Stopped drinking, lost 10 lbs

inthepdx wrote:

You weren't drinking enough...most people tend to lose 15-20lbs at the very least after they stop drinking.

I was only 160 lbs at 6’0” when I was drinking. I tried to stay away from heavy beers and sugary cocktails and I would eat less when drinking.

I’m now 147-148 lbs and all the weight loss is from my midsection and a less puffy face.

I’m happy about the weight loss, but happier about my energy level and reduction in anxiety. As others mentioned it was a vicious cycle of drinking to ease the anxiety and then having more anxiety the next day.

I still hang out with people that drink and nobody really cares that I don’t drink. Maybe 1-2 friends that are heavy drinkers joke around, but even they don’t really care.

If you can have a few drinks and maintain a healthy lifestyle, that’s great. I did it for many years, but the past 3-4 years it started to get bad for me.

bulwinkle wrote:

Full blown alcoholics get so many calories from alcohol that they stop eating properly to the point of malnutrition and lose weight.

Ding ding. I went into treatment at 150lbs (6'3") and come out about a month later at 165. About another month after that I was 175. Before going in I had no appetite and the only thing I could eat/drink to get my stomach to settle down was alcohol. That went on for a couple of months before I couldn't even get my usual daily wine to stay down. That's when I knew my body was officially shutting down and it was time for treatment. I spent two days in the hospital under constant supervision to make sure I didn't have seizures. Which I had a history of from a few months before when I tried to quit on my own. I spent 8 days in the hospital during that time.

It took about 20 years of consistent alcohol abuse to get to that point. It wasn't something that happened overnight. During those years I built a great career, got married, had two kids and managed to turn myself into a mid 2:30's marathoner. Just about lost it all. Thank god I didn't. I'm about 110 days sober as of now, and running consistently again. But I'm still dealing with some neurological issues from the alcohol abuse that might never go away.

tl;dr, just because you have a few drinks every night doesn't mean after a while it can't destroy you. So for those thinking about quitting, give it a shot (no pun intended).

Best to you and your family. Alcohol and drug abuse destroy individuals and often their families. Glad you made the right choice.

On day 17 of an alcohol sabbatical. I say sabbatical because I plan to reintroduce some later - maybe 2 months or so...

Never a big liquor drinker, occasional glass of tequila or scotch. Since March of 2020 had developed a habit of what I would call mindless drinks.

Early pandemic: Since I was working from home, a beer signaled the end of my work day instead of leaving/driving home after work. 1 became 2 and once or twice a week became more like 5-6 days a week. Mid pandemic, switched to wine AND beer. Fast forward to summer of '21 and it was affecting my sleep quality and causing steady weight (small) gain. Just felt sluggish/bad.

Couple of observations thus far.

No giant weight loss, maybe a couple pounds. Don't miss beer as much because Athletic Brewing makes several excellent NA substitutes. NA wine is garbage. NA liquor is terrible. (My wife has joined me and is trying to "support" as she has fallen into the same pattern thus the stab at NA stuff.)

Workouts are going slightly better, but the big thing for me has been better sleep. A 5-8% drop in resting heart rate when I am asleep and falling asleep rather quickly as well.

Following this thread.

This. I'm just under 3 weeks without a drop. I did exactly the same thing in March 2020, started having 1-2 beers an evening just to draw a line between working and finishing. Up until 3 weeks ago I was running 50-55 mpw but it was making little to no difference while I was still drinking so much casually. Now after 3 weeks and a bit more running/conditioning I’ve started to see a significant reduction in fat on the belly. If you have aims to get back seriously into your running and you have a full time job then I think cutting alcohol is a sensible and necessary sacrifice .

We have had a heatwave in my area over the past 4 days. It will break with thunderstorms this afternoon. I am handling the heat much better than usual because I have not had a drink in these 4 days. A double whammy with cold beer when the temperature is in the 90s is that the beer goes down so easy and the alcohol saps my energy. I could easily drink 4 beers on a hot evening, then feel terrible in the heat the next day.

I am certain my age (61) is a factor. Looking forward to my next run.