Welcome Neak. I’m 41 as well ans I’ve been sober 1 year 5 months. Now I had that same exact inner monologue when I quit drinking. I still consider myself a newbie to sobriety. In this time, my bloated acne face is gone and clear. I didn’t lose Much weight the first year choosing to concentrate on sobriety so I did eat sugar, but I lost bloat and felt so much better. I also took long walks...exercise is your friend. The self loathing, anxiety and the what have I done with my life... thoughts have faded. You start to appreciate things so much differently and better. As they say it starts with one day at a time, don’t take the first drink. Then I made a one year goal..now it’s a five year go. If I’m struggling it might be the current hour goal, but the benefits do truly come. Now, as time went by I’ve added more exercise. It’s much easier to exercise and take long hikes when your not hungover. I sometimes think about when I hit 50...and what advantage it would be to have my body and mind free that long of the drink? It would be amazing. You can do it too.💪