Will I Lose Weight if I Quit Drinking?
Aug 29, 2020
Will I lose weight if I quit drinking?
This is one of my most asked questions.
I can’t guarantee anything about the scale, but I can share my experience.
When I quit drinking, I let myself eat whatever I wanted, with abandon.
I didn’t have a sweet tooth until I gave up alcohol.
Without wine, my body craved sugar and I indulged.
Alcohol had a hold on my brain and giving it up was hard.
Super hard.
I let myself consume whatever I wanted, craved, and needed.
I only had one exception: no alcohol.
That was the only simple rule imposed.
For me, this was the only way to make it through the first hours, days, weeks and months.
Giving up alcohol was enough.
More than enough.
This was my life’s work.
To grab a Twizzler instead of a drink.
This simple type of transformation is profound.
If you know, you know.
I went out for coffee and dessert instead of drinks.
I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
Whatever tasted good and whatever comforted me.
I allowed it.
Popcorn, pasta, cheese, butter, salt, caramel sauce, cookie dough.
You name it, I ate it.
I didn’t hate myself for it.
I sometimes got a tummy ache.
I knew it was temporary.
My history with food is that my Grandpa was a cheesemaker, and my best friend a butcher.
I like to eat.
I’m not afraid to get seconds.
I order the bacon cheeseburger.
I will probably never be vegan.
Now, at 2 1/2 years alcohol free, I don’t indulge as frequently, but when I do I savor it.
I make it a point to eat more plants.
I add as many plants to my meals as possible.
I make it a game for my family and we count plant points.
This makes my body feel good and I like the feeling.
I move my body everyday, this makes my body feel good too.
I ran a 1/2 marathon (slowly) last year, but mostly I just walk or stretch.
Shout out to the #zeroproofrunclub, who keeps me accountable and cheers on my daily movement.
Despite what these pictures show, the number on the scale really hasn’t moved much.
I wouldn't know that exactly because I only weigh myself a few times a year.
It’s not something I care that much about or something I want to obsess over.
I have a tendency to obsess, control, and criticize.
That doesn’t make me feel good, so I mostly avoid it.
From the picture it seems obvious that I lost weight though, to answer the original question.
I lost the weight of self hatred.
I lost the burden of carrying other people's problems.
I shed the need to be perfect.
A bit of self doubt and insecurity fall off every day.
My need for approval has decreased in size and shape.
Doing the work of getting sober has made me much more comfortable in my skin.
I recognize the woman in the mirror now.
I like her.
She’s a work in progress, but I know her better now, than I did before.
Her intentions are good and her heart is open and kind.
Your body is yours and it is unique.
Your relationship with food is different than mine.
Your history and your body image belong to you.
Your story will not be the same as me.
I can tell you that every day my client’s are losing a lot of heavy baggage that they’ve been carrying around.
They are learning to let go of things that no longer serve them.
They are tuning into their bodies.
They are listening to the sound of their own breath and what it is telling them.
They are hearing the issues in their tissues.
The tightness and trauma being held in their shoulders.
They are releasing their clenched jaw, they are hearing a voice in the back of their throat. They are listening to it.
They are not remaining tight in the bud and instead starting to open and blossom into themselves, in their own time.
You can too, but it won't be from depriving yourself.
It will come from feeding yourself exactly what you need.
Your body will respond when you are feeding your soul.
