Sober January and Other Promises

There are roughly five weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Between those dates, way too many people drink too much, smoke too much, and eat too much. I am no exception. I'm off my diet, I have about a half dozen packs of cigarettes with five cigs left, despite being a casual smoker, and I can still sort of feel the hangover from New Year's Eve. The company Christmas party left coworkers weeping in the corner and people I would have never guessed would light a smoke were bumming cigarettes off of me left and right. Apparently, my in-laws sometimes like to get slurring, drooling hammered.

Bring on Sober January- no drinking or smoking for a month. I doubt this is a novel idea, but my brother in law takes the month of January off from drinking and generally defiling himself to dry out and start fresh. It's also a decent test of your moral resolve, especially when you work in a field that is expected to entertain clients. It's not a huge commitment and pretty smart, so I joined him. My moderation compass needs adjusting every now and then and this seems to be as good a way as any to stay out of jail or court-ordered alcohol education classes.

FOCUS- Rather than make this a New Year's Resolution thread, what do you do to straighten yourself out when you're getting off course?

 

Well, I'm going to Las Vegas! Woo!

After that, though, comes the January diet change. No candy, no junk food, no fast food. My wife and I are going to work together to support each other, to cook more, and to shop together more so we have decent food around the house. We're also going to make more time to work out. We're making a bit of a contest of it, where the reward is copious amounts of sex. I highly recommend it.

 

That sounds great! But what's her incentive?

 

I was already on a great course-- I had lost fifteen pounds as was working out 6 days a week, then broke my coccyx in a bizzarre tobogganing accident and now have been ordered out of the gym for ten weeks, which pisses me off on a monumental scale.

I wanted to quit smoking cigarettes (and nothing else), but I'm too gibbled and moody at the moment for that.

 

Wait, so if you do poorly and she does well, who is she going to have sex with?

 

I'm currently taking a break from drinking, I realized my tolerance was getting VERY high and that's not a good thing. I also have gotten off track with my running, partially due to frigid weather and ice. The holidays fucked me up, eating shit I shouldn't be putting into my body.

When I am getting off track I focus on getting back into good habits. I schedule more running and work outs (and stick to it). I concentrate on routines that culminate in me reaching my goals: I bake a ton of chicken once a week so I always have a healthy meal accessible during said week, things like that. I sort of make it a game to myself, and I reward myself when I accomplish my goal. I have my eye on some boots that I can order when I get back into shape.

I am pretty disciplined when I want to be, I am finally learning that I am happier when I stick to it.

 

I tend to be introspective, so when i find myself going in a direction I recognize as unhealthy, I find something else to attract my attention and alter my course - which usually winds up being an endless series of switching current vices or unhealthy obsessions, resulting in a course that looks more like "Z" than any kind of healthy path.

 

Oh thank God, it's not just me.

The biggest problem with getting off track, for me, is the negative inner monologue that prevents me from shaking it off and jumping back on track. I don't know why I do this, but I treat minor failures as the result of huge, glaring flaws in my character and then I basically beat up on myself for weeks. And that attitude taints everything I do until I can shake it off. But when I can manage to overcome my self-hating brain for a moment and try to get back on track with whatever I need to be doing, it results in punitive measures that push me towards whatever goal I'm trying to make. It usually helps me get back on track, but because it's super hard for me I treat my struggles as...you guessed it, further character flaws. Logically, I know this isn't true. But it feels that way sometimes.

Dieting failure? Veggie juice and raw veggies for a few days.
Slacking off at exercise? Have fun doing all the hardest workouts on your Pinterest board.
Procrastinating at my laundry and ironing? Oh look, you're also doing The Dude's laundry and ironing this week in addition to your own. And next week.
Stopped your read-a-book-a-week habit in lieu of more Internet stupidity? James Joyce and other authors I don't find particularly engrossing (but are canonical or highly regarded).

VI's positive thinking method is much smarter than my mind's puritanical approach to punishment and rigid adherence to "rules," though. I am adding that to my list of things to try when I'm hopelessly off track in 2013.

 

No more video games. I've replaced that mode of entertainment with books, so double win.

 

I started doing a Paleo/Primal diet since December 21st, so the good eating and less drinking kind of took care of itself. I actually haven't had anything to drink at all since I started, which made Christmas and (especially) New Year's Eve similar to the seventh level of hell!

Other than that, i just have to focus harder on my grades this semester, which the whole less-drinking(there is absolutely NO WAY I'm staying sober forever) will probably help out with.

 

Unfortunately, my substance abuse got pretty bad for a while, and even when I knew I was fucking up and decided to take a break from drinking and partying for a month, I made it about 26 hours before I downed a bottle of wine and a twelve pack. While I don't want to start a discussion about the psychology of addiction (I think AA is a great thing, because it helps lots of people get and stay sober, and it was an instrumental aspect of my sobriety for the first three weeks or so, but I don't agree with all of their thoughts and processes), I am 99% sure I could never be a regular drinker, so I won't bother risking everything to see. For me, getting back on course was all about having pressure on me. All my family and close friends knew about my drinking issues from about week two of sobriety, so even when I really wanted a drink early on, the pressure of disappointing everyone is what kept me on course (I know they'd all be nothing but supportive of me if I ever drank again, but I know they're all rooting for me in this, so that's what keeps me straight).

 

I had the worst holiday season ever. I had zero celebrations. My food intake was altered for months prior, but I somehow maintained. Then everyone around work was bringing around chocolates and baked goods. I sampled everything and suddenly it was 6 lbs. (last year was 12, but at least it was partying in Vegas).

I clamped down this week and have eaten clean. I hate the gym, so I had more sex (not being flippant, just honest about my choice of workouts) and I'm already down 4. Since I'm on the path, I'm gunning for 10 more to be at high school weight. Not bad for an almost 48 yr. old. I was 55 lbs. heavier as I was turning 40.

And what is this giving up booze thing (unless you see it as a problem)? Just choose your poison right and you have no need to fret about extra poundage.

 

As of Jan 15th I am working a night schedule. I have promised my friend (that's super into it) that I will start crossfit.

I know.

I tried it once before a party, and I couldn't walk for 5 days...

I'm looking forward to coaching, instruction, and the muscle fatigue that can only come from really pushing yourself...

 

I see january always as an annoying month.
Most people I know have a ton of resolutions and keep them for like three weeks.
And in these weeks more often than not I hear "oh, no, I can't do that, I wanted to restrict my self on whatever it is this year."
Now don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against new years resolutions nor do I say you guys will break them, it's just in my circle of friends that most of the time people don't go through with it.

I don't want to do anything in particular.
Basically stay as fit as possible and modify my diet when I see that I'm not feeling well with the current one/it's getting too unhealthy.

 

Because I don't want to die.....

On Christmas Day I was incredibly sick. I puked 27 times. And none of them were dry heaves. After the 27th time, the Wife came home from the in-laws house and I told her I needed to go to the emergency room because I couldn't breathe.
I was immediately admitted to the hospital, and after a couple the minutes the doctor walked in and said "This man is extremely sick and could die tonight"

Turns out, at 37 years old, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I had to stay in the ICU for 3 1/2 days, and was released with orders to fix my life.

So....... I haven't had a drink in about two weeks, eating healthy, and already started working out again.

My blood sugar is down from the 400's to 90 this morning,,, my weight is down over 30lbs already,,, and I haven't ingested a carb since Christmas.

So yeah. Here's to not dying. (holds up goblet of water, and waits for internet clink of glasses)

 

The month of November I took up a strict Paleo diet in order to adhere to the Whole30 challenge and I lost 12 lbs., off of a fit frame, to the point of people saying that I looked too skinny. The conclusion of that challenge merged at high speeds into the holiday indulgence highway and I put the weight right back on. The icing was a weeklong icefishing trip which consisted of constant binge drinking, much junk food, and no self control, overeating at every turn. Probably up 5 or 7 lbs from my original weight, 19 up from my Paleo losses. Disgusting.

My goal of the Paleo diet wasn't to lose weight, necessarily, but I loved the results. So now I'm back, for at least a month, if not two or even full-time (with cheats for occasional drinking for social purposes). Also back to throwing shit around at the gym four days a week, which was inconsistent at best in December and early January, and hoping to add a new cardio program to cut the extra weight I gained and to begin training for the Tough Mudder in Boston in mid-April.

Everything in my life is better when I look and feel great, so here's to getting back to that ASAP.

 

I've lost 45 lbs while my ex girlfriend has gained what appears to be 15 since we broke up. I will continue to be petty about winning the breakup to focus on my weight loss.

As for smoking less weed, I don't get high enough to have fun with it any more so tolerance breaking is necessary.

 

I'm court ordered to sort myself out, that's how I do it.

One year of sobriety, here I come!