Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Salathor wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 31, 2023 4:30 pm

Quitting entirely was easy, but limiting myself to like one drink on the weekend is impossible.

That might be my situation. I am giving moderation a try; since mid-December, I've set a limit of less than one drink per week, and so far it's actually been pretty easy to stick to. But if this doesn't work long-term, I'm going to have to quit entirely. There's a good chance my reluctance to cut alcohol off completely means that's what I need to do.

Dakotan wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 17, 2023 9:06 am

Good luck! I don't think reluctance to abandon something is *on its own* sufficient evidence that you need to give it up (or everyone would be giving up coffee and all sorts of other pleasurable but worth-the-risk vices), but it certainly could be the case. You're doing better than me if you've stuck with it for that long. For me, it was a question of "If one is okay on the weekend, why not one during the week?" I couldn't find a reasonable line that both FELT true and was easy to stick with, other than giving it up. Of course, I also was not drinking so much I was physically dependent, so quitting totally was pretty easy--probably comparable to kicking any other bad habit.

Salathor wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 17, 2023 7:31 pm

Good luck!

Thanks! I guess I feel like if something is a luxury, I should ideally be able to let it come and go from my life without feeling much either way. I've never been physically dependent on alcohol or anything like that, but I did quit smoking about 18 years ago and the experience solidified my thinking on this type of thing and perhaps spooked me a little, or made me more cautious. A simple pleasure or fun vice is a treat, but I shouldn't start to count on it, rather it should be an optional addition to a satisfactory life. A luxury should never become a need. A need is a weakness.

No amount of alcohol is healthy, Big alcohol is a huge lobbyist, and advertising and campaigns heavily all over to keep people consuming.

I was more conscious about how alcohol was affecting me after taking six weeks off and reintroducing it in January. I don't drink during the week, but have a habit of overindulging on some weekends. I think it was affecting my sleep later in the week. I also think it was making me more anxious - with somewhat of a mental hangover.

I've decided to abstain for another 2-3 month period. After ten days I've noticed a significant increase productivity. I am also a lot more disciplined with my diet. I've been sleeping great for the last week. These changes seem to reinforce each other and create a bit of a snowball effect in terms of my physical and mental health.

This time around I'm trying to be more aware of introducing replacement dopamine inputs (sugar, television, etc.).

2Birds1Stone wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 26, 2023 2:26 am

And today will be the start of month five with 0 alcohol.....one of the best choices ever.

I know you've been tracking health metrics for a long time 2B1S. Care to share how removing alcohol has impacted your physical health, workouts, and mental health?

Western Red Cedar wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 01, 2023 10:13 am

Care to share how removing alcohol has impacted your physical health, workouts, and mental health?

Sure, happy to share.....

Better sleep, more sleep, much easier to fall asleep (I also started implementing some of Hubermans sleep routine as well here, guided meditation and getting natural light around sunrise and sunset).

Resting heartrate went way down, way less erratic day to day.

DW says I never snore anymore.

Energy levels are much higher as a baseline, as is motivation to do physical activity. Without those mornings where you just feel those 2-4 beers you had the night before, your workouts tend to be more consistent. HR during cardio dropped too, so overall a very positive impact on cardiovascular health.

No noticeable change to strength or lifting endurance.

Mood definitely more balanced, still ups and downs but higher lows and maybe a slightly lower highs. Much more contentment and satisfaction of day to day life. No longer drinking out of habit or boredom, has opened up so much time for other pursuits. Libido higher.

Certain people in the social circle fell away, others have been inspired and taken a look at their own consumption.

Overall it has been a huge net positive to health, mood, physical enjoyment of things.