I’ve decided to give up alcohol for the month of March. Why? A few reasons…
- Lose weight – It’s no secret I’m stuck on a weight loss plateau. I’ve increased my exercise to 4-5 times/week and I do a decent job at watching what I eat, but I can’t break loose. I’m hoping I’ll see a difference when I ramp up my riding in the spring, but adopting a “wait and see” attitude isn’t good enough. If my exercise isn’t going to increase beyond where it’s at now, I have to decrease my caloric intake. What are my primary contributors? Well, I like to go out to eat a couple times a month, I’m addicted to carbs (read: pasta) and I love drinking. All these factors contribute significant levels of calories but I’m not in a place where I’m comfortable changing all three. Curious about just how much my drinking habits impact my health, I’m gonna start there. Any bets on if I’ll lose weight and if so, how much?
- Triglycerides – I had a physical last week and this was the only item of concern. I eat a lot of fiber, I try to keep fat minimized, I don’t eat red meat (generally) or a lot of dairy and yet it’s still high. There are some genetics that go into it, but I can’t use that as an excuse. Since the sugars in alcohol can be converted to triglycerides, reducing intake can only be good for me.
- Tolerance – Mine is problematic in that it’s fairly high. Ever since grad school, my tolerance has been at a level where it’s either difficult to achieve a buzz or I’m able to drink far more than your average person and still be functional. Were I in college, I’d be proud of this… but now it just means I spend more money and consume more calories. Taking a break from drinking should help bring it down to more normal levels.
- Commitment – I want to see how hard it is. Yes, I’m well aware that pregnant women and people with liver disease have it much tougher than I do. I have little doubt I can go a measly month without drinking – that’s not the point. The point is I want to see how hard it is for me to go a month because it’s an indication of how much of a part of my life it is. I’m fully open to the idea that it’s too large a part, so I’d like to understand it better. Besides, I only ever drink on weekends so we’re talking a mere 8 days here… right? For what it’s worth, I thought about doing this two months ago and didn’t because of parties I was attending/having in January and February. No more excuses.
I’m not a fan of absolutions and I tend to think most vices are fine in moderation, so this will be interesting. See you on the other side.
Good work, dude!
Good for you, bro!! You can do it…