Day 22: Broken scales

Well so much for the weigh in. The scales are not working for some reason. Fucking things.

And I didn't trudge off in the dark this morning, so my walk today is not looking good. I have another work function after work.

Perhaps the scales got wet. I should have not kept them in the bathroom.

To top it off I've been awake since 3.30. I don't know why. Looks like a shithouse day coming up.

Day 21: Three weeks

Three weeks off the turps.

Had another work dinner last night. 5 courses with wines matched to each course.

Not for me.

Got up at 5 and walked around Mt Cootha for 3 hours 45 minutes with a mate.

Can't go wrong after you've done that. It was beautiful up there.

Sure beats a hangover.

Now I'm well and truly into not drinking piss, and I have a good level of fitness, I'm going to start focussing on the numbers with weight loss. I've got a fair chunk to lose, so rather than let it overwhelm me, I'm going to do it in three phases.

Phase 1 - Get rid of the weight that should never have been put on.
Phase 2 - Work through the long term weight that I need to lose.
Phase 3 - Transition to guru status.

Phase 1 starts tomorrow - I'm going to hop on the scales and the goal of Phase 1 is to knock 20kg off from tomorrow's weight. I'd want to lose at least a kilo a week in doing that. Hopefully more. How am I going to do it:

1. Stay off the piss.
2. Exercise every day.
3. Not eat any crap.

If that doesn't work I'll look at cutting down the food, but I think to be honest that will work fine if I keep it up.

I'd like to start tomorrow by trudging off in the dark at 5 to do my 1.5 hour Cootha. If I did that every day there would nowhere to hide.

Day 20: Another incident free friday

It is old news to me, but I was met with more disbelief last night at drinks when I told some co-workers my plans. As I've said before, some people react by suggesting that 1 year is extreme, or can't be done, and have I thought about a month, or three months.

I asked them to please not try and talk me out of it and that was pretty well that.

I've got another function tonight. A function so horrific you can see why people turn to drink to get through it. I think I'll just have to arrive late and leave early. At least I won't get pissed and tell people what I really think.

Or will I? Not the pissed part, I can say that with confidence, but I've noticed as I think I've observed previously that when I'm tired especially I can sort of feel partially pissed with pissed people and act accordingly. What this means of course is that part of what I considered pissed behaviour was just caused by fatigue, or is otherwise conditioned behavior.

So if you're the sort of bloke who spills his guts pissed then you may well spill your guts sober but tired and with people who are pissed.

The only difference is you don't end up drunkenly eating the whole pizza when you get home and being hungover and eating more shit the next day.

I plan to walk today just to take advantage of my hangover free state.

Day 19: Alcohol and health

I'm not anti-alcohol. I think it's fantastic in moderation and occasionally not in moderation.

But, being off the turps to focus on being fit and healthy for 12 months, I can't help but try and look around the net to see if what I'm doing is a good thing or a bad thing.

Stories can vary. I've seen the following:

1. Rabid anti-alcohol sites, from the true believers who are probably also god botherers.
2. Terribly sad stories about how alcohol has destroyed lives, which is not relevant to me but you can see why they said goodbye.
3. Alcohol is great - you should all get pissed with your mates and it hasn't done me no harm (Guilty as charged your honour).
4. Alcohol is sophisticated, and we are not drinking but tasting and being high brow (Perhaps also guilty your honour).
5. Alcohol will keep you alive longer eg French paradox (ah, perhaps I've kidded myself with this one too).
6. Alcohol in moderation is part of a life well lived, just like a good meal, and any risks are worth it (where I finally got to in maturity).
7. Alcohol causes about 70 different health problems, and may have some benefit but this is inconclusive.

An example of 7 is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_effects_of_alcohol. I mean, look at that list. If you caught little jonny chewing something that had all those side effects you wouldn't be too pleased as a parent would you. Yet you wonder if it is true, or have the god botherers gotten to wikepdia as well? The stat I keep coming back to is that moderate drinkers seem to live longer than people who drink nothing every time (ie from all causes of death).

So spin it however you like, but if you can cope with moderate drinking (a glass or two with dinner) you'll live longer on average, god botherers be damned.

I guess at the end of the day we all have our own situation, and our own priorities. Only we individually can determine what is the best approach for us, and what is the best way to manage our relationship with alcohol.

In my case, at the moment, I'm trying to look like the fit guy. To do this, I'm off the turps for a while.

As a pleasant side effect I'm sleeping better and feeling better.

Only when I do look like the fit guy will I have to think about whether or not I should go back on the drink. That will be a good problem to have, as looking like the fit guy is not an easy thing for me to do.

Day 18: Walk

Well, my mother came to the rescue and we both trudged off at 5.10 this morning, in the dark for at least 30 minutes before the sun rose. Felt great once I got into it.

Had lunch today again. No dramas not having any grog, although I do think about it.

Day 17: Sydney Mark II

I spent today down south. Food average. No grog. No walk. Hope to walk tomorrow.

Day 16: Poor food no walk

Title says it all. No grog though.

Was all keen to smash Cootha this morning. But I left my bloody shoes at work yesterday.

Sydney is now tomorrow. So, need to walk today. I might try and go at lunch.

Day 15: Still on the wagon

Well I didn't have a drink.

I didn't go for a walk either. I need to do both. So, a walk after work today is in order.

I'm probably in Sydney tomorrow so that may make it difficult. Perhaps I'll cab it to coogee for an early morning walk before breakfast!

Day 14: Part Two and almost breaking

Perhaps I spoke too soon. I think my biggest pain of not drinking is when I am cooking or eating a meal. I guess that's better than all the kids who get shitfaced till 3 in the morning, and I'm showing my age and interests. No problems when my dickhead mates hit the sauce - but when I'm cooking something that needs wine in it, and I go to have a taste to see if it's right, and I realise I can't, then it shits me. And I think how wonderful it would be just to have a glass, where it the harm in that.

Where indeed.

Guess I'm not over not drinking yet. I think I came the closest to breaking in my two weeks ten minutes ago. Over a stew.

Day 14: Two weeks

Well two weeks off the sauce. Seems like a lifetime ago I was pissed around a bonfire with the odd coal floating into my hair, and so hungover the next day I didn't bother to walk in a glorious bushland. Instead I ate a buckload of fried crap and barely said a word.

None of that today.

Withdrawal symptoms have gone. They lasted about a week. To recap the upsides after 2 weeks:

1. Feel much better.
2. Sleeping much better (may be responsible in part for 1).
3. Exercising more.
4. Exercising stronger.
5. Eating better (although more work has to be done).
6. Not having the calories of the grog. How many standard drinks have I not had in 2 weeks - 30? 40? More?
7. I can feel that I'm getting smaller due no doubt to 3, 4, 5, 6 and perhaps 2.
8. I'm more productive and more likely to do fun stuff with my time.

Downsides? Well I guess a few times I've wished that I have had a drink. There is joy in that, and in being a bit pissed.

But, on any measure, the upsides far outweigh the downsides. I have no regrets. It was absolutely the right thing to do. Long overdue - why didn't I do this 2 years ago?

I'm also positive about the next 10 weeks for starters. I'm keen to start knocking off some weight now. Getting into a killer routine. Starting to look healthier, and feeling even better. I'm not obsessing with the figures. They will sort themselves out if I get the rest of it right. My shirts already feel looser.

So goals for this week:

1. No crap food.
2. Exercise every day.

I think that's all I need to do really. No piss is just assumed. That battle is behind me. For now at least.

Day 13 Part 2: Why I'm doing this

I thought I would make a second post today, as I normally post early, before any exercise. By the time I post the next day the exhilaration has faded.

I did drag myself around the hill just then. The most important thing is putting on your shoes and getting out the door. You never regret it (whereas you almost always regret binge drinking). Today the sun is shining, there is a slightly crisp breeze, and walking around the Australian bush for an hour and a half was a complete pleasure. A joy. My fitness is improving. I'm walking for longer without stopping. I'm breaking into runs. I'm enjoying it more.

What a fantastic start to the day. Life affirming really, exercising in the bush.

Ain't that the truth!

Anyway, in my sliding doors alternative universe I would be awake but hung over, either eating the left overs of a pizza I bought drunkenly the night before, or driving off to the bakery to eat some sort of fatty breakfast.

I would mope for the day, without any exercise, and probably eat more crap for tea.

That's why I'm doing this. I feel great.

Day 13: Dodgy food

It's good to wake up rested and not hungover again on Saturday morning. It is dark now, but I'm going to walk a longer Cootha later - the route that takes almost four hours. That will help me after eating some stress related crap during the week and especially yesterday.

I didn't end up walking yesterday which is another reason to go.

Met someone for a 'drink' at a fancy bar yesterday at 4 overlooking the river. She had a couple of nice wines, I had a bottle of still water, for which I was charged $6.50. The hide of them! Mind you her wines were 15 bucks each.

Anyway although the alcohol looked very enticing I stuck to my overpriced water. It was strange going back to the office sober at 5.

In fact I've noticed a strange thing. When I'm in a situation in which I should be drunk, I can act a little as though I am. Not in a motor skills sense, or not having a clear head, but I think acting in a more relaxed, jocular or informal way. I guess that's a good thing because I can unwind and be part of it without being pissed.

Day 12: (Non)pissy lunch

Went for a cracker walk yesterday. After speaking ill of my terminator mother, she arrived with her little head torch, and we trudged off into the dark at about 5.15 to take on the wilds of Mt Cootha.

Sounds crazy but my piss-free fitness has noticeably improved after only 12 days. I was bounding up the hills, relatively speaking, and breaking into a little run 3 or 4 times. Good effort over about 1 hour 45 minutes.

If I did that every day there would be nowhere to hide.

Mum complemented me on my new energy. I haven't told her I'm off the turps for 12 months as I don't want a condescending congratulations (my mother has never been fond of the drink).

Meanwhile, another client lunch yesterday. Guaranteed that I would have had at least 1 beer and 3 wines in my sliding doors alternative drinking universe, after which I either would have had a slow afternoon and sobered up in time to drive home or cabbed it otherwise. Either way, the afternoon would have been a wipeout and I would have been grumpy that night and slow the next day.

Anyway, this time I didn't drink anything. My guests didn't really either, for some reason. I had a great time, with lots of sober laughter. I guess it is true you don't need a drink to have a good time, at least in a non-sexual sense anyway.

The bill was also a couple of hundred bucks less than it would normally be. I suspect I won't be getting the best seat in the house for much longer.

Meanwhile, back in the office, I really noticed how I could keep working on my return. How productive it is off the drink. This was particularly important because a senior character around the traps came for a second opinion on something. Your IQ is higher sober and not hungover. I was able to help him out with a clear head.

I was also able to go out and see a movie after. The things you can do post lunch.

I was on a bit of a roll and keen to walk this morning but unfortunately have left my shoes in the office. I think I will buy a second pair on the weekend. I might even go for a walk at lunchtime today. My goal for this week was to walk every day and so far I think I have except for the day I was in Sydney.

ps - Drink must be on my mind. I had a dream last night I had a drink of Little Creatures Bright Ale. I could see it clearly. Naturally it was in a glass. I drank it, and it was like drinking sunshine. It was wonderful. I immediately felt guilty. What would I tell everyone? Would I tell them? I was in quite the state. Then I woke up to some relief.

Day 11: Bloody neck

My neck is still causing me grief. God knows why. What a pain in the arse. Or neck.

It's just around the base. I just wake up and it hurts like the bejesus. I get up and chew pain killers to get on with it.

Anyway, yesterday was pretty bad food wise. I got stressed at work and sought refuge in some crap.

No piss, thankfully, and I went for a solid hour work after work, but I don't think that would have countered the lunch time crap fest.

It's now pre 5 in the morning. It's black and cold. My terminator mother is back and will be at my door in about 10 minutes, wanting to trudge off in the dark around Mt Cootha. I'm all for it, great to exercise, but I don't know how she gets the will with the cold and the dark. I can't do it, I think, by myself.

It's against nature..

I've been feeling pretty, well, fat. But I think that is a sign that my campaign has commenced. Realisation is the first step and all that after a period of having one's head in the sand.

Day 10: Sin city and missed exercise

In Sydney for the day yesterday. Had too much food, as can happen with flights and being out of your routine.

Felt like piss a few times. Lots of good stuff down south, and relaxing drink is just what the doctor ordered after the long day I had down there. The person I was traveling with had 3 in fact, two at the airport and 1 on the plane.

I didn't.

But I didn't walk either. I guess that will happen and I just need to make sure I go after work today. Funny you give up the piss and just expect the weight to fall off, but I think piss is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for strong weight loss.

I just need to keep building up. It's a marathon not a race etc etc.

Cricked my neck last night pretty badly which interrupted my sleep and I don't feel so flash now. Need to buy some more pain killers.

Day 9: Too dark

Well, as I said, I didn't slog my way around Mt Cootha yesterday. Too dark and cold. Does that make me a wimp. Probably.

But, food was pretty good, and I also made sure I walked for an hour after work.

Felt some pangs as I walked past less salubrious establishments, but again they were cultural rather than physical as I was walking with a known imbiber.

I'm off to Sydney today. Normally I would be doing my upmost to check out the craft beer scene down there - notably the RedOak Cafe.

Not this time.

Just have to avoid the crap food at the airports.

Day 8: On a roll

Well, I took advantage of my hangover free Sunday to go for another walk around the mountain. It is probably close to one hour forty five minutes, up and down hills.

Definitely feeling better. A mate reckons he can see that I'm starting to look healthier already, which is extraordinary. I feel as though if I keep it up I will get smaller - you know how you can feel when you are moving in the right direction fitness/weight wise.

I still don't have the drive I don't think to smash out cootha 7 days per week in the dark (like now, as I write this on the 8th day before 6 in the morning). But I have plenty of time to build up to things. My goal this week is simply to walk every day, and if I'm feeling a bit timid after my 2 Cootha efforts on the weekend, then I can just walk after work.

I can always build it up next week.

Food wise my plan at this stage is simply to eat real food. No artificial shit. Yesterday was ok: omelette for brekky, stew and potato gratin for lunch and ribs and salad and BBQ'd eggplant for tea. Only thing off about all that were the American style ribs. They are making me feel 'fatty' now the next day - something that happens when I eat fats I don't like eating.

I did feel a bit like a drink when I fired up the barbie yesterday, but I could slap that aside and as usual did not miss it when I was actually eating my dinner. It shows that my pangs are circumstantial and habitual rather than physical which is fortunate. They say it takes about 3 months to change a habit.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes before my mind stops thinking, "Hmm it makes sense to have a drink now" in certain circumstances.

Day 7: Sliding Doors weekend and reflection

Well, after the monster piss night on Friday, in my usual universe Saturday would have been a write off. This would have meant, no exercise, pies or other crap for breakfast, crap (perhaps chips if they were there) and crap (perhaps pizza) for dinner. Plus a lot of feeling sorry for myself.

In my new, sober universe, I went for a 1.5 hour walk around Mt Cootha, ate bruschetta for breakfast, sandwiches and salad for lunch, and a french style beef and carrot stew with mash for dinner that I cooked in the afternoon.

So I felt pretty pleased with myself about that. That is different behaviour directly caused by my decision not to be on the grog. Not to mention the, what, 20 beers or so that I have not consumed as well during the the week.

I did though have a bit of a tension headache. Why? Well, Dr Google has filled me in in relation to alcohol withdrawal, which is a bit of a touchy subject isn't it. People don't mind admitting that they suffer from caffeine withdrawal, it's almost a statement of pride, but who wants to admit to alcohol withdrawal symptoms? Only alcoholics get those don't they?!?

Well, I hope not!

As I said, I mainly drank in what I thought were moderate levels plus a longer session say every week or two. For example, I might have a beer when cooking and a glass of wine when eating. Or one or two beers in total and no wine, with a long lunch every now and then.

I wasn't getting pissed every night, or staying out until even 12, or anything like that.

But, being honest, stopping having this daily tipple has resulted in the following symptoms:

1. Irritability - this lasted for a day or so I think, but it was very real!
2. Headache - none now, but was still there last night, a week in. Will it come back again today? I hope not.
3. High blood pressure - I haven't tested it, but I was a little light headed one day during the week: a sure sign.
4. Appetite suppressant - I just wasn't getting as hungry. This is what skinny people must feel like naturally.
5. Itching - Late at night when out I found myself scratching myself. Not serious but it happened. Many wouldn't notice.

Dr Google has confirmed that each of these are minor symptoms of withdrawal. Thankfully I didn't get any major symptoms, no doubt because I wasn't drinking enough. But still, to be honest I didn't expect any!

One thing I'm very pleased about is that I have not been craving alcohol. Apart from a couple of habit related pangs at appropriate moments (approaching the bar, sitting down for a meal), it has been fine. I'm not obsessing or really wanting to crack a stubbie (which I could, they are in my fridge and not far from the 20 or so bottles of wine in my house).

The benefits in one week have been:

1. Not drinking 20 beers or so.
2. Not being hungover 2 days (mildly and badly respectively).
3. Walking when I would have normally have been hungover on Saturday.
4. Not eating crap when I normally would have due to hangover on Friday (probably due to mild hangover and drunken dinner) and Saturday (when I would have been hungover).
5. Sleeping better (for sure).
6. Less hungry and generally trying to eat better because I'm trying to be healthy.
7. Mentally feeling like I'm more in control.

So there we are. After one week, no regrets at all. Why did I wait this long? Here's to the next 51, and the next 12 in particular. I really think I can make some inroads in my fitness and weight in the next three months, and cement the no booze as a lifestyle and exercise as a habit.

My goal for the next week is to walk each day.

Day 6: First big night out sober

Well tonight was the night. Backing up from last night's test night, tonight was the sort of mindless drinking sloppiness I'm really trying to avoid. Fancy dinner. Think you're a bit special. Why yes, my good man, I would like another drink, thank you.

It wasn't without its challenge at the beginning. Everyone, and I mean everyone, had a drink at the table. And they kept coming and coming.

But to be honest, apart from the initial pang, sort of like a joke, I didn't miss it as I was eating my food. And then after the 3 courses, and people started to get a little messy, I really didn't miss it.

Several hours into this drinking binge, things got really messy. As Russell Crowe said when he was off the grog training, It certainly gives you a different perspective. People were just smashed. Shots appeared. People drank them. More, down the hatch. Speech slurred, people insulted, pissed eyes, hysterical laughter. The whole group self administering this drug that brought some of them close to the edge.

Meanwhile, I'm observing. Not missing out at all thanks very much. Fat blokes in suits on the dance floor who should be shot. Pissed girls staggering about in short skirts (not all bad). Metro types with hair styles that must have taken all day to get right.

The witching hour was well and truly upon me when I left, weaving through these myriad hangovers in the waiting, broken Saturdays beckoning. All going full speed ahead as I drove home, slowing only to swerve past one drunk who I swear had passed out in the middle of a lane on a busy road in the middle of the city, friends anxiously trying to pull him over the gutter.

Surely we were cooler when we were younger. But then, I don't really think so.

Day 5: Passed the test

Well, I had a function last night at the UQ staff club. Beers on tap were many and varied, and included local micros. My co-worker, a slight, fit, 26 year old girl, had a pint of Coopers Sparkling and a Coopers Stout. Everyone drank except for me. Grog does not affect their ability to keep thin and trim.

But anyway, I didn't have any. I had a couple of waters. I was able to drive my co-worker home, slept well, and feel fine now.

I actually passed two tests yesterday. During the morning I was beaten up in my performance review (not literally). I had to go home after this anyway, but in the ordinary course if you take such a hammering, and are a bit down and stressed, the temptation would be to have a beer (one would be fine) to relax. That is part of alcohol's role after all.

I didn't.

I've got another function tonight, which shows the challenges of a professional grog-wise. I have at least two times a week in which I am expected to have something to drink for my job. Everyone else does. Tonight, I can assure you, I will be the only sober person at our group. It will be a big night.

Next week I want to move from thinking about grog to thinking about exercise. I want to start that tomorrow morning, when I would otherwise have been terribly hungover from the fancy dinner tonight. My exercise has been poor this week but I guess I was thinking about the grog as a first step.

Bad news for my doctor. He has a terminal illness and will die soon. That means I have outlasted 3 of them from the one two room practice who have died or will die over an 18 month period. I wonder if he wishes he had the Sparkling if he has been off the grog recently.

Day 4: Exercise

Well, I think the irritation has passed. It has been replaced by a certain joy that I am in control, that I am making some progress, that, finally, I am doing the RIGHT THING.

I certainly feel more refreshed. Whether that is hydration, or no alcohol just letting me sleep better, or what, I don't know. But I do feel rested, and sharper, and it has only really been 3 days.

Food has been going pretty well. I feel on the right track with that too, although we'll see. Went for my first walk under the new regime last night. I had been exercising quite a bit pre getting off the turps, and I want to ramp that up again. I especially want to go for a huge walk on Saturday morning, because I have a flash dinner Friday night that would have, in the parallel drinking universe, seen me hung over for all of Saturday for sure, and not walking or eating normally.

Today I am going to be among people drinking for the first time. At the UQ staff club, which I am very fond of. They have all sorts of delicious beers on tap. Just not for me.

Perhaps I should go out of my way to exercise Friday morning for the same reason I want to exercise Saturday morning. To show myself why I'm doing this.

Day 3: Irritation

Well, 2 days have passed.

I woke up yesterday and was in a bad mood. I snapped. I reacted disproportionately to situations.

I asked Dr Google what was going on, and he pointed out that a minor side effect to dumping the booze if you are used to having some is irritation. I sms'd my guru in getting healthy and he said, yes, my son, this will last for 10 days and then you will be over it.

So that's interesting. I don't remember that from last time I was off the turps (for 8 weeks). Perhaps I have ramped up my drinking.

On the plus side though is that I think I am sleeping better. Dr Google agrees that this can happen, and that I'm not making it up. I feel more rested.

I'm also feeling a little better generally, although this may be mental given it has only been 2 days. I don't care if it is.

I haven't hit the exercise yet. I'm due to this afternoon so will do that. I want to really hit it next week. Baby steps and all that.

I'm generally feeling positive about things. As though I'm more in control.

Day 2: The reaction

Well one day in.

How did the first day go? Well, I told people about it. My decision was greeted by support by some, disbelief or dismay by others. Some tried to talk me out of it - "but we've got the dinner this Friday!!". I don't think they understand I have a dinner every bloody Friday, which is the point. Like someone resigning, it is never a good time, or it is always a good time, depending on your perspective.

I definitely drank more water last night, instead of wine. Of course I felt like a drink when I was preparing dinner, but no dramas in not having one. I sort of feel as though my face is less puffy today, because I had noticed it going that way. I've just googled puffy face and alcohol and it seems there is a link, which is disturbing. Will see what happens here.

Anyway this is only going to fly if I exercise daily as well. I didn't yesterday because it was late and I wanted to shop for real food which I did (beef noodle stir fry with shitloads of veges). So I want to exercise after work today as I didn't do it this morning.

So far so good.

First day

Hi there folks.

No doubt you have searched and found this grog blog because you are curious about your own drinking. Well, I'm not going to lecture you about that. At least not now. I love alcohol, but I don't consider myself an alcoholic. I can have a couple of glasses of wine at dinner. I can have a beer, ("a" beer), or a couple of beers, or 4 beers, or 10 beers, depending on how I'm feeling. I like the taste, I think about what I'm drinking. I'm not a mindless consumer, I don't party until 3 in the morning and stay in bed the next day vomiting.

What I do do though is enjoy having long lunches, and sometimes get a bit pissed after work. I can not do this, I don't think I suffer withdrawals if I don't, and I used to drink a lot more, in my 20s.

I'm 35 now.

So why am I doing this? Well, to be honest, it's for my health. I'm overweight. I don't look good. Nice clothes are hard for me to buy. I can feel a bit depressed every now and then, especially after drinking. I want to look like one of those fit guys that walk past. You know the type. Not the gym wanker, but the guy who looks as though he spends his weekends kyacking and searching for the Stinson. Not the guy who pisses it up all weekend.

Not that I'm that guy, as I said. My Saturdays are not spent in a hung over haze. Not all of them. I used to be that guy (in my mid 20s), but now it is just every now and then (perhaps once every 2 weeks?). I think it is just enough to move focus away from fitness, and health, which is where I want to be.

Take this weekend for example. I visited my brother, a great guy, really got his shit sorted, lives in a paradise mountain type situation in the bush with his fantastic wife. I flew down to visit him on Saturday morning (not hung over thanks, only had a couple of drinks the Friday), helped him with moving wood during the day, and then at about 2 started on the beers. Why not, it was a party, drank with the bonfire with my family. Just what alcohol was invented for. Was pleasantly pissed, and finished with a few wines, then in bed by 9.

No getting really pissed. No embarrassing behaviour. Didn't have splitting headache the next day. Buut, I was flat the next day. No way I could have done more chores, or gone for a two hour walk in the bush. I didn't say much. I wasn't terribly hungover, just flat. And tired. Not only did I not exercise, but I ate a meat pie for lunch, and more crap when I got home (including a pizza for dinner as I was too tired to go and shop and it sounded, and was, just what my hungover body wanted). Dehydrated.

So if I consider the drinking and non-drinking version of the weekend, I think I would be one step closer to being my fit, lean looking self with nice clothes and a fun, outdoors lifestyle if I had not drunk.

In summary, I think I am a moderate to heavy, non-alcoholic drinker, who could clean up his act fitness and weight wise (not could, needs to), and alcohol is a barrier to this. It's also a barrier to me enjoying a full outdoor lifestyle. I only get two days off a week, and I want to spend them walking through rainforest, going for swims, kayaking and doing other cool stuff. Not being hungover and watching TV.

I'm going to give it a go.