". That's all you really need to get over this 'higher power' hurdle". That was super helpful to me.
You can do this.
But - I am sober, I am grateful, I am present and not giving myself too much grief over it. It's a far healthier position to be in, and I'm confident that as I continue to live my sober journey, my decisions and behaviors regarding nutrition will continue to evolve.
As far as a plan, I kept mine pretty simple. Every single day:
Choose to EMBRACE SOBRIETY (for me I needed to look at it not as STOPPING something, but STARTING something.... made a big difference in my motivation and the image of what I was after).
Reinforce that choice with sober tools: AA meetings, reading the Big Book, a good Therapist, journaling, exercise, meditation, giving in service to others to get outside myself, reading posts on SR, making lists of people who are sober that inspire me, reading about those people, having 'in real life' friends who are sober to connect with and to support and gain support from, gratitude journals, time in nature...... there are many sober tools and for me the trick was to have them specifically defined for myself and to ensure that EVERY SINGLE DAY I was actively using some of them to support my choice of sobriety.
Also - having a sponsor was big for me..... and one sponsor once told me:
"every morning when you get up, just say "please help me". Every night when you go to bed, say "Thank you". That's all you really need to get over this 'higher power' hurdle". That was super helpful to me.
You can do this.
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Hey Otter! Great job on 3 days and a sober start to the new year.
Lots of great comments above- I love that people take a variety of approaches to getting and staying sober and appreciate things that are different than me, since I might not have thought of them. The single common thread in every story is taking ACTION to live a sober life.
I was very (VERY) ill when I quit - I finally, truly HEARD the dr who told me I had a yr, 18 mo if I didn't quit. I was 39 and realized I didn't want to die. I went through a great deal of physical, emotional, all kinds of healing and it had its ups and downs, progress points and phases- still does though not so extreme.
I started AA right away (absolutely my last resort after railing against it for no good reason than I wanted to keep drinking) and am grateful that I heard the expression "look for those who have what you want" early on- and I did what they did.
In short- my daily routine begins with these same 5 things (I am 1084 days sober and the beginning of this routine started w my first sponsor about 3 1/2 mo in)
Visit SR
Read pp 84-88 and 417-418 of the Big Book of AA
Read a daily meditation from a Fransiscan Scholar, Richard Rohr, who has really helped me develop my spirituality
Ask myself HALT - typically for the day before, and mainly about how I slept - this is the acronym for Hungry/Angry/Lonely/Tired, things that often trip us alcoholics up in either our emotional or physical sobriety (*more on the comfort food thing in a sec!)
Read a shared Bible plan from an app my husband and I use (it is a more traditional Christian study - I seek ideas from diff religious traditions)
I did almost the 90 meetings/90 days that AA suggests, got a sponsor and worked the steps. As I am about to enter my fourth year (3 yrs is on Feb 21) I am doing the steps again.
I go to about 4-5 mtgs a week now, and if I dip as low as 2 I need to re-up the next week.
The service thing others mentioned is really important- getting out of myself is absolutely necessary, especially if I am feeling vulnerable, self-pitying...
A team of good drs is also important for me- my GP has helped me with everything from flu to maintenance of my thyroid, my liver dr was critical for the first year, my psych is essential...I promised myself I would seek help, be honest and do what my drs have said. My back dr after an injury last Mar that only truly got well a month ago, was the second most critical in my last year.
At various points, comfort foods- especially sweets like ice cream and frozen yogurt- have been demons! I actually did a Step One (AA, acceptance that we are powerless over alcohol and our lives had become unmanageable) over ICE CREAM last yr during the depression phase over a back injury - I realized that I was anxious about having enough in the freezer like I had been about vodka!
Now, I am at a place where I am able to exercise again and I incorporate one treat every day (the same size ice cream from my fave fast food place) into a diet that's mostly fruits and vegs. I have a little tummy I don't love but the size jeans I like best fit.
This is a longer post than I meant- but the ultimate thing is that you are asking good questions and seeking advice, and you are sober today. Finding what supports your continued sobriety is individual to you- but for me, heeding the near-universal suggestions and experiences of people who stay sober and those who don't has proven a good path.
Stick with us!
Lots of great comments above- I love that people take a variety of approaches to getting and staying sober and appreciate things that are different than me, since I might not have thought of them. The single common thread in every story is taking ACTION to live a sober life.
I was very (VERY) ill when I quit - I finally, truly HEARD the dr who told me I had a yr, 18 mo if I didn't quit. I was 39 and realized I didn't want to die. I went through a great deal of physical, emotional, all kinds of healing and it had its ups and downs, progress points and phases- still does though not so extreme.
I started AA right away (absolutely my last resort after railing against it for no good reason than I wanted to keep drinking) and am grateful that I heard the expression "look for those who have what you want" early on- and I did what they did.
In short- my daily routine begins with these same 5 things (I am 1084 days sober and the beginning of this routine started w my first sponsor about 3 1/2 mo in)
Visit SR
Read pp 84-88 and 417-418 of the Big Book of AA
Read a daily meditation from a Fransiscan Scholar, Richard Rohr, who has really helped me develop my spirituality
Ask myself HALT - typically for the day before, and mainly about how I slept - this is the acronym for Hungry/Angry/Lonely/Tired, things that often trip us alcoholics up in either our emotional or physical sobriety (*more on the comfort food thing in a sec!)
Read a shared Bible plan from an app my husband and I use (it is a more traditional Christian study - I seek ideas from diff religious traditions)
I did almost the 90 meetings/90 days that AA suggests, got a sponsor and worked the steps. As I am about to enter my fourth year (3 yrs is on Feb 21) I am doing the steps again.
I go to about 4-5 mtgs a week now, and if I dip as low as 2 I need to re-up the next week.
The service thing others mentioned is really important- getting out of myself is absolutely necessary, especially if I am feeling vulnerable, self-pitying...
A team of good drs is also important for me- my GP has helped me with everything from flu to maintenance of my thyroid, my liver dr was critical for the first year, my psych is essential...I promised myself I would seek help, be honest and do what my drs have said. My back dr after an injury last Mar that only truly got well a month ago, was the second most critical in my last year.
At various points, comfort foods- especially sweets like ice cream and frozen yogurt- have been demons! I actually did a Step One (AA, acceptance that we are powerless over alcohol and our lives had become unmanageable) over ICE CREAM last yr during the depression phase over a back injury - I realized that I was anxious about having enough in the freezer like I had been about vodka!
Now, I am at a place where I am able to exercise again and I incorporate one treat every day (the same size ice cream from my fave fast food place) into a diet that's mostly fruits and vegs. I have a little tummy I don't love but the size jeans I like best fit.
This is a longer post than I meant- but the ultimate thing is that you are asking good questions and seeking advice, and you are sober today. Finding what supports your continued sobriety is individual to you- but for me, heeding the near-universal suggestions and experiences of people who stay sober and those who don't has proven a good path.
Stick with us!
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