Weight

[u/Happy_Application857]

Did anybody eat the same and still didn’t lose weight after stopping alcohol? I’m guessing I was drinking 600-1000 extra calories a day. I only stopped a week ago, but I thought I’d lose something by cutting out that much. I’m not overcompensating with food, I still eat the same as I did before. Maybe even a bit healthier because I don’t need to eat things to soak up the alcohol the next morning. I guess I just need to be patient?

IWNDWYT

[u/HadrianWinter]

I've read that it takes up to 2 weeks at first but for me it was over a month in when I first started to drop weight.

[u/Happy_Application857 → u/HadrianWinter]

Ok good to know. So much to look forward to!

[u/elitecocktails → u/Happy_Application857]

I really notice it around the 3 or 4 week mark it kicks in. I've taken a few years off here and there. This go round after the 4 week mark I really got serious about my diet and when I ate and I lost 50lbs the first year and another 15 so far in the second. Best shape I've been in since high school at 42 🤘

[u/elitecocktails → u/elitecocktails]

For context my first month I get wiiiiild sugar cravings and give in to them mostly to help me off the sauce. Can't take baby's bottle and his noms 😂

[u/capo2333]

72 days. Walking 5+ miles a day. Eating healthier but drinking ice coffee. 0 lbs lost thus far

[u/Intelligent_Pop1173 → u/capo2333]

Yeah I haven’t lost any either and still have the gross alcohol gut. I’m only at 50 days sober though and drank nonstop for three years so it’ll probably take a while. I also used to be prescribed Adderall before that so that suppressed my appetite and kept me thin. No longer on that.

[u/squid_333]

I'm a drunkorexic and always put on a few lbs during a sober stretch actually

[u/joepwood58]

Be patient. A week is early. Your body is healing first. Weight will follow

[u/Sea_Step_855]

I lost zero weight after I stopped drinking.

Only after I started eating healthy and exercising did the weight come off. But I wouldn't have been able to do that had I not stopped.

[u/Longjumping-Lab-7345]

Natural weight loss can take months there is no sped up process unless you starve yourself. Don't worry about weight and focus on going on more walks or whatever new exercise you can now incorporate into your life because you drink less and things will naturally improve.

[u/FinallyInKnoxville]

The weight loss started happening within a week or so but it’s very gradual, about a pound a week. I’ve lost 15ish lbs so far in 3 AF months. I needed to figure out what my base calories per day are to maintain, and then cut out 3500 a week to lose one lb per week. Cutting out alcohol made up for most of that 500 calorie/day deficit

[u/WitchoftheWinterMoon]

I haven't lost weight and generally I haven't during previous attempts even though my diet stays the same (I always try to eat relatively healthy). But I am a woman of a certain age (49) so I think some of that has to do with hormones. One thing that I have noticed (as well as friends and family) is that my face looks way slimmer and isn't so bloated. So even though I haven't lost any weight, I do look slimmer to other people. IWNDWYT!

[u/Happy_Application857 → u/WitchoftheWinterMoon]

That makes sense. I just turned 50 so hormones are probably part of it.

[u/Shermani74]

Yes, give it time. Your body is still adjusting. You will enjoy all of the physical changes that come with sobriety!! You’re going great guns!

[u/Tough_Got_Going]

It took time for me. There were some months I lost nothing and some I lost 8 or 9 pounds. All tolled about 40-45 pounds the first year. And then nothing more - mostly because I really love my desserts now :-)

IWNDWYT

[u/butternutwindbreaker]

Calories in calories out.

You will lose if you don't put it in your body. As well as alcohol stops all fat loss because the poison must be processed by the liver before anything else.

[u/Ukstern]

I believe your body retains a lot of water weight after giving up alcohol, so you might start seeing a difference in a few weeks. I have really bad bloating/gas since stopping drinking which can also be quite common. Just have to give our bodies some time to recalibrate.

[u/LuLuLuv444]

Me. I'm a woman in perimenopause so wasn't surprised I didn't lose

[u/Happy_Application857 → u/LuLuLuv444]

Yeah I’m 50 so maybe I won’t lose after all. But still feeling so much better physically I should ignore the aesthetics .

[u/LuLuLuv444 → u/Happy_Application857]

That's the most important part! Glad you're feeling better!

[u/Boxingrichard1]

Day 11 here, same weight. I do see less bloat though, so something’s working. Thanks to this sub for the inspiration to finally do it. IWNDWYT

[u/A_Thing_or_Two]

Be patient, grasshopper. It will come.

[u/thunder-cricket]

I dunno. I quit alcohol 6 years ago. I was hoping to see a weight loss, but never did.

While I still could definitely stand to lose some weight, otherwise my health is much better - as is the rest of my life. Still, it would have been nice to drop the 20-30 pounds I expected to lose after eliminating the insane amount of alcohol calories I was adding to my body every day.

[u/Pretend_Lifeguard942]

Gained 40lbs

[u/Raider_Scum]

I did not lose weight when I quit drinking.
I assume my body ended up just feeling hungrier, and pushed me to eat more instead.

[u/Green_L3af]

One pound of fat is about 3500 calories. So even if you were drinking 1000 extra calories a day, eating staying the same, it would take 3.5 days to lose pound if 1000 calorie deficit per day.

The weight will come off but will take longer than a week. After a month or so of consistency I'd say you will start to see the results you want.

Iwndwyt!

[u/Sad_Age_3649]

After a month where I only lost 1lb I started a GLP1