Mostly because I am training for a BJJ tournament in February. However, it is not as easy as I thought. I don't drink during the week normally but on the weekends it's game on. However, this weekend I abstained and noticed that on Saturday night right around the time I usually start drinking I got a very strong urge to go get some beer. I mean I was coming up with every excuse in the book as to why it was no big deal (on top of beer I smoke when I drink so I am quitting the smokes too). Anyways, I made it and I wanted to post something positive about not partaking. It's Monday morning and I feel great. I am well rested, hydrated and mentally focused and at times like these I wonder why I ever drink. I also got a lot done around the house this weekend including painting my front door and power washing 3/4s of the siding. Hell I even took the family for a nice little nature hike which my daughter and dog loved. I know this weekend will be another challenge so I want to start a thread about the positive sides of quitting. So what about it Mayberrians, if you ever quit alcohol in your life what upsides did you see in your life?
Yeah I am planning on stopping drinking for a little while too. Mostly to try to get in shape, but also because I have been drinking far too much recently. And I have felt that same "I usually start drinking now" urge.
I quit drinking last year after doing a weekend intervention for my secound dwi. It was not hard for me at all. I didnt drink often before this but my problem was limiting my intake once i had started. So i decided to stop drinking since i got my liscence back and cant get another one. Me and jail just dont mix well. Alchohalism runs deep in my family and im currently watching my sister drink herself stupid everynight of her life. Also my father has been doing this for as long as i can remember. Good luck! Quitting alchohal is tricky since its legal and not really frowned upon in our society, plus theres a bar on every corner. I wish you the best of luck.
Yeah, it's weird and for me it came out of nowhere. Honestly if I had not have told my wife about me quitting, or better yet to say if I didn't have to answer to anyone about giving in so easily, I honestly would have gotten drunk. Feels lousy to say that but it's true.
The funny thing is I don't even really enjoy getting drunk anymore. I feel shitty when trying to go to bed, feel shitty in the morning...but I still do it.
Thanks man, glad it was easy for you. I'm just the opposite, I can limit my intake to about 6-7 beers a night but I want my beer dammit. Alcoholism is deep in my family as well. All my brothers drink a lot but it's the same with them, nobody is blacking out but they drink almost every day. It's hard because to almost everyone I know it's no big deal. Actually, even from her side of the family I am going to literally get made fun of for not drinking by my father-in-law and his buddy. Actually, now that I think of it my dad was a weekend warrior as well. Not really drinking during the week but getting sloshed pretty much every weekend on a combination of beer and vodka.
Well, you made it through the first real test and are taking the rewards for it. Whichever semi-addiction you overcome, the sweetest moment imo is when you have resisted the temptation to fall back into your old pattern. So I think it will be easier for you from now on, at least thats the way it was for me. I'm still drinking alcohol mind you, only that I've learned a lot more to control my former binge-drinking habits. Among other things. And yes, when you wake up on a sunday feeling well rested, ready to get stuff done, that makes a huge difference.
Same thing here. It seems like something that's going to be awesome but once I start it's just kind of meh. Maybe it's like sex, if you do it all the time it's a non event.
That's a big deal. I would say this, for me, was a long time coming. I used to binge (12-14 beers on the weekend, 3-5 weekdays) before my daughter was born. But I couldnt just quit outright apparently so after she got a bit older I started drinking again but this time only 6-7 beers a night on the weekends and sometimes on really crapp weekdays I would drink 3 beers. I guess that might be whey mean when they say you have to quit over and over again till it sticks.
when i have a few days off drink i do feel loads better, refreshed in the morning.. that's it really. being sober is great but getting a buzz is great too.. i could never quit completely i don't think.
before christmas i was drinking about 7-8 cans about 4-5 times a week, but i have drank a lot more the past month due to xmas/new year, i'll slow down now and go back to just having a 8 pack at an evening, not every night.
I've thought about quitting altogether, but I've actually gotten much better over the past year or so. If I'm at home all week, I may only have 2-3 beers, all week. If I got a friend's to football or something, I end up drinking too much. There's something about having that company who's also drinking and having a good time that makes me wanna just keep 'em coming. Doesn't help that one particular friend drinks too much and is very generous with his beer. Like every time he gets a new one, he gets me one, too. It's honestly a waste of money for me to buy beer to take over, because he'll just continuously bring me new beers if I don't stop him. I usually end up having to repeatedly tell him I'm done or just pour them out into the sink when no one is looking. But I also have gotten tired of the sluggishness the next day. I just don't want to do anything productive and I also get depressed sometimes. The worst, for me, is drinking during some afternoon get together and then the tiredness that hits that night. Just makes me feel like shit.
I'm glad you mentioned that. I usually get some mild depression on Sunday/Mondays too and this week nothing, I feel good. As for your buddy it sounds like he wants a drinking buddy more than anything else. I have had plenty of them, only about one I would call an actual friend in hindsight.
there was a long term study that showed people who abstain completely from alcohol have the shortest life expectancy, followed next by heavy drinkers, and then by moderate drinkers. quitting alcohol will kill you, man.
They say you might have had a bit of a problem if you have to make a commitment to not drink for a month. I drink when I feel like it (mostly in summertime) and I've gone without drinking for 5 months straight almost without noticing it. There's no need for a pledge like that and 1 month really doesn't achieve anything if you go back to heavy drinking after that. LOL. This is your shtick now?
