On Drinking Alcohol: Chapter 2 - What It Appears To Be

I've read at least a half-dozen books about drinking and quitting.  They've either been memoirs by people who quit or self-help books on how to quit.  For the most part I have really enjoyed the memoirs and have found the self-help books to be rubbish.  Of the memoirs, I most enjoyed "The Tender Bar" and "Drinking, A Love Story".  But the impact of the latter was diminished when I learned that the author, Caroline Knapp, died not long after the book's publication, of lung cancer.  She was a smoker.  I was disappointed when I realized that as good as the book was, she may have picked the wrong vice to quit.  I oversimplify that which I do not completely understand and mean no disrespect.  I'm just stuck on the simple thought that if she'd quit smoking and not drinking she might still be with us.  But we wouldn't have the book, so it's not helpful, really.

Of the self-help books, the only one that had any kind of impact at all on me was "This Naked Mind", which was given for free in PDF format to participants in the reddit "stop drinking" forum.  The exercise in this book that I find most useful and revealing is the first one, which asks you to pay attention to the messaging that you receive about alcohol.  That messaging can come from the media, advertisements, entertainment, social settings, health care, science, "experts", etc.  You are asked to pay attention to or identify what alcohol appears to be in the message.  Good, bad, cool, healthy, unhealthy, required, evil, smart, dumb.....?????

This is a useful exercise and I have held on to it.  I like to scrutinize what I perceive and understand if maybe there might be an ulterior motive.  Of course, the messaging on alcohol is overwhelmingly positive.  Drinking is required for night life, sports fandom, social situations, summer outdoor activities, vacation, dinner, and being a badass in movies.  Even the warnings are more positive than negative.  "Please drink responsibly."  Notice that this is a warning about the dangers of alcohol wherein the first two words are "please drink".  Medical literature and coverage of health and alcohol almost always tout the health benefits of moderate drinking.  They always point out daily limits and suggest (via correlation) that at or under these limits (but more than none) daily intake of alcohol is good for you.  It is associated with longer life and less disease.

I'm starting to suspect that moderate drinkers enjoy health and longevity despite alcohol consumption rather than because of it.  And maybe it's the moderation thing in general rather than in specific that is the key here.  And maybe, just maybe, the reason for the overwhelmingly positive messaging regarding alcohol has more to do with a strong desire to sell it regularly and in largely quantities than anything else.

I like strong beer (regularly) and Irish Whisky (sometimes).  That's it.  Can't stand wine, wouldn't come near a mixed drink, have enjoyed other liquors (straight) before but nothing to write home about.  Beer and whisky.  IPA and Irish.  I assume I like the taste (I tell people I do), and I seem to like the assault on the senses and the kick in the teeth.  I like feeling tough?  I like to think I'm a badass?  Yes, I think that's part of it.  Do I like to read stories about native South American runners who drink beer and run around all day long?  Yes I sure do.  Do I like stories about athletes who drink (drank) a lot and still performed well?  Yes.  Do I Google "how to drink beer and stay strong / thin / etc.?"  Yup.

Do I need to get over this?  Oh yeah.

(Primarily) Push Session

Warmup:  two sets of pull ups, dips, push ups, squats and lunges.

Push

Chest elevated push ups:  40
Chest elevated (lower) push ups:  25
Regular push ups (elbows in:  20
Diamond push ups:  15
Dips:  12
Feet elevated push ups:  10
Pike push ups:  8
Dive bomber push ups:  5
(Assisted) one arm push ups:  3
Drop set close grip push against progressively higher surface:  50

Sets:  10
Reps:  188

Leaky Gut Lifestyle and Behavioral (Mostly Diet) Modifications: Experiment 1

I've been down this road many times.  It seems most of my days are spent in mental yo-yo games regarding what (mostly) dietary/behavioral shift I can make that will help me feel better quickly and potentially get rid of my leaky gut / possible SIBO AND be something I can do most of the time.  Something I can live with.  NOW, I understand and admit freely that feeling better in and of itself must be sustainable, no matter what it takes to get there.  But right now I'm in a delicate place, as everything has come to a head with me and I know I must do this, but I'm in so much discomfort and physical and emotional pain that I somehow am less able to make a shift.  It's like I've become a professional at enduring pain.  That's not good.

So I make half-assed or temporary changes and then drop them and wake up the next day on the same hamster wheel.  Might as well keep track of it.  Maybe something will arise.

Yesterday I decided it might be worth giving OMAD a try.   One Meal a Day, or another way to look at it would be to extend the fasting window another few hours from 16 to 20 or more.  Many people do this for weight control and to manage problems.  Many also want to (myself included) eat (and drink!) whatever they feel like eating during the 2-4 hours of eating.  The idea here is that I know I can handle the fast and I know I will be healing during the fast and I know I can push it longer.  I feel great when I'm doing it.  Hardly any symptoms at all.  And maybe, just MAYBE, it will be enough to get me on a healing track even though I will eat garbage (grains, sugar, beer, junk food) during the short eating window.  Maybe that will do less damage and overall I'll be doing more healing than hurting.  The "I can eat whatever I want during the feeding window" idea is what keeps it from being a painful emotional burden.

Will it work?  I know one day won't tell, but I also know that for something to seem like a good long term plan it will need to make me feel better right away and if something I do makes me feel bad or worse, it's probably not a good long term plan.

So, yesterday I tried it.  I basically refrained from bringing food to work and didn't buy or eat anything.  So by the time I got home at about 6:00 PM, I had been without calories for about 20 hours.  I felt great.  Paradoxically, when I do this I actually feel like I have MORE energy, I don't get tired during the day, and most surprisingly of all, my 15 miles hilly bike ride home actually feels BETTER to me.

So when I got home I commenced eating whatever I wanted.  Which basically entailed some good things (olives, pickles) and some bad (burger with white bun, sandwich with Lebanon balogna and cheese, corn chips).

Result?  I felt TERRIBLE.  HORRIBLE.  Bad stomach cramps, huge bloating, an overall increase in symptoms.  I think the fast helped and then smashing it over the head with two hours of eating garbage just made it all come roaring back with a vengeance.  Not good.

FAIL.

The next experiment will be with a day of very low carb.  Depending on how that goes it will be interesting then to combine it with the long fast.

Stay tuned.