Gained 25lbs over normal!

[MacMan]

I am miserable with my physique. I have always been quite fit and still weightlift x2 per week; however, in the last 6 months I have developed a very large waste. The tissue is very think and I cannot poke my finger through to my ab muscles. I never thought it would happen to me - but the physcial affects of being an alcoholic are taking it's toll. Loathing one's own physique can do one of two things; encourage one to quit or discourage one enough to buy the next 6 pack. I try to rotate my drinking from beer to wine and an occassion pint of vodka - this is only a smokescreen to myself. I'm sick of it all and wonder "why me". I feel that at 52 my life has been wasted and the good guy that I am inside goes unrewarded and un-noticed due to this disease. I got to escape.

Blessings to all. . .

[Preciouspinot]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

MM...sorry to say the rotating doesn't really work. Although some forms might have fewer calories our bodies turn the alcohol into sugar in the end.

[MKR]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

Dear MM,

Welcome, I hope you stick around. Quick story, never have ever seen my husband drunk, but he was drinking at least 6-8 beers a day and hard liquor when he wanted to for years. In January with his fast approaching 50th birthday he decided to get back to the gym for weight issues. He is a very large boned, huge muscled kind of guy. He has now decided to drop the beer intake where he drinks only on weekends and rarely even his 6-8 on those days. He is now in a 36 waist band down from a 40 by only cutting out his beer and simply being a bit more careful with his portions. He will always be big muscled big boned guy but he is getting really slim in his waist. Dropping the beer for the calories alone is a very good thing and as PP mentioned, alcohol turns into sugar and wasteful calories.

Good Luck!!

[AAthlete]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

MacMan, one of the great realizations that I've had is it is never too late to start over.

I've been AF for 21 days straight and roughly 55 out of the last 60 and have honestly not felt this good in a long time. In that time I've also dropped from 215 down to 190 lbs, and the whole exercise/not drinking process seems to feed off of itself - one enhances the other.

[abevel]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

please do it now

MacMan;133477 wrote: I am miserable with my physique. I have always been quite fit and still weightlift x2 per week; however, in the last 6 months I have developed a very large waste. The tissue is very think and I cannot poke my finger through to my ab muscles. I never thought it would happen to me - but the physcial affects of being an alcoholic are taking it's toll. Loathing one's own physique can do one of two things; encourage one to quit or discourage one enough to buy the next 6 pack. I try to rotate my drinking from beer to wine and an occassion pint of vodka - this is only a smokescreen to myself. I'm sick of it all and wonder "why me". I feel that at 52 my life has been wasted and the good guy that I am inside goes unrewarded and un-noticed due to this disease. I got to escape.

Blessings to all. . .

please, see a liver specialist asap. i just had a transplant april 13th. one of my first symptons was water weight. it sounds as though your liver is beginning to shut down. i know this may be scary, but please do it! Maybe you are lucky enought to caught it in it's early stages. i was not. keep me posted.
ab

[weemelonhead]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

Hi Macman....yup, the waist is where it piles when your diet revolves around the booze.....
As Ab says, this is part of the bodies protection for your poor old liver as it strains to cope with too much alcohol.
Aside from the unwanted weight gain, there are many reasons (all of which you probably tell yourself everyday) to cut down/stop the drinking...and if that's your goal dear, then you've come to the right place.
As you cut down on the drink, you will naturally lose weight, and the reduction in your sugar intake will also make it easier for you to stick to a healthier diet generally, as you will not keep requiring a 'quick fix' sugary carby top up to keep you going.
Have a root through the focus on fitness section of the boards if this is the area you will be focussing on when looking to change your body and lifestyle, there are great tips on ways to ease yourself into a manageable program to get yourself on track...the more you do, and the more results you see, the greater the willpower to keep it up I find..

Go on MM...treat yourself to a new bod....as AA says...it's never too late!
Weemelon

[MacMan]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

Thank you all for the kind words and wonderful advice. I am going to hang around and look deeper into the board. I hope to make some friends and "cross my Jordan" soon.

God bless y'all.
mm

[samadhi]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

abevel - I know someone asked you this question before on this board and I don't remember if you answered it. Did you have liver function tests before you found out you had cirrosis and were they normal?

[angellina]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

I agree with abevel - please go and get liver function tests done and abo exam, it may be ascites - the build up of fluid around the waist from liver damage.

But hopefully it will just be weight gain-I have lost 19 pounds in 4 weeks the last two weeks totally AF.
I was taking in 3000 calories in alcohol alone - a woman should only eat 2000 calories a day in food. So I was eating 2000 calories and 3000 in alcohol, doing very little exercise.

Hence, good weight loss now, although I still have more than double figures in pounds to lose. Horrid, I just woke up fat one day - all those drunken nights I didn't even notice I was getting fatter and fatter.

I am still too big to do much exercise but I am increasing exercise every day.
Hope you get sorted, don't worry you have taken 1st step.

[Andy1111]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

Try an AA meeting, my friend.

[hereatlast]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

when i was pregant with my youngest 9 yrs ago i gave up drinking stright away well it gave me up couldnt do it at the end of my pregancy i weighed 28 lbs less than the beginning i then gave birth to an 8lb 6oz baby so that says it all unfortunatley as soon as i stopped breast feeding i started drinking again it all came back. now i have lost 9lb in 28 days and thats not even trying so heres hoping !!

[hart]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

((((Macman))))

I hear you bud. Try being a woman and gaining 20 lbs!! My husband gained the same amount. We drank 12 beers or more a nite so even with it being lite thats about 1200 calories and guess what....didn't feel a whole lot like exercising after drinking that much

I'm only AF day 3, but I've already lost four pounds. I'm not eating less, probably more, but no booze and I started becoming more active again. Don't know about Joe but you guys always losing weight easier, he probably lost even more

So hey guy, we all will be babes and hunks soon staying AF and exercising more, just in time for bathing suit season

[Rusty]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

Hi MacMan,

I know the feeling....I have put on 60 pounds, and I am only 5'3....all because of alcohol and I work out like a fiend! I'm so disgusted with myself, but I am going to change...today! GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

[Rocky]

Gained 25lbs over normal!

Mac...

Change your PAST.