Quitting Alcohol

[fap1800]

I’m on three weeks tomorrow. Hasn’t been terrible. Drinking som NAs, club with lime or just a flavored seltzer.

The gut punch for me was when my 13yr old son saw me drinking an NA and asked, “Dad, you’re not drinking?” I told him no and that I was trying to quit. Damn boy gave me a hug. I told him to keep me honest so he’ll every now and then check what I’m drinking.


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[SpringM1A]

Alcohol isn't the problem, having too much is.
The battle is with moderation which is a battle everyone battles with
I will always drink and enjoy and not to get drunk and hurt people around me. So offsetting

 

[Ront]

Recently came to the conclusion I want/need to stop drinking. I've seen a few guys on here say they've been sober for years.

I've been pretty strong willed when it comes to kicking habits, but this one has been a one step forward three steps back one. Haha

Those of you who have stopped did you notice many benefits on your hunts, mindset, or physical shape?
Any tips on the process?

Good luck Sir,

I quit and I felt so much better. Slept better and had more focus. Good figure. I wish you the best on this.

 

[skeptic]

I never quit drinking, but my intake has been pretty much in the "very rarely" category lately. I just don't process it like I could when I was younger, and the benefits don't exceed the detriments for me at all. If I have much more than the equivalent of 2-3 beers I can virtually guarantee I will sleep like shit and feel terrible the next day.

I come from a family that has a history of alcoholism, and I have lost friends to it. I will still enjoy an occasional glass of nice bourbon, but that is about it.

 

[hunt1up]

Keep it going brother. Excited for you. More revelations and positive side effects to be discovered.


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Thanks.

Almost to a month.

Here's a few new discoveries:

I had developed somewhat high blood pressure in recent years, enough to warrant BP meds. I had my yearly checkup today and my BP was lower than usual and in the right place. The doctor said I can probably get off the meds soon. My resting pulse was about 12 BPMs lower than when I was drinking beer on a daily basis. Both things have been elevated due to habitual drinking.

I've also kept a spreadsheet of my exercise and weight loss efforts. While dieting and still drinking I was losing a pound every 6.8 days. Since quitting that time dropped to a pound every 4.3 days. A huge difference.

 

[JBrown1]

Alcohol isn't the problem, having too much is.
The battle is with moderation which is a battle everyone battles with
I will always drink and enjoy and not to get drunk and hurt people around me. So offsetting

Wrong, for some people, alcohol is the problem.

And no, not everyone battles with moderation. Some people can have a drink or two and never have to remind themselves to stop. For those lucky bastards the urge to over indulge just isn't there. For the rest of us it is a battle, and some win that battle.

But then there are those of us(the alcoholics) who can battle with moderation all we want, but in the end we will always lose. We either admit that alcohol is the problem, and that even one drink is too many and quit completely, or we keep drinking ourselves towards the grave. That is just the way it is.

So you can drink and not get drunk and not hurt the people around you? Cool, it sounds like you aren't an alcoholic. Thank your lucky stars and continue to enjoy a drink whenever you like. But you would do well to realize that not everyone is so lucky.....

 

[Christopherhumphrey]

I’m on three weeks tomorrow. Hasn’t been terrible. Drinking som NAs, club with lime or just a flavored seltzer.

The gut punch for me was when my 13yr old son saw me drinking an NA and asked, “Dad, you’re not drinking?” I told him no and that I was trying to quit. Damn boy gave me a hug. I told him to keep me honest so he’ll every now and then check what I’m drinking.


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Sound like some good motivation right there!


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[Laramie]

I have never had any "problems" but decided to stop 3 weeks ago based on this thread and a desire to lose a little weight. I don't feel much different but I am sleeping better.

 

[Yoder]

I’m on three weeks tomorrow. Hasn’t been terrible. Drinking som NAs, club with lime or just a flavored seltzer.

The gut punch for me was when my 13yr old son saw me drinking an NA and asked, “Dad, you’re not drinking?” I told him no and that I was trying to quit. Damn boy gave me a hug. I told him to keep me honest so he’ll every now and then check what I’m drinking.


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I honestly got a little choked up reading that. Think about that hug and how proud he is of you for stopping every time you think about drinking. One day at a time. Every day it gets a little easier.

 

[SpringM1A]

I have never had any "problems" but decided to stop 3 weeks ago based on this thread and a desire to lose a little weight. I don't feel much different but I am sleeping better.

funny enough a few sips at night help me sleep better.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

Alcohol isn't the problem, having too much is.
The battle is with moderation which is a battle everyone battles with
I will always drink and enjoy and not to get drunk and hurt people around me. So offsetting

Unfortunately some of us were born without an off switch.

 

[Laramie]

funny enough a few sips at night help me sleep better.

Typically I felt that way as well. Around day 10 or 12 is where I noticed sleep changes. I have typically been a 6 to 7 hour a night sleeper for most of my adult life. Over the last 7 days I am averaging 7:49 per night now.

 

[Yoder]

Alcohol isn't the problem, having too much is.
The battle is with moderation which is a battle everyone battles with
I will always drink and enjoy and not to get drunk and hurt people around me. So offsetting

I'll bet you wouldn't say that about heroin and meth. Maybe people should just use those in moderation like you do with alcohol. But they can't. Maybe alcohol is like heroin to some people. Maybe its all consuming and keeps you up at night thinking about it.

I can have just one drink, at first. I would probably be ok now. What usually happens is I think I'm fine so I have a drink a week later. A year later I'm drinking 4-5 beers every night. Never beat my wife and kids. Always made it to work everyday. Just needed that good buzz everyday. If you don't have that problem, understand it's an addictive drug to many people. I have no idea why it only effects some people that way. I don't buy into "its a disease". It's not cancer. It's simple to fix but extremely hard to do. People like me need to just stop drinking.

 

[SpringM1A]

I'll bet you wouldn't say that about heroin and meth. Maybe people should just use those in moderation like you do with alcohol. But they can't. Maybe alcohol is like heroin to some people. Maybe its all consuming and keeps you up at night thinking about it.

I can have just one drink, at first. I would probably be ok now. What usually happens is I think I'm fine so I have a drink a week later. A year later I'm drinking 4-5 beers every night. Never beat my wife and kids. Always made it to work everyday. Just needed that good buzz everyday. If you don't have that problem, understand it's an addictive drug to many people. I have no idea why it only effects some people that way. I don't buy into "its a disease". It's not cancer. It's simple to fix but extremely hard to do. People like me need to just stop drinking.

I drink scotch, whiskey and smoke premium. I love it.
Sitting in the woods with all that peace and quiet, listening to birds and nature while i mind my business.
I wouldn't know anything about heroin and meth.
My point is, eating too much could kill just like doing anything too much.
i guess i have better self control than some people. Whatever struggles we face in life shall be halted by the creator who is there for us all when we need him most. Cheers guy. I love you all.

 

[fap1800]

I drink scotch, whiskey and smoke premium. I love it.
Sitting in the woods with all that peace and quiet, listening to birds and nature while i mind my business.
I wouldn't know anything about heroin and meth.
My point is, eating too much could kill just like doing anything too much.
i guess i have better self control than some people. Whatever struggles we face in life shall be halted by the creator who is there for us all when we need him most. Cheers guy. I love you all.

Good for you that you have that self control and can drink your scotch, whiskey or whatever and love it. I love it too, but as someone else mentioned, some of us don't have an off switch. I don't have that self control that you appear to have, so I stopped drinking all together.

 

[HitchHiker]

Keep it up! It only gets better! Sobriety is a beautiful way of life!!

 

[hunt1up]

Thought I'm bump this one. Approaching 2 months with no booze for me. Hiking around the mountains look for elk was certainly more pleasant this year without being all groggy from nightly camp beers and being 20 pounds too heavy.

Thanks again to the OP for this thread, it has really helped me.

 

[Scoot]

Huge congrats to all of you doing great with this! To those struggling, keep on fighting- it's worth it! To those who make stupid comments about the topic, you don't get it and probably never will- you might want to learn to show the kind of self-restraint you have with alcohol on your keyboard.

 

[elkyinzer]

I'm at 3 weeks and a few days on my most recent, best attempt yet at quitting/major scaleback. I had 3 beers at a wedding a couple weeks ago and a few at my in-laws last weekend. The wedding at one week was really tough to not go hard.

It was a bit more of a physical grind than I anticipated initially but getting easier each day. Finally starting to say I haven't felt this good in a long time. The first few days going cold turkey were really rough. I felt like absolute dog shit for about 2 days from not sleeping, then I went through about the next 10 days of starting to sleep better and being fine in the mornings but absolutely exhausted and irritable in the afternoons. Having a really hard time concentrating on work in general which still feels present but to a lesser degree each day.

So far I'm only down about 5-10 pounds to 215ish which is within my normal annual weight fluctuation while drinking, but I have not been eating super great, probably worse with more snacking and sweets. Looking to get through November and hunting season here and then I plan to start working out and watching my diet more. Usually, the rut alone is good for 10-15 pounds which I always quickly gained back during the holidays. Would like to get somewhere around 185-200 and stay there. I've been 205-220 since my daughter was born 6 years ago and it's just a little too puffy for me.

I ended up buying and reading Alcohol Explained which was recommended somewhere along this thread and I found it really helpful to understand the why and a lot of the brain chemistry. I read the whole thing in one night I think it was sober night two because I couldn't sleep. Highly insightful book and recommended for really anyone to read, not just those looking to curb a problem. Just factual and informative and didn't feel a bit preachy or judgy.

The book really aligned with where I was and am in my journey. That I didn't feel like I have some disease or need God's intervention a la AA. Although I am a Christian believer I believe it's on me to make my life better and save his miracles for kids with cancer and the like, ya know. It was really just like a snowball for me where it started with lots of good times in college and the momentum just kept going to where I was starting to realize it wasn't even fun anymore as I'm starting to feel old. I have a few regrets, but not all that many, and it's just time to move on to bigger and better things.

Especially understanding the subconscious triggers tangibly helped me stop in the immediate present. Been crushing club soda and lime when I get a craving for a beer which as I mentioned was associated with a lot of daily activities. My other go-to sober drink is iced tea with san pelligrino limonata mixed in. Tried some of the NA beers but just felt they tasted off and made me want a real beer so I'm sticking with the club soda for now.

 

[fap1800]

I'm on to week 6 with no booze and I honestly don't really miss it. I listened to a little of Alcohol Explained. Probably enough to get the jist of it, but if I'm being totally truthful, I didn't really need it. This past year, my drinking really got out of hand. I can't remember how many times I'd wake up in the morning after getting the boys on the bus, feeling like ass, and just asking myself, "Why do you keep doing this?" Hangxiety was real. My head would be in the clouds. I'd go for a run at lunch, get the cobwebs clear and later that day I'd start the process all over again. It was a viscous cycle and I was in pretty deep. A good friend of mine on here pointed me to this thread and the book and said he was giving it a go. The last weekend in August I had a "guys" trip planned and I decided to go out with a bang, which probably wasn't the wisest decision, but whatever. The logic was to imprint that hangover into my consciousness for as long as possible. Not sure if it worked, but I can't think of any reason to go back to drinking. If I get a craving for a beer, I'll have a 00 or two, which scratches the itch. Otherwise, I'm in a good place.