(Topic ID: 251435)

Who here has stopped drinking

By jorge5240

4 years ago


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  • Latest reply 32 days ago by mrm_4
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    There are 693 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 14.
    #1 4 years ago

    I don’t consider myself an alcoholic but I do enjoy my drinks. Weather it is a party at the game house or sitting and sharing a bottle of wine on the deck with my wife.

    Usually I dry myself out a couple times a year (30 to 60) days cleanses. I am 15 days into a cleanse right now and feel so good, have so much energy but I do still enjoy me alcohol. I am debating weather to go dry permanently or dry most of the time.

    Other thing is I workout like 6 days a week and when not drinking I can push harder and don’t feel like I am wasting my efforts.

    If you have gone dry, how did it go what were side effects (socially, health, etc) Did you go back to drinking?

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    #2 4 years ago

    I have previously. My wife recently stopped and concurrent with that I’ve cut way, way back. Our life is much better. Our relationship is better. Life is better. Don’t want to ever go back.

    #3 4 years ago

    I haven’t had a beer in a couple years. I did it to try to aid my workouts. Meh, not much difference actually

    #4 4 years ago

    I stopped about a year and a half ago. No regrets. I feel a lot better, lost about fifteen pounds. If you’re on the fence try a sober month or two. I’d love to see the results!
    Personally I have no intention to start back up. I thought it would suck and it doesn’t.

    #5 4 years ago

    Never started. Could never comprehend why I should want to put something in my mouth that tastes like toxic waste & also makes me into not-me.

    #6 4 years ago
    Quoted from TZBen:

    I haven’t had a beer in a couple years. I did it to try to aid my workouts. Meh, not much difference actually

    I wake board at a pretty high level (lots of spinny flippy things and notice even with two glasses of wine the night before I am lazy and don’t want to hit my head. Maybe it comes with getting older (I am in my early 40’s).

    I am enjoying the last couple weeks dry.

    #7 4 years ago

    I stopped two years ago and love it.

    #8 4 years ago

    I used to be a partier BIG time, basically from the time i was 19 to my early 40s. Spent half that time in rock bands drinking, smoking weed, some chemicals sprinkled in here and there (girlfriend/wife was the same way). I remember trying to limit myself to just drinking on the weekends, and it was HARD. At some point though, I was outgrowing it and she wasn't.
    Got divorced around 15 years ago, and the new girlfriend didnt really party at all. There were some bumps in the road, took me a few years to really hit the brakes, but for the last 10 years or so I probably have a beer half a dozen times a year or so, and only half of those do I actually get "drunk" (Expo/Chicago is one of the rare occasions I allow myself). I think most of it has to do with the fact that hangovers absolutely suck anymore, and I just don't want to deal with one.

    Don't really miss it, but at one time I could never have imagined only having 12 beers a year instead of a night.

    #9 4 years ago

    I love wake boarding and living an active life as well. 13 years ago I stopped drinking and it has made all the things I enjoyed doing that much better. Flippy/spinning things hurt a bit more at 40+ plus and I need all the help I can get these days. . My experience is it has been worth it for me.

    #10 4 years ago

    I quit for two weeks straight last month. Holy shit that was hard, but a huge wake up call. Never felt better. Amazing how fast weight and bloating dissapear from the body. I have cut down since and plan to abstain more in the future.

    However, todays my birthday...

    #11 4 years ago

    I quit every once in a while.

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    #12 4 years ago

    Cheers!

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    #13 4 years ago

    I stopped a few minutes ago. Now time to start again.
    But seriously, I drink one or two beers a day after I get off work. Never had a problem or had any kind of health effect from drinking. So it's hard to understand why people have to just quit drinking altogether. But on the other hand. My own brother had to quit drinking completely because of the effects on him.

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    #14 4 years ago

    To all of you who have stopped drinking: I'll drink to that.....

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    #15 4 years ago

    I can’t imagine life without a beer fridge in the garage.

    #16 4 years ago

    I'm taking September off from drinking alcohol by sticking with coffee and lots and lots of water. Monday night league and weekly tournaments are always environments full of drinking since they take place at bars, and I decided I need a break for my wallet, and my mental & physical health. So far, I am noticing I am playing much better pinball as of late, but I am not sure if it can be attributed to the non-drinking or not. I guess time will tell!

    #17 4 years ago

    My professional and creative hobbies require maximum *vitality* from me to give them my best every day. Now that I'm well past my early 30s -- (when you can still easily recover from anything you dump down the mouth hole) -- every little smart move you can make counts towards maximizing vitality.

    The liquor finally had to go... My ex-gf inspired me to "try" sobriety (what a square idea, I know...) 'low and be old'... it turned out I preferred it... Shocker.

    Now, if they ever invent a version of booze that doesn't make you feel tired, and slow you down the next morning, sign me up!

    I drink a few times a year just to remind myself what a great decision I've made for me. =) And for a cheapskate like me, it's a cheaper lifestyle than 2 drinks a day !!! Also -- that's less cardio I gotta do to maintain my hourglass figure, so it's back to...

    The cons WELL outweigh the pros for me in this phase of life -- it's not even close. If I were 21, maybe that's not so much the case... It could in fact be the opposite back then... I had a lot of fun drinking with friends and going out to dinner... I'm glad I have those silly memories (well at least the ones I can remember).

    Having the *flexibility* to optimize your life habits (at every age) is big part of feeling good. Do what's best for you this year, not what was best for you 10 years ago...

    -mof

    #18 4 years ago

    My wife had to stop. (self medication) so I stopped a couple of years ago. Never went back. I loved my Blue Moon (with a lemon) and still do! But only once in a Blue Moon! I was drinking couple beers a night each week. Stopped cold turkey. I generally feel better now without alcohol. Do what is right for you brother, everybody is different.

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    #19 4 years ago

    Haven't had a Jack and Coke since last night.

    #20 4 years ago

    Stopped 6 years ago.
    I drank for 40 years.
    I did nearly everything with a beer in my hand.

    Had a lot of great times. I also embarrassed myself on more than one occasion.
    After drinking for so long, I was surprised that I did not miss it.

    #21 4 years ago

    Mostly drink.now when only I am on vacation. I drink a rum and coco-cola only in a red moon.

    #22 4 years ago

    Or a vodka and pine-apple juice. I like that but only when pine-apple juice is on sale. Its so darn expensive.

    #23 4 years ago

    I quit at 2am. but I am ready for a beer now. Cheers!

    #24 4 years ago

    Out of nowhere, I just stopped. Didn’t enjoy it anymore. Don’t know why. I noticed an immediate change in everything. For the better. Right off the bat I lost 30 lbs. enjoyed eating more, talking to people more, excercisinng more. I still occasionally really enjoy more than a few drinks if I’m with old friends, but I highly recommend trying to take a break.

    #25 4 years ago

    Stopped about a 1 1/2 yr ago. Having a closet alcoholic for a wife will make never want to drink again.

    #26 4 years ago

    It is a toxin...but worse than that is the quality of the ingredients...much of it being GMO & pesticides

    And that stuff just makes you fall apart

    #27 4 years ago

    I would say to any of you, if you haven't tried it, don't start. I've never done hard drugs, or pot, or even a cigarette. I do like beer/alcohol though. If I'd never have tried it, I wouldn't know. And that would be for the best. I made it about a month eating and drinking clean. Without a doubt, it was the best I've felt in a long time.

    I like beer a lot, but it is the f'ing worst in terms of weight gain and how you feel the next day. Vodka is not nearly as bad, but I much prefer beer "in the moment".

    #28 4 years ago

    I need professional help but choose not to seek it. Cheers.

    #29 4 years ago
    Quoted from V_piscopo:

    I need professional help but choose not to seek it. Cheers.

    All kidding aside, I hope that's not true. I'm fortunate that I can go on a binge and drink way too much and not feel the need to drink again anytime soon, but I have known some good people who have addictive tendencies and even though I joke about not being an alcoholic-because alcoholics go to meetings- it is sad how some fall down the rabbit hole.

    #30 4 years ago

    Interesting post. Thanks for bringing it up. I am a big fan of craft beer, so I have a couple pretty much every day. To offset the extra calories, I don't eat bread, or pasta, or sweets and generally TRY to avoid overeating and 'empty' calories. I like all of those things. But, I'd rather have a beer.

    #31 4 years ago
    Quoted from albummydavis:

    Out of nowhere, I just stopped. Didn’t enjoy it anymore. Don’t know why. I noticed an immediate change in everything. For the better. Right off the bat I lost 30 lbs. enjoyed eating more, talking to people more, excercisinng more. I still occasionally really enjoy more than a few drinks if I’m with old friends, but I highly recommend trying to take a break.

    If you don't mind me asking. How the hell much beer were you drinking to lose all that weight by stopping drinking?

    #32 4 years ago

    They call it a beer belly for a reason...

    27
    #33 4 years ago

    lol I am a recovering alcoholic/ drug addict....been clean and sober for almost 31 years........best thing i ever did.....the second best thing was buying my house and paying it off.....what a ride!

    #34 4 years ago

    Stopped smoking weed for a few weeks so far. Mainly stopped because I work from home and don’t feel like going into my DC office and I stock up when in DC.

    Lost 13 lbs without even trying because no late night snacks and I would always drink when smoking. Ended up naturally stopping the drinks each evening as a result. Always good to cleanse for a bit anyway, lungs are clear, head is clear, sleep is MUCH better and can remember my dreams again.

    Side effect is I don’t play my pins as much as a result. Next time I *have* to go into the office (2 hours each way, train and metro involved), I’ll buy weed again. But nice to take a break from both.

    #35 4 years ago

    Ive kicked drinking alcohol two years ago. In germany theres a lot of good beer. I was hardly drunk every weekend and two or three beers daily in the week over years. It was not my fault, the beer was too good.The older I get the longer my hangovers went. I had done a lot of sports before I was drinking hard. Smoked only weed sometimes. And I can easily say alcohol is much more destroying your health than anything else (if you do it too much). I dont know how it came, but I stopped drinking from one day to another. I hated this alcohol so much at the end, that I even loved it to go through the the first bad time without it. Now I feel so great. A few weeks ago i also stopped smoking cigarettes too. The only thing i could imagine is smoke some weed sometimes.

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    #36 4 years ago

    My wife stopped drinking when we got married, 22 yrs later she still doesn’t swallow.

    #37 4 years ago

    I’m trying... have been successful for a day or two, but we always seem to have something in the house. If the definition of addict is “continuing a behavior in the face of major negative consequences to one’s life”, I have not hit that yet. But it’s in the DNA, and I am a generation, a sibling, a touch away from it being reality. Cheers to those in recovery, those lucky enough not to have the gene have no idea how hard it is. One day at a time

    #38 4 years ago
    Quoted from triumph:

    To offset the extra calories, I don't eat bread

    Been years now since I had a sandwich. Pasta rarely but that is about it. Beer is my bread. I am 5'7" and 145, so ok. I have never been to a gym, no need to. I stay active splitting firewood for myself, and cutting grass for several friends for my exercise. Screw paying a gym when I can make a few bucks and stay fit.

    #39 4 years ago

    I quit drinking once for 4 years. I started again because the long term risks are a better bet than the short term ones of sticking a needle in your arm. Plus now I can afford pinball machines.

    #40 4 years ago

    Drank my last beer 26 years ago. Never going back. Don't miss it a bit. Especially don't miss the hangovers

    #41 4 years ago
    Quoted from JohnnyPinball007:

    Screw paying a gym when I can make a few bucks and stay fit.

    The view in the ones I've been to is usually pretty nice. Makes the $25 bucks a month well worth it for me.

    #42 4 years ago

    If you can afford pinball machines, you don't have a problem.

    I'm no friend of "Bill W."

    #43 4 years ago

    Thanks for the all responses. Really good info here.

    I will not probably quit cold turkey but will probably cut back to only special occasions (vacations, celebrations) once my 60 days are up and go from there. I can see a point where I just don’t do it at all.

    One area that was not mentioned much is the effect on your social life. I spend a good amount of time on a lake and all my friends drink beers and have some wine at night. We are all in our late 30’s early 40’s, professionals, with small children, so I am interested how that dynamic will change.

    Will be interesting to look back on this thread in 6 months/ a year.

    Thanks again for contributing.

    #44 4 years ago

    Never was a “heavy” drinker, but would have a glass of wine or beer after work regularly enough. I started to notice that on the nights I had alcohol, I felt like complete garbage in the am, so I cut way back.

    Lately, I find myself sticking more with the non alcoholic options, even on nights where I plan on having a drink. I want nothing more than to eat crappy food, lay around without exercising, and drink anything I want, but the scientist in me can’t deny how much better I feel when I do all the “right” things. D’oh!

    #45 4 years ago

    One other note I am wakeboarding better right now at 41 than I have in atleast 15 years. Landed two new drinks yesterday and got absolutely crushed a couple times and was able to handle it.

    Feel a little sore this AM but my mind is clear and ready to go again!

    #46 4 years ago

    My wife was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her leg on Friday from wakeboarding. She was doing the 60 days with me and was pretty depressed about it so she has had some wine the last two nights. Not going to lie it looked really good but I was able to abstain.

    #47 4 years ago

    I would love to virtually quit drinking alcohol but I just love the taste and the buzz I get from it, have tried to cut down but it’s very hard.
    Doesn’t help when you buy fresh kegs of delicious European lager
    50 now so getting a bit too old for the amount I drink. If there was a pill to stop drinking I would probably take it.

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    #48 4 years ago

    I respect everyone’s stance on alcohol. Oddly enough, I went the opposite direction from stopping drinking to starting drinking. I played a particular sport from 3 until my early 20s, didn’t drink my first beer until I was 21, even then they were few and far between. Spent the majority of my time with trainers and eating clean, a lot of time in physical therapy thanks to 5 knee surgeries, thus there was little want to even bother with alcohol.

    Now that I’m in my mid 30s, wife, and multiple kids, settled down completely, I enjoy drinking a beer a couple of times a week, but there’s times I’ll go 2-3 months without drinking and not realizing it. I rarely go past 2 drinks in a sitting and can count how many times I’ve actually been hungover or just outright drunk. Mainly I’m into trying different craft beers, local options when I travel, but absolutely loathe being inebriated so it’s easy to not drink in excess. Truth be told, my body and overall lifestyle balance feels 100% better today.

    #49 4 years ago

    I stopped drinking all hard alcohol about 10 years a go, and have no regrets. My buddy's love it because I have so much nice scotch they can sample when they stop by....Having a few beers or a few glasses of wine a couple times a month is perfect for me...combine that with working out 6 days a week, and I feel pretty healthy for being in my early 50's

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    #50 4 years ago

    As a career bartender, I can tell you that drinking is like the law of diminishing returns.

    You drink one and it feels amazing. But number two and three never feel that good.

    The amount of money wasted on alcohol will shock you when you stop.

    The guys that I could never understand are the big guys that drink like 8 Mich Ultras... Get yourself 1 good beer and be done with it.

    There are 693 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 14.

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