October 3, 2017
What Happened When I Quit Drinking
I think it’s safe to say that we all know the long term effects of alcohol are terrible for the body, mind and soul.
I’m not talking about a glass of red wine once in a while, I’m talking about binge drinking and large amounts consumed on a regular basis.
Here is a list, found on drugfreeworld.org of the not-so obvious long term side effects:
- Alcohol poisoning
- High blood pressure, stroke, and other heart-related diseases
- Liver disease
- Nerve damage
- Sexual problems
- Permanent damage to the brain
- Vitamin B1 deficiency, which can lead to a disorder characterized by amnesia, apathy and disorientation
- Ulcers
- Gastritis (inflammation of stomach walls)
- Malnutrition
- Cancer of the mouth and throat
This doesn’t include all the stupid things like falling down and hitting your head/knees/elbows/ego. Duh.
It has now been a year and a half since I decided to quit drinking completely. My life has changed so drastically in that time. I can tell you that I wouldn’t be taking this course and studying to be a health coach if I was still drinking. The first thing that happened when I quit is that within 6 weeks, I lost 30lbs. It literally just melted off. Think of all that sugar that was eliminated from my diet. I was mostly a beer and wine drinker. Not to mention the late night pizza and hangover comfort foods that were no longer needed to soothe my sad soul.
My plan was never to quit forever, it started off with a 30 day challenge and I just couldn’t believe the health benefits I saw within such a short period of time. Mental clarity, more energy, less anxiety, more happiness. I mean, just the fact that you don’t have to worry about waking up with a hangover or coming up with an apology for god knows what is such a huge stress reliever.
So, I decided to go another 30 days. And another after that. More benefits that I started noticing were clearer skin, more money in my bank account, more confidence, freedom, strength. Negative people stopped wanting to hang out with me because I was “boring.” It was really a full body and life detox! Suddenly, the thought of having a drink stopped appealing to me. Not even one. I didn’t see the point.
A year and a half later and I’ve never felt so good. Healthy, happy and energetic all the time.
