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40 Days Without Booze

jdmoyer.com

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Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#211

Post by GuiA »

arg01 wrote: post #199
GuiA wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's true- alcohol has a greater risk for dependency and causes greater physical harm than marijuana, LSD, psilocybin and friends.

Yes but a far lower risk of casual use ending up with you charged with something. It would be hard to argue that people smoke marijuana because it is less likely to have a negative effect on their lives. This doesn't mean we disagree on whether it should be legal but until it is I'm going to keep my use down to infrequent trips to Amsterdam.

It only gets you charged with something if you use it illegally.

In many US states, including the ones most frequented by HN's target demographic (CA, WA, OR, CO, etc.), being a legal user is much less of a pain than being an illegal user (and you get much better choice in goods too!)

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#212

Post by jborden13 »

nrivadeneira wrote: post #149
bitops wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely - I've started practicing aikido 3 times a week, for at least an hour each time I go (I worked my way up to it). I usually go to the dojo for 2 1/2 hours, but not always. It's done more for my physical and mental well-being than any other type of exercise. Practicing Qi Gong in the mornings before leaving the house has also helped. Generally speaking, I think practicing martial arts is a good thing for tec…

That's exactly how I feel about powerlifting. Once you get to a certain level, the attention to detail, specificity, and focus you need to progress are great analogues to other areas such as programming or entrepreneurship. It's become my personal meditation time where I disconnect from everything else and focus intensely on optimization and improvement. If anyone is interested, this book has given me a vastly differ…

I want to tack on cycling to this. I can't count the number of times I've wanted to solve all of the world's problems at the beginning of a bike ride. And the result is always the same. The primary problem that I end up solving is 'how the hell do I move myself over the next 60+ miles without blowing up and getting dropped by the pack.' And not falling - not falling is key. Dodging cars, cyclists, potholes, cracks, animals, gravel, basically anything that can ruin your ride, becomes a major focus. Then after you finish the ride, you are on a physical high from the exertion and a mental high from getting to take a break from your petty little problems.

Man I want to go ride now...

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#213

Post by heurist »

vannevar wrote: post #181
nrivadeneira wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find that a hardcore workout works even better than alcohol. Not only do you get the same winding down effect in a short period of time (assuming you're really killing yourself and working to exhaustion in the gym), but you get a lot of additional benefits along with it: better focus, improved health, boosted confidence, and improved body composition. You wake up the next morning feeling a lot better about yourself…

I started working out daily last year and almost immediately noticed a marked reduction in my tolerance for alcohol. A couple of drinks and I'm done---any more and I start feeling hung over before I've even gone to bed. Has anyone else experienced this after taking up a regular exercise schedule?

I'm in pretty good shape and alcohol always makes me tired, no matter what time of day I drink it. So I avoid drinking it, which probably contributes to these symptoms in the first place. I'm not sure if they originate from the exercise but that's an interesting observation.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#214

Post by adl »

eyeareque wrote: post #103
reustle wrote: post #11

Great writeup. As someone who never drinks, and never has, it continues to sound like a drug to me and I want no part of it. That said, I still get questioned about my decision like I have 2 heads.

I've also never drank before. People just can't seem to understand why I have never chosen to. I've also never met anyone else who has never drank.

I don't drink either! all my friends think it's weird :-)

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#215

Post by [deleted] »

hoka wrote: post #189
reustle wrote: post #11

Great writeup. As someone who never drinks, and never has, it continues to sound like a drug to me and I want no part of it. That said, I still get questioned about my decision like I have 2 heads.

Nice to read others like me exist! My dad drinks, but is pretty picky; only high end IPAs for the most part. That's what he brews too, and I love helping, mostly because I appreciate the science. I don't look down on anyone who drinks, as long as they're not getting blasted just for the sake of it. Okay...maybe I judge you if you drink cheap beer...but only in good fun! I'm 22, and I tried wine on my own terms at a w…

[deleted]

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#216

Post by peterwwillis »

Tips on abstaining:

* Don't keep any alcohol in your house

* Don't go anywhere that drinking is the primary focus, or even secondary focus

* Pick up a regular hobby that makes you happy and do it at least three times a week

* Talk to people you enjoy and join them in activities that don't involve drinking

* Put the amount of money you'd normally have spent on booze into a piggy bank and watch it grow

* Make a list of things that make you happy, and revisit it when you're feeling down (instead of revisiting booze)

* Get a buddy to abstain with you from drinking or smoking for mutual moral support

* Put an 'X' on a calendar for every day you don't drink

* If you find it difficult, give yourself an arbitrary goal date. Once you reach it, try to extend it further

* Make it easier for you to drink healthy things by getting things you need (tea infusers, pitchers, juice concentrate, water bottles, etc)

(I recently did two months, which was much harder for me than I anticipated, but I finally got over the hump and have had very little to drink for weeks. Feels nice to have more productive things to do than burn money and feel run down in the morning, and i'm looking better too!)

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#218

Post by forgottenpass »

chrischen wrote: post #193
HelloMcFly wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it is a drug, there is no debate there. Like any drug, such as caffeine or aspirin, one must decide for themselves 1) whether the associated positives outweigh the associated negatives and 2) whether you're able to control your consumption so as not to tip scale from net positive to net negative. Legality and ease-of-acquisition are a part of this decision. I like drinking, and brewing, and would never give it u…

The positives are almost always cultural. Then you just have to ask yourself if you want society to dictate how you live your life.

Then you just have to ask yourself if you want society to dictate how you live your life.

Well, no, I don't. But its an unavoidable force that has and will continue to dictate almost every waking moment of my life.

Switching from one broadly socially acceptable state (drinking socially) to another broadly socially acceptable state (never drinking) does not change the level to which society dictates how you live your life. The only thing that changes is that your sobriety may be a curiosity for people that engage in drinking.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#219

Post by HelloMcFly »

chrischen wrote: post #193
HelloMcFly wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it is a drug, there is no debate there. Like any drug, such as caffeine or aspirin, one must decide for themselves 1) whether the associated positives outweigh the associated negatives and 2) whether you're able to control your consumption so as not to tip scale from net positive to net negative. Legality and ease-of-acquisition are a part of this decision. I like drinking, and brewing, and would never give it u…

The positives are almost always cultural. Then you just have to ask yourself if you want society to dictate how you live your life.

Life is cultural. We're embedded in a culture. Cultural positives are not any less "true" positives.
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