ALCOHOLISM/SKINNINESS?!
robinjjordan
Posts: 18
i dont know the weird thing is i used to be an alcoholic and am in recovery now i know nothing bout a few drinks here and there for weight loss but when i was an alcoholic i was skinny when i stopped i gained alot of weight idk why i always thought it was cuz alcohol fills u up so u barely eat and liquid calories go away quicker than solids. any1 else know why some alcoholics r skinny and gain weight when they stop? i'm curious
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I always known it to be the exact opposite. The alcoholics I have known have boated faces and tummies. When they quit drinking, they lose weight and look healthy again. My Mom and sister both lost a ton of weight when they quit drinking from all the sugar they were no longer ingesting.0
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Eating more food? I've talked to people who had similar experiences because they drank a lot but didn't really eat much of anything.i dont know the weird thing is i used to be an alcoholic and am in recovery now i know nothing bout a few drinks here and there for weight loss but when i was an alcoholic i was skinny when i stopped i gained alot of weight idk why i always thought it was cuz alcohol fills u up so u barely eat and liquid calories go away quicker than solids. any1 else know why some alcoholics r skinny and gain weight when they stop? i'm curious0 -
Alcohol in nutrition seems to be "controversial" ie their isn't a universal agreement. A beer belly is actually a carb belly not an alcohol belly, and I'm also of the view that hardcore spirit drinking alcoholics are very thin.
In a clinical trial they overfed young men with wither chocolate or alcohol (equivalent calories) and only the chocolate munchers got fatter.0 -
The alcohol could have been blocking your body from properly absorbing the nutrients in your food. You were likely chronically malnourished which made you skinny. Once you stopped your body could absorbe everything again so you gained weight, likely much of it weight you needed to gain. I'm not a doctor so I don't know this for sure but it would be my guess. Good luck with your recovery :flowerforyou:0
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Alcohol in nutrition seems to be "controversial" ie there isn't a universal agreement. A beer belly is actually a carb belly not an alcohol belly, and I'm also of the view that hardcore spirit drinking alcoholics are very thin.
In a clinical trial they overfed young men with wither chocolate or alcohol (equivalent calories) and only the chocolate munchers got fatter.0 -
I always known it to be the exact opposite. The alcoholics I have known have boated faces and tummies. When they quit drinking, they lose weight and look healthy again. My Mom and sister both lost a ton of weight when they quit drinking from all the sugar they were no longer ingesting.
This^^^ Between the sugar in alcohol and lack of other nutrients, including water, I've seen bloated faces and tummies. But I guess everyone is different. Maybe it depends on what you drank, like yarwell said.0 -
true this is the first time i'll be losing weight and not drinking and even tho i was skinny i always had a belly! do u think i will just genetically still have a belly cuz thats where i gain alot of weight or do u think since i stopped drinking when i'm skinny this time my belly will be less?0
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I've been in recovery for 8 1/2 years. After I stopped drinking, my weight dropped 10 lbs or so. However, when I was about 3 years sober my weight increased dramatically. I've been slowly working it down for the past 3 years by exercise and calorie counting.
In my professional life, I work with a lot of people in recovery and active alcoholism. My understanding from a number of experts is that alcoholics are very prone to "process addictions" when in recovery (also known as addiction swapping). The most popular process addictions are gambling, sex and over-eating. Over 75% of the members of Gamblers anonymous are recovering alcoholics. I think alcoholics are generally prone to overusing things and activities to make them feel better (or avoid feeling). Food is one of them.
That being said, when people are new in recovery, they are used to getting a lot of extra calories from alcohol. Oftentimes there is some weight gain because people end up craving sugar and sweets at times of the day that they typically drank, because their body is used to it. I used to have a whole lot of energy drinks early in recovery, and if I had been a little older at the time it probably would have resulted in weight gain.0 -
At my "bottom", I weighed 123lbs and looked like a crack *kitten* cuz all I was doing was drinking, lots of empty calories with absolutely no redeeming nutritional value. I gained weight in sobriety, and am now losing that extra weight.0
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its the food. my aunt never eats. just drinks.
people often use food as a replacement for some addictions. people who quit smoking tend to gain weight as well.
liquid calories do not "go away" faster than solids.
glad to hear you are in recovery.0 -
A lot of people who quit drugs or alcohol will gain weight because they replace the addiction with food/emotional eating. I'm not saying this is the case for you, but it could explain a weight gain while in recovery.0
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You realise quickly you can get a buzz and your fix and feel how you wanna feel quicker on an empty tummy, so it's easier not to eat.
I'm not too sure about always being skinny though, it'll still give alot of calories. I was an ok weight when I had a drinking problem and can't really say I cared too much about how I felt, but I'm sure I was bloated alot.
I'm sure your body is just working itself out again and keeping a bit of the food back.
Also I'm not sure if liquid calories actually go through faster than solids?0 -
I always known it to be the exact opposite. The alcoholics I have known have boated faces and tummies. When they quit drinking, they lose weight and look healthy again. My Mom and sister both lost a ton of weight when they quit drinking from all the sugar they were no longer ingesting.
This was me. I would pair my drinks with unhealthy takeout.
Once, I forgot that I ordered food, then kebabs showed up at my door and I was like, "it's a miracle!!" :noway:
Some people will gain weight because they were malnourished when they were drinking. Also the sugar cravings of early sobriety can make people gain weight if they're eating a lot of sweets.0 -
thankyou i have 7 months ! i think im gonna post the belly topic seperately to get more responses0
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less drinks more junk food?0
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Awesome work :flowerforyou:thankyou i have 7 months ! i think im gonna post the belly topic seperately to get more responses0 -
I drink a lot of wine and I'm pretty skinny...I think it's about calories overall. That being said, alcohol has a lot of calories, sugar an carbs so you have to be mindful.0
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true this is the first time i'll be losing weight and not drinking and even tho i was skinny i always had a belly! do u think i will just genetically still have a belly cuz thats where i gain alot of weight or do u think since i stopped drinking when i'm skinny this time my belly will be less?
When I drink for a week or two (wine) and stop I lose my belly quickly.
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Hello, my name is Lesa and I am an alcoholic.
When I got sober I was running around 33% body fat. I was heavy because I would drink then make bad food choices that night then make even worse food choices the next day. I always justified my choices because I always swore that would be the last time I drank like that............yeah, right....
I was 39 when I got sober and stayed rather skinny in my 20s when I drank. I wonder how much of it had to do with my age, metabolism and finances? When I was younger an money was tighter, I choose booze and cigs over food and would not eat as much. When I was older and financially stable, I could afford to eat more.
I lost my first 20 lbs just by stopping drinking. I added in a good diet and slowly started throwing exercise into the mix and now, at close to 6 years sober, I am running at about 19% body fat. So the opposite rang true for me.
I also know that when we first get sober we crave lots of sugar, and it is recommended that we eat it to help with the cravings, after all, it is the sugar we are detoxing from in the alcohol. Many people do not realize that those that are physically addicted to alcohol are addicted to the sugar.
Congrats on your new life. It is awesome and I can honestly say that I have not woke up one single time in the last 5 years and 41 weeks and wished I had a hang over. 0 -
i'll be sober 6 years in july. i was never skinny before...never huge either. just a little more bloated. i am healthier now than i have ever been because i take care of my mind and soul and body now in ways that i didn't before. i've only lost 10 lbs in the past two years but i've become more muscular and a lot stronger too. just my $.02.0
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Gasoline contains 35,000 calories per gallon.
If you drink it you won't gain weight.
Why?
Because it will f----g kill you....
Just because something has a caloric load doesn't necessarily mean your body can absorb it or make good use of it.
Alcohol is a poison. In small amounts, it either won't affect your health or may even have some side effects that can be seen as benefits. Anything above that level is causing damage to your body.
I gained when I stopped because, guess what, I started actually eating food (and loads of gummy bears). I've since gotten over that, exercise, eat quality foods and pay attention to my health.0 -
A lot of alcoholics end up eating too much sugar when they recover. Plus, if you're in one if the young people groups they always want to go to the diner in the middle of the night, out to Starbucks, etc. I lost weight when I got off of heroin (it makes me hungry for some reason) but stayed the same when I stopped drinking.0
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Been in recovery for about 5 yrs. The weight gain is normal as you learn how to eat right. So much of active using was focused on getting "more". That mindset doesn't just leave when we stop. It's a process. For the first thing I had to do was ask myself the question " am I eating for sustenance or am I using food for other reasons." When I got to the place that I ate to support my health & happiness and started to work on the indirect amends I owe to my body. I started to become a better image of who my God wants me to be.0
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when my great aunt got divorced from her flagrantly cheating husband, she became an alcoholic for about a year - year and a half...
she drank....that's ALL she did....
she drank gin and tonic, and then just gin....and ate olives...that was it.
we would go to her house and ALL she would have in it was gin...and olives...
no food, no mix, no normal drinks...
the house smelled like a brewery...
she woke up one day and said WTF? dried out (that was HORRIBLE...you didn't want to be near her unless you wanted to be verbally ripped to shreds) and promptly put on weight becoming a softly plump woman I remember for most of my childhood...
but when you drink nothing but the alcohol....with no mix...(where the real calories can lay) and eat nothing...
you are bound to not be overweight.
(edited for spelling error)0 -
Without having done any research, I would assume that is something to do with the priority it is given in being expelled from the body.Alcohol in nutrition seems to be "controversial" ie there isn't a universal agreement. A beer belly is actually a carb belly not an alcohol belly, and I'm also of the view that hardcore spirit drinking alcoholics are very thin.
In a clinical trial they overfed young men with wither chocolate or alcohol (equivalent calories) and only the chocolate munchers got fatter.
Interesting topic though.0 -
Couple of questions...
1) when you drank, what did you do....dance?
2) Did you ever eat?0 -
It is weird, I guess it just depends on that particular person. My brother was an alcoholic, he was skinny. All of his friends were alcoholics - they were skinny. My now dead boyfriend was one, he was wiry and muscular. so its just the person.0
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I love the brave honesty in this thread. And to the original poster, I congratulate your recovery and I'm wishing you success!
I know very heavy alcoholics and emaciated alcoholics.
I think that alcohol, just like certain foods, impact each metabolism differently.
And whenever you make a major change to your intake, it can take a body some time to get used to the change.
I believe your healthier for what you've decided and that your body is going to reward you for it. Give it time and keep doing what you're doing!0 -
Congrats on getting into recovery! I have 17 years clean and sober and I too was skinny when I was drinking and using. Food just wasn't a priority then. Take away the drugs and alcohol and what did I have left? Outrageous amounts of coffee and food! I think it is pretty normal for newly recovering alcoholics or addicts of any kind to gain weight. The good news is that you are addressing the issue early. Now you have the opportunity to develop new healthy eating and exercise habits. Good luck on your journey!0
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The alcohol could have been blocking your body from properly absorbing the nutrients in your food. You were likely chronically malnourished which made you skinny. Once you stopped your body could absorbe everything again so you gained weight, likely much of it weight you needed to gain. I'm not a doctor so I don't know this for sure but it would be my guess. Good luck with your recovery :flowerforyou:
There is actually some validity to this. In the same way, I dropped weight fast when sick with Celiac reactions but added it even faster the moment I was absorbing nutrients. It's not a good thin on chronic alcoholics.0
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