Pounds lost doesn't match appearance
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Anonymous
| I was a heavy drinker who made the decision to significantly cut back over the course of the past year. I'm an average sized woman who went from having about 25 drinks per week at my worst to a maximum of 5 per week currently (and often more like 3). Even though it's been a gradual process, I look and feel much healthier but there's one thing I don't understand: I've only lost 3 pounds. Part of why I find this perplexing is because I look a solid 10 pounds lighter, clothing fits me better, and people have noticed and commented on my weight loss. I've been exercising and watching my calorie intake but realize I could be a bit tougher on myself (I'm currently 5-10 lbs away from my attractive, pre heavy drinking weight). Does anyone have any good explanations? Thanks in advance! |
Anonymous
| Less bloating and swelling. My face is always fat after a night of drinking. |
Anonymous
| If you've been exercising, you might have gained muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. A good thing. And many congratulations on reducing the drinking!!! Keep it up. |
Anonymous
|
You may have put on muscle. Also when you exercise, your muscles retain water.
Don’t worry about the number on the scale. And good for you, OP. I was your before and have taken steps to gradually decrease, but I fell off the wagon this week. Taking today to detox and getting back to lots of water, healthy food, and exercise. |
Anonymous
| If you want to lose weight, cut out all alcohol for a month and see what happens. |
Anonymous
|
I have been through a similar puzzling change.
I gained about 10 lbs in the past two years and this time last year felt awful. I am still average to sort of thin but it was not the usual me. I stopped drinking so much, cut back on high-calorie foods a bit, and stepped up my activity a little bit...I'll be honest, not a lot. While I have probably only lost a few lbs, I feel better. I look better. My clothes fit better. My stomach is less flabby. I don't know. It's puzzling. I try to go by the way my jeans fit and not my scale. Otherwise, it's just too confusing and makes me question the fact that my clothes really do fit! |
Anonymous
|
How old are you? If you're around 40, your metabolism likely shifted independently of the drinking thing. I gained 13 lbs in 4 months right before my 40th for no apparent reason, despite daily exercise and a decent diet.
I'm still a normal weight, but I admit, it bugs me to see 155 on the scale when I was always 140-145 before age 35. |
Anonymous
| The alcohol thing is a myth. It is calories in vs. calories out. You may be supplementing your alcohol with snacking. |
Anonymous
| Heavy drinkers are generally quite malnourished. This can affect every part of your body. It’s great that you’re getting healthier and stronger. Keep it up. |
Anonymous
| Who cares what the number is. You are doing great and looking well so keep it up... |
Anonymous
|
Firstly well done - that's quite something.
Secondly, have you replaced the sugar calories from the alcohol with sugar calories/ carbs in food? |
Anonymous
| Good for you. I agree with the bloating. You look great, keep it up. |
Anonymous
Yeah, because drinking alcohol has zero effect on your weight, health and appearance. 
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Anonymous
| Do you have a lot of weight to lose? There are some really good studies out there that the less you have to lose, the more the scale will just move slowly, especially for females, and a lot of it is hormone related. I remember in particular one discussion that a female preparing for a fitness competition who was on a strict "cut" didn't see any scale loss for almost 8 weeks. But they were taking regular measurements and she was getting smaller. |
Anonymous
| What are you drinking? the sugar intake is still probably a huge amount but wow 25 drinks a week? congrats on cutting back maybe join a support group to not go back to that because they have probably been there done that and can help you more |