Fresh Start Fitness

My lifetime experience with alcohol is not that exciting. I have never felt dependent on it. I don’t miss it or notice it if it’s not around. I rarely keep any in the house and would usually only have 1-2 drinks on a special occasion.

But, when I started to pursue a healthy lifestyle and changed my eating and movement habits, I realized that alcohol no longer supports my lifestyle for a few reasons:

I can’t afford the calories. The sugary cocktails are too many calories than I can take in and use. And the calories that I’m taking in need to be fueling and edifying to support my exercise goals. Alcohol serves no nutritional purposes.

I can’t afford to miss a workout. I drank too much at a party and was sick and hungover the next day, which meant I couldn’t exercise and it devastated me. My mental health and physical training suffer when I don’t get in my regularly scheduled exercise.

I was anxious and worried about whether or not I was going to drink. When I started realizing that alcohol was negatively impacting my health, I would feel anxious before going to an event where alcohol would be served. Should I drink? How many drinks? What if I screw up and have too much and miss my sleep or my workout? I would negotiate in my head about the calories and decide if I should give something up (like, protein) in able to stay in a calorie deficit. The mental space it was occupying was annoying, exhausting, and I just don’t have time for additional anxiety in my life.

Taking alcohol off the table for me, all the time, has freed me from feeling stressed about whether or not to drink, how much to drink, and worrying about the consequences. I’m free to eat calories that fuel me for exercise and fill me up with nutrition. Physically and mentally, it’s just better for me.