@TTQTTFG --
No matter what I think, what I say, what I do, or how much I worry, other people make their own choices, and they aren't always about me.
So true, and glad to see that realization in you. It will bring much needed relief from the stress caused by trying to "save" others. In my case, worrying about my daughter and the destruction her bad choices were bringing to her life was ruining mine. But I'm finally getting past that.
Not boozing has been good for my health, more than even exercise. I've dropped only a few pounds and am back to excising about the same level I was a year ago, but my blood pressure is the lowest it has been since I started monitoring it 6 years ago: 111/79. And I'm still 25 pounds heavier than I was then (5'11" and 274 lbs, argh). Now I'm curious about my borderline cholesterol problem that my internist wanted to put me on Statins for, which I declined to do. On my last blood test on 4/1/2010 it was 212 total (below 200 is goal), 134 LDL (below 130 is goal) 51 HDL (above 45 is goal) and 134 triglycerides (below 150 is goal). Most people would probably just say "no duh! are you surprised that constantly drinking to excess was bad for your health??" I was always worried about liver function, and took milk thistle every day to counter act (or at least mitigate) the damage, but didn't think as much about other systemic degradation from being toxic all the time.
Anyway, seeing is believing, and I can say with certainty that long-term alcohol abuse caused my blood pressure to be higher than normal. The good news is that after only three months, the effects are reversed. I'm glad to see these low numbers. And no, it is not a fluke. I check my BP about the same time in the morning after showering, before eating, and when there is a change (like this morning), I check it again after 10 minutes. I only check it occasionally now, since I believed that weight loss was the key for me to get my BP down. I still believe my BP is elevated some due to being overweight (simple physics of pressure on circulatory system) but seeing this drop which has held constant over the past few weeks is a bonus.
Time to go to work and raise my BP some, but I'm working on ways to keep work from consuming me so much. Hope everyone has a great week!
Lee