6 weeks into sobriety- crazy hunger pangs
Posted , 7 users are following.
Here's something I'm curious about, I don't know if it's a real thing (physiological cause) or just my mind playing tricks.
I recently made it to 6 weeks sober after a few crappy months.
On the 6th weekend, I experienced a weird physical crash. I was physically exhausted, but more than anything else I felt starving hungry. I'd been dieting mildly and gymming fairly intensely those 6 weeks (the only thing that really helps me keep on track). I was definitely not under eating though- I was monitoring my calories very carefully and working to a plan my trainer wrote for me.
That weekend was insane, I couldn't eat enough sweet things. Ice cream, sweets, cakes. Very out of character for me.
The following day I still felt the hunger and I realised that only alcohol would satiate me now. The strangest thing. Like a literal hunger for alcohol.
I relapsed. (But am back on track now.)
What is this? Is it a thing? The mad hunger can't be any kind of physical withdrawal, not 6 weeks in. Is it my mind? I'm just curious, and of course keen to learn about what's going on with me...
0 likes, 6 replies
TheToad peter97822
Posted
I can't answer why, but when I stopped drinking I got into sweet stuff as well. Before that I was a savoury person. Maybe your body asking for the missing calories the alcohol provided? Someone on here will know. I think it's quite common.
peter97822 TheToad
Posted
Thanks. I guess I'm just curious to know more about what happens in the body after quitting booze. I can understand a person craving sugar to replace calories lost in the first week or so, but... 6 weeks in it seems so strange. I think I'm starting to realise that, even physically, the adjustment period might be a lot longer than I originally thought. It's good, because the more I know about it, the more I can anticipate these things and understand them rather than being just confused and blindsided.
laura08496 peter97822
Posted
hiya peter, i'm really glad you brought this up cause i stopped drinking everyday 5 weeks ago and have gained 4 pounds! and i was like...what? i thought the pounds would start melting off once i stopped. but for me, i must be replacing with food. when i'm looking for that beer, i'll eat a banana instead. or a sandwich...i AM hungrier i guess. i just ate a burger with mashed potatoes for lunch where normally it would have been a salad with some tuna. or a beer. i dont know...i am proud of myself these past few weeks for not drinking, and don't plan on going back. i think i need to get active and burn some calories...this is not easy! but surely in my case, i'm craving to eat more of everything. but good luck to you
TheToad peter97822
Posted
In my case the craving for sweet stuff continued and now it's just a 'normal' part of my diet. I was warned to cut down after a routine blood test. Not sure what it was called. It didn't help that I worked in a chocolate factory too! I would be interested to know the medical reasons as well.
Enjoy your booze free days.
Robin2015 peter97822
Posted
nicolai12167 peter97822
Posted
The sugar cravings serve two purposes here. First of all, alcohol works on the pleasure center of our brains like sugar and cocaine do, which is why giving up sugar or alcohol carbs is a very difficult thing to do and consequently has a lot of withdrawal symptoms associated with dropping them off the dietary radar. Alcohol is a simple carbohydrate (sugar). Second our livers are the organs whose job it is to filter and either use and eliminate the waste or store the excess as fat for use later (that is the carbs/sugars we consume)- a type of traffic control if you will. The liver's fat (carb-energy) stores get depleted once we stop storing the excess and we use these stores up over a period of time individual to each of us- however long that may take. Once depleted though our hormones in our GI tract rebalance themselves along with the brain's signals to rev up and thus increase the appetite to start to work on replacing those stores. Insulin levels tend to be high when someone consumes a high level of carbs/sugars for a long time. However, it can take a little while for balance to return and so our bodies continue to pump out the insulin we made for the previously high carb intake but we stop taking in the high amount of carbs/sugars, resulting in low blood sugar and associated symptoms occur (weak, headache, grumpy, clouded thinking, etc). This process is particularly aggressive if there is a lot of stress in addition to the absence of the alcohol (Cortisol levels rise inducing the storage cascade via insulin production and release) as well as a common deficiency in B vitamins occurs with heavy alcohol use. Thiamine and folic acid supplements are thus often prescribed in a clinical setting for alcohol withdrawal. Primitively speaking, the calories in and fat storage process are the true essence of the fight or flight mechanism and in our ancestors allowed us to survive when food was scarce. I hope this makes some sense and helps you to understand some of what is happening in the absence of alcohol from your body.