Back in June of 2018 (this past Spring), I mused about how much weight, if any, I could lose by eliminating all alcohol from my daily consumption of calories. Although when I was doing the Rapid Fat-Loss diet my calorie count was reasonable, I did wonder if I eliminated the empty calories, would I shed more fat.
I played around with it for a while, then decided to go all in, so I could accurately report my findings, instead of just cutting back, which I had essentially done anyway.
So, sometime mid-September till now I consumed no alcohol in any form – didn’t even cook with it. So that’s about 2 months. I figure that’s enough time to smooth out any wrinkles.
I gained 1 pound after 1 month. I haven’t weighed myself since then, because even though I may not have gained and maybe even lost a couple pounds, I’d rather keep in the dark about it till the end of the year. I want to give myself more time to focus.
My calorie count didn’t go down since I just ate what I normally would drink in calories. I wasn’t too strict with myself.
It wasn’t difficult to abstain from alcohol, and Steve did it with me, but the habit of eating out and drinking out was the biggest obstacle to overcome. What do we do instead? Being animal-free, I didn’t care so much about the quality or availability of animal-free food when out, since I could have a couple of drinks and a salad or fries or just a veggie and still have fun. Without the drinks, it’s a whole different ballgame. I’m not going to pay twelve dollars for green beans or a salad that I could make at home.
You’d be surprised how much a couple of drinks will allow you to tolerate mediocre food. It’s just not worth it, and frankly, I’d rather be using my money for something else, rather than supporting every restaurant in the city that serves a vegan burger. It’s like, is that all there is? I mean, how many vegan burgers can one person eat and pay top dollar for them, in addition to the tip and the drinks?
I was shocked at how much a soda costs in a restaurant. It’s almost the cost of a beer. So that’s over. If a new place opens I’ll try it out, but I no longer consider it my responsibility to support restaurants that offer one vegan item or that have no imagination nor desire to please the customers with varied tastes. I fought that battle – for decades – now let others do it or not. I’ll eat my own cooking at home. It’s far superior to anything I could get out.
And the socializing thing? I socialized enough for ten lifetimes. It gets old.
I made myself a new skin and it’s alcohol-free and I’m comfortable in it.
I’ll check back before midnight on 31 December and record my weight progress.
Oh, and the exercise. I’m not noticing a big difference in the amount of exercise I do, or noticing an increase in stamina, but one thing for sure, all those little things that I often attributed to alcohol, didn’t end up being the alcohol at all. So that in itself could make someone decide what’s the point, I might as well drink. And I’d have to basically agree, except that I don’t worry as much about stuff. I’m feeling the presence of my younger self. I like that.
This new skin is a keeper.
