Quitting drinking is easy. I do it all the time…
On a serious answer to the question though, I have not had a drop of liquor in the past 3-4 months. I was getting to a point last year where I think I was turning into an alcoholic, drinking at least 4-5 nights a week. When I found out I had a kid on the way, I made the decision it was best for my wife and future kid if I cut that shit out and put that money to better use. I also don’t want to be that guy who comes home drunk at night and subconcisouly teach my kid that is how a man is supposed to act.
All that said though, I do still enjoy a beer during a game or with a steak, but have upgraded to higher quality beers and don’t pound them like I did once upon a time. I also haven’t had more than 3 beers in a single setting in those 3-4 months as well.
[quote]SquatDeepHomie wrote:
When I found out I had a kid on the way, I made the decision it was best for my wife and future kid if I cut that shit out and put that money to better use. I also don’t want to be that guy who comes home drunk at night and subconcisouly teach my kid that is how a man is supposed to act.
[/quote]
This ^^^^^ right here was one of the biggest spurs in my side that really got me searching hard for the way to free myself from that enslavement. That last sentence was exactly, down to the last 7 words, the thinking that really woke me up to the fact that I was going to have to find a way to break this evil cycle. I was not going to teach my son that this is what a man does.
when drinking is not a part of the routine it’s much easier to quit or at least limit your drinking.
for example - you’re much less likely to drink on a backpacking trip than at home watching espn.
so for me personally, when I’m feeling that routine is what’s making it harder to drink less - I just change it up a little - instead of getting home from work and grabbing a beer I’d go run few sprints or ski for a few miles or do high-rep squats or smth. Once the routine is broken it’s much easier to avoid drinking.
I haven’t had a sip in over 3 years due to addiction problems. My life has gone uphill like crazy. Stress is much easier to deal with. I’m in a better mood. I don’t spend money as compulsively.
My social ability has also improved. Drinking alcohol typically decreases social ability because people become dependent on it for socializing. The bad thing about alcohol is that it’s a “social addiction”. Everyone does it because everyone else does it. Nobody does it just for themselves unless they have a real issue like I used to.
Hmmm. Never started drinking in the first place. No particular reason either.
Nothing really helpful that I can say, other than good luck.
I have quit for a year in the past. Do not drink much now because of the wife, I know I could be an alcoholic. Could drink every night and not for social interaction, just sitting at home reading, playing video games or watching TV.
When i wanted to quit my drug use/smoking i stopped drinking… And it worked for me, I have been clean for about 4 years now… I did go back to drinking socially but stopped last new years just because i realized i started to rely on drinks for a good time too often.
Personally i don’t feel like drinking anymore because it destroys the point of going to the gym for me… My lifts/power suffer too much even after a few drinks.
[quote]Nards wrote:
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Man, I never understood the appeal of drinking…It’s like EVERYONE does it, so why would I want to be just like everyone else? That burning taste, feeling dehydrated, the chance of puking, being incoherent, loud, stumbly, and waking up hungover (in no shape to workout)…how is this appealing?..It is a poison you know
What I really don’t understand are those who sit and watch baseball(or whatever sport) and drink beer in the middle of the day, like, lets sit here and determine the worst possible way to spend our time. The main point is how do you drink in the middle of the day?
For probably the first time EVER I drank like 2-3 beers with two friends and sat in their apt. (instead of going out, which is usually the ONLY reason I will drink) for about 4 hrs and chatted…what a waste(wish we were high instead for a more interesting convo, but no one had any), I’ll never do that again. I really Could NOT* care less if I never drank again.
BUT…
Like a few around here, I LOVE to smoke weed instead (I’m a musician and it has helped me IMENSLY). Theres actually A value to smoking (increases aplha brainwaves for creative purposes) and it doesn’t debilitate you quite like drinking does…problem is that I realized this and have been able to get away with smoking nearly every day for the past 5-6 years with the exception of a few breaks (weeks/months). Without it I feel like such a SQUARE and with it I feel a lot cooler.[/quote]
You should try to understand that drinking is really not a pain after you’ve tried it more than the handful of times that you apparently have.
Like people that try one cigarette and act befuddled at how a person could become addicted to it…try a few more and you get that whole “Uh oh…I never thought it would happen to me!!” thing.
You say you smoke weed every day?
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Why can’t you grasp the thought that maybe someone just doesn’t look at alchohol as a great time in a bottle? Once in a while it can be, but I just can’t understand everyones fucking OBSESSION with the shit. I also don’t understand how fucking “cool” it is these days to just get trashed all the time…it’s really funny when people razz me about being a lightweight and I just tell them how it’s not a priority of mine to be a fucking champion drinker, and that I’m fine with my weak tolerance. I can safely say that I have drank HUNDREDS of times, you must have pretty big hands.
And of all the times I’ve ever drank, I’ve never felt like “Holy shit that was awesome, lets start drinking again right now” so “{that whole “Uh oh…I never thought it would happen to me!!” thing.”} doesn’t really apply to me. If I have one decdent night of drinking, I’m good for about a week till I feel the need to start drinking again.
and yea, daily smoker
Nearly eleven years ago, after my daughter was born, I decided that I would stop beer drinking during the week, limiting it to only weekends. There was a trade-off, that if I had even one sip of alcohol during the week, it would take away one of the upcoming weekend nights. No problem maintaining it. Even have skipped some weekends without missing it. No longer have any resemblance of a beer belly, either. After all, Being a grown-ass man at 52, someone has to represent.
[quote]Cortes wrote:
[quote]belligerent wrote:
I went to a bar last night for the first time in three years and didn’t drink anything, just sat there and ate bar food. [/quote]
What did you think about it?[/quote]
It was cool hanging out with people, which is why I went. It wouldn’t have been fun if the people around me had been really drunk.
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Man, I never understood the appeal of drinking…It’s like EVERYONE does it, so why would I want to be just like everyone else? That burning taste, feeling dehydrated, the chance of puking, being incoherent, loud, stumbly, and waking up hungover (in no shape to workout)…how is this appealing?..It is a poison you know
[/quote]
There is a difference between drinking and getting drunk. Learn moderation.
I like to drink maybe once a week on average…but I’m talking like 2-3 beers, or a couple shots, or a little vodka mixed with orange juice, and that’s it. Not getting drunk. Big difference. I do NOT like getting shitfaced, and never really do that.
IMO moderation is the key. Also, it’s like the master and the slave. Who controls who? If you can’t go for a week(or a longer duration of time) w/o alcohol, then the answer is perfectly clear.
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Man, I never understood the appeal of drinking…It’s like EVERYONE does it, so why would I want to be just like everyone else? That burning taste, feeling dehydrated, the chance of puking, being incoherent, loud, stumbly, and waking up hungover (in no shape to workout)…how is this appealing?..It is a poison you know
[/quote]
There is a difference between drinking and getting drunk. Learn moderation.[/quote]
I never understood how people can drink moderately…If I’m drinking, it is so that I get drunk (this is why you’ll never see me have a beer with dinner, just doesn’t make sense), I mean, fuck, WHY ELSE would you drink? Are you going to try and convince me that you like the taste? Trust me I’ll never try to convince you that I smoke cause I like the taste of pot, its so that I get high!
I don’t even like having 1-3 beers, it just feels retarded.
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Man, I never understood the appeal of drinking…It’s like EVERYONE does it, so why would I want to be just like everyone else? That burning taste, feeling dehydrated, the chance of puking, being incoherent, loud, stumbly, and waking up hungover (in no shape to workout)…how is this appealing?..It is a poison you know
[/quote]
There is a difference between drinking and getting drunk. Learn moderation.[/quote]
I never understood how people can drink moderately…If I’m drinking, it is so that I get drunk (this is why you’ll never see me have a beer with dinner, just doesn’t make sense), I mean, fuck, WHY ELSE would you drink? Are you going to try and convince me that you like the taste? Trust me I’ll never try to convince you that I smoke cause I like the taste of pot, its so that I get high!
I don’t even like having 1-3 beers, it just feels retarded. [/quote]
I actually do occasionally enjoy one single beer now. I was NEVER able to do that in my old life. Or a little champagne. I’d say one glass but I like good champagne so much that I almost always have to have at least two. The difference is that I have just come to despise the feeling of being drunk. Even getting a slight buzz just immediately puts an end to any and all further desire for alcohol. Whereas before that’s what I was living for, now it is actually what keeps me from drinking more.
Again, there is something happening deep inside the psyche combined with a physical component. I think it has something to do with how the brain’s reward center works, and how the brain interprets pleasure as regards any given substance. This is only my conjecture, though, I don’t really have any hard evidence for this besides what I’ve read coupled with my own experience.
There’s even a place between not drunk (1 or 2 beers) and wasted. For me it’s 5 beers and I want to tell jokes with my buddies then later we watch the ladies go by. Or talk about Star Wars, whatever, but doesn’t always have to be anywhere near throwing up by midnight.
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Man, I never understood the appeal of drinking…It’s like EVERYONE does it, so why would I want to be just like everyone else? That burning taste, feeling dehydrated, the chance of puking, being incoherent, loud, stumbly, and waking up hungover (in no shape to workout)…how is this appealing?..It is a poison you know
[/quote]
There is a difference between drinking and getting drunk. Learn moderation.[/quote]
I never understood how people can drink moderately…If I’m drinking, it is so that I get drunk (this is why you’ll never see me have a beer with dinner, just doesn’t make sense), I mean, fuck, WHY ELSE would you drink? Are you going to try and convince me that you like the taste? Trust me I’ll never try to convince you that I smoke cause I like the taste of pot, its so that I get high!
I don’t even like having 1-3 beers, it just feels retarded. [/quote]
3 beers or 3 shots of liquor within 20-30 min or so will give most people a slight but noticeable buzz - no need to get wasted every time you have alcohol.
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Man, I never understood the appeal of drinking…It’s like EVERYONE does it, so why would I want to be just like everyone else? That burning taste, feeling dehydrated, the chance of puking, being incoherent, loud, stumbly, and waking up hungover (in no shape to workout)…how is this appealing?..It is a poison you know
[/quote]
There is a difference between drinking and getting drunk. Learn moderation.[/quote]
I never understood how people can drink moderately…If I’m drinking, it is so that I get drunk (this is why you’ll never see me have a beer with dinner, just doesn’t make sense), I mean, fuck, WHY ELSE would you drink? Are you going to try and convince me that you like the taste? Trust me I’ll never try to convince you that I smoke cause I like the taste of pot, its so that I get high!
I don’t even like having 1-3 beers, it just feels retarded. [/quote]
it takes about 100 beers for beer to start tasting good, after that the only better feeling than the first cold beer hitting your lips on the weekend, is insertion.
I started drinking everyday about 6 months after I got out of the marines. Drank a fifth a night for 60 days straight once. Can’t handle crowds, or people in general anymore. Now i play world of warcraft and get drunk… its pretty fun.