OT: I quit drinking alcohol

[zambenini]

A buddy will ignore a drinking problem but a friend will call you on it. There's a huge difference. Good luck my man.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[kohagen]

Originally Posted by grateful

He will hear you. If he is ready to make the change he will listen.

I am going to recommend The Naked Mind book once again.

When I began to read her book I was shocked how close her story was to mine.

Of note, the beginning of the book doesn't come out and say you need to quit totally. Important because it helps get the person to begin reading. While that changes as the book continues it helps with that initial fear that you have to stop completely.

For me that was important.

Back in the day, I liked "Drinking: A Love Story". A good read about this issue.

[redir]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Hey grateful -

Thx for the response. Much appreciated. As I said, I was going to post a thread myself on the topic seeking advice.

If I can get your feedback (or anyone else's) who might've gone through a similar situation with someone they really cared about.

.

For you, or your friend, or anyone else reading this who suffers from AUD look up "The Sinclair Method" and do some research. It doesn't work for everyone, nothing really does, but if you are the right type of AUD, specifically binge drinking for example when you have one drink you have an insane desire for another one and you drink till you are drunk, then it probably will work.

I used to drink just as much or more as the OP because I could not stop once I started. With TSM I can literally have one drink now and then go off and do anything I want.

Anyone feel free to PM me if you do not want to talk about this in the open.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Thanks for sharing your story. Very compelling and helpful. And thanks for your advice on my question. Really dreading this. I don't think I'm being a good friend unless I'm brutally honest. It might cost both my personal and professional relationship with him, but otherwise I feel like I'm complicit in the lying.

I had to do this. It wasn't fun or pretty. It strained our friendship at first, but I couldn't just watch it happen without trying.
At the end, it didn't help. He ended up losing a job, a wife, and eventually his life. I miss him. I always feel that there had to be something I could have done. I also know that, ultimately, he was the one who needed to do it for himself.
Good luck.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by grateful

I was probably spending $1000.00 per month on alcohol.

The first time I went to a local restaurant I frequent my tab went from $150.00 to $50.00 this first time my wife and I didn't order alcohol with our meal. We would go out once or twice per week.

Move to San Francisco and you'll stop drinking quick . I went surfing with a guy who gave up drinking and switched to edibles because of the economics.

Again, happy to read about your success.

[AngryScientist]

good for you grateful.

it sounds like the level of drinking you were at was pretty severe.

my initial thought when reading the first post was that the health benefits (reduction on cholesterol and hypertension) were really the result of losing a good chunk of weight, not the cutting of alcohol - but in the end, it doesnt matter, you are healthier, and not dependent on medication, and that's great.

i wish you much continued success and health. thank you for you open and honest dialog.

keep us posted on how you get on.

[FlashUNC]

Having known enough active and recovering alcoholics, kudos. Keep working whatever program you have -- whether that's AA or something else -- and recovery is a day at a time.

[54ny77]

damned good thread.

again to the op: congrats and more power to ya! you sure answered my original question re: calories lost and what that kind of calorie consumption that equated to previously.

i have a buddy who was pretty active cyclist and general fitness. stress and life somehow mixed itself into a toxic cocktail that also includes a lotta vodka cocktails, and his weight literally doubled to almost 300, which is about 140 past healthy given his frame. i've asked to think of his kids to get his ^%!# together but, there's only so much one can do. as another poster said, one has to do whatever it is that needs to be done, by & for themselves.

[soulspinner]

Stay on the bike. Good on you man. About my 3 pints a nite...

[grateful]

Originally Posted by soulspinner

Stay on the bike. Good on you man. About my 3 pints a nite...

I became an adult (legal drinking age), in Seattle. Startup craft brews were on tap at every club, some awesome band was playing every night of the week. Good times for sure.

I knew it was downhill when I started selecting my next pint based on alcohol content.

[grateful]

Been posting here since the beginning. I am not going anywhere.

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

good for you grateful.

it sounds like the level of drinking you were at was pretty severe.

my initial thought when reading the first post was that the health benefits (reduction on cholesterol and hypertension) were really the result of losing a good chunk of weight, not the cutting of alcohol - but in the end, it doesnt matter, you are healthier, and not dependent on medication, and that's great.

i wish you much continued success and health. thank you for you open and honest dialog.

keep us posted on how you get on.

[grateful]

I suggest you find a book about the topic that is highly rated and gift that with a personal note. When he is ready he may find it valuable and treasure it as a beautiful gift.

QUOTE=54ny77;2632214]damned good thread.

again to the op: congrats and more power to ya! you sure answered my original question re: calories lost and what that kind of calorie consumption that equated to previously.

i have a buddy who was pretty active cyclist and general fitness. stress and life somehow mixed itself into a toxic cocktail that also includes a lotta vodka cocktails, and his weight literally doubled to almost 300, which is about 140 past healthy given his frame. i've asked to think of his kids to get his ^%!# together but, there's only so much one can do. as another poster said, one has to do whatever it is that needs to be done, by & for themselves.[/QUOTE]

[IJWS]

Congratulations to the OP. Quitting drinking voluntarily is a huge step.

I have been dipping my toes in the not drinking pool for a while. I remember several months ago being on a ride one morning after a not so moderate night and feeling terrible, then thinking to myself “oh wow, I used to feel like this 6 days a week.”

It’s good to be cleaner and lighter. It’s even better to start dealing with life-threatening bad habits. I think that you are traveling down a hard road, but you are on the right track so keep it up!

[gianni]

As others have said, Big thanks to OP for sharing and being so candid.

This thread speaks of the long-game and opportunities for self reflection.

Congrats on your choices and thanks for being an example of positive change.

[Clean39T]

Checking in on this thread as part of my positive attitude Friday...

I quit drinking the day this thread was posted - interesting non-causative coincidence - and it's now been two months. The not-drinking part has been easy and worth it - I feel better, I'm getting more done, sharper, etc. Unfortunately, this has been a non-scale victory. Not really sure why, but my set-point is being incredibly stubborn. Regardless, I'm glad I took the step. It is difficult to buck the trend in our society, especially in certain circles, but worth it.