Replaced the drinking for exercise and i'm feeling great.
 

I stopped drinking last Friday after 8+ years of abuse and i'm feeling great. I was able to successfully kick the habit by slowly tapering off last week. This doesn't work for everyone (and can be dangerous) but it worked for me. I listened to my body and watched my symptoms very closely.

I'm not even a full 4 days in but i'm already seeing major improvements in my health. I replaced my drinking with nightly bike rides. I come home exhausted, pound a protein shake and tuck the kids in bed. It's great being sober and always being there for my boys.

90 hours since my last drink and I already notice that:
My concentration is still not 100% and I don't expect it to be for quite some time. My body and brain will need time to compensate for the lack of ethanol is my system. It's crazy how adaptive our bodies can be. Just wanted to share, thanks for reading.

very inspiring! Thank you. I really want to get active. I am on day 8 and have gone for some walks but I really want to do more activity. I'm taking it slow though because even though I feel so much better each day, I can tell my body is using up a lot of energy healing.

be careful with the exercise it can be just as addicting as the booze..... lol probably a good thing tho. I'm hooked on exercise myself.

good job on the 4 days!

You're welcome. I hope you get well soon.

Haha, thanks. I hope I get addicted to exercise, I need it! :ExeJump:

Good for you ares - keep it going :)

D

Thank you!

Well done Ares

I started by walking but then when i started running i read somewhere once you can do a 5k you'll be hooked. They where not lieing!

What a great idea! I am day two after many tries. Definitely going to get on my elliptical in morning. Great job.

i am on day 6 and also replaced alcohol with exercise! i already feel better, my face and skin look better, and i notice ive had more energy. im gonna make it

Stay vigilant, Areas. You are still VERY vulnerable.

Good job Ares! I have been doing daily walking. I'm at day 8 right now, but I have gone around 8 months sober and around 6 months sober in the past. I have been struggling with alcohol for like 10 years now. I struggled with drugs also, but alcohol was by far my drug of choice. I've been doing a group on addiction for a little over a month now, but I recently relapsed at a wedding party and I wasn't in the right frame of mind like I truly feel that I am right now after such a bad mistake I made with that relapse. Every time I drink I hurt the people that i care about, and that's what really hurts. I have been trying to be in recovery for the past 2+ years now, and I guess I have really been just doing for other people and not for myself. This time I am doing it for myself and I think that's truly the only way you can stay sober without relapsing. Every time I drink now it takes me close to a week to almost fully recover physically because no matter how long I go sober, I end up going through bad withdrawal even on a one or two night bender. I don't drink like the normal alcoholic though, and I have just started to realize this. I chug right out of the bottle and never pace myself. I skip the "enjoyable" parts with drinking and go straight to wasted or passed out within an hour. I was basically drinking 2 liters of booze a day at my worst, so you can see why I was as bad as I was and had all of the horrors that comes with withdrawal, including constantly throwing up with sometimes it being blood, body in so much pain with cramping everywhere, hallucinations, cold sweats where I would sweat through the mattress, my mind was everywhere, etc.....There was so much crap that went with it and my hands would finally stop shaking so bad after many weeks. I tried to taper myself once, but it never worked and I just ended up drinking the same. So after I would get healthy enough to actually do anything active, I would try doing exercises and that. One of the problems was that at some point I would get out of the habit of being active. I would go back to being lazy and eating unhealthy. Then before I know it, I would feel somewhat depressed and not caring about anything, and then end up drinking again. So you have to just stick with it and not get lazy, or you will go back to the same crap and end up relapsing. Good luck and I hope for the best!

Early in my sobriety I replaced drinking with dog walking. :) They got a lot of walks and I stayed sober. :)

The closest thing I have to a post-work beer to lay the dust down from the work day is a two mile run through the trails in the hills. It works great. Replacing alcohol with exercise is great. Instead of doing something that takes from us, it helps give us health.

Exercise is a great way to curb cravings and feel better! When you're stuck in that horrible cycle of drinking and then feeling shite from it exercise is usually the last thing on your mind, at least it was for me. Plus there is that natural high from all the endorphin's :)

Good for you for getting active, keep it up!

Thank you, duly noted. My guard is still up but i'm moving forward and not even glancing back.

Thanks TReal. I don't remember the last time I had this much energy, ever. I'm only doing it for myself but for my family as well. Setting small and long term personal goals is helping me a lot and maybe it could help you too. Never give up until the goals are met. Best of luck to you as well.

It does give us health and my body is responding with a huge thank you!

Yes, you are going to make it! Now that you mentioned your face and skin, I just noticed that a dark red vessel in my right eye is barely visible now. It developed a few months ago when I was drinking heavily.

:thanks

My accountability buddy is the gym. I'm up by 4:30 every day to get there by 5:30 or 6. Since my changes I've dropped 70 pounds due to this and I have turned a lot of fat into muscle. That along with natural eating (basically meat and veggies) has changed my body a lot. I am more connected with every part of me. It helps me in a lot of ways, but mostly physical and mental health. One of the reasons I committed to such an early workout is that you can't be a dumbass at night if you are going to be at the gym at an early hour.

Good luck in your journey.

A good workout routine is a great way to get and stay sober... taking care of your body for a change feels awesome

So inspiring. I am on Day 5 today and I have been contemplating on when to start exercising. I thought i'd tackle one problem at a time but reading your post is making me wonder why I haven't started yet.

Thank you for sharing this with us. It is my motivation right now!

Physical activity has been crucial to my recovery. Martial arts, bicycling, yard work - it feels great doing these things NOT hungover.

Great work Ares.