Normal to gain weight at first especially if also just quit drinking?

lek1111

I’ve been many sizes throughout my life but recently shot up 40 pounds and 6 dress sizes in a matter of less than 3 months. I also just quit drinking again after a relapse. Is it normal that right now I’m still gaining weight despite altering habits? ALSO: any suggestions for maintaining motivation when drinking or binge eating would have been my go to “copying” strategies in my unhealthier days?

PAV8888

Would probably need to know a bit more about habits, before and after, length of time.

Especially length of time and esp when you throw the binge thing in the mix

Only you know what you have been doing in the middle of the night! And it's not that stuff does not happen with many of us on MFP 🤷‍♂️: I hit 1500 Cal of fast food between 2 and 4 am today. 500 was necessary. The rest ...

But with your description of the past few months I would certainly consider a visit to a doctor if there was any doubt in my mind that my weight change was directly caused and fully explained by what I had been consuming

Because as we age and stress our bodies, 💩 sometimes happens and either ruling 💩 out or tackling it as soon as practical tends to be better than not doing so!🤷‍♂️

tomcustombuilder

Drinking sometimes blunts our appetite so you end up not having dinner then when the drinking goes away you end up eating more. Alcohol DOES have calories but it also has a very high TEF which means the body uses 20-25 percent of the calories on processing.

Gaining 40 lbs is a calorie issue so somewhere in the scheme of things you’re taking in a lot more.

lynn_glenmont

If you were drinking a lot (I assume we're talking alcohol), you could have been chronically dehydrated, and may have some water weight gain. I wouldn't expect this to mask a calorie deficit for more than a week or two, although of course that depends on the size of your calories deficit. Also, if you were getting many of your calories from alcohol before and are now consuming more actual food, that has weight as it transits your digestive system.

You say you've altered your eating habits, but you don't say how, and you don't say if you're measuring and tracking your calorie consumption (preferably using a food scale), so there's no way for us to say if it's "normal."

For "coping," my general suggestion would be to find other things that distract you and maybe give you a boost of "good feelings." For a lot of people, exercise can do that (doesn't necessarily have to be strenuous -- you could start with walking). Reading, meditating, working on a hobby, spending time with friends or family are all options.

Christi6604

With that amount of weight gain, I'd check in with a doctor. There are medical conditions which could contribute to that gain as well. I would have them check your liver values also. I wish I'd done so earlier - I was recently diagnosed with NASH fatty liver.

kimcalica

I lost 10 lbs from quitting drinking.. but wine was my drink and two bottles of that and whatever I could put in my mouth was a big change from just regular eating or a bit extra now and then.. my sister was a much heavier drinker for many more years with no quitting.. and she went to treatment.. and yes, she gained a lot of weight.. she became depressed and felt she had nothing to cope except delivery services. We all have different ways, it’s a good sign you’re here!!! You have hope! Keep mindful! Stay the course. Think health…

kshama2001

I picked up an M&M habit when I quit drinking which more than replaced the calories from my wine.

There are several directions I could go with this and would like to rule out the simplest thing first. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

For healthier coping strategies, I'm in the middle of DBT intensive and have dozens of them. Start with regular exercise.

I'll post more if you're interested and after looking at your diary.