Yes, I believe it is very normal, or at least was for me to have a desire for sugar products after I stopped drinking. Booze is full of sugar, and when I took that away from my body, it was calling for it during my first week sober. And even today after over 5 yrs without a drink, I still have a tendency to eat more sugar filled foods.
I have found tho that it is impossible for me to crave something unless I have already had it in my body. I can and do get a desire for certain foods, but am unable to actually 'crave' until its been in my system.
I believe it is recommended that newly sober ppl keep candy close to them to handle the sugar cravings ( withdrawls ) that are experienced by some in early sobriety.
Hi Suzanne and welcome to the board. Alcohol is sugar and we are also sugar addicts to an extent. Our brain runs off of glucose and it's essential that we have good complex carbohydrates to maintain healthy mental functions. Part of the problem with drinking alcoholically is that we suffered from mal-nutrition and sleep deprivation, both which severely affect brain function and lead to poor decision making, depression, fatigue....
You have this wonderful tool (computer+internet) that you can use to research nutrition, exercise, good sleeping sleeping habits, and vitamins and food supplements for recovering alcoholics. Incorporate a good balance of healthy meals, vitamins, and exercise into each day and your life will change dramatically.
Yes! Glad you mentioned that. Just had some M&M's. Good news: doing a lot of exercise to quiet the inner dialogue so I guess the candy does not matter.
Suzanne, Welcome to the board. I crave sugar more now than ever before, especially at night. I guess I have some information as to why this as happened by reading the posts above. Thought that it was just my age or something. Learn something new every day if I keep an open mind. Good to hear from you.
2-cents worth on this: sugar metabolizes like alcohol and is a significant factor in all kinds of health and mood problems for some people...a great book is Sugar Blues...another is Eating Right to Live Sober. Sugar used to be looked at as an aid in early withdrawal/sobriety, but that's old news..."bad data" as they say. Current treatment advises against sugar (but thank HP caffeine is no longer quite as frowned upon as it was a decade ago LOL). Increasing sugar to replace the alcohol is not a good thing to do at all...kinda like we used to put butter on a burn and now we know that's the wrong thing to do, even harmful...same deal with sugar & alcoholism...and holds true throughout "recovery", not just the early phase. Too much sugar, even during long-term recovery, can physically set the body up for the relapse process.
I also had quite the nasty sugar cravings, but they passed too...drank lots of green tea and plain water. Have you ever tried Stevia? It's a natural product (not nutrasweet stuff) and helped me with the "I need a sugar buzz" demons in my head. Tastes nummy too. Christine
I use only stevia (sweet leaf brand). It took a month or two to get used to but once your brain accepts it as a sweetner, it doesn't know the difference. If you crave sugar, eat fruit.
I was warned about this and thought it was malarky until at about 2 months sober it did hit me and I literally started craving sugar like crazy. I used to hate cake, chocolate, and ice cream...now I love them. Goes to show how sick I was...it has balanced out some. I don't scarf blueberry muffins all the time now, but I still sometimes have to run out and buy sugary cereals to munch on...usually Honey Nut Cheerios...like it's a serious jones I have to satisfy...either way, it beats booze that's for sure. I should look into that diet book cuz my diet sucks (no gay jokes pls thanks lol).
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hey Pete...for what it's worth, the sugar ride even includes fruit...and especially fruit juice...too much fruit will do the same to a diabetic or recovering alcoholic as that glazed donut!
What do I do when the sugar or desert crave hits? Either I have 1 small square of high-quality dark chocolate (YEAH!) or three mini-Oreo bites (not so good, but hey!!)
PS...I've lost 50 lbs since becoming willing to apply what I know intellectually, to myself physically, regarding paying more attention to my nutrition (in a year & a half) and feel much better in my sobriety as well as less prone to emergence of my other disorders.
Missing pancakes with real maple syrup and a large glass of fresh orange juice...a small price to pay.
Has anyone else experienced sugar cravings after stopping drinking?