tizzkins

Hi i managed to stop drinking 3 weeks ago and i was hoping for some weight loss in that time. I only eat 1300 calories a day and considering i was drinking quite heavily i thought the weight would have dropped. I am also exercising twice a week. Anyone any ideas am i perhaps expecting too much too soon. Many thanks.

biminiblue

I've been on a calorie-counting plan for many years.

A few things: first, as an alcoholic in recovery I focused on getting good nutrition. That's the most important thing. Alcoholism is a bad thing from which to recover. 1300 calories is VERY low unless you're a tiny person, and it's going to be nearly impossible to hit all your nutrients at that.

How are you calculating that 1300 calories? What are you eating? Are you using a food scale and keeping a log?

If you're exercising too, eat more on those days or at least account for it by spreading out that extra fuel need over the rest of the week. I'd chew off my own arm at 1300.

I don't know enough about you to say much more than that.

Give it time and stop starving your body...unless you're 5 foot tall and 60 YO you probably need a lot more food.

Anna

Alcohol has a lot of sugar in it and I know, for me, it messed up my metabolism. It might take some time and patience for your body to sort out that it's not getting the influx of sugar it was used to and to working more efficiently.

shortstop81

Hi tizzkins, congrats on 3 weeks!

1300 calories would probably even be too low for me, and I'm a 5'1" female. Maybe don't get too caught up on losing weight right now?

I know for me I didn't lose weight per se, but I do remember stomach bloat sorting itself out over the months following my sobriety.

totfit

Depending on how much you were drinking, you may have been in a constant state of mild dehydration. Some folks have a tendency to gain at first due to this. Adding more exercise/movement as you can would likely aid you greatly. As some have said, 1300 calories is pretty low. Sometimes our metabolism will slow down when restricting calories too much to conserve energy/fat. Just stay consistent with proper eating and exercise and you should see some changes.

Orchid1

Maybe look at what you are eating? if you replaced the sugar in booze with carbs or sugar not much will happen quick. If your insulin is present you wont burn fat.

anxiousrock

Increase your protein...that really helped me. 1300 seems low. I'm only 5'2 and usually eat 1500-1600 and still lose weight.

Cityboy

Congrats on sober time thus far.

I totally agree with what others have said. 1300 calories sounds low. You could be too stressed about it and expecting fast results, which is going to have a negative long term effect. The stress over weight loss, or lack thereof, was contributing to my alcohol dependency.

I gained weight at first. About six to eight weeks in, I could begin developing better long term eating and drinking habits. Weight loss has been slow, down about 20 pounds at seven months, but I'm quite content with where I am in terms of food and drinks, and do not anticipate the seemingly inevitable yoyo effect, which is really the more comprehensive goal.

PalmerSage

Interesting comments about 1,300 calories seeming low, I couldn't lose weight on that (5'4" female) unless I was exercising a lot. That said, I remember that it took some time for my body to sort itself out once I got sober, plus I wanted to be VERY careful about not trying to tackle my weight and drinking at the same time, because that had always caused me to relapse in the past. I allowed myself the first 6 months to eat what I wanted, and once that time was up I gradually started to lose weight. Drink as much water as you can, allow yourself treats, focus on sleep and light exercise. The alcohol is the most important thing, by far!

least

If you just stopped drinking 3 weeks ago, your body is still adjusting to the change so it may take a while for any weight loss or gain. Eat good food, exercise, and rest. Let nature do the rest.

fletchling

Hey, me too! I’m sober day 14, and weigh loss and regaining good health are one of the things I look the most forward to in my soberity (in addition to happiness of course!) but please be assured that weight loss like weight gain does not happen fast - it is a long process and your body is most likely trying to figure things out. I too have dropped all my intake calories from alcohol (probably 5500 kcal in a week! Eeks!!!) and I haven’t lost any weight now come 2 week mark but I give myself a break because my body will love me much more for dropping the drink than the few extra kilos!

AlbaSober

I've lost about 15lbs in 70 odd days since being sober. I was hoping for a real stone a month style loss but that hasn't happened despite trying but if you lose 2lb per week regardless of how much you have to lose you'll reach your target. I think (might be wrong ) but the liver processes alcohol first which means if you've had a large intact of booze the liver isn't able to breakdown the fats you consume very well the following day and fat is then stored. A clean liver is an essential tool for weight loss so all the more reason to quit the poison and more on to water. There's the added bonus that water tastes nicer.

MaximusD

Agree on the 1300 calories too low thing. Your body will really slow down at too low of calories. A day or two at that level might work but you have to have some refeed days. There is TONS of info about this stuff on youtube. Focus on your sobriety and being healthy. Remember that the weight is a symptom of the problem. You don't lose weight to get healthy. You get healthy THEN lose weight. It can take tons of time.

Hodd

I agree too. What it might be worth doing is to keep a food diary for two weeks and show this to a dietitian. They’ll advise if you’re missing out anything vital.

I (male) stuck carefully to 2000 calories a day, and that was already a very small quantity of food, e.g. porridge, salad, another salad with a small piece of fish, some fruits and tea (with milk). That’s not much. The only way I’d have got to 1300 would be to skip one of those meals. Notice there was no bread in there.

I lost weight by dieting and exercise, but I was obese to begin with.

I wouldn’t be too worried. Stopping drinking is a massive achievement. You’ll now have years of being healthier and more active. The weight will come off.

EndGameNYC

I agree that our metabolism needs time to adjust. Your body, your metabolism, is going a billion miles per hour and then comes to an abrupt halt. Or, it's sitting on the couch all day watching TV and blasts off like a rocket.

It takes time.

Aellyce

I would agree with the posters who suggested patience, and that 1300 calories is low unless you are really tiny, live a sedentary lifestyle, or/and elderly. I'm a 46 year-old, 5'8", ~130 lbs female, and could not exist comfortably on such a low calorie diet beyond a couple days. Tried things like that in the past and it only led to eventually turning to binging, eating at odd times, or just feeling low on energy and irritable.

Have you had extensive bloodwork done recently? Maybe start there, see if there are easily discernible reasons for not losing weight (it's also good for general health check, for any newly sober person). In case everything seems fine and your goals are appropriate for your health, age and lifestyle, maybe look at what you eat, what food combinations, not just quantity. And your eating schedule. There is a lot of info online on how these things can aid (or hinder) weight loss. Similar for exercise - maybe talk to an exercise specialist to see what kind, frequency etc could be the most beneficial.