Gaining Weight in Recovery: Why is it so Common?

Eating healthy and exercising are super important. Regardless if you’re in recovery or not! You may not have cared in your addiction to make proper meals or work out. And I get it, your priorities were in other places. But now that you’re in recovery and working on bettering yourself, what better way than working on your diet! If you noticed weight gain, or you aren’t feeling as energized, try revisiting your food consumption and exercise. Go to a local gym or work out from home. Prepare proportioned meals, cook food instead of microwaving frozen meals, and find the healthy organic ingredients! You’ll start to feel better about yourself.

Ugh, how can we say no to binge eating? It’s.. so.. good.. But it’s also unhealthy! Sometimes in recovery, we substitute our past addiction with another. Overeating, exercising too much, smoking, binge eating, etc. It’s a common problem and there are ways to prevent that from happening. But if you’re having trouble and you’re finding yourself binge eating a lot, that can be a cause of your weight gain. Lower your binge eating, or binge a healthier snack. 

People with substance abuse addictions also have a high risk for eating disorders. It’s something to look out for, and if you feel you might have one, reach out! If you’re seeing yourself eating more, or eating way less, it’s an indication of an eating disorder. Talking to your doctor and asking for advice is a great solution, and hopefully, you’ll be able to gain insight on techniques to help you eat normally.

Most often than not, meetings will display a beautiful plate of high sugar snacks. People can indulge in the cookies, donuts or chips while they talk to each other. And say, you go to one meeting a week. That’s one meeting where you are giving into the peer pressure of deliciousness. Don’t give in!!! Encourage the meeting holder to display healthier snacks, or eat before you go to the meeting so you’re not hungry.