A question about quitting alcohol and appearance...need help!

[mystik]

Hi everyone, I eat about 60-70 percent raw (have gone back and forth a bit) but I have a question that maybe some here can help me with.

I am a female (30 years old) and you can say that I have been a heavy drinker for the past ten years. I don't look or act like an alcoholic but this is one of the reasons I decided to incorporate raw into my diet.

I have a slight issue. I notice that when I quit drinking and eating healthy, my face looks bad. It looks skinnier and I bit dull and my features are not enhanced. It's so weird. When I go back to drinking it looks healthy and I have a glow. This is all while im eating raw too. Same thing happens with junk food. It's so frustrating.

Anyone have any reasons as to why this may be happening? If it is indeed detox then how long can it take for me to have a good looking face again?

Thanks

[Aleesha Sattva]

it probably is detox... and also if you hydrate your skin with lots of water (drinking it)... that would probably assist you greatly.

;)

[T-Bird]

withdrawal?

[EZ rider]

I personally think the condition of the skin is a reflection of the condition of the intestinal tract. When the gut is over whelmed with toxins they can start using the skin as an exit. Raw food is better at whisking the toxins out then cooked food is. For an example of this just look at the difference in the fiber of a raw carrot and a cooked carrot. IMO, if you want clear skin eat plenty of raw foods.

[DopeRawAbundance]

it probably is detox... and also if you hydrate your skin with lots of water (drinking it)... that would probably assist you greatly.

;)

Well its like you said Aleesha... lots of water makes the organs ache, it happens to me lots.

Mystik, I also noticed the same phenomena, I look/feel glowing when I wake up from a night of alcohol binging (just happened this morning), here I am sipping some Carlo Rossi (it might be raw maybe? Who can challenge me?). I've heard other people report the same thing. Its hard to pinpoint exactly what happens, sometimes I'm opposed to the alcohol and sometimes I'm drawn to it... many a time have I woke up in the morning feeling super-circulated because I drank the night before... its very confusing when you always hear about alcohol being poison yet it offers you a feeling you rarely feel when sober... I dunno man alcohol or not it doesn't matter, just keep a positive mindset and see where that gets you.

Ya know it gets me thinkin... maybe the drinkers with trashed livers eat way too much junk food? Maybe they drink way too much processed alcohol? Maybe they mix it with processed beverages? Rum 'n coke or some'n? What about some raw organic red wine?

I've used alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) to clean pipes, maybe alcohol acts as a cleanser in your body too?

Just some food for thought ya know you can see how long it takes to digest this.

[Queen Bean]

does your face always glow when you drink alcohol/eat junk food, or just when you've been raw for a while and then go back? it happens to me too sometimes...that is...if i'm raw for a while and then eat some cooked food... maybe the alcohol slows down the detox and the reason you don't look your best is that your bloodstream (and thus all the capillaries in your face) are full of toxins... i've heard that you can look worse before looking better. also, wasn't it david wolfe (or arshavir ter hovannessian) who talked about the true and false body in nature's first law? ie your face vacillates between two very different faces. for me it's almost like different people. one is sweet and innocent looking - almost childlike...the other not so crash hot... but then there have been many times when i've had the sweeter version and been raw for a while...and then i eat cooked and i can see my face transform pretty much instantaneously...

[Stina]

Hi everyone, I eat about 60-70 percent raw (have gone back and forth a bit) but I have a question that maybe some here can help me with.

I am a female (30 years old) and you can say that I have been a heavy drinker for the past ten years. I don't look or act like an alcoholic but this is one of the reasons I decided to incorporate raw into my diet.

I have a slight issue. I notice that when I quit drinking and eating healthy, my face looks bad. It looks skinnier and I bit dull and my features are not enhanced. It's so weird. When I go back to drinking it looks healthy and I have a glow. This is all while im eating raw too. Same thing happens with junk food. It's so frustrating.

Anyone have any reasons as to why this may be happening? If it is indeed detox then how long can it take for me to have a good looking face again?

Thanks

What does an alcoholic look like? The disease has millions of faces of a wide variety of ages even down to children, hiding in nursing homes of the elderly furtively drinking and misusing their pain meds, strikes all cultures, all religions....both genders, rich and poor, homeless to professional. How does one stereotype how an alcoholic acts other than raising that bottle to their lips over and over and over.
My prayers are you with mystik. It's hard to deal with and if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to e-mail me.
Peace from Oregon

[Azaria]

I don't drink alcohol but on the rare times I have coffee, I just look radiant...histamine reaction and high blood pressure make for a nice flush. I'll go without the poison and look normal, personally. I look pretty radiant after a hike though. That I will keep :)
I am finding this whole thread rather interesting. It seems to me a bit of a disconnect between how things look and the reality of how things are. If I flush with anger that ain't a good thing....radiant or not!

[mystik]

Wow, so I’m not the only one who feels this way lol.

Stina, I did not mean to convey a stereotypical image of “Alcoholics”. Instead, I meant to say that I don’t look like or act like the typical “Hollywood alcoholic” since that’s the image that most people seem to familiarize with. It is unfortunate. I should have reworded it differently. But in any case. I don’t look my age. I look young and am quite energetic but I am sure that my liver has taken some what of a beating from all those years of drinking therefore, I want to quit and work on repairing my liver. But as soon as I quit and eat healthy, my appearance changes.

I have no idea what it is. Perhaps it is the sugar in the alcohol that makes my face a little fuller therefore giving me more of a healthier look? When I quit, my face gets slightly thin, my eyes get a little sunken in and my skin looks unhealthy. It doesn’t help that I am self conscious either. And It’s not my own perception. People look at me more and compliment me more when my face is glowing and not when it’s not.

I quit drinking and ate 70 % raw for 2 months and I was breaking out a little but, as soon as I went back to SAD and started drinking again, my face looked healthy again. I hate it because I don’t want to eat junk and drink. I will try to ride it out and give it time. But any suggestions would help.

And thanks for all the suggestions so far. I will take them all in to account.

[Poke Salad]

I've experienced this phenomenon many times.

My theory, as others have mentioned, is that it is associated with detox.

When your high raw the body is often cleansing bad stuff through your blood stream and this can often be reflected by a less than radiant appearance.

But by eating something nasty you stop this cleansing process for a short period so in the short term your skin may look radiant as a result of the previous cleansing your body has done.

But of course, long term you're just delaying the whole cleansing process.

[EternityRider]

As with any addiction, withdrawals & ensuing detox
can look bad. Then when the offending substance
is continued, things look "normal" again, simply
because you remove the withdrawals,
and/or the detox process.

In the long run, the alcohol will be ruinous on appearance,
but the detox will restore and beautify.

As a former wine lover myself, I sympathize
Just be patient with nature's ways.
Blessings..

[Kate Sudarkina]

When a heavy drinker decides to quit, how long does it take for your body/face to permanently show the benefits of not over indulging and keeping a healthy diet ? What I noticed is that when I go a week or 2 with no alcohol, my face looks puffy and drawn out. Just old. After I drink again, a normal healthy look returns to my face the next day.

I know this must have much to do with the body ridding itself of toxins.

For most of my adult life I have been a consistent drinker. Approx 18-20 beers a week, sometimes more.


I usually drank to the point when I could definitely feel the effects. I'm 39 and I have decided that it wastes too much time and has obvious health problems. I'm just bored sick of drinking. I recently went to great measures to improve my diet and started going to the gym.




_______________
Kate Sudarkina
Indian Sweets (http://www.ambalafoods.com/)

[sport]

You have got to look beyond this and recognise that in the long term the alcohol will have a seriously detrimental effect on how you look.
It is very ageing.

[domestic goddess]

My mother is an acoholic and though for years she looked young and glowy, it is now starting to RAPIDLY catch up with her and she looks horrible. Not to mention her innards are pickled.

I really don't think alcohol is EVIL in moderation, as in once in a while, once a week, etc. I personally rarely drink, but it just doesn't sit well with me.

I guess what I am trying to say is though it may feel good or make you look good *now* that isn't going to fly long term. You may look crappy after you stop because your body is trying to get rid of all that poison. Alcohol dehydrates you as well, which would cause you to look crappy a day later if you don't do something to counter that. Once you are off alcohol more than you are on, you may find that with a good diet and staying hydrated you are radiant without alcohol/junk. Just sayin... ;)

[arrty]

I'm going to have to disagree. Are you sure it's not just the "beer goggles" making you and everyone else look good?

Before college I never touched alcohol and I think I looked much better before. But it could be a combination of drinking and eating unhealthy sodexho food. I've given up alcohol completely for the past month, and gone raw this month as well and I've already noticed a ton of positive changes.

Ive always had moderate acne and very oily skin since i was 12 or 13, and after juicing for a week straight this month I went through a heavy break out for a day or three and then cleared up completely. My skin is even kind of dry now. I think my image has improved greatly for going raw. My body even smells kind of sweet lol

[mallow]

Ugh... Sodexo is the worst!!!


Maybe your "alcohol look" has to do with your hydration levels after imbibing. I have slightly hollow cheeks, which looks nice on me, and after I drink they are fuller. Like I'm retaining water.

[mallow]

Oh, what do you eat in terms of overt salt?

[mystik]

For heavy drinkers who quit, how long did it take to see the effects of eating raw? What were some of the benefits (ie. clearer skin, etc..)?

I need some motivation =)

[cornvalley]

Hi everyone, I eat about 60-70 percent raw (have gone back and forth a bit) but I have a question that maybe some here can help me with.

I am a female (30 years old) and you can say that I have been a heavy drinker for the past ten years. I don't look or act like an alcoholic but this is one of the reasons I decided to incorporate raw into my diet.

I have a slight issue. I notice that when I quit drinking and eating healthy, my face looks bad. It looks skinnier and I bit dull and my features are not enhanced. It's so weird. When I go back to drinking it looks healthy and I have a glow. This is all while im eating raw too. Same thing happens with junk food. It's so frustrating.

Anyone have any reasons as to why this may be happening? If it is indeed detox then how long can it take for me to have a good looking face again?

Thanks

Maybe your drunk when making assessments. :D

No accounting for pale, but drinking alcohol & SAD eating make for a lot of water bloat and tend to round out features that would tend to be more defined when not eating and drinking unhealthfully.

And surly it take months of consistent behavior to have the body settle into appearing healthy all the time. You didn't say how long you've been abstaining from the unhealthy behaviors. 10 years of heavy alcohol use is not paved over quickly.

If you want to speed up the transformation fasting on water with appropriate rest, a little daily sunshine for a few days to a week. Then the diet will really have a good place to start from.

[PammieTaj]

I think alcohol may be a vascular dialater(sp?). So the alcohol causes the blood vessels to expand, thus giving the drinker a rosy glow. It also messes with hydration, liver function and who knows what else.

If you feel you have a problem with alcohol (one is too many and a million not enough) and you want to change that, I'm sure you can find help with AA, your medical doctor, or your church.

[CathyA.]

I'm a former drinker. I can tell you this. The transformation is remarkable. Give it some time. Not everyone reacts the same. My skin looks better than when I was in my twenties. (I'm 38) Also, emotionally...drinking puts you in a negative place. (IMO) Not optimal for one who is trying to get on a higher vibrational plane by eating raw. And....even if your skin never got to the place where you would be happy with it....your body will love you for not polluting it.

[Rawcstacy]

Definitely detox. Alcohol dehydrates you, so take plenty of water. Also it leeches minerals from the body so at least take a balanced supplement. My three cents.

[Gab]

Mystik....
Been there, done that. Did it again. Been there again. I've done 25 years of it.
Can I private message you? There's some things I prefer not to make public.

How do I get in touch privately?

gab

[mystik]

Hi Gab,

I would love to talk with you! I really need support right now. However, I don't see an option for private messaging :(. I'll email the moderator and ask.

[Gab]

... to hearing back from you on this.

gab :)

[mystik]

Gab,

Check your public profile page.