7 Days Without Alcohol–Day 7 (And Conclusion)

By Elizabeth

I am feeling sick. Hungover sick. The sad part? I only had two beers and a shot last night. I shouldn’t be feeling like this. But I am.

I spent all day yesterday looking forward to midnight. I got all dolled up and went downtown to a show–which was so pretentious buzz indie rock that I was suffocating soberly in a room filled with drunken hipsters. At midnight, some gentleman friends of mine took me to a bar for a drink.

A cold, fizzy beer thrilled my lips more than any part of any male has probably ever done. I finished the beer and it was time to move on to another bar down the street. And everyone there was SO HIP. No, I don’t mean to sound like a sarcastic b*tch, but I just loathe walking into any place where people stare me down because they’re trying to figure out WHO I am. It’s so L.A. and I wish that kind of stuff would just stay in L.A.

After waiting for the bartender to attend to my off the wagon needs for twenty minutes…I was really starting to wonder what all of the fuss was about. All of that ridiculous waiting while the sad looking hippie girl, who undoubtedly thought she was the one who invented dangling earrings, was elbowing me in the boob…it all seemed a little silly for a simple PBR.

UGH.

“I waited anxiously to drink again for THIS…?!” I thought.

My PBR went down smoothly enough, it didn’t shake me from the sobriety that I would have needed to leave outside if I wanted to have a good time in this place. And then it hit me.

Not drinking for a week definitely taught me some lessons.

1. If I have to be wasted to be somewhere or with some people…screw that place and those people; they aren’t worth my time.

2. If I’m spending more money in one night on drinks than I do on my cell phone bill each month…then I’m out of line.

3. If I feel sick in the morning from the night before, then I drank too much. Even if it was only two beers and a shot.

Maybe drinking is a recreational way for me to finish off my day, but it shouldn’t get in the WAY of my day. Maybe drinking is a fun way for me to spend time with my friends…but if I have to be blacked out…then, they aren’t really my friends.

For anyone out there who drinks frequently like I did (every night and wasted most of the time), I would highly suggest you take some time off. Document it along the way. I lost three pounds this week and spent $150 less than I usually do and I am confident that both of these things are because of removing drinking from my lifestyle and diet.

How much money do you think you would save if you drastically decreased your drinking? How many pounds do you think you’d eventually shed?