The Wagon

[sabotlours]

No. This isn't a post about a song by Dinosaur Jr. Right after BLFC, albear and dexter_fox said that they were going to go cold turkey when it came alcohol. It put the idea into the back of my mind, but I had AlbuFURque and the 4th of July on the horizon. After those 2 parties I decided that I would join Al and Dex on the wagon for at least a little bit. I'll probably want a drink when we take our eclipse vacation next month, and we'll all hop off the wagon when we go to Europe in September. But I wanted to do an experiment to see just how much of an alky I really am. I have been a self-proclaimed "booze bear" for many years. I almost get embarrassed when I read through old LJ posts from the early 2000's and see just how many nights I spent drunk in front of the computer screen. I make no bones about how much I enjoy alcohol. Over the years I have switched from beer, sometimes made by myself, to martinis, to wine, and lately my new poison, bourbon. I don't like fru-fru drinks. I like my booze as unadultered as possible. But there has always been this little voice asking if I was an alcoholic. The old joke is that alcoholics are quitters. I'm just a good old fashioned drunk. I watch movies where alcoholics are abusive assholes. I have seen the Oscar-winning movie from the 40's "The Lost Weekend" where getting the next drink is an obsession. I just finished reading the novel "Under the Volcano" where the main character gets physically ill if he doesn't find the next drink. Compared to those stereotypes I am a long way from there. Compared to a tea-totaler, however, I'm probably close to WC Fields. And I really hate those self-righteous folks that think if you have more than one drink, you have a problem. No, I treat booze like everything in life...moderation. I still hold the basic principal that you should want a drink not need a drink. To me it is one of life's pleasures to sit on the patio in the evening with a bourbon on the rocks, preferably with a sprig of mint picked right from the garden. The downside to all of this comes down to putting empty calories into your body as well as putting an unneeded strain on your liver. So I wanted to see if there was any difference to my health, or at least feeling of well-being, without booze as with booze. Thus I began my little experiment about 2 weeks ago. So far I have not seen any difference in my health. I'm sleeping about the same. I have the same energy level. I don't feel better or worse one way or the other. I have found my cravings similar to what I have heard about smokers. Having a drink just before or with dinner had become a habit. Like a smoker needs to have something between his fingers, I needed to have a cup/glass in my paw. I just switched to soda that had been left over from previous parties. When I started thinking about all of those calories, I resorted to water. Now I drink a ton of water every evening. While it may be much healthier, it does make for many more late-night trips to the toilet. I have also noticed that I get triggered by media. If I'm watching a movie, especially a western, I get cravings when a cowboy walks into the saloon and asks for a whiskey. To a lesser extent it also happens when watching a movie about 1920's or 30's socialites when they ask for a martini. But so far will power has won out. Do I miss it? Yeah. I do. As I said, it has been a part of who I am for a long time. I do enjoy the flavor of a good bourbon or gin. I just want to prove to myself that I am not too far down the road to ruin. The old adage "I can quit any time I feel like it" actually means something. On the other paw, if it is truly something that makes life a little better, why deny yourself that pleasure?

Comments

[mondhasen.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'll spare everyone the story of my alcohol 'descent' and just say you sound like you're in control, still. And as you say, everything in moderation.

Try flavored seltzer as opposed to water (my go-to brand is shown):

[sabotlours.livejournal.com]

The whole bottled water craze makes me sick. Above everything else I'm a Jewish bear who hates spending money needlessly. I saw some fancy-pants water the other day that was selling for over $2 a quart. That's just plain stupid. I also laughed when I saw a bottled water advertising that it has healthy minerals in it! You mean just like tap water?!? The only time I drank "bottled water" regularly was when I lived in Yuma where the tap water truly tasted disgusting. But then I was paying 20 cents a gallon for filtered water.

[mondhasen.livejournal.com]

Bottled water is frightening. I laugh that we use good, clean, potable water to flush toilets and wash cars, and run to the store to buy who-knows-what branded water to drink.

We only buy bottled water as a reserve in case we lose power, hence the well.

[albear.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ha! Sabot you're such a snowflake! You get triggered! Kidding aside, isn't it crazy about the extra calories and the cost of alchie? We figured that the new puters' we got recently will be paid off from the money saved from beer in 20 weeks.

Unfreakingbelievable about that wasted money thinking of it.

[sabotlours.livejournal.com]

Soon you'll get to the point, however, when saving money just stops making cents. (*lol* See what I did there!) You do start to think with more fatality when you get older. Oh boy! I'm going to have the best quality diapers in the old folks home! Life's too short to drink bad whiskey. Let's just have ourselves a great time exploring pubs in London.

[albear.livejournal.com]

You mean to say the diapers with the 24K gold thread and 1,000,000 diamond filament absorbent nanotubes?

We will have to break the dry spell in England, that's for sure. But back to the boringness once we return. As for drinks in the house I started getting 2 liter bottles of Diet Fanta, Seven Up, Squirt, and Sunkist. Since I'm a Juuuu I snatch them up cheap when they are on sale from .69¢-.79¢ each.

[allaboutweather.livejournal.com]

You're doing it right, Sabot. Always in moderation. :)

A handful of beers a year is all I need. XD

I would've never thought you'd essentially give up drinking but hey, it's healthier drinking water anyway. ;)

[sabotlours.livejournal.com]

It's just a short-term experiment. As I said, I want to make sure that it's always "wanting" a drink and not "needing" a drink. Plus I wanted to experiment to see if it was detrimental to my health. If I don't lose significant weight or feel 10x better without booze, then what's the point of denying myself a little drink.

[allaboutweather.livejournal.com]

Ah. I highly doubt you'd ever completely give up drinking! ;)

I'm still a bit jealous about you guys going to Europe! I really want to go to Germany! :)

[dexter-fox.livejournal.com]

We attempted a similar cut-back a few times as well, but it seems that our default setting is either fully on the wagon or consuming more than we really ought to. It's tough for us to stick with a low level for very long. And while there's nothing wrong with enjoying a few drinks, our sobriety has turned out well for us also.

[sabotlours.livejournal.com]

I, too, have found out that it's hard to simply cut back. I tried switching from whiskey to wine, but I ended up drinking more wine. Having no alcohol in the house forces me to seek out non-alcoholic options. When I step off the wagon next month I'll just have to adhere to my strict 3-drink maximum. I have found that 3 whiskeys in a particular small glass is just about the right amount to give me a nice mellow buzz without feeling like crap the next morning. 4 tends to push me over the edge. And I have found that I have a seriously delayed-reaction metabolism, be it with food or drink. By the time my brain signals my stomach that full has been reached, I have already consumed more to the point of then feeling bloated or with drink, to the point of drunkenness.

[bearwithin.livejournal.com]

There seems to be conflicting evidence on how bad alcohol is in terms of health and whether a small amount might be beneficial. I've heard its linked with cancer. Maybe it will be like smoking - in the future we will find out it's really bad and the industry was covering up the evidence. But I do find a glass of wine with dinner is good for reducing stress and anxiety, and I don't think the risks or side effects are worse than any prescription medications we could be taking instead. Moderation, as you say!

But I've definitely started to think that heavy drinking is likely bad, and it disturbs me when I see it in movies and TV shows being used for dramatic effect (particularly to make people look cool). Like smoking, it has lost its glamor for me...

(Edit: Actually I never saw smoking as glamorous on screen. I am of the age that was raised to see smoking as horrid).