One Year Sober Today
I'm 5'2", 38 years old. I was 175lbs in the Ugly Christmas Sweater picture, and 153lbs this morning.
I got sober because I'm an alcoholic and my alcohol use was ruining my life. Getting fit was just something I was able to do because I was sober.
From June to December of last year, I replaced alcohol with sugar and didn't exercise. I didn't really gain any weight, but I didn't really lose any weight either. Getting sober was really hard, and I focused all of my energy on just not drinking for the first few months.
Once I hit 6 months of sobriety, I started to get interested in goals other than "just don't drink." I wanted something sustainable, so I set my deficit at 250 calories a day. I tracked calories pretty closely for the first month or two, but I'm pretty ok with just eating the same thing every day, so once I figured out what worked, I stopped counting.
I bike to work, do hot yoga 3-4 times a week, have a lightly active job, and generally just try to make my whole life a bit more active. I've tried to create a whole life that is sustainable - I eat cookies sometimes, I drink soda sometimes, I lie on the couch all day sometimes. I take breaks when I'm injured, and I sleep more when I'm tired. I try to listen to what my body needs and give it that.
I weigh myself at the same time every day, which is beneficial for me because I can see day to day swings of up to 5lbs that are the result of hormones, stress, exercise, and hydration among other things. I also take body measurements and usually see the measurements drop before the scale changes. I've seen a lot of body recomp over the last six months, and most importantly, I feel strong. My GW was initially 145, but I was pretty happy with how I looked at 160, so now I'm just keeping the habits that make me feel good.
Quitting drinking improved my whole entire life. I'm really proud to be celebrating a year sober today.