…boys toys!

No - this isn't really me...

I mostly drink wine – and if I’m honest with myself have had a drink in some way, shape or form most evenings for a very long time. Not every evening – but most. I rarely – if ever – drink during the day. And I never drink when entertaining clients or working (I know I have a habit of having just one more than I should – never good for business). As far as my ‘get myself fit’ project goes – drinking is number one on the list of things to sort out!

This has been on my mind for some time after having some friends for dinner. The conversation turned to our drinking habits and one of my friend relayed an article he had read about “functional alcoholics”.  Half jokingly we all came to the conclusion that if we weren’t already, we were coming very close to this fitting into the definition.  Loosely the definition being someone who drinks regularly and can still function perfectly normally to all intents and purposes… Like us our friends drink every night – and run a successful business without alcohol affecting their performance. And, we’ve all been doing just that for years.

This was what got me started thinking about this big health kick I’m starting right now…

So how do I plan to adjust my ways on drinking? I’m no expert but I do know myself – here’s my approach…

The first thing is to weigh up the pro’s and cons…

In favour of drinking

1. This is the big one for me – it helps me sleep – I have something of a hyperactive mind that without drink steps into overdrive and will keep me awake for hours. I still wake up early so don’t get enough sleep.

2. Occasionally – but increasingly less – it leads to having  great evening.

3. Some of my best ideas have come when bouncing around abstract concepts over a few drinks.

Against drinking

1. Obvious health implications – I’m sure I don’t need to list them, we all have it rammed down our throats constantly by the self-righteous amongst us.

2. Lose some weight (part of the overall plan for this year!)

3. Save money – wine is very cheap where I live so we only usually drink cheap stuff, but it all adds up nonetheless.

4. Paying the government even more tax than I do already!

4. Set a better example to my kids!

It’s a no brainer really when you stack it up in this way. So why are these habits we have so hard to break?

I’m no saint – and being realistic I very much doubt I could go for total abstinence so I have set myself a couple of very simple goals…

1. NO drinking at home unless entertaining.

2. Only drinking socially when out (usually about once a week) – and try to keep it to sensible levels. I really must learn to say no sometimes!

3. If I still suffer from sleeping problems after a couple of week look for some kind of herbal solution in the local health store.

I’m working on the principle that keeping it simple, and sticking to it is going to be more achievable than beating myself up over it and going completely cold turkey…

Related posts:

1. Getting fit after the holidays!
2. The time has arrived…
3. How do you raise 100K…?