Yesterday I read this article and I feel like, while it is
not entirely applicable to me, it does have a resonating message. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-fitzgerald/7-things-i-learned-during-my-year-without-alcohol_b_5291015.html
This article is the first hand testimonial of writer Kelly
Fitzgerald on the benefits she realized whilst becoming sober. I think becoming sober is a life choice, and
a pretty tough commitment, but I have seen people go through it and it is a
really beautiful thing. While I think to
completely abstain from alcohol is for people who have a problem managing their behavior or consumption, or as Kelly
puts it ‘an addictive personality,’ I do see benefits in cutting down intake.
I am a social drinker, I would never classify myself as an
avid or binge drinker, just someone who has drinks on social occasions. I never act in a way I would be embarrassed of later, nor do I do things I would regret, I just enjoy in a beverage while being at events. However, being as I am in my mid-20s, there
is never a week that goes by without some sort of social function. I indulge in the occasional glass(es) of wine
at dinner, but keep most drinking to the weekends (preferably Friday or
Saturday). Lately, though, I have found
myself going to more work functions, dates, weddings, birthdays, and other social
gatherings more frequently. This means,
not only has my little free time completely dissipated to non-existent, and you have to make
plans with me weeks in advanced, but also that I am now skipping the gym to
attend events. This would not be such
a huge deal if I did not 1) love my gym time and 2) wasn’t ingesting more
calories than I was working off.
That being said, after reading Kelly’s article, I decided
she had a point. While I do not have a
problem, I do feel it is better to wake up early on a weekend (although I
already do) but feeling refreshed . . . and I probably should be going for
weekend morning runs. This article made
me feel like I should get back to basics in my life a little bit. Being as I like working out and I always feel
better when I do, and the same goes for eating clean, I decided to clean up my
act a little bit better (no pun intended).
So, I am going to institute a new set of healthy living rules for me to
follow.
First, I will be cutting my coffee intake to once a
day. I always have a cup of coffee in
the morning, but then when I get to work I would have another, and then even
get coffee with coworkers, and all those coffees (and calories) add up. Additionally, on the coffee train, I am going
to drink it extremely dark, if with anything at all. There is no need to have so much milk in your
coffee, and I am realizing that I was a little too liberal with my milk pour .
. . even if it is just skim. Second, as far as
alcohol goes, I would like to personally challenge myself to 40 days without,
which honestly I do not think is a difficult feat. However, with the several
weddings/showers/bachelorette parties I have this month, I am thinking cutting
it down to special occasions only will suffice.
Not only will these cutbacks help my body, but they will
help my wallet as well! You see, you do
not need to cut back on things only when they’re destructive to you. I would never say I was ‘addicted’ to
chocolate or that eating a tub of Nutella ruined my relationships, but I cut it
out of my life because it made me feel sluggish and sad about life (half
joking). That is the same with
alcohol. It does not affect my life in a
negative way other than the fact that a drink adds enough calories to replace a
meal, and quite frankly, I can have fun doing anything. So as I am cutting people out of my life that
do not bring happiness or productivity to my life in some way, shape or form, I
am cutting out all activities that do not do the same either. You don't need a diet to get fit, just a lot of determination, and making healthy choices. The healthy choices I decided to make lately will not only help my body but also my mindset and lifestyle as a whole. So wish me luck, dearest reader, as I enter my
journey into sweet, sweet Nirvana.
No comments:
Post a Comment