Quitting Drinking

I have never told this to anyone before but I have been drinking a bottle of red wine every night for the past 10 years and last Tuesday, I just gave it up.  Cold Turkey.  While its only been 3 days, I just am not craving it like I thought I would have and one of the reasons that I did quit drinking was due to the fact that I have really let myself go and no matter how many calories I seem to take in, nothing is budging.

So now I've Googled Quitting Drinking, Stop Drinking Alcohol... and I keep arriving at forums that talk about people Gaining Weight after quitting.  Not Losing!  This boggles my mind and I am wondering if any of you have had an experience like this to share. 

To note:  Since quitting I have been trying to up my caloric intake to make up for loss of calories--I'm coming in at approx 1200 - 1400 per day.  My current weight is 152, I am 5'5" and am 41 years old.

I think if you do what you say you're doing you won't gain weight quitting drinking.  I think people tend to gain when they quit drinking because they overcompensate with food when they are trying to avoid having a drink.  Good luck!

I agree with Laurdie11, as long as you do not compensate with food you should lose.  I am going through something similar.  In the evening instead of wine I am drinking more water.

Another good thing to do for yourself right now is to drink Light Cranberry Juice, mineral water and lemon juice.  This will help your liver detox.  It helps remove the bad stuff that has built up in your liver over time.  Once your liver is working properly your kidneys can function better and your entire system will respond. 

As long as your liver and kidneys are under so much stress you can  not lose weight.  They are not able to do the weight lose functions they are there for.

Congrats db!!!! My philosophy is it's not good to give something up without replacing it with something else (something Better!!!) - and I don't mean food, LOL. You replace your giving up alchohol with your new focus on eating healthy and exercise, maybe a new activity, etc. Anything that will occupy your mind. And check in here often - we wanna see your progress!!! Good luck, Nu.

I'm glad that you decided to do this.  I would figure out how much money you spend a month in wine and buy yourself a really nice present!

Ismile67 :  That is a very interesting peice of information regarding what to drink in order to cleanse.  I sincerely appreciate that advice.  I've upped my water and am drinking a pot of green tea each evening with dinner.  I'll put the Light Cranberry Juice on the grocery list for this weekend.

Nubiker:  Thanks... I am feeling quite proud of myself and your Congrats are well received!

I recently quit drink (since April 2006) - So far so good.  I honestly don't believe people who quit drinking are prone to gaining wieght.  If anything they should lose.  For I found when i drank i had a tendency to over eat or make poor choices.  Plus alochol lowers you testoterone levels which in turn hurts your mobtabalism (sorry bad speller). 

You've made a wise and brave disision.  Good for you.  Sounds like it's been relatively easy so far for you which is great but be warned there will be days your cravings will come back...just be ready.  If you need support, you can always come to the forums...and of cousre there is always AA.  Take care of yourself, talk to your friends, soul search...it is ultimaltely up to you to kick the habit so understanding yourself is very important...well at least that's the approach I am taking.

Good luck.

Feel free to drop me a email if you need to talk to someone.

lilmisszrah:  When I lived in Quebec this would have been a Very Expensive Gift but since moving to Minnesota, it's only about $3.00 per day  --Momma needs a new pair of.... flip flops!  :)

I also came to the c-c forums when I was ready to quit.

see my post.

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/4482 .html


 

They say the fourth and fifth days are the hardest.  So be ready.

I realized I was not drinking for the alchohol, I was drinking just for something to do.  So by replacing the liquid in the glass my "need" is still met.  Seems simple but it is not always. 

You appear ready to do this.  That is the first step.   Remember we are all here for you.

Been there done that!  Quiting Drinking wine will have several reactions. One your body will be craving the extra sugar that the wine produces.  Your body may crave extra food like a cigarette smoker does when they quit. why? You were on carb overload. When you quit, you may eat more to feel better or have a drop in blood sugar. Your body will not have had time to adjust. Your pancreas has been working on overload like a person that eats a bag of candy every day.

Other side effects. If the body detoxes, you may have trouble sleeping for several nights, feel itchy, a side effect from the liver working and cleansing. If that happens take a hot shower.

Lastly, If your getting hammered each night and its more than a small amount of wine, consider getting support from others who have quit drinking. Cold turkey is tough, but you can do it. Asking for help is the key to improving your health. It takes 90 days to break old habits, so try exercising more and hanging with healthy people that have the body you want. Peace
M

db this may help explain the gaining weight:

Body Weight .
Although alcohol has a relatively high caloric value, 7.1 Calories per gram (as a point of reference, 1 gram of carbohydrate contains 4.5 Calories, and 1 gram of fat contains 9 Calories), alcohol consumption does not necessarily result in increased body weight. An analysis of data collected from the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) found that although drinkers had significantly higher intakes of total calories than nondrinkers, drinkers were not more obese than nondrinkers. In fact, women drinkers had significantly lower body weight than nondrinkers. As alcohol intake among men increased, their body weight decreased. An analysis of data from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) and other large national studies found similar results for women, although the relationship between drinking and body weight for men is inconsistent. Although moderate doses of alcohol added to the diets of lean men and women do not seem to lead to weight gain, some studies have reported weight gain when alcohol is added to the diets of overweight persons.

When chronic heavy drinkers substitute alcohol for carbohydrates in their diets, they lose weight and weigh less than their nondrinking counterparts. Furthermore, when chronic heavy drinkers add alcohol to an otherwise normal diet, they do not gain weight.

Iron Mike, Wine doesn't really have that much sugar. The sweetest wines will only have 6 to 12 grams per liter (4.5 to 9 grams per bottle) and dry wines will only have about 2 to 4 grams of sugar per liter (1.5 to 3 per bottle). The alcohol itself is never converted into sugar (hence the pancreas never does anything) and in fact is turned in to acetaldehyde and then acetic acid/acetate which is burnt by body for energy. (link)

Iron-mike:  This is exactly the type of stuff I want to hear about.  So far the sugar cravings are virtually nil and since I'm a salt-o-holic too, I am pushing myself against eating them because well naturally, what goes with Pistachios? Wine.  Popcorn?  Wine.  I guess I'm trying to break more habits than I think.

So I own a tredmill and a dog both of which appear to be under-loved.  Get up and get out is my shout out.

Thank you for your insight and everyones encouraging words.

mfchill:  I am a carb lover and am certain to have probably been consuming Carbs, carbs and more carbs which has thus led to my steady weight gain.  So the Wine has been an extra plate of Spaghetti everyday... Maybe?

Mfchill thanks the link at the end of your post.  I found it very interesting.

db, an extra plate of Spaghetti nope, at least not in that alcohol and carbs are different and handled differently. But calorie wise a 750ml bottle of table red is 533 calories. And those 533 calories will be burnt before anything else.

Ismile thanks, I kept that one also.

Woohoooo!

Good on you dbderby. I too have quit the bottle cold turkey after 19 years on and off. I too had some weight problems, and gained two lbs. I posted here recently.

I'm sure that I had been dehydrated, and had not got my true weight until about a week after my last drink. I too think I had to replace my boozy calories with some good cals, and have done so. I lost a lb this week, and am almost down to my boozy weight, as I call it.

Keep going hun, life will be good :o)

elttiks.x.

I found that link interesting, too. I wonder what's behind the difference in US and UK recommendations for daily alcohol intake? US says one drink a day for women, two for men. UK says two for women, three for men. The difference in measurement is slight -- the US says 5 ounces of wine is a drink, and the UK says 4 (CC says a glass of wine is 3.5 ounces).

So confusing. But I've been following the British recommendation, and I have my two glasses late at night, after I arrive home from work at midnight or thereabouts. I don't eat then, though, just have my "nightcaps."

I've since learned (from mfchill's post and other info) that the body burns alcohol first, in preference to any other available fuel. Could that explain why my weight is always higher first thing in the morning, even though that's supposed to be the lowest point of the day? I can weigh as much as three pounds more upon first rising (8 a.m.) than I do about five hours later when I go to work (1 p.m.), even though I've eaten both breakfast and lunch before the second weighing.

I guess I should drink my wine for breakfast. Yuck.

I agree with a lot of the advice.  I have quit several times and always lost weight.  I have quit again because of my age and health concerns.  The key is drink a lot of water and start an exercise plan to boost your meltabolism.  I'm with you - good for you.

This is a great thread, I too have been suspecting that my wine consumption while not putting me over my caloirie threashold may actually be hampering my progress. 

Any ideas on how to unwind after the children are in bed?

Any ideas on how to unwind after the children are in bed?

I like to turn all the lights in the house off and light a few scented candles while I watch my favorite show of the evening.  I find my sitting in the candle light I can let go of the day and relax enough to sleep well that evening.  The scented candles not only throw off a nice glow, the fill the room with soft frangrance adding to my sleep. 

If I do not watch a show that evening, sitting in bed with a good bed is also wonderful. 

Great time to get a face mask going as well.