I’m 90 days sober today. It’s a good time to reflect in general.
On the whole, life is significantly better. I feel much better about myself. My mood is better and I have less anxiety. I’ve lost 8lbs. I’m sleeping better. My RHR (resting heart rate) is lower and my HRV (heart rate variability) is higher. I’m almost always in the green with my Whoop scores. I’m training more consistently and frequently than I can ever remember (4-6 times a week) and without injury. All of my health habits are also more consistent – eating, supplements, water, caffeine intake etc.
I know that sounds a lot – almost unbelievable. I’ve written before about how I thought alcohol was the root cause behind my struggle with other things. Too much alcohol on one or two evenings can have a devastating domino effect on other parts of my life. My sleep suffers. My mood is affected. I get anxious. I eat more bad foods. I workout less. I stray from proven habits and routines.
It’s also bigger than each of those individual negative impacts. I lose positive momentum. And then it takes a lot of time and effort to regroup and get back on track. And when I do get back on track, like a vicious circle, it just takes one or two days of a little too much alcohol to disrupt it again.
Is it all good news? Mostly. That said, I still get some low level cravings for a nice glass of red. I’m also still trying to figure out how to feel comfortable in situations with a drinking atmosphere. That’s about it though and the positive benefits vastly outweigh those minor issues.
So, where do I go from here?
I’m going to stop counting days for a start. And then I’m just going to keep an open mind and do what feels right. That might mean never drinking again. It might mean finding a way to drink infrequently and with limits, if I feel I can successful with that. But, right now – it means continuing not to drink for the foreseeable.
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