One massive hit in several weeks now and little to show for it..

I stopped drinking several weeks ago after being a bit heavier than moderate drinker for a decade or so, beer, wine and malt whiskey mainly. And because I stopped drinking, which was difficult by the way and a story for another board and time, I also started doing some cardio, 30-40 mile cycle rides and 5-6 mile runs and started eating as close to a saint as you could and cutting the calories, the non drinking alone would have made a big difference, I am also doing weights 3 times per week.

Now putting my deflated mood aside which was probably down to giving up the booze, my BMI has not budged, still 26 and my weight is hardly any different, maybe 1LB off, I am just a little deflated, could there be a positive reason for this.
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Replies

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
    Good job giving up alcohol! Are you trying to maintain your weight?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    Congrats!

    How accurate and consistent is your food logging?
  • Millicent3015
    Millicent3015 Posts: 374 Member
    Good for you for coming off the booze. After ten years, your body isn't
    going to snap into shape like magic. It might be taking a few months to adjust to such a big change. Going at exercise full bore doesn't guarantee weight loss, and if you're not accurately weighing/logging you might be eating more calories than you think, or you might even have put on a bit of muscle which your scales won't reflect. It might take some months for your BMI to come down, so be persistent and the weight will start to shift.
  • johncharles1962
    johncharles1962 Posts: 31 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Congrats!

    How accurate and consistent is your food logging?

    I am not logging my meals, but trust me they are 3 small meals at most with plenty of mixed greens and veg and good quality lean meat with zero snacking, honestly I am strict with it apart from the small bit of 75% chocolate I have in the evening to help with the drinking cravings
  • flippy1234
    flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
    Once I quit drinking, it took a few months to really see the difference. Alcohol, long term use, like me, takes a toll on your body in many ways and it takes a while for your body to regulate itself again. Just give it time. Good for you and best of luck.
  • johncharles1962
    johncharles1962 Posts: 31 Member
    Good job giving up alcohol! Are you trying to maintain your weight?

    Trying to lose around 12lb and then maintain, and hopefully will have more muscle by then as well
  • johncharles1962
    johncharles1962 Posts: 31 Member
    Good for you for coming off the booze. After ten years, your body isn't
    going to snap into shape like magic. It might be taking a few months to adjust to such a big change. Going at exercise full bore doesn't guarantee weight loss, and if you're not accurately weighing/logging you might be eating more calories than you think, or you might even have put on a bit of muscle which your scales won't reflect. It might take some months for your BMI to come down, so be persistent and the weight will start to shift.

    It would probably be a good thing to log my food intake I agree, but trust me after being an ex drinker I know 100% that my food intake is well down and my fridge looks like it now belongs to someone else it looks so healthy, even blending raw veg to get all the goodness. my snacking while drinking was out of this world in the evenings :smile:

    The point you made about going at full bore interested me, I led one type of life for a long time to then change overnight to something 180 degrees different, body must be thinking "Hey whats going on"
  • johncharles1962
    johncharles1962 Posts: 31 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Congrats!

    How accurate and consistent is your food logging?

    I am not logging my meals, but trust me they are 3 small meals at most with plenty of mixed greens and veg and good quality lean meat with zero snacking, honestly I am strict with it apart from the small bit of 75% chocolate I have in the evening to help with the drinking cravings

    I quit drinking years ago. I was already logging food at the time. I had been losing at the recommended rate and after I quit drinking I still lost at the recommended rate.

    I would suggest that if you aren't losing and if you feel you have your profile set up accurately - then you need to log your food.

    It's really easy to eat too much. Meat is really easy to have too much. I did not like how small my meat portions needed to be to stay within calories. Do you know how much (in ounces) your meat choices are? A tiny chicken tenderloin is about 100 calories, for instance. If you're having three of them and counting them as one serving, you're already over by a minimum of 200 calories. Beef and pork? The serving sizes are t.i.n.y.

    I am keeping a close eye on my calorie intake and would say it is roughly 1600-1800, some days it has been less, have cut out meat apart from a little chicken and am mainly using fish and eggs.
  • johncharles1962
    johncharles1962 Posts: 31 Member
    edited September 2018
    I guess that when you stopped drinking and started exercising, you became more hungry, and exercise doesn't burn that many calories, so meals that "don't look like much" are in fact just what you need to maintain your weight. Eating boring food, and just to lose weight, will also make you crave some comfort, which is no longer available as alcohol, because you've stopped drinking, which in itself can be something you feel missing out of. And you're not logging your food intake. I guess you can figure out why you're not losing weight. (Hint: the others have already explained it.)

    Honestly, I cannot emphasise enough how the crap left my freezer and fridge, the biggest being the 20 bottles of cold beer I had per week. It might not of been logged but I am 100% sure my calorie intake was well down.

    Plus because I have been very low at times my appetite is nothing like it was when I was drinking, I amazed myself a few times this past few weeks by getting to 6 pm and then just not wanting food, And plus my eating window has been between 11am and 7 pm, and I am rigid with that
  • johncharles1962
    johncharles1962 Posts: 31 Member
    edited September 2018
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    Good job giving up alcohol! Are you trying to maintain your weight?

    Trying to lose around 12lb and then maintain, and hopefully will have more muscle by then as well

    How long ago did you start the exercise and weight training? When I started lifting, my scale weight stalled out for many weeks, just due to the water retention. It was frustrating to not see movement on the scale because I was used to losses being pretty regular. That was when I started losing in stalls and whooshes.

    I would recommend logging a day or two, just to be certain that you are at a reasonable calorie intake. You want to be sure you are getting enough nutrition to fuel your body and your workouts, plus to make sure you aren't eating more than you think (it happens so easily). Some people can lose without logging, others have to log, particularly if they only have a little to lose.

    Give it some more time and have a little more patience with it. Your body has gone through some really big changes. Good on you for not drinking anymore. Take some pictures, and use a measuring tape in a few places, to get an idea if things are changing. The scale doesn't tell the whole picture, and your eyes may not see changes in the mirror that you will notice when you hold two pictures up beside each other.


    Very interesting again, now that has hit a nerve with me. I cannot help but feel I have been retaining water, don't ask me how :smile:, But I do hear that swooshing in my stomach after not really over drinking, plus if anything there has been that slight concern from me that I could have been under eating, seriously!.

    I get the point about the logging of food etc, but if anyone had any idea what it has been giving up the alcohol alone will understand my patience and concentration have not been good, but I am just taking the postive from this and telling myself I have done 5 good things in one hit. I also wanted to try meditation or yoga as well, but too p***ed off at the moment to try it :smile: which is perverse because it is probably the best time to start, but bit by bit, taken a lot on as it is.

    I probably did a few gentle 5 mile runs in the first few weeks of going dry and did a full body weight workout in the 2 nd week, I now do half the body, 2 day rest and then the other half, so any one muscle is getting 4 days rest
  • johncharles1962
    johncharles1962 Posts: 31 Member
    Oh, and one other important thing I never mentioned, the water retention thing made me think of it. My stomach does seem to be sticking out more than it has ever done, which is a bit of a downer and hopefully temp.