Once I write something in the blog, it becomes automatically
law in my book. I can’t just go and tell you dearest blog friends about
something and quit after a while. I want to be accountable for it and I don’t want to lose credibility so
here we go…
In the next 3 months, no alcohol will touch my lips; I’ll
drink from a straw… kidding! I’ll be as sober as a monk, oh wait wrong analogy,
monk drink wine right? I’ll be as sober as a sleeping beauty. Make me think
I should ask to be put in a coma for
the next 3 months. LOL
So this is it, no alcohol until May 24th, I’ll
even add an extra week to make it easier to remember so it will be June
1st when I can have a drink to
all the sobers out there!
You might wonder “Richard, why would you do such a thing, why?”
My goal is to become healthier.
I’m a little excessive and I can’t
control myself when it comes to wine, if I
take a glass of wine I end up having a second one and sometimes I don’t stop
until the bottle or in some cases the
bottles are empty.
A whole bottle of wine is 600 calories. If I’m conservative,
I think that I drink at least half a bottle every 2 days. Let’s throw a few more in the count for good measure. So in
a month, I might have enjoyed 10 bottles.
That is 6000 calories or about 1.7 lbs per month.
I’ll take those 3 months to cleanse myself, it will also add
to the benefit that there will be no
headache the following days and I will be able to enjoy physical
activities. It will also be beneficial economically. The wine we drink is about
$13/bottle (in Canada) so 10 * 13 = $130 saved. How many happy meals at McDonald can I get for
this… never mind!
To be successful, I have developed strategies:
- Never walk in a wine store
- Remove the words “wine” from my dictionary
- Go to bed at 7ish
- If someone want to drink around me, they can’t they have to do their drinking 100 feet from me.
- Do not eat pasta
- Do not participate in toasting
- Put red dye in my water glasses
- Be ready with good answers when in social event people ask: “Would you like a glass of wine Richard?”
- “No I joined a cult
and we don’t drink.”
- “No I’m allergic to
the color red.”
- “No I’m the
designated driver”
- “No from Monday to
Sunday inclusively I don’t drink.”
- “No it would be
against my parole’s
conditions.”
- “No I don’t like you
and I only drink with people I like.”
- “No but if you have
drugs that would be great.”
Only 3 more months to go…
Great post! It put a smile on my face as I'm also doing the no alcohol thing.
ReplyDeleteGood for you FogDog, now that I have been sober for the past 18 hours, I can't stand drunk people!
DeleteIt's a good initiative :-) Alcohol is fine once in a while but if you ever take the time to see what happens in your body when it tries to metabolize alcohol, you might be put off of it forever. Once you're off of it for 3 (or even one) month, you might find you won't bother having it again. Or you might have it and find yourself thinking that you've had one glass and you don't want anymore.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you're trying to be healthier. I think good health is the one thing so many people take for granted (I did for so many years), but once it's not so good, it's the biggest thing you'll regret not having protected. I just have a few tips/strategies you might want to consider:
- Don't look at it as a diet or a short term thing. Make one healthy lifestyle choice each week. Let it become a habit. Incorporate a new change (however big or small it is) each week.
- Water, water, water. Have at least 2 litres of water each day. If you think you can't do it, estimate roughly how many cups you drink each day. 2 litres = 8 cups. You could make your weekly goal your current cups in a day plus one, for example. You'll find that once you start drinking water, to get your 2 daily litres isn't that difficult.
- Unless there's a specific reason (like not being able to stop at 1 glass of wine), try not to cut yourself off all indulgences as once. When we do this, after a certain amount of time, you might find yourself overdoing it one day on that particular item. If something is just uncontrollable for you, get rid of it from your sight, your reach, your life until you can gain more control over it than it having control over you. I have a food addiction. Having food in my cupboards/fridge at times is a difficult thing. The key is to keep the bad stuff away because if it ends up that I can see it, I will eventually eat it. A nice cake with fluffy icing from the Loblaws bakery should not sit out or it will go bad. I don't know how often I've tried to save a poor cake from going bad. :-P
- Just remember, if you do happen to fall off the wagon, don't be hard on yourself for it. Pick yourself up and get back on the wagon. Don't throw all your efforts away because of one fall - we're only human.
Now, if this comment disappears and doesn't post, you'll hear me scream. Oh wait, that'll make me cough. OK, you'll just hear me whine :-P
“you might find you won't bother having it again” let’s not talk crazy Elaine! Believe me, it is no bother and also how would I cut my hair… it’s not a job for when I’m sober!
DeleteWater? I heard about that before, that’s a liquid right? If my memory is right, something that has no flavour or color? Why would sane people drink that? Before you comment on that, YES I consider myself in the sane-ish group!
Seriously, I think I failed before because mentally I was not ready. I’m telling you, it has been over 3 weeks now and I changed 180 degree. Before I was focusing on exercise so that I could eat what I want (which was mostly in the wrong type of food). This time, I eat right and I don’t think about eating anymore. Big difference! Like before I would miss eating cakes, now I don’t even miss it. My birthday was a few weeks ago and I didn’t have nor wanted cake. Before leaving Florida to came back in this hell, I had a box of ding dong in the cupboard, I through them out, I rather it end up in a landfill somewhere than filling up my over-size waist line.
It’s not to say I’m cutting off everything and that I’m only eating seed right now. But I’m so happy with the choices I’m making that it over-compensate for the craving that I could have had.
I’m really surprise, it is so easy right now, I’m not on a diet, I don’t count calories, I only eat when I’m hungry until I’m full. I had French fries and one time chips, but in portion that had satisfied me. I had absolutely no dessert and to me who was used to eat dessert twice a day, it’s just amazing.
I can't fell off the wagon, I'm not on one LOL
Oh yes I forgot, I wrote this comment today: "A good plan is your best tool, just remember someday for some reason, the plan will get derail, it will not mean that you are off your track!" isn't it what you were telling me :))
DeleteCongrats! Because a bottle of wine is 600 calories, you could have decided that it makes a nice liquid supper. Deciding to cut it out is probably the healthier choice. ;)
ReplyDelete- WWE
What about lunch and breakfast?
DeleteWine makes a delicious breakfast, I'm sure!
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