Ugh!! I am terrified to gain weight in recovery because I seem to be binge eating which is not good. Replacing binging on booze for food is not good !!
Has anyone else dealt with this early into their recovery !?
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Hi there 
Donāt panic, this happened to almost all of us. Your body will calm down eventually, just give it time. I ate a LOT when getting sober in the beginning, mostly sugar bc my body wasnāt used to the lack of sugar.
Stay hydrated and try to eat lots of greens and fruit 
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Itās terrifying like I canāt even control it even though I feel sick
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I replaced drinking with working out, going on walks, something physically demanding. I didnāt gain weight except for when I was bulking in the gym.
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I wish I could find the energy. Since booze free I have been so exhausted
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The exhaustion does go away after awhile. Even short walks, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, are a good start.
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Yep. Itās just the booze fog you are in. It will clear, trust me on that. Then, you will feel better than ever!
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I know. Now a time starts where your body doesnāt feel like itās healing, but it is. You donāt have to be terrified to gain weight, yes maybe you gain some weight in the beginning but you will lose it again after a while
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I gained about 1lb per day in rehab. It took a little while, but I am at a healthy weight for my body type now. My diet has improved because I donāt get drunk and eat shitty food. I can afford to buy healthy food options rather than buy drugs with my money. I must say, long term sobriety is beneficial to my overall health and well-being.
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Try to focus on what is truly important here. Is it you weight or your sobriety? Of course gaining too much weight can be unhealthy but alcohol can flat out kill you, much faster than obesity would.
In the beginning be kind to your body. And that may mean giving it cookies. Iāve seen many people come here with both a plan to kick their DOC AND clean up their diet AND work out all the time and I always worry that they are going to hit a wall and hit it fast. Take it slow. Baby steps. Quiting alcohol is the MOST importortant thing you can do right now. If you gain some weight then you can work on that diet and exercise in a few monthsā¦when you feel stronger that you wonāt break down and drink when things get too tough.
Take home message: āBe kind to yourself. YOU CAN DO IT!!ā
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This is good advice !!! I find I am very all or nothing. I say ok Iām done with booze now so I must eat clean while Iām at it. I guess I should just try and focus on staying sober !
Youāre so right !
Getting drunk and eating horrible food is so much damage. Atleast if I can stabilize in sobriety for a while I can then hopefully not crave the bad food that come with it
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Yes. My first month I ate like a horse. Itās natural. You used to get tons of empty calories and carbs from booze. Your body is just looking for the fuel.
Itās ok. Your net calorie intake is likely about the same as it was when you were drinking. Indulge your appetite for now, and then gradually work in healthier foods, as your appetite normalizes. Maybe some light exercise will help. I walked during what used to be ācocktail hourā. Took about a month for everything to feel natural, and I actually started losing weight, even as I ate tons.
Binge eating and anything sweet. Just cant help it. To be honest Iām not even trying to stop myself because my willpower and mental strength is going towards not drinking.
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Iām 3 weeks sober and still cant help the quick binge before bedā¦ I never ate this crap when I drank ā¦Itās like my one major lack of control ā¦so Iām relieved to hear others are going through the same issues ā¦ Iāll deal with it ānextā ā¦ I remember last year I used a drink I made with lemon juice, cucumber, ginger and mint ā¦ I just whizzed it up n added water to it ā¦ it stopped the sugar craving within a few days ā¦ I am now reminded to try that again 
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You should try hitting the gym. It saved me in the beginning but Iāve fallen off which is probably why Iām depressed right now.
And take it easy. Let yourself eat some big meals. Make sure you eat some veggies. But enjoy yourself. If you were like meā¦ I was so
Deprived of nutrition I needed to focus on eating normal meals again.
But candy bars were my shit. 2 a night for a while. I go through phases with different sweets.
Without all the alcohol in your body converting to sugar your body is in sugar withdrawal. If eating allows you to not drink in the beginning. Do it.
Then get a gym routine which will help you physically but more importantly mentally 
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I posted about the same thing last month. OMG!! I had a snack drawer full of crap, especially Kit Kat bars and Hasbro fizzy cola bottles LOL. As everyone else said, it is very normal and it will stop. At the start I give myself permission to eat whatever, and thankfully them craving have stopped too. Congratulations on day 5!!
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Hey ladyā¦chiming in to say that I totally agree w @VSue. And that hearing you talk about the all or nothing is EXACTLY the way that I am. This sobriety thing is a new way of thinking about stuff. Long term slow change is not something that comes naturally to meā¦and damn is it harder! Itās been 601 days for me. First it was hard drugs, soon after that alcohol, about 430 days later it was cigarettes and only about now am I starting to handle binge eating/sugar eating. What Iām REALLY starting to address I think are the underlying causes of the need to binge etc. for me it is a whole lot of negative self talk and almost imperceptible low level anxiety that I never even heard before underneath the pounding headaches and wild cravings. This journey is a wild one, and i couldnāt be more grateful for it. Slowly but surely Iām getting tuned in, Iām aligning with my highest self, andā¦most importantlyā¦Iām FINALLY starting to recognize that it effing sucks to be battling yourself from the inside every day. Please keep being gentle with yourself, everything will fall into place eventually, one step at a time. I wish I could hug you and let you know that in person! Sending you love from njā¤ļø
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The same first few weeks could devour a tub of Ben & Jerryās, crisps & multi bar choc etc etc, but itās subsided the past couple of weeks and trying to burn off the calories lol 
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