Booze is probably hampering your weight loss (and other hard-to-hear facts)

TW: Talk of alcohol, marijuana, addictive eating, rape/molestation

If you drink in any significant quantities, that is. And no, I don't mean just people with alcohol use disorder (who may, in fact, be thin because after a while they kind of stop eating and just drink).

I used to drink a bunch on weekends. Think 5-10 drinks depending on how hard we wanted to go. That lead to "drunchies". There is scientific proof that consumption of alcohol makes you hungry. At this time I was probably ~45 lbs. overweight despite running a whole bunch and walking to work every day.

Eventually, a couple things happened that lead to my weight loss (~35 pounds that I have kept off for over a year):

1. I got therapy. CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS ENOUGH. You gotta know WHY you overeat if you want to tackle it. Common reasons as examples: A person was molested/raped when younger and feeling bigger and stronger helps them feel safe; Your family celebrated everything with way too much food and now you associate food with love (me); You have a disorder that causes impulse control issues like ADHD (also me); you grew up in poverty; etc.
2. I read a quote by Portia de Rossi (paraphrased): "I learned how to put the chips down because I finally realized they would always be there." There was a part of my brain that was living in a place of scarcity. I grew up poor. This is relevant. The chips will always be there. You do not have to pound the whole bag.
3. I "quit" drinking. That's in quotes because I will still occasionally have up to 3 beers once a quarter or so. Frankly? I switched to marijuana and have been able to stave off munchies with the rest of this list.
4. Wellbutrin. I could be crazy, but I feel like this drug fucks with pleasure centers. It's a known smoking cessation drug and I tried having a cigarette on it once (I smoke maybe one a year). It literally didn't hit like it used to. It tasted like shit with NONE of the benefits. I have a hypothesis that it works in a similar fashion by cutting off rewards for overeating. PLEASE NOTE: I STARTED THIS DRUG FOR DEPRESSION, NOT WEIGHT LOSS. This drug might not be for you for a variety of reasons. Talk to your doc about it.
5. I watched Secret Eaters. This fucking TV show taught me more about our obesity epidemic than any fucking scientific paper I've read. Basically, they follow people who want to lose weight around for a week, secretly filming their eating and drinking. These folks always insist they're sticking to under 2,000 calories a day, and they believe it. They are not lying. Turns out, when they truly add up everything they're eating and drinking throughout the week, they were ALWAYS in an INSANE surplus, calorie-wise, like 600+ per day. It held up a mirror that I have not been able to push away. When last I looked, you can watch it on YouTube (it's a British show).
6. I eat really slowly and make sure the portions are about the size of a fast food burger (that includes ALL food on my plate). Your stomach takes about 30 minute to realize it's full. If you're halfway through your plate and think you're still hungry, put down your fork for 30 minutes. You probably aren't.
7. Breakfast and lunch are usually a tiny bowl of cereal and either something super low calorie like a salad, or nothing if I want to have a big dinner.

My appetite no longer rules my life. I'm able to pretty much eat what I want. Am I still carrying like ten extra pounds? Yep, but this is good enough for me.

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