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My observation is that my drinking habits match my food habits. Both require careful attention although alcohol unlike food has a built-in negative feedback mec

My observation is that my drinking habits match my food habits. Both require careful attention although alcohol unlike food has a built-in negative feedback mechanism. I do a dry week without alcohol every once in a while just to make sure I can. I find doing a dry week without alcohol the same difficulty as dry week without diet Coke. Which is to say I like diet Coke a lot and both require effort. You get things like hey wouldn't a diet Coke be nice, and then have to remember you aren't drinking that now and then the thought will repeat several times in a fairly small time window.

dpark 11y ago
> I find doing a dry week without alcohol the same difficulty as dry week without diet Coke. This is similarly true for me. I can abstain from alcohol, but I miss it when I do. The effort is similar to abstaining from, say, ice cream or cookies. I would eat ice cream every night if it didn't feel so unhealthy. I also find that when abstaining from alcohol, I crave ice cream and other sweets far more. Alcohol and sweets seem to satisfy a common underlying craving in me. It's far easier to give up one than both.
- stephengillie 11y ago
  Beer has numerous vitamins & minerals and fiber. http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/good-bad.php http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/good-bad.php And apparently microbrews are healthier than domestic brews.
- uptownJimmy 11y ago
  When I quit drinking, my sweet tooth grew immensely. That's a pretty common story.
jotm 11y ago
Now do a dry month. I am very easily addicted to alcohol, I hate the goddamn thing, I can hold out a week, but a month is much harder and shows exactly how far into it I am...
- Zazezizozuzy 11y ago
  Did this though April. I have high blood pressure and my doctor is going through a list of substances that I should remove from my diet to see its effects. I cut out alcohol through April and my blood pressure went up significantly. After the first week I was showing a consistent 160/100. My doctor then recommended that I have a single drink at least every couple days.
  - mrtron 11y ago
    What is your exercise regiment? Try 30+ minutes of moderate exercise daily.
- mrtron 11y ago
  I am a moderate drinker, and currently doing a dry month. It is trivial for me to do, and I could do a dry year or decade. I will likely resume drinking alcohol after this month (or months) as I enjoy it and don't see any strong negative impacts from it.
  - jotm 11y ago
    That is great, you can get all the positive effects without the negative ones. Myself, I'll always slip into addiction, just can't control it.
mod 11y ago
> I find doing a dry week without alcohol the same difficulty as dry week without diet Coke. I have a different experience--I find it very easy to abstain from alcohol (I probably drink one night every 2-3 weeks on average, but typically a lot on that one night). But then, I find it VERY difficult to avoid soda. This assumes that I have both readily available in the house. I'm pretty good at not buying soda and therefore not having any to drink.

dpark 11y ago

> I find doing a dry week without alcohol the same difficulty as dry week without diet Coke. This is similarly true for me. I can abstain from alcohol, but I miss it when I do. The effort is similar to abstaining from, say, ice cream or cookies. I would eat ice cream every night if it didn't feel so unhealthy. I also find that when abstaining from alcohol, I crave ice cream and other sweets far more. Alcohol and sweets seem to satisfy a common underlying craving in me. It's far easier to give up one than both.

stephengillie 11y ago
Beer has numerous vitamins & minerals and fiber. http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/good-bad.php http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/good-bad.php And apparently microbrews are healthier than domestic brews.
uptownJimmy 11y ago
When I quit drinking, my sweet tooth grew immensely. That's a pretty common story.

jotm 11y ago

Now do a dry month. I am very easily addicted to alcohol, I hate the goddamn thing, I can hold out a week, but a month is much harder and shows exactly how far into it I am...

Zazezizozuzy 11y ago
Did this though April. I have high blood pressure and my doctor is going through a list of substances that I should remove from my diet to see its effects. I cut out alcohol through April and my blood pressure went up significantly. After the first week I was showing a consistent 160/100. My doctor then recommended that I have a single drink at least every couple days.
- mrtron 11y ago
  What is your exercise regiment? Try 30+ minutes of moderate exercise daily.
mrtron 11y ago
I am a moderate drinker, and currently doing a dry month. It is trivial for me to do, and I could do a dry year or decade. I will likely resume drinking alcohol after this month (or months) as I enjoy it and don't see any strong negative impacts from it.
- jotm 11y ago
  That is great, you can get all the positive effects without the negative ones. Myself, I'll always slip into addiction, just can't control it.

mod 11y ago

> I find doing a dry week without alcohol the same difficulty as dry week without diet Coke. I have a different experience--I find it very easy to abstain from alcohol (I probably drink one night every 2-3 weeks on average, but typically a lot on that one night). But then, I find it VERY difficult to avoid soda. This assumes that I have both readily available in the house. I'm pretty good at not buying soda and therefore not having any to drink.