Alcohol abstinence and diet
September 3, 2022 8:33 PM Subscribe
What foods helped you after you stopped drinking.
My alcohol consumption ramped up a lot last year. I’m quitting for the foreseeable future.
If you’ve done that, please share your success stories with respect to diet.
Foods to restore. To maintain and sustain. I’m a decent cook who enjoys most foods.
No dietary restrictions, but if avoiding certain foods helped, please say so.
Anything from strategies to specific recipes to someone’s blog post to books.
Thank you.
My alcohol consumption ramped up a lot last year. I’m quitting for the foreseeable future.
If you’ve done that, please share your success stories with respect to diet.
Foods to restore. To maintain and sustain. I’m a decent cook who enjoys most foods.
No dietary restrictions, but if avoiding certain foods helped, please say so.
Anything from strategies to specific recipes to someone’s blog post to books.
Thank you.
It’s not totally clear what you’re asking - is it for foods and recipes that support sobriety? That help your body to heal? People might be able to give more useful answers if they have a better idea of what problem you are trying to address with your diet.
Anyway, I’m 4 months sober and the food that’s done the most to support that is Friendly’s Forbidden Chocolate ice cream.
posted by punchtothehead at 9:03 PM on September 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
Anyway, I’m 4 months sober and the food that’s done the most to support that is Friendly’s Forbidden Chocolate ice cream.
posted by punchtothehead at 9:03 PM on September 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
I don’t know how up-to-date the nutrition information is, but The Sober Kitchen has a lot of information about people’s relationship with food post-drinking and a very compassionate tone.
posted by corey flood at 9:21 PM on September 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by corey flood at 9:21 PM on September 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
When I quit refined sugar (after trying intermittently over the years) the thing that finally made it stick was that I quit ALL refined sugar at the same time. Very strictly. Including dairy. If I drank alcohol, I would have quit that, too. Juice has had its fiber refined out, and alcohol is fermented juice.
Refined sugar is defined by me as anything sweet with the fiber processed out of it. Honey is refined by bees. Maple syrup is missing the maple tree trunk.
Do not replace with artificial sweeteners. If you're eating anything sweet, your body will recognize it and crave more. Stick to foods that are high in fiber. And like mentioned above, drink lots of water. If you're replacing alcohol with food with fiber in it, you'll be getting more fiber. And if you're getting more fiber, you need to drink more water, because fiber acts like a sponge for water in your digestive system, so you can stay more hydrated, by you do need more water.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure that it was eliminating ALL refined sugars (not just cane sugar) that made it easier for me to quit refined sugar. I think this process would help you with alcohol, too.
Oh, and I also had temporarily quit all caffeine including decaf and chocolate. I am confident that that also helped make quitting refined sugar stick.
Generally speaking, these are the foods that I have replaced refined sugar with: beans, lots of bitter greens (ideally fermented, we need some kind of fermented food in our lives), carrots, fruit, potatoes/avocados, walnuts. Plus a multivitamin and iodized salt. I'm pretty sure that when I'm doing this, I'm getting most of my nutrients from food, and the multivitamin is just a backup. The carrots and fruit are for variety, everything else is meeting a nutritional requirement for me.
Here are food recommendations from an alcohol rehab center that showed up at the top of my search result. The recommendations all look reasonable to me, and they do this for a living.
Burdock root is used in herbal medicine when you're quitting alcohol. Which I learned when I looked into it when I had a guest show up for a week who had apparently decided that he was going to quit heavy alcohol use cold turkey effective immediately upon arrival (surprise!). You can find burdock root in the bulk tea section at your local natural grocery store and use it as a tea until you feel you've made the transition to alcohol-free.
posted by aniola at 9:25 PM on September 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Refined sugar is defined by me as anything sweet with the fiber processed out of it. Honey is refined by bees. Maple syrup is missing the maple tree trunk.
Do not replace with artificial sweeteners. If you're eating anything sweet, your body will recognize it and crave more. Stick to foods that are high in fiber. And like mentioned above, drink lots of water. If you're replacing alcohol with food with fiber in it, you'll be getting more fiber. And if you're getting more fiber, you need to drink more water, because fiber acts like a sponge for water in your digestive system, so you can stay more hydrated, by you do need more water.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure that it was eliminating ALL refined sugars (not just cane sugar) that made it easier for me to quit refined sugar. I think this process would help you with alcohol, too.
Oh, and I also had temporarily quit all caffeine including decaf and chocolate. I am confident that that also helped make quitting refined sugar stick.
Generally speaking, these are the foods that I have replaced refined sugar with: beans, lots of bitter greens (ideally fermented, we need some kind of fermented food in our lives), carrots, fruit, potatoes/avocados, walnuts. Plus a multivitamin and iodized salt. I'm pretty sure that when I'm doing this, I'm getting most of my nutrients from food, and the multivitamin is just a backup. The carrots and fruit are for variety, everything else is meeting a nutritional requirement for me.
Here are food recommendations from an alcohol rehab center that showed up at the top of my search result. The recommendations all look reasonable to me, and they do this for a living.
Burdock root is used in herbal medicine when you're quitting alcohol. Which I learned when I looked into it when I had a guest show up for a week who had apparently decided that he was going to quit heavy alcohol use cold turkey effective immediately upon arrival (surprise!). You can find burdock root in the bulk tea section at your local natural grocery store and use it as a tea until you feel you've made the transition to alcohol-free.
posted by aniola at 9:25 PM on September 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
When I substantially reduced the amount I was drinking, I craved sweets, and also needed something to replace the evening drinking ritual (which, for me, was my Friday and Saturday evening “activity”).
So, decadent, elaborate, or otherwise just really satisfying desserts were a great new hobby. You could spend some time preparing or baking something new then take the time to enjoy it. Or go out to a cafe and enjoy a delicious pastry and a coffee drink on a Friday or Saturday evening. Or go to the fancy grocery store and pick up a new flavour of ice cream and dress it up with some whipped cream and other toppings. If you’re not craving something heavy then go and buy some fruit you never normally eat and cut it up and enjoy it. The key is to feel spoiled and satisfied, and to replace the evening drinking ritual with some other activity.
I also don’t diet and I practice intuitive eating, so I didn’t have any personal judgments about the relative “health” of the desserts I was enjoying. If you feel differently, you might want to choose a different approach.
posted by rodneyaug at 9:45 PM on September 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
So, decadent, elaborate, or otherwise just really satisfying desserts were a great new hobby. You could spend some time preparing or baking something new then take the time to enjoy it. Or go out to a cafe and enjoy a delicious pastry and a coffee drink on a Friday or Saturday evening. Or go to the fancy grocery store and pick up a new flavour of ice cream and dress it up with some whipped cream and other toppings. If you’re not craving something heavy then go and buy some fruit you never normally eat and cut it up and enjoy it. The key is to feel spoiled and satisfied, and to replace the evening drinking ritual with some other activity.
I also don’t diet and I practice intuitive eating, so I didn’t have any personal judgments about the relative “health” of the desserts I was enjoying. If you feel differently, you might want to choose a different approach.
posted by rodneyaug at 9:45 PM on September 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Back some twenty five years ago when I skipped out of being homeless what they did was ship you off to an AA residential rehab center for a couple of months. Long story there. The place I went was far far far from the resort by the ocean sort of place. It was in a bad section of town in an old hotel that back in the thirties or something had been a rather snazzy place. Three floors, a hundred or so people, cafeteria, ballroom, old wooden telephone booths, front desk, stairway, right out of old movies.
What they did was fatten you up with greasy filling farmer's breakfast sorts of food. Reminds me a lot of working residential dining at large university or school lunch. Freshman fifteen. See, most of the people that ended up there were off the streets or pretty bad off and they keep you full and pretty busy. It also depended on what the latest donation run had brought in. They did decent lip service to nutrition in general, veggies, fruit, oatmeal, that sort of thing. But also a bunch of like sausage, bacon, eggs, fried chicken, meatloaf, chicken fried steak. Probably more designed for the short time a month or two of the early days to get you up and going. Not very much life long healthy food.
Also, never been to an AA meeting that didn't have lots of coffee and lots of smoking. Don't try to fix multiple things at the same time. Do things one at a time.
There's probably a bunch of feeding a hundred or so people every meal and costs and other logistics in there somewhere. And also really scraggly people who should put on a few pounds stuffing down tasty high calorie belly filling food for a while.
posted by zengargoyle at 10:03 PM on September 3, 2022
What they did was fatten you up with greasy filling farmer's breakfast sorts of food. Reminds me a lot of working residential dining at large university or school lunch. Freshman fifteen. See, most of the people that ended up there were off the streets or pretty bad off and they keep you full and pretty busy. It also depended on what the latest donation run had brought in. They did decent lip service to nutrition in general, veggies, fruit, oatmeal, that sort of thing. But also a bunch of like sausage, bacon, eggs, fried chicken, meatloaf, chicken fried steak. Probably more designed for the short time a month or two of the early days to get you up and going. Not very much life long healthy food.
Also, never been to an AA meeting that didn't have lots of coffee and lots of smoking. Don't try to fix multiple things at the same time. Do things one at a time.
There's probably a bunch of feeding a hundred or so people every meal and costs and other logistics in there somewhere. And also really scraggly people who should put on a few pounds stuffing down tasty high calorie belly filling food for a while.
posted by zengargoyle at 10:03 PM on September 3, 2022
It's not quite dietary, but you'll want to be drinking when you're not drinking: lots of different things to drink. Try lightly flavored carbonated waters, teas of all sorts, hot and cold, spiced, sweet, sour or astringent; fruit juices to cut with carbonated water; clear hot broths as we pull into fall, cocoa and chocolate as well.
Variety and diversity is important. The impulse to drink alcoholic drinks is blunted by drinking something diverse when the impulse hits you. It has to have some element of satisfaction and pleasure in it.
posted by the Real Dan at 10:34 PM on September 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Variety and diversity is important. The impulse to drink alcoholic drinks is blunted by drinking something diverse when the impulse hits you. It has to have some element of satisfaction and pleasure in it.
posted by the Real Dan at 10:34 PM on September 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
I periodically give up alcohol for a few weeks or months to reset my drinking habits.
As others have alluded to above alcohol is a major source of sugar in the diet and taking this into consideration can help with staying off it. Personally I tend to eat more sugary food in the early period of sobriety, because it means I can focus my willpower on avoiding alcohol. However, I understand the logic of the poster above who suggests cutting out all refined sugar. You will know yourself what will work best for you.
My general strategy in the first weeks is to ensure to eat sufficient vegetables, greens etc. to be taking in a good amount of healthy food and beyond that to eat what I want. I like to eat high end chocolate while soaking in a bath filled with an outrageously expensive Lush bath bomb. Very luxurious, costs far less than a night's boozing. I taper off the overindulging as time goes on.
Spicy foods and drinks give a satisfying kick. The ritual around making, say, a big pot of homemade chai is also satisfying. Think of the foods and drinks from cultures that traditionally do not consume alcohol.
Good luck and enjoy the lovely feeling of waking up refreshed after several nights of sober sleep!
posted by roolya_boolya at 1:32 AM on September 4, 2022
As others have alluded to above alcohol is a major source of sugar in the diet and taking this into consideration can help with staying off it. Personally I tend to eat more sugary food in the early period of sobriety, because it means I can focus my willpower on avoiding alcohol. However, I understand the logic of the poster above who suggests cutting out all refined sugar. You will know yourself what will work best for you.
My general strategy in the first weeks is to ensure to eat sufficient vegetables, greens etc. to be taking in a good amount of healthy food and beyond that to eat what I want. I like to eat high end chocolate while soaking in a bath filled with an outrageously expensive Lush bath bomb. Very luxurious, costs far less than a night's boozing. I taper off the overindulging as time goes on.
Spicy foods and drinks give a satisfying kick. The ritual around making, say, a big pot of homemade chai is also satisfying. Think of the foods and drinks from cultures that traditionally do not consume alcohol.
Good luck and enjoy the lovely feeling of waking up refreshed after several nights of sober sleep!
posted by roolya_boolya at 1:32 AM on September 4, 2022
Firstly, sending good thoughts your way.
Personally, I ate whatever I wanted for the first month or so, which included a lot of sugary stuff. Ice cream, sweets, chocolate - whatever worked. For me, the sugar helped a lot, as did nice non-alcoholic drinks, as suggested above. Fizzy water, lime, coke, coffee, ginger beer etc. I went to McDonalds and bought chocolate milkshakes and didn't beat myself up about it; I ate chocolate mints and read old Stephen King novels, and reminded myself that as long as I wasn't drinking, I was good. My therapist and AA suggested to roll with it on the sugar cravings and, for me, they were right. After the first month, I started to focus on eating better and doing more exercise, and the sugar cravings subsided (as did the craving for alcohol, and I sincerely wish you the same).
posted by sedimentary_deer at 4:02 AM on September 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
Personally, I ate whatever I wanted for the first month or so, which included a lot of sugary stuff. Ice cream, sweets, chocolate - whatever worked. For me, the sugar helped a lot, as did nice non-alcoholic drinks, as suggested above. Fizzy water, lime, coke, coffee, ginger beer etc. I went to McDonalds and bought chocolate milkshakes and didn't beat myself up about it; I ate chocolate mints and read old Stephen King novels, and reminded myself that as long as I wasn't drinking, I was good. My therapist and AA suggested to roll with it on the sugar cravings and, for me, they were right. After the first month, I started to focus on eating better and doing more exercise, and the sugar cravings subsided (as did the craving for alcohol, and I sincerely wish you the same).
posted by sedimentary_deer at 4:02 AM on September 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
I stopped in May but I wouldn't say I had a problem before that- maybe just one drink per day and sometimes too many when going out. Anyway, I just started drinking a lot of sparkling water type drinks at home and 'fake' drinks when out. Fake wine etc. Eating candies also...maybe this doesn't answer your question which was about food- I just substituted drinks so it still felt like I was drinking "something" rather than nothing.
posted by bquarters at 7:34 AM on September 4, 2022
posted by bquarters at 7:34 AM on September 4, 2022
I have found kombucha is a satisfying substitute to pair with a meal that you might ordinarily want to pair with beer or wine.
posted by Polychrome at 8:04 AM on September 4, 2022
posted by Polychrome at 8:04 AM on September 4, 2022
I've been sober 4.5 years. I also gave myself permission to eat all the sugar to begin with (and gods, it was awful and really made me realize how much I had been drinking, I definitely had a problem and it is what it is). The sugar demon went back to my normal levels of craving (I've always had a terrible sweet tooth, which now that I think about it, probably lead to some of the drinking...) after a couple of months. But as long as I wasn't drinking, I didn't care about how much sugar I was eating that first summer, especially at social events when I would have otherwise been drinking heavily.
I also gave myself permission to drink all the La Croix / other fizzy water I wanted, because it was still cheaper and healthier for me than drinking. I should have bought stock in Diet Coke, too.
I tried kombucha one time early on, on the recommendation of a well meaning bartender, and it was way too heady for me; now it would probably be fine but I haven't tried it.
These days I eat a pretty bog standard Mediterranean-ish diet. Lots of good fat, 8 servings of fruits/veg a day, dessert when I want but trying not to overindulge in sugar, lots of fish, beef sometimes. I get at least 80 ounces of water/herbal tea a day.
Hops water and tea is my new favorite thing, because sometimes you just want a beer but can't have the beer. I haven't tried any alcohol free beers proper yet, because I'm also gluten intolerant and it seems the cross section of GF and 0 ABV is hops water and tea. Eventually someone will make an alcohol free hard cider (I know, I know, we call that apple juice, but it's not the same) and I'll be a super happy camper.
Margarita mix + tonic water makes a surprisingly effect mock margarita; the tonic water has much the same tang as tequila. Rim the glass, because as other folks have pointed out, a lot of what you miss isn't the alcohol, it's the ritual, it's the this is a treat, this is what I do on Friday nights. Haul out the blender and make yourself a daiquiri without the rum or don't hesitate to ask the bartender (if you get to the point where you can go to bars just to socialize, some folks don't ever but I can and I'm grateful for it) for their "finest Shirley temple" (they won't blink, half of them are sober these days too). Figure out what niche alcohol was filling for you (other than turning off reality, sorry, ice cream helps and I eat a fair amount of it but it doesn't turn the reality off, sigh) - was it a treat, a reward, a ritual, a social thing - and figure out what you have in its place that will serve the same function for you.
Good luck and hang in there.
posted by joycehealy at 10:19 AM on September 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
I also gave myself permission to drink all the La Croix / other fizzy water I wanted, because it was still cheaper and healthier for me than drinking. I should have bought stock in Diet Coke, too.
I tried kombucha one time early on, on the recommendation of a well meaning bartender, and it was way too heady for me; now it would probably be fine but I haven't tried it.
These days I eat a pretty bog standard Mediterranean-ish diet. Lots of good fat, 8 servings of fruits/veg a day, dessert when I want but trying not to overindulge in sugar, lots of fish, beef sometimes. I get at least 80 ounces of water/herbal tea a day.
Hops water and tea is my new favorite thing, because sometimes you just want a beer but can't have the beer. I haven't tried any alcohol free beers proper yet, because I'm also gluten intolerant and it seems the cross section of GF and 0 ABV is hops water and tea. Eventually someone will make an alcohol free hard cider (I know, I know, we call that apple juice, but it's not the same) and I'll be a super happy camper.
Margarita mix + tonic water makes a surprisingly effect mock margarita; the tonic water has much the same tang as tequila. Rim the glass, because as other folks have pointed out, a lot of what you miss isn't the alcohol, it's the ritual, it's the this is a treat, this is what I do on Friday nights. Haul out the blender and make yourself a daiquiri without the rum or don't hesitate to ask the bartender (if you get to the point where you can go to bars just to socialize, some folks don't ever but I can and I'm grateful for it) for their "finest Shirley temple" (they won't blink, half of them are sober these days too). Figure out what niche alcohol was filling for you (other than turning off reality, sorry, ice cream helps and I eat a fair amount of it but it doesn't turn the reality off, sigh) - was it a treat, a reward, a ritual, a social thing - and figure out what you have in its place that will serve the same function for you.
Good luck and hang in there.
posted by joycehealy at 10:19 AM on September 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
I quit cold turkey in 2018 and now sometimes drink one or two on special occasions. I lost weight (70 or so lbs) initially just by losing the booze calories and eating normally. I drank seltzer and cold brewed tea.
I discovered carb creep is really insidious during the pandemic/quarantine when I established a habit of stress baking and having dessert routinely. I've gained back probably 20 lbs.
Learn from my mistakes! Your body wants the sugars it remembers getting from booze...don't overcompensate with snacks and treats. You can do it!
posted by Otter_Handler at 11:05 AM on September 6, 2022
I discovered carb creep is really insidious during the pandemic/quarantine when I established a habit of stress baking and having dessert routinely. I've gained back probably 20 lbs.
Learn from my mistakes! Your body wants the sugars it remembers getting from booze...don't overcompensate with snacks and treats. You can do it!
posted by Otter_Handler at 11:05 AM on September 6, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by derrinyet at 8:44 PM on September 3, 2022 [2 favorites]