Weight gain causing depression - turning to alcohol
 

Hi all,

I'm very new to the forum. I just introduced myself in the intro section but for the rundown…..I've battled anorexia and other EDNOS through out most of my college experience and my twenties. I'm 32 now. I've been married for 1 year. At 5'6 I was a healthy 130lbs when I met my husband, 150lbs on my wedding day and today I am almost 190lbs. I cannot believe how much I've gained. Every time I step on the scale it's the heaviest I've ever been.

I go out less now, socialize less, afraid of the people that know me to see me like this. We just moved back to my home state after living in NYC for the last 10 years so I know my weight gain must look so drastic. I'm ashamed and ever since the weight gain over the last year I've really turned to drinking. Every night I have a nightcap - sometimes two. Just to relax and forget about how much I hate my body. I know it's contributing to my gaining weight. I'm concerned about becoming an alcoholic. I always say I'm going to stop but I never do.

I still feel like I'm young and I know I can turn it around. My mom's side has a history of obesity. Every day I have a positive outlook but my addiction to food just brings me down and I give up. Just wanted to get this out there. Thanks for any words of support.

Are you a diabetic? Include protein soure,a fat source and low-carb vegetables onto your meals.Constructing your meals like this automatically brings you down of 20-50 grams per day.Use of alcohol causes water loss and dehydration.You also lose some of the important minerals,which is essential for the maintainance of the body.Take a cup of green tea and ginger daily,which is best aid for the weight loss.

It's not the drink, it's the food that's the problem. And if you are doing both (i.e. making bad food choices because of drinking) then definitely a problem.

My advice would be to try and tackle one at a time rather than take on both. imo one or two nightcaps is not going to hurt you. So keep those for now, adjust your diet and exercise. And tackle the nightcaps once you have the weight loss started and under control.

In my experience, what you eat can really affect your mood and exercise helps immensely too.

Drinking is not the end of the world, despite what most people on here think. Unless we are talking a bottle of liquor a day or drinking that is affecting your daily life and relationships...then you need professional help.

Hi! I love your user name! :ink:

But I am sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time right now. I struggle with some disordered eating as well. It has taken me forever to get my binging under control. The simplest thing I can suggest for now is to focus on *health* not weight loss. The weight loss will come but it doesn't feel as crazy when focused on health... I have managed to do this a few times in the past. I focus on getting enough good things in - protein, fiber, good fats, vitamin-rich veggies. In this mode I often calorie-count as a means of record-keeping so I can see where all the calories are coming from (talk about a way to make you not want to drink!). I use FitDay so I can set the outputs on nutritional levels and that is really motivating to eat things that hit all the nutritional requirements. Sometimes if I am feeling especially crazy I don't technically ban anything, I just ask myself "is this something good for my body?" I mostly have to steer clear of alcohol when I am trying to lose weight as it makes me want to eat everything in sight.

Personally I had to cut the carbs down to not feel ravenous all the time! I watched a couple of Netflix films (Fed Up and some others) and somehow that was the kick in the pants I needed to stop my insatiable gorging on white bread, chips, milk chocolate, straight-up sugar... ugh. It was so hard but I feel completely different without that constant gnawing urge to eat refined carbs.

I find it useful involved in some kind of scheduled fitness, like Couch to 5K or a sequential weight-lifting program (I like New Rules of Fitness for Women). This gives some kind of focus on tangible, achievable goals rather than "losing X amount of pounds by Y date," which always, always derails me as my weight loss is often slow to nonexistent. I need to do that again myself. I don't do well with winging it!

What got me out of my many months-long rut recently was - don't laugh - a book I found at at garage sale called 8 Minutes in the Morning by Jorge Cruz. It's a bit silly and I definitely don't follow his diet or think that that little time is going to make a huge difference... but the idea of scheduled time in the morning and some really basic exercises/stretches to start out, with some brief journaling time (I use it to plan my meals and exercise) and some motivational thoughts for each day has just worked wonders for me. I am on Day 19 :p

About being embarrassed about people you haven't seen since you gained weight, I hear you on that! The only thing I think about for that is that I try to think how I feel about my old friends who gained weight.... I wouldn't think less of them. But yes it is hard to get that out of your head for yourself. What would be ideal is if you could find someone else struggling or at least health-conscious who you could join for walks or gym time or meeting for healthy meals...

Where is your husband in all of this? Is he someone who eats everything he wants and never has to worry about gain, or doesn't care about his weight? Loves junk food and keeps it around tempting you? Maybe you can work with him to devise a fitter home environment and plan active outings more...

Do you have a therapist you could speak with? Or a life coach? I have had great success with both in the past, sadly no money for that now but if it is an option for you it might be something to try.

Anyway not trying to preach at you, I just related to what you said and thought about what has helped me in the past. I hope you find some kind of solutions that work for you. It sucks to be stuck. Take care of yourself.

Internet hugs to you -