Newbies Nest

[C-Developer]

Newbies Nest

Hello All,

Got up surprisingly early today for a Saturday (around 7:30) and headed to the gym to get in my workout. Planet Fitness has sort of become a sanctuary for me since getting off the booze. I throw on some of my fav music on my ipod, and just grind it out and forget about the world and my problems for awhile. There were far more people there today than last night after work, but it was still pretty light.

After I finished up cardio, I decided that I might as well bite the bullet and get in some circuit training also, especially since with the limited amount of other members around, the potential for embarrassing myself was decreased. I had looked up some of my old training regimens from lacrosse camp back in the day, and decided to dive right in. WOW what a difference 4 years makes! Even with reducing the weight by over half of what I used to, I could not get in more than 7-8 reps per machine without my muscles giving out. Even now, my biceps and lats are still quivering as if to ask me "Yo, WTF man"? It appears it is going to take me a significant amount of time to get back into the swing of things with weight training.

I made it back to my place, and am now on the lookout for something to do besides the same thing I did last night.

I like your suggestion BYD, that I might want to take some time to get involved in volunteering or a random act of kindness. I think that is something I certainly need to investigate further. I know this town has numerous charities that are looking for able bodies, so maybe I should find one that I believe in and see if I can't help out in some way. Thanks for the tips. You have proven yourself to be invaluable in offering me great advice, and I truly appreciate it

Have a good Saturday all.

[NoSugar]

Newbies Nest

Hi, Available.

This quote sounds like how we all feel when we have a glimpse of life without the burden of alchohol in our lives:

available;1550350 wrote: Sad really 3D, today i have cleaned my fridge, defrosed the freezer and done 5 loads of washing not to mention all the little things. I am looking at my house going OMG it really needs a good spring clean. Funny how you notice this through clear eyes. I may even take my lovely girls for a walk this afternoon as the weather is glorious still
You sounded so upbeat and happy but then you posted this about 7 hours later:

available;1550414 wrote: Epic fail but only a bottle but not good. tomorrow is another day

Do you know what happened? I'm not trying to pry into your life but to get this done, you need to recognize the things that led you to make this decision and put into place a plan to avoid those in the future.

When I first read this post, it didn't sound odd to me but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that all of us (not just you, Available, so please don't take this personally - your post is just one of many examples all over MWO) have a very skewed view of "normal" alcohol intake. Think about it -- "only a bottle" doesn't sound all that bad to us, does it? But imagine saying to a group of nondrinkers or non-problem drinkers that you drank only a bottle of wine. In the U.S., the recommended intake limit for women is 1 5-ounce glass per day with a meal, about 1/5 of a bottle of wine.

None of us are getting the supposed "health benefits" of a glass of wine or another type of alcohol and anyway, those are observational studies -- there is no experimental evidence that drinking improves your health so that excuse, like all the others we have perfected, is out the window.

If our goal here is abstinence, at least for 30 days, let's not set the bar too low.
Bad choices are not slips and a bottle of wine actually is a very large, toxic intake of alcohol, even if it is less than "usual".

I hope today is your new day 1, Available -- your posts all week sounded so positive and you seemed really comfortable contributing to MWO. We are glad you are here!

Have a good weekend and Be Strong, everyone. :h NS

[broken halo]

Newbies Nest

Hello Nesters

CD, the gym is an amazing stress reliever, I get completely lost in my own little world. My preferences right now are rowing for upper body strength and treadmill for running. I just love those little LED lights telling me how far, how many calories, how much time. I play little mind games and change my targets from cals to distance, distance to speed, just to see how far I can push myself.

Nesters, I had a notion for a cigarette today. Just one. I gave up smoking at the same time I gave up AL as I was disgusted with both of them. I don't know why, but I wanted a cigarette so badly. Almost instantaneously I had the image of a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Just once.

I thought about why, what triggered it. I suppose it's Saturday, that's what I used to do every Saturday, smoke and drink till I passed out, or crawled to bed. I thought of the mess I would end up in on a Sunday morning after all those previous 'just one' moments. Twenty cigs and two bottles of wine down, stinking of smoke, my lips and tongue black from the red wine, my whole body aching, and probably stinking.

I made a conscious decision to focus myself on the life I want to have, and the life that one cigarette and one glass of wine could take me back to.

It wasn't hard. I was brutally honest with myself about the likely results of giving in, and I made the right decision, based on logic.

I want to be on that treadmill tomorrow, challenging those LED lights, bettering my previous performance, with a clear head and a strong body. I want to look at myself in the mirror and like what I see, clear eyes, clear skin, and a strong focus to keep pursuing the life that I want, need and deserve to have.

I hope all Nesters are enjoying a happy and sober weekend, I understand it's a holiday in the US? Make the most of it, be free, and the best that you can be to yourselves!

[NoSugar]

Newbies Nest

You sound great, BHalo! I'm happy that you are so happy!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Great Post, NS, our perception of 'not so bad' is a normal person's 'GOOD GOD!'
I used to justify stuff to myself by saying "I know I screwed up, but I'm not as bad as I WAS". Translation: I am still killing myself, just not as quickly. UGG!

BH and CD, I'm exhausted hearing your exercise routines! Impressive!! Makes my 2.5 miles of walking each workday look pretty lame. Of course, we don't walk if the temp is over 92*, the wind is above 25 mph, if it's raining or threatening rain or below 50*. BUT other than that we are out there every day! :H:H:H B

[C-Developer]

Newbies Nest

broken halo;1550466 wrote: Hello Nesters

CD, the gym is an amazing stress reliever, I get completely lost in my own little world. My preferences right now are rowing for upper body strength and treadmill for running. I just love those little LED lights telling me how far, how many calories, how much time. I play little mind games and change my targets from cals to distance, distance to speed, just to see how far I can push myself.

I know exactly what you mean Halo, as I have been prone to doing the same thing, almost subconsciously, each day I come in. I have been setting the treadmill to 5K Run and each day have been trying to improve my times slightly. This normally means that I am in an almost balls out sprint for the last 60 sec or so to eclipse my previous personal best.

In many ways, it is sort of comparable to the impulse I get to drink. I stare down at my own LED lights with time running out and decide that its "go time". It feels nice to be able to channel that human impulse into something positive. It makes me miss the days that I was still involved in intercollegiate athletics, and this morning I was stuck for an hour looking up my old lacrosse pictures on facebook.

I have to drop off all my dress clothing at the dry cleaners today so I can have stuff to wear to my business conference next week, but I will assuredly be around here later tonight to read and post.

Everyone sounds like they are doing so well, which brings a smile to my face Reading this thread is what makes it so much easier for me each day, and being able to type out my thoughts and activities (no matter if anyone reads them or not) also seems to have a calming effect on me.

[Londoner]

Newbies Nest

Saturday night check in.

Been out watching the football today in a local pub. Does anyone else find drinking dens aka pubs alter their emotions when they're not drinking? Really need some new hobbies for the days that I am not working on my business.

Did not give in today so week 3 done.

[Londoner]

Newbies Nest

Now got a mate pestering me to heaf out "like the old times". Which would mean all night partying.

Will stay around MYO instead. I know how the night out will end.

[NoSugar]

Newbies Nest

Londoner;1550506 wrote: Saturday night check in.

Been out watching the football today in a local pub. Does anyone else find drinking dens aka pubs alter their emotions when they're not drinking? Really need some new hobbies for the days that I am not working on my business.

Did not give in today so week 3 done.
Congratulations on 3 weeks of success!

Londoner;1550521 wrote: Now got a mate pestering me to heaf out "like the old times". Which would mean all night partying.

Will stay around MYO instead. I know how the night out will end.

Way to go! :goodjob:

Posting instead of changing your How To Stay AF plan will make you so happy with yourself in the morning . You won't miss the headache, crusty lips, or worry about what you said or did.

Keep it going!

[available]

Newbies Nest

Hi NS what you said is completely true to us a bottle is nothing to "normal" people it is a lot and way over our standard drinks in Aus for women also. Binge drinking it is called, such a nice terminology for an alcoholic i think. Why did I have "just a bottle", well there is no excuse really, my daughter came over and bought a bottle of wine and it was there and I had had such a lovely day as noted. Not disappointed in myself too much as today is another day and life goes on. I just cant have AL in my house which i have always known and this has actually made me more determined to not have AL as not saying I feel like total crap I feel crappy and I need to look back on the last 7 days and all the positive that came from that.

Today is a mother and daughters day so very productive and Monday I have a day off to pick up the wedding dress and spend more time with my girls. I am still in the positive train of thought with giving up AL so all good.

The thing is I didnt want the AL it was there and I drank it.

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good evening nesters,

Nice job on 3 AF weeks Londoner - feel proud

available, remember, it's always your choice.

Wishing everyone a safe night in the Nest. Byrdie, you need to carry a camera with you at all times :H :H

Lav

[C-Developer]

Newbies Nest

Evening Guys and Dolls,

Your friendly neighborhood code writer checking in. I have spent the last couple of hours looking around at various meetup groups in the area and seeing if there was anything relevant to me. Its seems the vast majority are either for age demographics way older than me, or else very niche interest groups that do not interest me much (some of them are just flat out bizarre).

So it looks like its another date night with my Xbox for the time being, and the more that I think about it, the more I think that might not be such a bad idea after all. At this early stage, maybe it is not in my best interests to invite danger by going out on the town with complete strangers. I used alcohol for a sociability enhancer anyway, and around folks I do not know I might just be inviting temptation.

I already have enough on my plate with the trip to Vegas next week, so perhaps just a quiet evening of gaming and posting here is a decent bill of fare. I am not saying that these are the types of weekends I can endure indefinitely, but it sure beats the alternative of sitting on a bar stool until I eventually fall off of it.

I hope everyone is having a safe, sober, and pleasant holiday weekend.

C

[available]

Newbies Nest

Yes Lav it is my choice and i made a stupid one as as the day goes on I feel just awful. Serves me right but has made me think that god it is just awful AL and back to day 1 with clearer thoughts on the beast of AL and i need to tell my children also I dont want to drink anymore.

have a great day all

[Teabobaggins]

Newbies Nest

Hi all, I'm still screwing up. I made the stupid choice again. But I'm going to get there! Tomorrow will be AL free.

[Samstone]

Newbies Nest

Way to go there Londoner, you should feel proud of your choices, well done!!