Giving up the booze

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Comments

  • Good on you for doing it. I’ve done the same and (as other people have mentioned) it required a bit of rearranging of my social life and some annoying conversations with friends at the start, but the benefits far outweigh all of that. It’s strange how it’s seems socially inappropriate (in other people’s eyes) to a) drink far too much and lose control of one’s life and b) not drink at all; I quickly realised that owning my space and not apologising for it made a big difference.
    It goes without saying that training is better, general decision making is much better, emotional highs and lows are much reduced. 
    Interestingly I've developed much more of a sweet tooth since - seems I need to do something that’s ‘naughty’ regardless of what it is! And I will NEVER be able to give up coffee!
    Best of luck to you and enjoy waking up with a clear head every day 😀
    Tom
  • good luck on the giving up!
  • I find i can’t be bothered after running
  • Lot of spam on here
  • Stopping drinking is definitely helped by running.
  • Wish I had the willpower. Although I am only drinking on Friday nights now. Trying to run after a few jars is no fun.
  • I too made the plunge!

    Never turned back since, I have lost 4 stone ever since reducing my alcohol consumption! Not only providing so many benefits for my body, but mental health and shot up!!
  • Starting to feel like booze is a massive waste of time
  • Everything in moderation. Balance is key. Sometimes cold turkey isn't the way to go, especially if it can effect your social life. Try going out and having just a couple, then going home, Test yourself and your will power. If you can tee-total and are happy with that, then all the power to you. There aren't any significant health benefits from alcohol anyway.

    When I quit drinking I lost all my friends. I guess I just wasn't Mr Fun anymore. Best thing I ever did, changed my drinking habits ---> changed my social circles ---> Changed my life.

    Now i'm in a better place where I can go out to dinner with my family and have a couple of drinks and relax, without having to down pints and aftershocks, then puke them all up with a kebab at stupid O' Clock in the morning.
  • I used to follow this thread actively back in 2014 and before. I had gone from living with my mate who was a heavy drinker, to moving in with my GF who drinks v occasionally, and that was the biggest difference I found. I've gradually drunk less often and when I do drink I don't drink as much, not really a conscious decision as a general lifestyle trend. having kids since 2015 also doesn't lend itself well to hangovers, so these days I probably have a can once a fortnight, and that's it.
  • A friend of mine has just had to give up drinking because he had developed fatty liver disease. He's discovered that alcohol free (or low) beers, like San Miguel 00 and others, have improved a lot recently. They taste almost lake the real thing - and if it's important they make you look like your drinking normal bottled beer!
  • each to his own i gues...a friend of mine finishes a 22 km run (thats the route he runs) then off for cold swim and then some beers :wink:
  • Just turned 40, drink far too much. Having stuff in diary on evenings (club running) means that those nights are covered. I'm not able to have booze in the house without drinking it but keep buying it. I quit for 3 months a few years back and have done a month here or there since but inevitably back to normal (for me) drinking after few weeks. Going to try to stop, at least for a few months after christmas (not new year) so will see how it goes. 
  • Will soon hit Day 150 alcohol and smoke free after the better part of twenty years binge drinking and smoking heavily. Despite the booze and cigs I was quite fit in my early 20s - playing lots of football. 

    There are millions of benefits to not drinking, obviously. The one I'm most pleased about is how it's now so, so much easier to achieve a basic level of consistency with getting yaself up and out for a run. To the point where I now want to approach running from a technical level and build a sensible programme as opposed to desperately doing it sporadically to lose weight.

    My only regret is not doing it sooner. I'm 34 now. I had a hell of a lot of fun socialising with alcohol involved, and have amazing memories and brilliant mates. But I got everything I was ever going go get out of alcohol years ago, and the last five years' worth of drinking have been largely pointless.

    Really, really excited for the future.
  • I love that this is the most popular forum on a runners website  :D
  • Also love that it's easier/more accepted to not drink now. 
  • Hey - I only joined yesterday and cannot make my own thread?? - Apologies for posting here!!

    I am in the same boat - too many years of drinking heavily - no dependency but more habitual, I have a stressful job and used to just get home in the evening and have a lager, or a gin, then a few more and it became a habit - I am in the middle of Dry January, and whilst I won't completely stop drinking, I am already thinking that it is having a really good impact - I have an active lifestyle, however, I am crap at running for any length of time - I started the couch to 5K - did the first one which was ok, not too bad but the day after, I notice that my calfs and quads were sore (i realy should have done some stretches.

    I am not an unfit person, I am a football referee (level 5 for those that know) but i really struggle in running rather than short sprints and movement which I would normally do on the pitch so I am looking for any type of help and guidance.

    I wear a fitbit (charge 3) and when I did the first round of C25K my heart rate did go up to just under 185 - I have looked into MHR and as I'm 44 this seem high, but from reading that MHR calculation can be off and also a wrist HRM can't really be too accurate.

    I want to run, I want to build cardio and overall fitness and perhaps in doing so also lose the small beer belly that I have gained - I'd welcome anything that will point me in the right direction and I'm looking forward to getting better :)
  • Hi Deadpool and welcome. 

    The C25K is probably the best thing to do as it will build up to where you're able to run for the full 5K.

    And I was the same in that I came to running from playing football. I always had the view that whilst I could do short sprints I couldn't run distances as I felt I struggled to control my breathing. It was only when I stopped playing football and put on weight I figured I needed to do something and tried running. Started slowly and would run a couple of miles to begin with, but as my endurance grew so did my confidence that I could run further. 

    I now belong to a running club (great atmosphere), run 3-4 times a week and, until the pandemic, would do Park Run every weekend and would participate in a race at least once a month. 

    As such my take is that doing the C25K programme will get you on the right track to ensuring your endurance is improving and with that the confidence to push it on harder.
  • congrats to all those that managed to give up the booze! Hope it's still going well for you all.

    Last year I went from drinking everyday to not drinking at all for 4 months, when Christmas came around I started again in the week leading up to it.
     I told my self I could just have a few over the holidays but ended up drinking everyday for the full week, which mainly consisted of Whisky and beer. People I know told me to not worry about it as it was Christmas but I know that once I get into the habit of drinking again the next 6 months or so fly by without me even thinking about quitting and I can't seem to just cut down because that soon becomes everyday drinking again. Anyway I have decided to try and give up alcohol full stop and haven't touched a drop since Boxing day, Running as stopped me thinking about going to buy any beer every time I finish work and is keeping me occupied enough to not think about it to much at all. I plan to keep off the alcohol and run as much as I can this year (especially looking forward to Parkrun making a return) and I guess I chose to type this out here so it makes it more real and not just something in my head!

    Good luck to all those trying to stay sober through out 2021 and especially in a lockdown when there isn't much else to do!  :)
  • I feel your pain, i to like a good drink. I didnt touch a drop over January and started back in February in moderation.

    I have seen a few comments about the couch to 5k app. I have just done completed it and cant recommend it enough.

    I have never tried running and never been much for exercise.

    When i started, i thought i wont keep this up for 9 weeks, thats far to long. But i started and at first it was a real struggle. Then as the weeks went on i thought i cant run for 10 minutes without stopping. I kept with it and before i knew it i was running 20 mins without stopping.

    I have just got back after completing my first 5k without it.

    For reference, when i started i was over 110kg, im now 102kg. I havent made dramatic changes to my life style other than drinking 2L of water a day  trying not to snack and making an effort to drink less alcohol.

    I feel much better for it and would say to anyone considering it, DO IT! Just stick with it as best you can because in no time you will start to see the results.
  • Hi I’ve just joined but can’t see how to post on thread so I’ll jump on here. <div>Any advice for training for my first fell race would be appreciated - that stuff is only a 5km run so not the sort the big guns do!! </div><div>I’m going to buy a pair of new trainers this weekend as current ones are tatty. Any advice for good trail trainers would be appreciated too 
    cheers
     j</div>
  • Give up the booze are you crazy ! :)

    I get how drinking excessively can lead to issues and it's not good for you but a few pints on a Friday & Saturday I don't think makes much difference. Key for me is not drinking so much it effects sleep massively

    I also make my own, have a bar and full 4x19 liter kegs worth as a different hobby so need to stay on top of excessive drinking.

    Train hard during the week and allow myself a beer on the weekends
  • Wishing you luck. I know how hard it can be to resist temptations
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  • Good idea mate. Better off without it likely.
  • I think by running fairly regularly, it helps with not wanting to drink so much. A run in the morning will make me more tired at night and less likely to want a few drinks.
  • > @Ash said:
    > I think by running fairly regularly, it helps with not wanting to drink so much. A run in the morning will make me more tired at night and less likely to want a few drinks.

    Big time Ash. Once you get the fitness routine rolling, you naturally begin to lose interest in drinking. you're too busy trying to keep running.

    Win, win.

    :)
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