stirfry

Hi Everyone!

What benefits did you get from NOT drinking?

(feel free to link to other threads discussing this. I'm new here & unfortunately feel too weak to read about challenges, struggles, & drinking again so I haven't read much)

I've had a few years of daily wine drinking (3-4 glasses, maybe up to a bottle a night) So far I'm 3 nights without & feeling pretty good but must admit I do feel tempted late at night. Could really use some reinforcement here.

I'm also concerned about gaining weight (I think the wine made me slightly nauseated the next day so I didn't eat as much)

Thanks so much.

Stirfry

Starburst

Welcome, cant say much of the benefits, except your will soon regain energy and be able to wake up hang over free. Welcome and i hope you feel stronger soon!

keithj

When quitting drinking, I experienced a substantial lack of death. YMMV.

loveon2legs

Hi Stirfry and Welcome to SR!!!
Wine was my thing too...I drank at least a bottle every other night towards the end of my drinking career....I've been sober almost six months now, and what helped me was finding activites to do during the times I would normally drink....especially in the early days...The benefits of not drinking for me is just feeling so good...feeling alive..i have more money,better relationships with people..remembering the night before...getting things accomplished.... it's like a huge veil has been lifted from me.....I just love it!!! I still have cravings, but they come and they go......and you will find coming here great for your recovery! SR is definetely a huge part of my recovery!!

Wishing you well!!

SereniTee

Benefits include (but are not limited to)

Peace of mind
longer life
better health
better appearance
less worry for family
better relationships
more money
better work prospects
dignity
pride
more spare time
more energy
No hangovers
Remembering everything you do
Having control over everything you do
Less stress
Less arguments
less feeling sorry for yourself
more sanity
more sanity
more sanity
more sanity

Fandy

welcome to SR....there was a thread back in February this year in the Newcomers forum called "Physical Vanity".

at that time we calculated the calories consumed by me drinking 8-10 glasses of wine each evening....can you see almost 1500-2000 extra calories per DAY...empty alcohol sugar calories.....or about an estimated 9000-14,000 per WEEK....

even if I eat ice cream or cookies every day, I figure i am saving myself about 7,000 calories a week....and it shows.

the benefits include normal BP, HR, more energy, less puffiness in my face, stomach and clear skin, no shakiness, eating a balanced diet and overall better health. no palpitations and i can run up 3 flights of stairs....(i'm 53).

Music

The most immediate and obvious benefit was I wasn't getting drunk!

rws177

Hello,

This is a fun one for sure.

-Not calling in to work sick or coming in extreamly hung over having people stare at me
-Going back to school and making honor roll
-Feeling great physically
-Eating breakfest
-Working out
-Not dissapointing my friends and family
-Knowing I am not jacking up liver
-Making family birthday parties on Sundays instead of dealing with a hangover
-Saving Money
-No more insomina, thats right the backlash of drinking keeps you up

chellabella

Fandy..you hit the nail on the head. I was drinking a complete !.5 liter of Chardonney everyday...no wonder I'm bloated and don't remember things. I'm on day 3 of sobriety and can already see a difference in my jeans. I even had ice cream after my meeting last night.

CarolD

My first benefit....my situational depression lifted.

Glad you are here....Welcome...

As you requested....here is another link

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-question.html

Fandy

you must be my twin.....that is about what I would drink too....I am convinced that all the sugar in the wine was contributing to a pre-diabetic blood glucose reading....and a massive hair shedding I experienced...(thankfully it is growing back)!

if you have a picture to compare at monthly intervals you will surely see a difference in your face....I was red, puffy and bloated..now I can see my cheekbones.

and YES to breakfast!!!

least

Yes yes yes!!!

Sasha4

I like the first moment when you open your eyes and don't have to cringe about how you got to bed the night before and what you did. No panic attacks, no palpitations,no blurred memories, just happy to welcome the day.

x

debs

Love it!

ElegantlyWasted

I no longer live ou the Willie Nelson song, "At 2 I Went to Bed with a 10 and at 10 I woke up wit a 2".

On a more serious note: I no longer get arrested, and can genuinely connect with other people as well as having a much better grasp of what I can control an what I can't, and know I have the ability to have a positive impact on my world: also new found appreciation for my parents walking the fine line for me between enabling and letting me ou on the streets, and when I find myself slipping and manipulating out of instinct I call myself on it and stop, etc. (think I could ramble for pages). Point being alcohol contributed to me doing things I believe in my heart are morally wrong. Only by not drinking do I have the ability to know this.

debs

Let me count the ways!!! (as they say )

My new sober life is absolutely amazing.. beautiful.. unbelievable.. blessed...

My relationship with my son is fantastic.. he's got his momma back...

My relationship with my family is awesome.. (I think they actually believe that it's really over this time lol)

I absolutely LOVE my job.. and when I'm tired, it's because I've put in a genuine effort at whatever I'm doing.. not because I'd polished off 1 1/2 fifths (or more) of vodka the day/night before..

I wake up in the morning and the worst thing I'll have is an itch on my butt lol... No headaches, no nausea, no regret, no shame, no shaking, no NOTHING.. I'm only thrilled to have another beautiful day.. And what's cool is.. I still of course get those horrid nightmares where you drink... but that moment when you wake up and realize it was all a dream.............. now THAT'S a great feeling!

I've lost 40 pounds since March... 40 pounds!!!.. I've got energy, I've gotten off my BP meds entirely, I've halved my depression meds and I'm just about ready to ask my doctor about getting off of them entirely, my liver is back to tip top shape, and I truly look better physically now than I ever have.. and the pounds just keep dropping off with hardly any effort at all...

I can hang out with my 9 year old son, my 5 year old nephew, and my 7 year old nephew at the SAME time.. BY myself.. and have an absolute BLAST!!... lol

I'm getting my finances sorted out so we're living comfortably... and I can actually afford to take my son to DISNEY World next month! (Yay!)

I'm staying caught up on housework and responsibilities.. a HUGE improvement for me... I'm making new friends, getting out more.. and just absolutely loving my life..

It's the best decision I ever made in my life- getting the help I did.. and I'm forever grateful to every single person who was involved in that journey... including the precious folks here at SR.

Another

I've enjoyed not allowing myself to get run over by people like I did even though mentally dealing with everything now has it's own challenges.

I don't smell like a brewery going to work the next day.

I enjoy most of all being mindful of people and all things around me instead of barely existing as a walking zombie.

wren

"What benefits did you get from NOT drinking?"

Getting to feel like a human being again. That's not always pleasant, but it feels a lot better than feeling like an emotionally dead person.

MelindaFlowers

Hi Stirfry!

Great question. I stopped drinking about a month ago but I haven't really made a list of the positives yet. I hope this helps you.

1) My appearance is slowly starting to come back.

After five years of drinking 10 units of vodka every night my eyes looked old, tired, dull, red, and puffy. I'm starting to be able to look at my face in the mirror again. My skin-tone is starting to look healthier, not flushed, moist, and blotchy. My eyes are coming back to life, looking happier, and the whites of my eyes are starting to become white again.

2. I've lost 10 lbs.

I was drinking between 1,000-1,200 calories a night of alcohol. I was also the type who like to eat junk food when I drank and since I drank every single night I ate junk food every night. When I woke up the next morning, every morning, I craved junk food and soda to cure the hangover. I'm also able to go to the gym now and exercise everyday because I am not hungover, I am hydrated, and I'm not simply chipping away at the 1,000 calories I drank the night before. I am burning real calories that come from food.

I gained 30 lbs in three years from vodka.

3. I don't have to apologize for everything, everyday anymore.

I don't know how loopy you get off those 4 glasses of wine but my ten drinks would occasionally give me split personalities. One of the personalities liked to write goofy things on facebook, send silly emails, talk on the phone for hours, and joke around with my partner. The other personality liked to write negative, b*tchy things on facebook, send angry emails, make unpleasant phone calls to friends/exes, and verbally attack my partner.

About the apologies, whichever of my drinking personalities decided to possess me that night made me do embarassing things, whether it sounded humorous at the time, or horrendous things that made me cringe the next day.

I was apologizing all the time for what I did, said, how much alcohol I purchased, how much money I spent, who I offended, who I embarassed, etc.

4. I feel good in the morning/I don't feel sick, like warmed up death every morning.

This was a pleasant surprise. I had completely forgotten what it was like to wake up feeling good, hydrated, healthy.

5. My self-esteem has gone way up simply by the fact that I have control over my life.

I started feeling like a pretty weak human being by waking up every morning and saying, "Not again! Tonight I'm not going to drink" and never, ever following through. It feels good to follow through with something.

artsoul

The first big thing for me was not living with that horrid anxiety.

Also, not having to plan, count, hide, lie, sneak, run to the store, worry, regret, make promises, break promises, or obsess.

FREEDOM