Why What You Eat in Early-Sobriety Matters
If we go by the saying “you are what you eat,” then, in active addiction, most of us weren’t anything too hot. Hey, that analogy works on a metaphorical and a literal level!
All jokes aside, I ate very badly when I was drinking and drugging. A healthy diet was pretty low on my list of essential things. It took a backseat to getting money, getting drugs, getting booze, getting high, getting more money, getting more drugs…I think you get the idea.
So, when I was in rehab and the nutritionist started talking about eating healthy, I zoned out. Eating right wasn’t important to me. Guess what? I paid the price!
I ate bad and I felt bad. I ate high fat foods and gained weight. This last point, gaining weight, is especially important when we consider recovery from eating disorders and other harmful behaviors.
To help women avoid my mistakes, I’ve put together a list of some foods to eat in early-sobriety. I also jotted down some foods to avoid. Bon appetit!
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Do Eat Veggies
There’s no downside to eating your vegetables! They’re packed full of vitamins, nutrients, and minerals. They’re pretty yummy (except for Brussels sprouts, I never could get into those!). They give us sustained and healthy energy.
Years of destroying ourselves with drugs and booze takes a toll. Eating veggies is a good way to begin to heal our bodies. Besides, if we eat good, we feel good. It’s that simple.
Don’t Eat Fast Food
I’m as guilt as anyone of living on the Taco Bell and Wendy’s diet. There were years, literally years, where I ate nothing but fast food. Guess what? Those years stank!
Fast food is processed food packed with salt, sugar, fat, preservatives, and chemicals. While none of those, with the exception of chemicals, are harmful in moderation, they’re toxic in large doses.
Consider that a Big Mac has ten grams of saturated fat, 960 milligrams of sodium, and nine grams of sugar. That’s not too healthy!
Do Eat High Protein Foods
The only upside of fast food is how much protein it contains. A Big Mac has twenty-four grams of protein. The crappy stuff in it far outweighs the good, but that’s a decent amount of protein.
Protein is made up of amino acids, which are essential for our bodies’ health and regeneration. Want to know the fastest way to start feeling better after a binge? Eat a grilled chicken breast.
Don’t believe me? Try it out. After all, there’s a reason body builders go crazy for protein.
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Don’t Eat High Fat Foods
This one is linked with avoiding fast food. Stay away from foods that are loaded with fat! They taste delicious, I know, but they do nothing good for our bodies or mood.
Fat is a tricky food group. Monounsaturated fat and fatty acids are actually very healthy. Saturated and trans fats, on the other hand, are dangerous for a few different reasons.
First, they clog the arteries and lead to heart disease. Second, they lead to obesity, which brings with it a host of health concerns. Finally, eating saturated fats contributes to the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
Do Eat Fiber Rich Foods
Fiber is great. It fills us up and keeps us regular. It promotes stomach, colon, and bowel health. There’s not really a downside to eating fiber. So go get some!
Do Drink Water
Last, but certainly not least, we need to drink lots of water in early-sobriety. Water keeps us hydrated and is essential for all of our body’s functions. After all, we’re made up of around 55% water. Seems kind of important to keep drinking it!