Revisited Reflections: 280 Days Sober
I recently had a conversation with a friend who was asking me about my sobriety and some of my thoughts. I haven’t kept track of how long I have been sober, but I just realized it has been almost 280 days. So, I thought I’d revisit the topic and write another reflective post regarding how I feel after 280 days sober.
If you’ve ever talked to someone about being sober, the conversation normally revolves around questions like this “wait, you stopped drinking? Why? Was it becoming a problem?” Takeaway number one from living a sober life is realizing how drinking alcohol is deeply baked into American culture. Here’s a challenge, turn on a country music station and see how many songs you can make it through where alcohol isn’t mentioned…. Cliffs notes, you won’t make it through many.
During the conversation with my friend I talked about the stigma of cutting out alcohol. I mentioned how it’s the only mind altering substance that people will think there’s a problem with YOU when you stop using it. People don’t ask concerning questions if you stop using cocaine. “Why aren’t you doing coke anymore? Is everything ok? Cocaine must’ve become a problem for you, but it’s not for me…” You don’t see how weird it is until you’re on the receiving end of it. I don’t judge anyone for drinking, but people certainly make assumptions about me for not drinking. It seems backwards. I’ve seen people mention that their social circles shrink when they choose sobriety. I can’t attest to that as my social circle mainly revolves around a 6, 4 and almost 2 year old and they aren’t big drinkers either. But I can see how it could shake things up and make you re-evaluate who you spend your time with. When drinking is no longer the preferred method of entertainment, just understand that some things are going to change.
Societal views aside, the number two takeaway is how I feel now that I don’t drink anymore. Unsurprisingly, I feel amazing. I feel so in sync with my body. Before I stopped drinking, there were periods of time where I was very consistent in going to the gym. I worked out and lived an active and healthy lifestyle and had a healthy diet. It’s not to say that alcohol makes you fat and lazy, but it greatly reduces the results of living an otherwise healthy and active lifestyle. In my experience there are two main reasons why alcohol hindered all of my fitness goals.
First is easy; calories. I was a beer drinker. When Friday night came around, I’d get off work and without a doubt I would stop in at the beer store on the way home. I’d grab some craft beers and some domestics to have a fully stocked fridge for the weekend. They say that drinking a beer is the caloric equivalent to eating a hotdog. So, imagine having a good active week in the gym, and then you get home Friday night, have some pizza with the family and then wash it down with 6-8 hot dogs. Liquid calories are the easiest to curb and they make a huge difference. If I was giving anyone health and wellness advice from a typical Friday night’s standpoint, it’s this… The pizza isn’t the issue, it’s the liquid hot dogs. Now look at the bigger picture. Imagine eliminating 24 hot dogs from your diet a weekend. Imagine reducing 100 hot dogs from your diet a month. Eliminating that many hot dogs alone can make a massive difference in your body composition.
The second factor that really hindered my health and physical gains in the gym was how alcohol impacts sleep. If you know me well, you know that for the longest time I would routinely get 4-5 hours of sleep and I could manage it fine. I saw a recent study that analyzed a percentage of men who aren’t physically or mentally impacted when they consistently get less than 6 hours of sleep. 0% of men showed no physical or mental degradation when you get less than 6 hours of sleep at night. Now, understand that alcohol drastically hinders the effectiveness of your sleep. Brian Mazza teamed up with whoop and they tracked alcohol’s impact on his recovery. The study concluded that simply having 2 glasses of wine at night reduced the effectiveness of his sleep and recovery by over 50%.
So, if you’re living an active lifestyle and your’e not making the physical gains you want to make, consider this. Your body recovers and replenishes itself on a cellular level when you’re sleeping. When you drink alcohol, your body isn’t capable of getting adequate sleep and recovery therefore stunting the physical gains you’re trying to make. Sleep deprivation also leads to inflammation. I followed the advice of Michael Chernow who said that when he wakes up in the morning and he didn’t get a good night sleep, he can visibly see it in the mirror. Now that I’ve been getting more regular sleep, I can attest to this. When you get 7-8 hours of sleep and you’ll wake up looking leaner and less inflamed, for a fact. Alcohol triggers all of these chain reactions. So, although you may be living a healthy lifestyle and eating a healthy diet, the alcohol you’re drinking is drastically diminishing the progress you’d be able to make otherwise.
Cutting out alcohol is part of the holistic approach to health and wellness I live now. I don’t count calories, I don’t limit myself comfort meals, I don’t feel bad if we order out and I order French Fries. And if I was concerned about carbs, let me just tell you this, I’d have a panic attack daily. The amount of carbs I consume in this half marathon training block is insane. Another side note, carbs don’t make you fat, but I digress. Back to alcohol.
The final thing I want to talk about is the cycle that was broken when I cut out alcohol. Like I mentioned before, that Friday night vibe was what I was chasing. The ability to sit down, relax and drink away the stress of a long week. I’d drink Friday night, I’d start drinking early on Saturday’s (depending on my schedule) and I’d sometimes engage in a Sunday Funday. It was no wonder that when Monday hit, I was tired, inflamed and had anxiety heading into the week. Monday mornings were awful and I normally felt like garbage. I wouldn’t feel normal and be bouncing back with energy until Wednesday or Thursday only to repeat the cycle again.
Society has normalized a flawed belief that the buzz you get from drinking frees you from stress and allows you to relax. When you study the science, alcohol perpetuates your stress, making you irritable and riddled with anxiety. Prioritizing rest, recovery, healthy activities and a non-restrictive healthy diet is how to reduce your stress. Doing things that are in alignment with the lifestyle you want to live is how you find true happiness and fulfillment. Alcohol companies have sold you all a lie. I still love beer and the beautiful thing is, is I can still enjoy them. The market is changing with the onset of non-alcoholic beer companies. Their growth is exploding right now and I think more and more people are realizing that drinking alcohol isn’t some harmless act that doesn’t have an impact on our overall health. Some people are theorizing that in the not so distant future, alcohol will be viewed in the same light as we view cigarettes now.
If you’re thinking about taking a little break or re-assessing your relationship to alcohol, understand that there’s nothing wrong with YOU. It doesn’t have to be a problem in order to change your perspective on alcohol. I’m 280 days sober and I have no intention of drinking again any time soon. I wasn’t keeping track of the days I had been sober, because I don’t view it as some major achievement. It was just a choice I made because it wasn’t serving me anymore. I do understand the benefits of alcohol. It’s fun and it takes the edge off of social situations. If you want to drink, that’s fine and I don’t judge you for indulging. My decision was for me and how it has helped me live more in alignment. Alcohol didn’t provide any value and I don’t miss it at all. I can’t say that I’ll never drink again, but I can say, I’m in no rush to have one.
If you have any questions or have been thinking about giving sobriety a shot and want to talk about it, feel free to shoot me a message.
Thanks for reading ✌️🙏❤️
