Stopped Drinking Alcohol

I tend to agree with this. I’ve gone to drinking virgin bloody marys. V8 with a splash of worchestershire and hot sauce. Delicious.

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Cool man! I made it as well and plan to keep going indefinitely. My wife is 50 today so perhaps a glass with her however…Don’t really miss it and the only thing I had trouble with was I went into a rather large calorie deficit. I couldn’t figure out why I was dragging and not riding as well I should have and it just came down to calories in/out.

Can’t remember if I wrote this but, what helped me was simply eating snack very late in the day. That seemed to eliminate the urge. Maybe my body was just always a little behind in calories that time of day??? Don’t know but, glad I figured it out! Peace

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This definitely comes off a bit preachy but the part I found most interesting was this bit from the end:

Specifically, a conclusive, documented argument may be offered which suggests an athlete loses up to 25% in performance gains simply by drinking alcohol during intense training. One single ergogenic supplement may enhance performance up to +5% over the same effort applied under the same conditions. The absolute perfect combination of supplements, nutrition, and hard work may net up to +20% in performance gains. Let us therefore not give alcohol the slightest opportunity to erode hard efforts for which we are spent, firmly focused, and intensely impassioned for finishing the race… the best way we can!

Really resonates with me since I’m spending countless dollars on aero wheel upgrades, spirulina supplements, and a vegetarian lifestyle to help my performance and health. Then I go and have a big night at the pub?! :tired_face:

Yeah - I’m in Dublin this weekend and have already exceeded my weekly average. And the game is tomorrow! :shamrock::rugby_football::muscle:

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nailed it! :+1:

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Made January, thinking I might go for a few more weeks and see how it goes. Honestly haven’t even had the urge to drink, though I haven’t had any social situations where there has been any pressure either.

Absolutely spot on and just clicked a few cogs into place in my simple little brain. Stop sabotaging all the effort on the bike, and the $$ on the upgrades, and start looking after the most important part of the puzzle. Then and then will the Watts will follow.
I’ve had a good three months of being healthy but have slipped thru January (the irony is not lost one either). This thread has just made me realise how stupid it is to be chasing gains whilst not giving my body the chance to recover and adapt.

Dry February for me! March too, maybe.

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I’m catching this tread late and have been inspired to get dry. I can’t remember the last time I went for a solid week without alcohol. What probably was a social activity and or coping mechanism - could now be a problem if I’m to objectively look at it.

…and to think I could get better training results…, well, I’m in need of them :slight_smile:

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So I did dry January and made it all the way through without too much effort. Noticed improved recovery, better sleep and some weight loss as well.

Split a bottle of wine with hubby last night and oh man did I have a rough night of restless sleep. I’m not ready to be teetotal but the plan is to drink a lot less going forward.

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I think this is an approach that works for many people. I’m down to about 2-4 beers a week now, whereas 5+ years ago, it was a lot more than that.

I’ll usually have a beer after my Thursday or Friday workout, then a couple on Saturday. I’ve found this does not impact my sleep or recovery much at all.

The key thing for me is that whatever pattern I pursue, it needs to be sustainable for the long run i.e. the rest of my life. That’s also the reason why I have never tried any extreme diets, as I know I won’t stick with them.

That’s why for me, moderation on most things is better than cold turkey.

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Me too and now I share a bottle of Wine with my wife every saturday night - and thats it!

Now i loose weight on my diet. Same diet without wine 3 or 4 days a week

I occasionally drink non-alcoholic beer when I’m in Europe, but, in the US, it’s only readily available from sh*t domestics, so I have to resort to the real thing. :slight_smile:

nice post. click here if you want to know more about Alcohol withdrawal

Is anyone still with me? 23rd February and I still haven’t had a drop of alcohol this year! I didn’t plan to do Feb as well but it just sort of worked out this way. By coincidence my wife has been on a fitness push too, so has been happy to (mostly) abstain and I’ve had a few opportunities to volunteer to be the non-drinking driver over the last few weeks, so it’s been pretty easy to be honest.

I can’t say I feel that much different as I never drink very much anyway, but I do know we’ve saved a small fortune on good quality red wine, more or less our only usual drink of choice!

I’ll get to the 28th of Feb and then resume normal life I think - our birthdays are in early March so I fancy a drink or two at that party!

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Agree 100%
Aside from the physical effects, I’ve witnessed far too much negative behaviour with people drinking. I can’t believe how many people use it as an excuse for their behaviour. I don’t drink mainly cause everything tastes like ass to me ans not to mention why would I want to wake up feeling like shit and be out of pocket too? I understand people enjoy drinking it’s just not my thing and thankfully I’ve got true friends/family who don’t bully me into drinking and their personalities don’t change between drunk and sober.

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Yes, me.

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Yep!! I drank far too much during the second half of 2018 and I’m actually enjoying the break. Have now decided to stay dry until Italy Divide race in April and possibly TCR in July.

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Stopped drinking about 6 months ago (attempting to go at least 1 year without drinking). So far, so good! However, I’ve seen no drop in weight or change in body composition—which shows that my diet could use a lot of work. In general, I feel better overall and the early morning workouts have been more manageable and more productive since I stopped drinking, so that’s a win. I’ve also seen more FTP gains since I’ve stopped drinking—not sure there’s a direct correlation there, but I’ll take it! Next step—get the rest of my diet in check.

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I find kombucha a good substitute as well. I’ve never been into any of the NA beers.

Interested info giving these guys a try though…