Quitting Alcohol

[Pdzoller]

Back in March I hit the seven year mark. I can remember talking with my buddies about all the things in the outdoors we really wanted to do. Rarely did we make it any further than just drunken talk. I actually make it happen now.

So many fishing trips where the boat never left the trailer or dock. So many hunting trips where we didn’t get out of bed early enough or spent the day driving around drinking instead of actually hunting.

I don’t look down on anyone who enjoys drinking. It’s just not for me. Good to see all of you on here and to hear from you.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

I’ve read a couple guys quit coffee and now drink tea. I can’t drink coffee anymore as it makes my heart race later in the day (palpitations).

I have always heard tea has more caffeine than coffee….is there a decaf tea?

I switched to tea mostly. Some tea has pretty low caffeine levels. Brands usually have the amount listed on boxes or websites.

Caffeine and sugar are definitely my original addiction when I look back.
Seems to the hardest thing for me to kick.

I started doing tea in the morning and sometimes a cup of tea in the afternoon at work. I like earl grey. It tastes just harsh enough to remind me of black coffee.
Although I do still dabble in a red bull sometimes, or a coffee if I'm out to eat.
Last night I had a expensive coffee at my birthday dinner. Definitely had too much caffeine.

While I don't do stupid stuff like alcohol would coaxed me to. I still get very much on edge when I get past a certain caffeine level.
Sometimes I like it though. That weird fight or flight jitter.

I started carrying tea bags into the woods instead of a french press. Saves weight and less cleaning my jetboil.

 

[IsItTheTed]

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?

You will not regret it! I quit drinking and promptly lost 50 pounds. I had excess energy to burn, so I went out and burned it by getting in shape. I will attest that AA works as well. (I'm not saying that you need to go to AA, only that is has helped me tremendously).

So yes, it absolutely helps when you are humping the mountains.

 

[ChrisA]

One month today. Will celebrate 50th bday in less than a month. Went cold turkey on alcohol and jumped into keto at the same time. Have had 3 small ice cream cones at my daughter's summer work place but thankfully dont have a sugar tooth; haven't drank a soda in 33 years.

On a big fishing trip now and dont know what's harder, explaining why I'm not drinking or why I wont have a homemade kolache.

I've quit for a couple months, and a couple weeks, and a couple days before but I'm pretty damned sure this time is different, it just feels different like I really could give a shit less about having a drink. I've been thinking about all the real fun things and opportunities I've missed over the years because of being in the bag, very disheartening.

The hardest part is alcohol is a damned big part of the culture here in the midwest. I feel weird about not drinking in front of other drinkers and then top that off with me peeling the bun off a double cheese burger and turning down someone's wive's rice crispy bars. Jeez I'm a freak man LOL!

Hang in there boys!

Chris

 

[ChrisA]

Another thought...I was a closet sober person for the last month and this fishing trip is my first big test. It's going fine and the boys are supportive after I told them the truth. Things should get easier from here and I'm ready to move on.

Chris

 

[Billogna]

Another thought...I was a closet sober person for the last month and this fishing trip is my first big test. It's going fine and the boys are supportive after I told them the truth. Things should get easier from here and I'm ready to move on.

Chris

One of the hardest parts about the people I was with was them feeling like they needed to tip-toe around me and not drink in order to support me. LOL... It's just beer guys! Not kryptonite!! I appreciate the thought but DAYUM!!! My triggers are MY problems that I need to learn to deal with!

 

[ChrisA]

One of the hardest parts about the people I was with was them feeling like they needed to tip-toe around me and not drink in order to support me. LOL... It's just beer guys! Not kryptonite!! I appreciate the thought but DAYUM!!! My triggers are MY problems that I need to learn to deal with!

I made it very clear there shall be no tip toeing, drink up boys!

 

[schmalzy]

Back in March I hit the seven year mark. I can remember talking with my buddies about all the things in the outdoors we really wanted to do. Rarely did we make it any further than just drunken talk. I actually make it happen now.

So many fishing trips where the boat never left the trailer or dock. So many hunting trips where we didn’t get out of bed early enough or spent the day driving around drinking instead of actually hunting.

I don’t look down on anyone who enjoys drinking. It’s just not for me. Good to see all of you on here and to hear from you.

Great post. Thank you for sharing. Can relate on all of it.


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[Loper]

Love this thread I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time unfortunately its feels very difficult to get the wife on board and it becomes a rub in our relationship anyone dealt with this ?

When I stopped drinking, I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t tell my wife, my friends, etc. My wife caught on after a few weeks and she gave me a bit of a hard time about it, but I just ignored it and kept my focus. I don’t remember if I ever gave her a reason why I wasn’t drinking at any given time other than I didn’t want to. The way I’ve always thought of it is, it is my decision and I don’t need to justify it to anyone, including my wife. I don’t remember her ever asking if she had to quit too. After a while she just accepted it and stopped asking questions or trying to get me to have a drink. I don’t think it ever truly bothered my wife that I wasn’t drinking, I think she was just confused and didn’t understand why I was doing it. She still drinks socially and that is fine and does not bother me one bit.

 

[PlumberED]

It has been 30 odd years since I quit drinking…cold turkey. With my addictive personality it is all or nothing. I am very thankful that God give me the strength to quit and stay quit. Wifey was real involved and supportive.

Sugar has been a real problem for me too, Reading through these post has been educational, I didn’t realize all the stuff behind the sugar cravings. Thanks guys

 

[DenimChicken]

I am a big time lover of beer and scotch. Never had “issues” with alcohol and I haven’t officially quit, but I stopped drinking about a month ago and it’s been interesting. I sleep way better, confirmed both by my Garmin watch and how I generally feel. Also, my gut is drastically improved. I won’t go into gory details, but I’ve had some stomach issues that have all but cleared up in the past few weeks. Interesting to reap some unintended benefits and I don’t know if I plan on drinking again. It’s kind of refreshing to not care and not have to draw a line in the sand saying I’m a drinker or a non-drinker.

 

[Coyotehills308]

My phone drives me to drinking mostly, I think if I quit my phone I could quit drinking

 

[Daman9091233]

For me I went from a daily drinker to almost non existent by stopping smoking. This may not be the case for you but for me it was the real issue.

 

[survivalistd]

My phone drives me to drinking mostly, I think if I quit my phone I could quit drinking

The cell phone definitely made the world impatient. But nothing worth drinking over!!

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[TandKHunting]

Over 4 years sober and clean now. I attempted to stop drinking more times than I can count. I would go 3 months, 8 months, 1 month. But, I never treated the problem. I continually ignored the root, and would pick up other addictions. Working out to the point of damaging my body as one example. I was finally forced to go to rehab by my employer at the time. Stepping off that plane in Salt Lake City (completely blitzed mind you), and heading to detox before completing 30 days of treatment was the best thing I have ever done in my life.

I don't even think about alcohol anymore, which is weird because when I drank I couldn't stop thinking about alcohol.

 

[Nagant76254]

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?

I was an alcoholic age 18-19. Was chubby and out of shape. Quit drinking cold turkey, started running 3 miles a day, lifting, and stopped hanging out with people who drank. Shortly after, I became a wildland firefighter and focused more on hunting. My focus and thought process improved drastically. After not drinking for a long while I noticed that even 1 drink would have an affect on my physical capabilities the next day. I am now the guy who has a water bottle in hand in a room full of people with alcohol in their hand. I find that I have stories of adventure in hunting where others have stories of drinking and nothing more. Be the guy who creates awesome stories to tell

 

[GMann]

I'm up to 287 days. I keep a spreadsheet for workouts and I just keep a little tally of days since I quit. I figured I'd keep track until I hit a year just as a sort of mental goal.

I started trying to get into actual fit shape around the time I quit drinking. I'm down 35 pounds this morning over 9+ months. 220ish to 185 currently. Looking to go a few more and just focus on muscle and being mobile for the mountain hunting. I haven't been in this good of shape since I played high school sports almost 20 years ago and the #1 reason I'm finally to this point is stopping drinking.

The newness of not being hung over, even 9-10 months later, hasn't worn off. I still wake up and tell myself, "Wow, this is way better!"

Awesome, way to go!

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[LFC911]

I read every post of these 30+ pages last week, which inspired me to give it a try, cold turkey. Not saying I quit drinking but I haven't had any alcohol for over a week now. I wanted to give it at least a week to post this something because i couldn't believe i would make it this long. It was nothing for me to go drink 6-8 beers an evening and be fully functioning the next day...I guess you would say I am a functioning alcoholic. I would like to be able to have a beer or two at a concert, ballgame, wedding, etc... but like many have said before me, once I start I can't stop.

I listened to the Andrew Huberman podcast on alcohol and also downloaded Alcohol Explained and about a quarter through the 36 chapter audio book.

My mom abused prescription drugs and died at 54 (I'm 55, so I made it past that milestone). My dad smoked pot and drank, I would guess a 12+ pack of beer daily and died of throat cancer at 71.

I think of drinking in the evenings, while cooking dinner or after i mow the grass. It would be nice to have a cold one and have found a way not to drink for the past week. I have hard liquor in the house but not really tempted by that but I love the taste of beer. I did get a 12'er of Heineken 0.0 and drank a few of those when the urge hit me but don't really care for the taste. I have tried the Athletic brews in the past and the Coors Edge and like those better.

My goal at this point is to take it day by day. I think of elk hunting every hour, so you could say I'm obsessed with that and that is what drives me to get healthier. I want to be here for my family and hunting friends as long as possible and still hunting/hitting the mountains in my 60's and hopefully into my 70's.

I will check in here periodically and read everyone's post and glad to say I've joined the party.

 

[Customweld]

I read every post of these 30+ pages last week, which inspired me to give it a try, cold turkey. Not saying I quit drinking but I haven't had any alcohol for over a week now. I wanted to give it at least a week to post this something because i couldn't believe i would make it this long. It was nothing for me to go drink 6-8 beers an evening and be fully functioning the next day...I guess you would say I am a functioning alcoholic. I would like to be able to have a beer or two at a concert, ballgame, wedding, etc... but like many have said before me, once I start I can't stop.

I listened to the Andrew Huberman podcast on alcohol and also downloaded Alcohol Explained and about a quarter through the 36 chapter audio book.

My mom abused prescription drugs and died at 54 (I'm 55, so I made it past that milestone). My dad smoked pot and drank, I would guess a 12+ pack of beer daily and died of throat cancer at 71.

I think of drinking in the evenings, while cooking dinner or after i mow the grass. It would be nice to have a cold one and have found a way not to drink for the past week. I have hard liquor in the house but not really tempted by that but I love the taste of beer. I did get a 12'er of Heineken 0.0 and drank a few of those when the urge hit me but don't really care for the taste. I have tried the Athletic brews in the past and the Coors Edge and like those better.

My goal at this point is to take it day by day. I think of elk hunting every hour, so you could say I'm obsessed with that and that is what drives me to get healthier. I want to be here for my family and hunting friends as long as possible and still hunting/hitting the mountains in my 60's and hopefully into my 70's.

I will check in here periodically and read everyone's post and glad to say I've joined the party.

Welcome aboard! Day to day is about all we can do!

 

[CRJR45]

I read every post of these 30+ pages last week, which inspired me to give it a try, cold turkey. Not saying I quit drinking but I haven't had any alcohol for over a week now. I wanted to give it at least a week to post this something because i couldn't believe i would make it this long. It was nothing for me to go drink 6-8 beers an evening and be fully functioning the next day...I guess you would say I am a functioning alcoholic. I would like to be able to have a beer or two at a concert, ballgame, wedding, etc... but like many have said before me, once I start I can't stop.

I listened to the Andrew Huberman podcast on alcohol and also downloaded Alcohol Explained and about a quarter through the 36 chapter audio book.

My mom abused prescription drugs and died at 54 (I'm 55, so I made it past that milestone). My dad smoked pot and drank, I would guess a 12+ pack of beer daily and died of throat cancer at 71.

I think of drinking in the evenings, while cooking dinner or after i mow the grass. It would be nice to have a cold one and have found a way not to drink for the past week. I have hard liquor in the house but not really tempted by that but I love the taste of beer. I did get a 12'er of Heineken 0.0 and drank a few of those when the urge hit me but don't really care for the taste. I have tried the Athletic brews in the past and the Coors Edge and like those better.

My goal at this point is to take it day by day. I think of elk hunting every hour, so you could say I'm obsessed with that and that is what drives me to get healthier. I want to be here for my family and hunting friends as long as possible and still hunting/hitting the mountains in my 60's and hopefully into my 70's.

I will check in here periodically and read everyone's post and glad to say I've joined the party.

I'm glad you joined also , best of luck !