Wednesday, August 24, 2011

A Night Out.

So I went out drinking Saturday night, a work thing, and it constituted my first consumption of alcohol in 2-2 and a half months, and I gotta say... I don't miss it.

And I don't see why it's such a big deal.

I don't want to seem indifferent, I've certainly had my share of boozy nights, but I wonder why this is a part time obsession for Australians. I'm not a moral arbitrator of course, ultimately I don't mind what you do with the body you inhabit, the only people I have to regulate on this issue are the people who pay me to do so (and family members and loved ones?).

Having a night out, I was very aware that I felt like shit, even when drunk, and I came to the conclusion that alcohol allows people to romanticise; they romanticize the booze itself, their feelings when on it, their own lives and the emotional angst they may feel. And I worry that's where the feedback loop is, the encouragement, the reward. Alcohol becomes about escapism, about flying free from the imprisonment of the day to day, of the mundane so to speak.

But it's fake, it's an illusion and you pay for it, with your liver, mind/brain and most importantly, to me as your trainer, your bodyfat percentage levels.

The crap I ate over the weekend is sickening, I put myself back a few weeks with my eating habits from that night out, I feel lethargic, tired, de-motivated.

Therein lies the self fulfilling nature for habitual drinkers, is it your life that's keeping you down? Or the alcohol? A vicious cycle of drink, feel like crap, feel depressed, drink to escape that.

I don't envy anyone in that cycle, but for anyone who is willing to admit they may just be, there is hope, and it's a hope I've offered throughout this blog. Training, focusing on self improvement, your diet, these yield positive results and positive self reinforcement. Change the cycle, from drinking, self sacrifice, emotional angst, helplessness, to; positivity, training, feeling invigorated (endorphins), seeing results (confidence), repeat!

The first step is the hardest, realising alcohol is a problem that keeps you down, the second step is easy, removing elements in your life that allow you to get into that comfort zone: friends, habits etc, the third step is easiest: get in the gym and make healthy choices with your food!

Wow, doesn't this sound like a sermon, coming from an atheist!

8 comments:

  1. Dude, sounds like you drank with the wrong people :P

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  2. Or I'm just over drinking... And I care about being comitted to my fat loss goals *ziiiing*..

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  3. Hey, if you compare my current drinking to my pre-Rob drinking you would be astounded. I am a social pariah. Haven't done Sunday pizza and pint at the Scotto in forever (My friends have almost stopped inviting me!!!!). I am practically straight edge.
    Don't even want to think about all the Wed and Thurs night gigs I've missed :p

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  4. Again, your friends sound like douches...

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  5. Oh. El. A good support network is vital to success, in anything.

    I will say it is a rather big call to say that all people 'romanticize the booze itself, their feelings when on it, their own lives and the emotional angst they may feel'. Some people may. Some people may just like wine. For some people it may be about escaping of loosening up, but that doesn't mean that they are unhappy with their lives.

    As you’ve mentioned in training, your body is rejecting alcohol, hence feeling like poo. As you get older (I’m not saying you are old) that tends to happen. People that are younger may not feel that way. I remember being in my early 20s and never suffering through a hangover. These days it’s a bit different...

    So what you are feelings are indeed valid, but not across the board.

    Wouldn’t it be great to convince all of your ‘maggots’ to go booze free? You know how great it feels and you just want to share it, which is valid. I found a new toothpaste last week and I want everyone I know to use it because it is sobloodyfantastic, BUT if someone is moderately satisfied with their toothpaste the likeliness of them heading straight to the shop to get the toothpaste is low. Until they run out of toothpaste and are faced with the consequences of having really bad breath and yucky teeth, they probably won’t rush out to buy this super awesome toothpaste. If I remind them about the awesome toothpaste, provide a stunning representation of the toothpaste and give them meaningful reasons to buy the toothpastes, they are much more likely to buy the toothpaste. I have to remember that I cannot make them buy the toothpaste. I cna just give them good information to base their toothpaste buying on.

    So until your ‘maggots’ (which I exclude myself from because I’m awesome), face some serious consequences for their booze intake they are unlikely to make any drastic behaviour changes. Some may curb their drinking, but altogether stop? Not likely. Especially in Australia where drinking is a pastime. So what to do as a trainer? Remind each client of the results they could be getting if they cut or limited their consumption. Keep providing the information and encouragement for people to change their intake. All you can ask is that they have a ‘moment of pause’ before they take a drink to consider the consequences. I’m sure it is frustrating at times ... really frustrating but you can’t force people to behave in a manner you think is best for them, you just provide them with the information to make different decisions.

    My brain is much today ... and not from wine! 

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  6. For both this post and 'the Dialogues', I would say that until a persons desire for long term goals (fat loss, body fat %, dropping a clothes size etc) is significantly greater than the desire for short term satiation (sweet tasting food, the relaxing feeling from alcohol etc) then you're not going to make any meaningful progress.

    Cutting back/out alcohol is not a big deal if it helps you achieve your goals. If you value the booze more than achieving weight loss or fitness goals, then honestly, you're probably not that serious about achieving those goals anyway.

    (I was going to do a longer reply on drinking and support of friends but it was turning into a bit of a rant of my own - I think the above probably says enough)

    Sean

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  7. Yasmin:
    "I will say it is a rather big call to say that all people 'romanticize the booze itself, their feelings when on it, their own lives and the emotional angst they may feel'. Some people may. Some people may just like wine. For some people it may be about escaping of loosening up, but that doesn't mean that they are unhappy with their lives."

    Reply: I'd agree Yas, but I'd also say, I said alcohol "allowed" people to romantisize it, not implying that all people necessarily do. I'd also say, that to those people who "just like wine", that's great, but when you (and I don't mean 'you', rather the 'royal' you) can't stop drinking to get healthy, lose weight and/or associate alcohol with a good time, that's a problem irrespective of fat loss goals (obviously it's detrimental to them too).

    Yasmin:"Wouldn’t it be great to convince all of your ‘maggots’ to go booze free? You know how great it feels and you just want to share it, which is valid. I found a new toothpaste last week and I want everyone I know to use it because it is sobloodyfantastic, BUT if someone is moderately satisfied with their toothpaste the likeliness of them heading straight to the shop to get the toothpaste is low. Until they run out of toothpaste and are faced with the consequences of having really bad breath and yucky teeth, they probably won’t rush out to buy this super awesome toothpaste. If I remind them about the awesome toothpaste, provide a stunning representation of the toothpaste and give them meaningful reasons to buy the toothpastes, they are much more likely to buy the toothpaste. I have to remember that I cannot make them buy the toothpaste. I cna just give them good information to base their toothpaste buying on."

    Reply: Of course the problem with your analogy is, toothpaste doesn't make you fat, and is indeed good for you... I would never tell my clients to stop eating vegetables, or training, or generally being healthy.

    Yasmin:"So until your ‘maggots’ (which I exclude myself from because I’m awesome), face some serious consequences for their booze intake they are unlikely to make any drastic behaviour changes. Some may curb their drinking, but altogether stop? Not likely."

    Reply: Of course I would never say "don't drink ever", but there's a difference between enjoying a glass of wine every couple of weeks, to getting smashed, nightly or weekly (which some of my clients do). Especially on your fat loss goals, which is my main concern.

    Yasmin: "So what to do as a trainer? Remind each client of the results they could be getting if they cut or limited their consumption. Keep providing the information and encouragement for people to change their intake. All you can ask is that they have a ‘moment of pause’ before they take a drink to consider the consequences. I’m sure it is frustrating at times ... really frustrating but you can’t force people to behave in a manner you think is best for them, you just provide them with the information to make different decisions."

    Reply: Agreed, although I am working on a mind control device, you'll be the first to know (or not know) when it's activated... ;)


    Sean... Amen!

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  8. I don't understand people who drink alone; for me it's purely social, and only ever associated with hanging out with my girlfriends and having "the best time ever", being obnoxious, and making general nuisances of ourselves :)

    P.S. Dairy makes people fat. It is for fattening up baby cows. Vegan OUT ;D

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