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50 Before-And-After Pics Show What Happens When You Stop Drinking
"Everything in moderation" is a pretty good rule to live by, especially where alcohol is concerned. Obvious effects of alcohol on the body are high blood pressure (hypertension), which increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke, liver damage and increased risk of cancers. Another, not so noticeable effect of a drinking problem is that sipping too many Margaritas can also cause you to gain a bunch of excess pounds. There are roughly 200 calories in a pint of beer and about 230 calories in 100 grams of vodka.
When a heavy drinker gives up on the alcohol abuse, however, the physical metamorphosis is staggering. Take a look at these before and after pictures of alcohol recovery to see what we mean. Some of the people in the photographs are barely recognizable when compared alongside their former selves, and while some of them complemented alcohol rehab process with exercise, benefits of quitting drinking cannot be clearer by looking at these pictures.
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1 Year Sober
Thanks for sharing this. By the way, I'm coming up on five years sober (11/29/16). -Shane (Silverladder) fouryearss...b5e167.jpg 
1.5 Years Sober
I love the fact there is someone's hand in the first pict, like suportting hi
1 Year Sober
And that's just the outside. Imagine what it did to their brain ad liver.
1 Year Sober
6 Months Sober
156 Days Sober
3y 4m 17d Sober Together
Thank you! It literally saved his life and allowed both of us to have a life worth living.
95 Days Sober
1 Year Sober
4 Years Sober
1 Year Sober
120 Days Without A Drink
5 Months Sober
Look really young .. all you need is a smile on that healty new face :0)
5 Months Sober.
What A Difference 5+ Years Of Sobriety Makes! Sober Date: January 16, 2011. #recoveryrocks #iamtheevidence #gratitude
2 Years.
My father FINALLY became sober. I will always wish he had done it when I was a young girl.
So happy for you and your dad, Honey! He looks great!
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151 Days Sober
Good for you! On the left you are in a hospital bed. On the right you are fit and healthy. You should be very proud!! You rock, keep it up.
2 Years
19 Months Sober
17 Months Sober
1,368 Days Sober
15 Months Sober
9 Years Sober
1,5 Years Sober.
I'm thinking the photo on the left is the after photo, and the one on the right is the before photo! Just possibly...
13 Months Sober .. Not Only Did I Stop Alcohol And All Non Aa Substance I Also Stopped Drinking Soda.
You're so happy and making so many things happen! So stoked for you girl!
Before And ~6 Monthsish
8 Months Sober
Note: this post originally had 130 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
okay how about renaming this as "What happens when you reduce your caloric intake and/or get more exercise". i know plenty of skinny drunks.
And get a shave if you are a guy. ;)
:D
Of course if you're too drunk to exercise and care about what you're eating, this wouldn't have happened. Why can't you just be supportive of ALL the great changes that have happened for these people, as a result of their dropping their addiction? Do we need ask?
Look at their skin, not their weight.
you guys here exactly bring up my thoughts..... bs-post
Well you are reducing your caloric intake by not drinking. It also prefaced it by saying one took up exercise too. Its a completely personal decision for some of us who don't able alcohol consumption the way others do. I get severely bloated when I drink, eat badly and don't want to do anything . So when I don't It's a transformation. Nothing against normal drinkers, I wish I could be one, I love alcohol and I'm a bartender.
Me too. My friends drink almost daily and are quite thin/fit.
I Was a drunk, I've seen a huge transformation once I stopped drinking. Thank you for sharing your thought....I hope you understand that alcohol was a very needy friend of mine, that took a tremendous amount of energy to get rid of. I imagine it was the same for the people in photo, don't discount what they achieved just because you haven't gone through it.
Lol and they look like he'll. Who are you kidding
My "transformation" was just from not drinking. Little to no exercise before or after.
Guys, WHY on earth are you focusing on their weight??? It is so not about about that. It is about their health. look at their skin, eyes, their much healthier look. In all of these before and after pictures all I see are happier, healthier people, who have more life energy and look actually like they enjoy life. My dad is VERY skinny drunk... only one week of not drinking makes a HUGE difference. He gains weight, he looks much younger, his eyes radiate happiness, his mind is sharper. He simply looks human again. So get over your petty fat-non fat views, because weight is not the point here whatsoever.
Looks like the men learn to shave after getting sober and they all of them lose weight. The photo quality also seems to get a lot better :p
This guy is my friend and I've personally watched the miracle of sobriety transform him for the better, both spiritually and physically.
They can hold the razor/camera steady sober. God Bless all of them
Looks like no one understands how alcoholism works. Yes. Alcoholics do t take very good care of themselves. Hence the transformation.
I agree! :)
All the money they save from not buying alcohol goes to a better camera
lol
I've been a drinker and I've been sober. I saw this type of transformation in a friend after he got stopped for a DUI and quit. For myself, it didn't happen. I stopped drinking and didn't look any different but more important, I didn't FEEL any better. I didn't feel any difference. 'Everything in moderation' is a good rule to live by. But there is an innate need in humans to seek a higher state. Alcohol or drugs give a taste. It's my belief that we enter that state when we die.
Yes getting sober is mostly transformative when you are an alcoholic otherwise there would obviously be not much difference. Or there are other problems to be taken care of or unrelated issues. Clearly if you are counting the days of sobriety you got an issue. Anyone who sobers up from a drinking problem is likely to look much healthier because they are much healthier.
Jesus you are stupid being sober does change you your body gets healthier
I'm with ya.
The "innate need in humans to sell a higher state" is to seek out the love of the Lord Jesus. God created us to have that innate need to seek Him with our own free will. He desires a relationship with you. He loves you, every single part of you. Even the not-so-good, broken-down parts. There is no other love like that on this earth. We all seek to fill that innate need, blindly chasing that new high, whatever it might be. But ultimately can only find satisfaction in Him. I know because I've had so many different highs I was chasing. Now only the love of Jesus can fulfill that need.
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Got to agree, this is kinda pushing people to take the pledge, which is fine if you have an addictive personality, but like you I've been a drinker, given up, become a drinker again and I honestly do not believe that being sober changes you. There's nothing wrong with drinking as long as you don't do it all the time. I will drink maybe a couple of times a week now, maybe I should shave my beard off next... but maybe I like my beard... if only I could grow one!! *weeps* :p
Um...I'm 25yrs sober and I've gotten fatter. Sobriety can take off pounds but it's not a weight loss or prettification plan.
All those people look so much healthier and happier and most important so much more confident! Their strength and success is inspiring. Congrats on taking the steps towards a better you!
<3 there are comments here that are pretty defensive, but also true. Like " I know skinny drunks..." but in my own experience, if I drink, I miss the gym for 3+ days. AND I know that alcohol slows/prevents/drains vitamin C and folic acid (muscles like folic acid to become more flexible from what I understand). SO, I don't think this is a pushy article to stop drinking, it is just saying that not drinking has been a factor to these people getting healthier.
What a difference..well done
Everyone looks younger after they stopped drinking. I hope this serves as an inspiration for those who are still struggling.
Many looked less flushed, most looked less puffy and almost all looked more connected.
When I started dating a recovering alcoholic I stopped drinking in support. Unfortunately he relapsed a few months later. He became a different person and eventually it ended the relationship. It was an eye-opening experience though, I haven't touched a drink since 2009.
I wish I had photos of before I got sober and the year after, the improvement was obvious; but now at 16 year clean I am more focused on age
This guy is my friend and I've personally watched the miracle of his physical and spiritual transformation through sobriety.
Alcohol, in amounts which cause dependency, is so toxic to your body. Congrats on finding your way to live healthy.
They all look like different people after
Congratulations to all
Amazing love how these people have the "light" in their eyes after sobriety xxx
One doesn't simply be sober if born in Czechia.
Funny how your facial hair in these either disappears totally or really trims its self up after u stop drinking. Good job all of u still, that's a hard life to live.
Never really drank. Still fat.
Great !
SO PROUD OF ALL OF U!
Everybody’s eyes look so much more alive, and even if they aren’t smiling they look so happy and content. Good for you!!! 💕💕
Hi Bored Panda Just curious. Are white people the only ones that sent before and after pics?
it's all in the eyes and skin. The skin plumps up quite a lot when sober and you look WAY better.
ALL lose weight. Alcohol is really empty calories.
alcohol is a solvent, it dissolves cell membranes. but WHY people drink alcohol, and WHAT alcohol does are not linked, one is consequential to the other.
alcohol is a solvent, it dissolves cell membranes. but WHY people drink alcohol, and WHAT alcohol does are not linked, one is consequential to the other. Thank you for writing and sharing this!
slimmer but so what? still getting older... self-satisfied smirk is unsatisfactory substitute for seasoned soul
Interesting ....#7 must have bought s tshirt exactly the same in a smaller size
2 year sober DSC_5236ss...87a643.jpg
The photoshop on some of these are so bad. Looks like a 10 year old did it 🤷🏼♂️
Is this a community
Why is it not doing me?
It appears that the before pics are blurred and the after ones are sharper and somewhat filtered. But congrats to all
Congratulations guys
I gave up drinking like two years ago, but I never think so much about how much time has passed since. So I'm confused if someone says 1175 days sober or 3.85 years sober. It appears to me as if they still struggle a lot with this.
Fantastic!
I only wish any of these things happened when I stopped drinking.😢
Yeah. But lets keep Marijuana Illegal. Right?
What did they stop drinking? Food? I dont drink for 12 years now, but nope, still not skinny.... I guess they used the spare drinking time to exercise.
What did they stop drinking? Food? Yeah, they probably started exercising with that plenty of free time. Well, I dont drink for about 12 years now, but nope, still not skinny.
This has been the most touching post I've seen. I have/am struggling with alcohol I did 4 months sober and lost 40 lbs. I relapsed and it took a tear but I gained every pound back. This helps me see what was and how easy it can be to get back to being healthy if I give up alcohol.
I don`t get you guys I can be ugly and fat without alcohol :P
One cannot simply be sober when born in Czechia...
Look more like just stopping drinking. Must be an ad for weight loss.
You don't have to quit drinking. Just don't drink All HE TIME.Sjouldbt have to explain