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Finally Going To Do It.


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Well here we go again. I quit smoking about 8 months ago and that is going great. Really glad I did it. Or not doing it anymore.

So here I am again looking at the amount of liquor I drink. Not really knowing how much. So last payday when I bought the first bottle and subsequent bottles instead of throwing them out I stacked them up on the counter.

 

Well two week go by and as I look over at my stack, I'm just a bit overwhelmed. I did not realize how much I was drinking. 4 1/2 gallons of Bourbon and at least two 2 litter bottles of soda per bottle of Bourbon. For a grand total of 4-5 gallons of Bourbon and 16-18 2 litter bottles of soda a month at around $200 $250 a month.

 

Wow, ok time to chill out. Since last Sunday I have not drank. So I'm on day 5. Haven't notice if I'm sleeping better yet. We shall see. Regardless it's been at least 2-3 years since I have not drank a glass of 7&7 every single day.

 

So away we go. I'll keep y'all posted on how things go.

Edited by Furian67
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Wish you well on this Furian...wish I could help you with some advice as I quit drinking also, but mine was due to health reasons and bad reactions combining meds and alcohol.

 

I will say this, once I hadn't drank for a while I stopped thinking about it, even when people offered a drink, I simply did not want it. It doesn't bother me at all seeing others drink and I get no urges to try. I occasionally have a little Amaretto. It's a nice mellow sipping drink and I have it as a 'just before bed' time drink, otherwise nothing.

 

Keep us posted on how you're doing :D

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Sounds like a very healthy goal Furian. :) The timing is funny for me because just recently I thought to myself that I should start drinking, haha. Seriously though... I haven't really had a physical outlet so to speak in quite a while and have been feeling a need for something that could chill me out a bit. I've never been a drinker but it's fairly common for people to head on over to a local pub for "Happy Hour" to have an after work drink. I tend to wonder if that might be just the thing I'm needing so I'm giving it a whirl. :D

 

Everything in moderation as they say eh? Though it sounds as though you just haven't been keeping track. Good for you for being health wise Furian. I've been doing the same thing since last year. Not easy to change one's lifestyle but it can be well worth it.

 

 

Cheers, (with water), to your health! :drinks:

 

 

P.s.

BIG time gratz once again on dashing out big tobacco!

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First, good job on going cold turkey on the smokes. There are people I know who can't flat out stop without serious help. Others, I know able to stop just by deciding to do so and also not regretting it ever since. My father and grandmother did that knowing that the family would be expecting child.

 

Also good for you for reaching day 5 with your drinking. I'm just not much of a drinker myself, so it's simple for me. Hope that this also works out for you as it did with the smoking.

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Grats on your attempt to quit Furian67. :thumbsup:

I gave the fags up 10 years ago cold turkey after 25 years of smoking and dont miss them.

 

But like you I also drink way too much bourbon and soda and spend about the same amount of money on the stuff as you.

I wont be quitting that though because I think giving up the booze would be a lot, lot, harder than the smokes. I admire your attempt......good luck. :)

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So far its not been bad. I'm still waiting for the supposed "better Sleeping" but that may just be the low humidity in my apartment. I'll do like dreeft suggested for having a treat now and then. I wont go cold turkey on the booze. I will cut way way down. I have the next two days off work so I will "treat" myself to some Redstag by Jim Beam. Then come Sunday back on the wagon for awhile. It's time to get healthy and sexy again.

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Wow. Our habits really do add up when we stop and think about it, (pile the bottles, or other evidence), don't they?!

 

Re: sleeping better. I find that what helps me get a better night sleep is exercise. When I was hitting the gym regularly, I slept like a log. Options for the non-gym-ready (which is me right now) is simply walking in place while watching tv. After a bit, ( a week), you could then jog in place for 100 steps, then walk in place... just make sure the change is managable, and realistic. Setting too high a goal is discouraging, and setting too low a goal doesn't do much...

 

Congrats on the 8 months cig-free!

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As Schot says moderation is key.

 

Thinking back to the counseling I got after wrecking my Mustang, it's the pattern of regular drinking that is the enemy. Even a one drink every day is considered bad, due to the regular habit. Binge drinking is bad because its very dangerous. So the only "good" drinking is random and moderate. This I guess is true for all things.

 

I find that when I like something ( Sacred2, Ice Cream, Peanut Butter, Rum, or Beer) I really like it a lot. So the only defense for me is don't buy it.( Except Sacred2 of course) So I treat myself once in a while with a six pack or a bottle of rum. But then I don't buy it for a while. I still get urges, but can never satisfy them, so I drink diet soda or water to fill me up( the least unhealthy). Finding something to do to keep your mind busy, like going to the gym is a great idea. (Sacred2 always gets me before the gym unfortunately)

 

Keep it up. I find I do sleep through the night, now. But it took a while. What is more noticeable I think ,is that the days I have a few drinks, my sleep sux.

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Thanks all for the encouragement .... and the smoke free!! Addictive behaviors.... yep runs in the family. Peanut Butter will never be Evil! But moderation in all things is the key. My drinking doesn't bother me, But when I look at the amount that was being consumed and the amount of cash in my pocket or should I say dust balls, ok enough is enough. Thinking about the effort that I would go to to ensure that I was always able to have a drink everyday, that's out of control. Too much. I don't think Mama would be too happy with Bubba right now. And this last holiday weekend back home was another thing. Opened my eyes more. Time to get healthy and lose some girth around the waist. What better way to start than to cut out the unneeded.

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Well here we go again. I quit smoking about 8 months ago and that is going great. Really glad I did it. Or not doing it anymore.

So here I am again looking at the amount of liquor I drink. Not really knowing how much. So last payday when I bought the first bottle and subsequent bottlesminstead of throwing them out I stacked them up on the counter.

 

Well two week go by and as I look over at my stack, I'm just a bit overwhelmed. I did not realize how much I was drinking. 4 1/2 gallons of Bourbon and at least two 2 litter bottles of soda per bottle of Bourbon. For a grand total of 4 gallons of Bourbon and 16 2 little bottles of soda a month at around $200 a month.

 

Wow, ok time to chill out. Since last Sunday I have not drank. So I'm on day 5. Haven't notice if I'm sleeping better yet. We shall see. Regardless it's been at least 2-3 years since I have not drank a glass of 7&7.

 

So away we go. I'll keep y'all posted on how things go.

 

Wow, Furian, this is another huge life changer. Respect! :hugs: My first thing that I'd probably see as someone who gave up smoking was me having to finally "grok" the fact that the habit was occupying many many hours of my day. And that any of the activities that accompanied it, were relatively all frivolous and perhaps even purely supportive to "release" that ten minutes needed for the smoke.

If you were imbibing a volume like that, you could probably even think out how much time you were spending on drinking in a day or a few days. Your challenge could then become interestingly different. Just find hobby, activity to replace all those hours so that it keeps yer mind somewhere else, and, by controlling the drinking, you do not produce empty spaces that may bore you and want you to have to fill them activities which could set you back.

 

I'm very proud that after so quickly powering through the non-smoking quest, you've jumped into something as important and meaningful for health.

 

Keep Keep going!

 

:)

 

gogo

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Thanks gogo. I haven't gone cold turkey, yet. It was the New Year weekend after all. But just starting it and lasting 5 days without a drink showed me that I can do this. First for the wasted money, second for my health. Although the Doctors say my liver is good, I seem to think at this pace it won't stay that way. Time to shift gears and slow the drinking down. Also I'm really getting the urge to get back into the gym again. First was the stop smoking, check got that one, Next is the severely limiting of the booze imbibations. (My own dictionary) The next step will be surgery to fix a tear in my stomach muscle. Can't lift weights and have an alien pocking out.

Time to get back in shape I was in 2008 before "she" left.

Edited by Furian67
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  • 2 weeks later...

Well here comes week 2. Haven't drank since New Years weekend. Last night I actually slept 7 hours without waking up! My normal used to be maybe 3 hours. Got me a 3QT jug that I fill at work, its filtered there, and found some nice sugar free juice/tea concentrate powder that I mix in for some really good flavor. Trying to cut the amount of Soda or Pop us Midwest folk call it.

 

How you doin Bro?

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You're a on a roll here with the out with the bad, in with the good, and this is great news. Are you finding that you're having to take up new activities to replace what you're now beginning to trade out?

 

:)

 

gogo

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Thanks gogo! Don't really feel like I'm having to trade habit for a new habit, Which is really good. Seems I'm getting tired and ready for sleep at the same time I'm used to getting a huge buzz from the booze. Last night I slept for another 7 hours straight before the alarm woke me up. Love my Iphone, had the alarm set for an hour after the first. Yep that woke me too. So a good solid 8 hours of sleep. I'm loving that.

 

Took a walk last night even, concept was a good idea but the timing was off. Sun was down and only 22 degrees Fahrenheit or -6 degrees Celsius. Walked down into town, about 15 minutes before turning back for home. Was a good start but the temp was a bit to low to be breathing hard in as I walked back up the incline to home.

Edited by Furian67
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Took a walk last night even, concept was a good idea but the timing was off. Sun was down and only 22 degrees Fahrenheit or -6 degrees Celsius. Walked down into town, about 15 minutes before turning back for home. Was a good start but the temp was a bit to low to be breathing hard in as I walked back up the incline to home.

 

Lol....-6 degrees C:) Thats insane....coldest weather where I live since I was born is -3 and that was a one off...hasn't gotten near that in years.

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This is fantastic brother. Im proud of you for your will to carry through. I hoped your sleep would get a bit better, and once the weather lets you get to do a little exercise I think it will get better yet. :thumbs:

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This is fantastic brother. Im proud of you for your will to carry through. I hoped your sleep would get a bit better, and once the weather lets you get to do a little exercise I think it will get better yet. :thumbs:

Thanks bro. For the first time in years I've actually slept a solid 7 hours the last two nights. Our family does have enough of a stubborn streak in us to do what's needed done when we put our minds to it.

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Good goin Furian. :) I'm trying to stick to my exercise routine but it's been on and off. Got some nasty neck pain I gotta figure out before I can get serious about exercise. I'm actually considering Yoga...

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Have you seen a chiropractor yet? Ohh and remember to start sloooooowlyyy. I havent seen ya in game since the last time you started to work out. How are your hands doing anyway?

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No chiro yet but I'm seeing a physiatrist next month and hopefully I'll get a good assessment. Everytime I try some sort of activity I get some unpleasant pain later on. Biggest prob is my neck though. It's been locked up for over a month now. Making me craaaazy. ^^ I've read so many articles and there's just so many possible causes but I'm trying little things to help. Like last night for example I tried sleeping with no pillow and instead just a rolled towel under my neck for support. I slept fine. No difference in my morning neck stiffness but it didn't hurt so I'll keep going with it. :) As for my arms/hands it's just a little bit better. I can type for about 30 mins without pain. Before I couldn't type more than 5 mins. Yeesh!

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