Since I have given up the alcohol, I can NOT stop eating! It is driving me crazy. I literally eat all day long!! I feel like and i think I am hungry, but there is just no way I can be this hungry all the time. I have spent the last 6 months trying to lose weight and get into shape. I have managed to lose about 40 lbs, and am so happy with where I am on that. I have put on 5 lbs in the last 39 days, and I have to say…wondering if I want to start the drinking again..lol! (I know…not funny) I thought I may lose some weight when I gave up all of the alcohol, so this is really driving me nuts! I have always yo-yo’d with my weight and I do NOT want to gain this all back that I have worked so hard to lose!! And yes, I did eat when I drank…I mean, for the most part, I still ate pretty healthy for my meals…its not like my body is starving for nutrients that I didnt have because I wasnt eating. Anyone have any insight to this? Advice? Other than just wire my mouth shut?? Stop buying the junk? Easier said than done it seems. I am really struggling here.
I was right there with you at 39 days. Go easy on yourself in the beginning. It took me about 3 months before the weight started coming off.
Think of it this way, gaining a little bit of weight now, is SO much better than the alternative, because long term, that weight is going to come off and the food cravings will subside. Better to put on a few pounds than start that sick unhealthy cycle of drinking again.
Good info!
I certainly hope it subsides! A few lbs I can deal with, but the way I have been eating, I will be looking at more than just a few, very soon. Glad to know it is just not me. I am trying really hard to get a grip on this new problem…and no I am not going to go back to drinking to keep from gaining weight. These last 39 days have been the best I have had in a long long time. 
Omg thank you for posting this. I went through this too! Everything just tasted so good and I was craving everything! Especially very spicy food! At around 30 days I started feeling so exhausted for about a week I couldn’t make it past noon without napping. Then I went dumb! Brain in a fog, forgetful, still sleepy! I started taking omega 3s and gave myself the rest I needed and I think I’m starting to level out now. Today at noon is my 60 days!
Also congrats! 40lbs is amazing! 40 days!? Outstanding! Your body is so lucky to have a clear mind running the show now! - 
Studies show after 5 weeks of not drinking people tested blood work showed that they’d lowered their cholesterol levels by an average of 5%, their blood glucose by 16% percent, and their liver fat by 15%! So you ARE losing in awesome ways! The rest will come eventually.
Also- I started to log my meals. There are lots of apps out there, I use “my fitness pal” great for accountability.
I ate uncontrollably for about 2 weeks after I gave up weed and alcohol. I was told it was because my body was craving the sugar I was no longer giving it. 60 days tomorrow and I’ve regained control of my eating habits and even improved them. Lots of water and a ton of fruit.
I have the exact same problem! I started to buy only healthy stuff: chicken, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts, brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc. All my snacks are rice cakes & yougert. Perhaps I’m going to the extreme, but if I’m going to eat 24/7 at least I can be as healthy as possible.
I used to be a healthy eater…when I drank. I never bought snacks, and if I did, it was fruit or nuts. Now it is Chex Mix, Trail mix, , went through 3 bags of jellybeans at Easter…just sugary fattening stuff!! I guess I am just going to HAVE to make myself stop buying that stuff, so I can;t eat it!
That is good to know, that maybe my issue will pass as well. I am certainly hoping that it does. I can see that reasoning being true..as far as your body wanting the sugar it had been getting from the alcohol. Problem is, my issue has been going on for more than 2 weeks! Just going to have to wrap my head around this and take control. I can do this..hell if I can stop the drinking cold turkey, I can do anything, right?
I’ve been eating loads over my first sober week. And it has been mostly sweet food which is unusual for me. I put this down to my body missing the sugar from booze. I’m fine with it. It’ll still be nowhere near the amount of calories I’d have consumed through drinking.
Don’t worry over time it will slow.down . I stopped doing meth 7 months ago but i have gained 20 lbs back which i greatly needed
I very well could have some sort of binge eating disorder. Thinking back all the way to 20 years ago, unitl present timeI can remember behavior that was in accordance with that very thing. It is something that I have to really make a point of controlling. The last 6 months, I had controlled it, I guess is why it shocks me so much that it is back with a vengence.
@Kingram I did the same thing when I quite smoking cigarettes. But when I stop drinking I replaced it with soda. And I am still fighting the eating and it’s been 20 years since I stopped smoking. Food just taste so much better😊 now. Good luck your not alone.
I’m at 4.5 months and the weight is just starting to come off. I finally don’t feel like nervous-eating all the time! So be patient with yourself. It will come. (I thought it never would! 
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This comes up so much! There are several similar threads. I was wondering whether there’s evidence about whether binge eating, if you continue that beyond the early weeks of recovery, is better or worse, just for health (discounting all the other issues), than heavy drinking. Read an interesting study arging that obesity has worse health consequences than smoking or alcoholism.The effects of obesity, smoking, and drinking on medical problems and costs - PubMed
My takeaway is that just stopping an unhealthy habit isnt enough, if you just let another take over. Drinkers are often used to drinking at feelings, and when we stop drinking, we risk doing the same thing with sugar or caffeine or nicotine or overeating or any other compulsion. The cliche of AA meetings where everybody smokes and drinks coffee and eats donuts. We have to learn how to be present in our physical being, and acknowledge our desires with positive energies instead of drugs or excess food. It is hard to do.
Agreed!!! Believe me, I do NOT want to be overweight OR drunk, neither is ok in my book. I am doing everything I can to stop my habits…although, this has been a bad week so far. 
I wondered if perhaps the vitamins I have started taking may have anything to do with it, so I did not take them this morning to see if there is any effect.
Same!! I’m only 5 days in, but last time I did the same thing. I just try to prep all of my meals, put them in a container in the fridge, then I can grab healthy food easily. I’m still finding that I still crave sugar..hello jelly beans and mini blizzards…but at least I get my veggies and protein in each day.
I do the same thing, meal prep… chicken and or fish. Rice cakes, almonds and trail mix for snacks. I’ve always been an over proportionate eater. Trying to reel it in and go to the gym everyday.