126 days. Woo-hoo. But the best thing is

200.0 That's what my bathroom scale said this morning. 34 lbs. of beer gut. Not all alcohol related of course, but after I drink I am more likely to eat junk food and less likely to get up early and work out. So I'd say about 85% of that weight loss is primarily or secondarily related to giving up the demon alkeehawl.

I was consuming close to 1000 calories a day from alcohol alone, so ... yeah.

GeorgiAg said:

---

126 days. Woo-hoo. But the best thing is

200.0 That's what my bathroom scale said this morning. 34 lbs. of beer gut. Not all alcohol related of course, but after I drink I am more likely to eat junk food and less likely to get up early and work out. So I'd say about 85% of that weight loss is primarily or secondarily related to giving up the demon alkeehawl.

I was consuming close to 1000 calories a day from alcohol alone, so ... yeah.

---

Dude that's only like 3 IPAs!!!

Jk

Good job

Hopsecutioner is 215 cal per can. 1/2 pint o' vodka is about 500.

Weekends I was definitely way over 1K cal/day, just in alcohol and probably most weeknights.

10,000 extra cal per week? Maybe. I've shed 1/4 pound a day. Diet/exercise changed a little but nothing crazy. Just laying off the fire water!

Before I quit drinking I lost 30 lbs, allowing for 1Kcal/day for vodka. 1600 miles on a bike. Then quit drinking and lost another 30 lbs in 400 miles. Better sleep. Better everything! Haven't felt this good in 30+ years!

P.U.T.U said:

---

When I stopped drinking I lost exactly zero pounds. Wasn't trying to lose weight so all is good. I have had friends lost 75-100 pounds when they stopped

---

Not uncommon. Some people seeking comfort after drying out replace alcohol with food/sugar

3/19/2017 >> 3/19/2025

My years of drinking dug a hole in my soul. It was an empty, dark, and hollow hole. I knew that my drinking was robbing me of emotional maturity and physical health, healthy relationships with friends and family, and a relationship with God for quite a long time before I quit, but I just didn't want to quit or didn't think I could even if I really wanted to. I fully surrendered to my alcoholism eight years ago today, and I started a new path of life. There are other lines of demarcation in my life, but that singular day is the ultimate one.

That hole still exists today. The hollow feeling still creeps in from time to time. But the feeling creeps in far less than it used to. And the hole is considerably more full than it was before. It's filled great relationships with my wife, family, friends, and communities. It's filled with life experiences, both good and bad, that are not distorted and blunted by booze. It's filled with a relationship with God that was repaired the day I asked Him for help and has only grown in strength and meaning since. And it's filled with being able to give back to others in recovery the way that so many people poured into me and continue to pour into me.

I am confident that the hole will be completely filled one day, but I also don't ever want to forget it exists. I don't want to live in the regret and shame of the past, but I also know that who I am today is because of that past experience. I am grateful to be sober today, and I am grateful to be a recovering alcoholic.

For me it was completely surrendering myself to God. I am almost at 7 months and have had zero desires to drink. I'm constantly at business dinners and functions with no desires to drink, when people ask they say awesome and move on. It's not a big deal not drinking.

Sharing on here is good but do yourself and others a favor, share your story with others in person. The first time I shared my story at church several people came up to me about how they have been thinking about drinking. Several family and friends have cut back a lot in their drinking after they saw how cutting alcohol out of my wife's and my life's.

Your alcoholic days are just part of your story, stories are made to be told. If you can help just one person, it's worth it.

Congratulations. One of the real benefits of having what some may call long term sobriety is to witness the growth in others. I remind you that one of the 9th step promises is we will not regret the past or wish to shut the door on it. That being said, like you stated, I still get into that "morbid reflection" on all the idiocy of my quarter century drinking career. Beating myself up for not quitting sooner. Only problem with that is, I didn't want to quit drinking, I just wanted to quit suffering the consequences of my drinking.

You have been dumping something that skyrockets your blood sugar and makes your body up dopamine for a while. It's going to take you a bit for your body to feel normal.

The first few weeks I noticed a big drop in energy if I got super hungry which was rare for me. Had to make sure I was getting enough calories

I think I have a drinking problem. It's been weighing on my mind for a while. I even tried to stop earlier this year, but fell back into old habits.

My particular issue is once I start, I have trouble stopping. It is never one drink. It is 4, 5, more. I've been working to cut back, with limited results.

Came to a head last night. I wasn't planning on drinking at all, but ok, one can't hurt. Before the evening was over, I was wicked drunk. Puking etc. Still feel like utter trash now and can't keep anything down at all.

This is a weird and hard thing to admit, but I think I have a problem. One could probably even say I'm an alcoholic. That's hard to write, but is likely true.

I'm not really sure what the next step to this is, but here's step one I suppose.

Ol Jock 99 said:

---

I think I have a drinking problem. It's been weighing on my mind for a while. I even tried to stop earlier this year, but fell back into old habits.

My particular issue is once I start, I have trouble stopping. It is never one drink. It is 4, 5, more. I've been working to cut back, with limited results.

Came to a head last night. I wasn't planning on drinking at all, but ok, one can't hurt. Before the evening was over, I was wicked drunk. Puking etc. Still feel like utter trash now and can't keep anything down at all.

This is a weird and hard thing to admit, but I think I have a problem. One could probably even say I'm an alcoholic. That's hard to write, but is likely true.

I'm not really sure what the next step to this is, but here's step one I suppose.

---

Your situation is typical, IMO

Go to work during the day, do your job. Then 5pm rolls around and you have that after-work treat

Then you can't stop

Very common among professionals and those who work during the day, who are also problem drinkers

Do you have a problem? From your description, Yeah, almost certainly

What's the solution? Well, that's the million dollar question. I know this thread is mostly AA advocates, and that probably is a good start. If nothing else, that meeting will keep you out of specs for a couple hours and with others who share your experience. Proximity to alcohol is a HUGE part of the equation. In other words, get it out of the house NOW, and find a way to occupy yourself in the evening that keeps you out of the liquor stores

Thereafter, is AA for you? Maybe. Maybe not. It's not perfect and it's not for everybody. It's a commitment that has helped millions stay sober, but it is not without pitfalls. Only you can decide, but if you don't do AA, find SOMETHING.

But if you take nothing else away from this, take this

1. Get booze out of the house. Eliminate it from reach

2. Occupy your body after 5, or whenever you're vulnerable. And I'm not talking about reading a book or watching tv. That's too easy to put down. DO "Something", whether AA, Celebrate Recovery, exercise, whatever. DO SOMETHING to get your mind off of it

3. You will HAVE to commit, and succeed, to a detox and dry period, probably 30 days minimum. Do what you have to do to "not fail", but if you do fall short, start over and try again and succeed this time. And BTW, #3 will need to involve #'s 1 and 2

So yeah, I'm no psychologist, but what you describe, yes, it's a problem, and yes, it's the type of problem that most problem drinkers experience. So you're in good company

Just my $.02

The hole analogy intrigues me. I was wondering about this the other day. FWIW, I'm on quit #3 for the last 1.5 years. I went 13 months without drinking. Fell off the wagon. Decided to quit again a couple of weeks ago. Went two weeks. Decided to try again, I this time for good. The anxiety I face when quitting is going to kill me if I keep going. I'm 4.5 days in and I'm just now getting over the crippling anxiety.

Back to the hole... Maybe I'm wrong here, but I think once you let yourself become addicted, you lose the ability to find joy. I think for me, and maybe it is the same for a lot of folks, is that the first drink actually brings you joy and nothing can replace that. But I think you lose that right to have joy. There was still moments of happiness when I wasn't drinking, but nothing to replace that first, second, fourteenth drink. As you said, their is nothing to replace it. I was and am resentful to the fact that I can't drink without bad consequences. I have no one to blame but myself so that actually makes me hate myself even more. The alcohol filled that hole and I was able to escape my demons for awhile. And if you have been there, you know that even a little escape can be better in the short run than no escape.

I think for me that the fact there is going to be an emptiness that won't be filled - at least not for a long long time - is something I'm just going to have to accept, and that is hard to do. However, if I look at the totality of satisfaction with my remaining life, certainly the overall satisfaction will be more in the long run, sober.

For what it is worth, my decision to try and quit, this time forever rather than take a break, was brought to head this past Sunday and Monday. I had hoped on Sunday that the anxiety wouldn't be awful. I had planned to temporarily sober up because I knew the anxiety would be really bad. I am meeting my grandkids for the first time this coming weekend. Sunday, anxiety was unfortunately horrible. So I drank a lttle to "get me by." I woke up Monday morning with crippling anxiety. It was so bad I couldn't go to work. Several times, and I know it was just the anxiety, I thought I had an elephant sitting on my chest. To make matters worse, my daughter called me Monday evening. I hung out with her and her boyfriend on Saturday night. I drank, they did not. I sure didn't think I got sloppy drunk, but none the less, she basically told me that she didn't want to see me if i was drinking. That was embarassing and filled me with shame. Not really something I wanted to hear whilst fighting the crippling anxiety.

So basically the only way I seem to be able to function is to drink heavily every day or not drink at all. Have a little bit of joy and fill that hole for awhile at the same time digging that hole deeper, or cope with the emptiness, hope the hole starts to fill and maybe one day get better. So here I am, still dealing with anxiety but it is manageable 4 days in. I get to see my granddaughters in a couple of days and not have to chose between getting drunk around them and being ashamed or being sober around them but not being able to cope with the anxiety. Trade off dealing with quitting is going to be worth it.

I think basically want I'm trying to say and probably failing miserable at it is that for me, quitting drinking and not having joy is a sacrifice I have to make. And from what you are saying, maybe you never get back that joy, but maybe it is filled instead with contentment. At least that is what I have to hope for.

Army, you sound like you're where I was on the morning of February 26, 1991. I was coming of a three-day blackout drunk when all I wanted to do is drink a couple of beers and watch a fool basketball game.

From what you describe, you may indeed be suffering from a disease called alcoholism. You'll have to make that decision for yourself. If that is the case, all this well-meaning advice you're getting is all well and good until you take that first drink and then sooner or later the phenomenon of craving kicks in with the idea that this time it's going to be different, and you're off to the races on more time. I field tested that for 25 years, from high school into my forties.

I made my first AA meeting later that evening and I haven't had a drink since. The old-timers told me the day would come when I would live without needing a drink or wanting to drink if I followed the plan of action outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Today, in my 35th year of recovery, I know they were right. I can never have another drink the rest of my natural life and have no desire to do so.

My name is Jim and I'm and alcoholic. I had a hard time saying that at the beginning. Looking back, it reminds me of voting Republican for the first time and lightning didn't strike me.

Just for the record, I haven't spent one day in the last 34 years dealing with or trying to overcome an addiction

I feel you on this Hoose.

I've drank 2 times in the past three years, both times just to "see if I could". Deep down I know it's because I miss the feeling it gives me, but I know the downside of doing it is infinitely worse than whatever it brings me.

It takes me at least a week for the anxiety to go down after doing it. I don't know if it's the brain chemicals, the horrible sleep, or whatever else, but it legitimately fries my system now.

I will say I may feel less "joy", such as you describe, but I find myself much more stoic and even keeled than ever before. I still have moments of a lot of happiness that mostly come from my kids, but I definitely feel like every day it capped closer to a 6 whereas I used to get some 10s in there every once in awhile.

But I'd say the overall average is up ditching booze, so it's worth it overall. Plus I'm not fat and ashamed anymore so that's cool.

As mentioned a lot of people on here had success with AA, I did not. Tried 2 different ones and really didn't do anything for me. Fully surrendering my God is what did it for me, I wasn't so far in that I had major withdraws so it was like turning off a light switch. Currently at 7 months and 10 days in with no withdraws. I travel a fair bit and often do business dinners, if they have non/no alcohol beer I typically get that, if not a water or something. Over 100 people know my story and only one person has really tried to get me to drink again (alcoholic themselves), often the conversation turns to how people want to stop drinking as much. I am not sure how they are doing themselves but I know a handful that quit drinking for a while after I told them I did.

Towards the end I did get anxious the day after I drank, working out helped get it away but the best way to get rid of it was start drinking again. That one drink turned into 5 and by that point why not just keep drinking? Pattern would continue, even if just on the weekend, and it got old.

You will need to figure out why you keep heading towards the bottle. A lot of people can just have a drink or 2 and be fine, I preferred to have more as I got older. I have had what a lot of people would consider a traumatic childhood and there were other issues I needed to get resolved. After facing those head on things got a lot easier.

Some people get caught try to "catch the dragon". They want that high they get from getting drunk and their mind puts the good memories during drinking in the front of their minds. This happens with a lot of drugs and is what keeps people addicted. Several of my friends were addicted to hard drugs and they had to find something to fill the void when they stopped, working out helped several of them and became their new obsession. They still have issues but a much healthier way to deal with everything.

Talking about your issues helps a ton, one reason why AA works so well. To me I don't care if its AA, a therapist, pastor, good friend, or whoever, just talk. I have spoken in front of several church groups about my story, still to this day I don't feel like I deserve all that I have received from God but if I can help one person telling my story is worth it. No matter which way you go, don't do it alone. For me drugs are a last resort but they increase the chance of kicking the habit over 80%.

Bump. I'm always so inspired reading this thread.

I started 5/13 with my sobriety. I had a binge drinking problem. I want to end alcohol altogether. Any advice is appreciated.

KNM2020 said:

---

I started 5/13 with my sobriety. I had a binge drinking problem. I want to end alcohol altogether. Any advice is appreciated.

---

No one responded directly, so I will give you a shout. I hope you are at 7 days today. That first week is hard. Not sure what your circumstances where going into quitting drinking, but I hope things are OK.

This is an Alcoholics Anonymous thread, and got sober and have stayed sober through AA since January 24, 2013. It works for me. I was 43 years old when I reached rock bottom. I wish I had paid attention when the program was "recommended" to me in 2003. I "toyed" with the program for a while, but here I am.

Advice? Find a meeting. Go a few times. Find some people you connect with. Grab a burger with them. You will find they are exactly like you. I thought I was the one in a billion that had figured out alcohol was the solution to mine and the world's problems, and everyone would be better if they drank like me. I found out I was just another bozo on the bus.