Irish rebel with an Irish problem!

[Gregasaurus]

Hi everyone!

 

30-year-old rebel from Ireland here. I discovered the Nerd Fitness blogs just over a year ago, and Steve's advice has really helped me to 'level up', in terms of diet and fitness. Some great, practical advice in there, and I love all the positivity and motivation. 

 

For most of my twenties, I was badly out of shape. Early twenties, I was just skinny with a little bit of face-pudginess, but I could eat whatever I wanted without getting fat. Then... (the horror) my metabolism slowed down, and by the time I was 25/26, I was very, very pudgy. I started running long-distance and going to the gym (the odd time), and worked my way up to a half-marathon in 2012. Thing was, on the rare occasions that I went to the gym, I was doing everything wrong. Using machines, not bothering to use the bar or free-weights, then spending an hour on the treadmill. Then stuffing my face with pasta and bread. Not good. Despite the fact that I was able to run 20km, my body fat percentage was fluctuating depending on my diet.

 

Then, on advice from here, I started doing squats, deadlifts, proper bench press, pull-ups, chin-ups, etc... I focused my diet around protein, vegetables and healthy fats, cutting down the carbs. It's made a huge difference to how I look, and I feel fitter and stronger than ever. Body fat percentage is down to under 15 now, after being around 25 a couple of years ago. Not the most dramatic change perhaps, but there has been one little thing - a perennial problem throughout my twenties - keeping me from 'levelling up' further...

 

Alcohol.

 

Coming from Ireland, I've been brought up in a heavy binge-drinking culture. Pretty much all my friends (and most of my family) are big drinkers. Usually, I would go through about 35-40 standard (UK) units of alcohol per week, which is far above the recommended weekly units level (17). I've read Steve's blog on alcohol here - http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/05/10/alcohol/ - and it all makes sense. I wish I could just have one or two beers and leave it. However, usually I'll go out with my friends, and one beer turns into four, four turns into eight... I end up disgracefully hungover, and vow to train harder and eat more healthily. I usually do for a few days... and then the cycle repeats itself. I think; I've done a great job in the gym these last few days, I can reward myself. There have been times when I've genuinely cut down on booze, or cut it out completely, but found myself bored, or isolated from my social group, as a result. It's not just a case of 'go and find new friends', because pretty much everyone drinks excessively in my area. Alcohol is a huge part of our culture in Ireland, and is pretty much inescapable, especially living in a small town. However, I need to learn how to manage it. Any advice would be very welcome!

 

TL/DR version - Was unfit and weak, got fit and strong thanks to Nerdfitness, still drinking too much, slightly worried about it.

[Carly Rae Jepsens Warlock]

Hello there! Welcome to NF! Home to the nerdiest yet healthiest beings on the internet!

First of all: congratulations on achieving so much success diet wise! That's the first and the most important step to take. I know your journey to a healthy way of life won't be easy (especially friends and all being our hinderance) but someone once told me that, in the long run, you should look out for yourself that at the end of the day, you should sleep a sound sleep rather than feel disappointed and groggy~

Anyway, again, welcome to NF. Be sure to sign up for your level 1 rebel challenge, eh? Give a holler if you need anything

Also, come over and stroll through the scouts camp, if you're looking to join a guild, eh?

Cheers and good luck!

"This message was brought to you by my fingers which were activated by the electrical signals sent from my brain through a network of nerves and ganglia".

[shaar]

Oh, my beer-loving friend.  I FEEL you.  I'm not from Ireland (although it is my heritage) but I just love craft beer, and one of our big social outing locales is at a bottle shop in our neighborhood where all of our friends hang out.  It's tough to go there and not have a beer ... or two ... or five.  Yeah.  I know beer is a big reason why I've packed on a few pounds, but it's just such a social thing that it's hard to stop. I've been in that cycle before, too much beer because it's tasty and fun and social and then the regret and feeling like ass and vowing never to do that AGAIN, until the next weekend... yep. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you, where it's practically a part of every-day life!

 

My only tip that I have been (SECRETLY) doing lately is .... once I'm done with a beer, I'll escape to the bathroom and fill my beer bottle up with water, and just keep drinking that.  It's HARD when people ask why you're not drinking beer, and you tell them why, and even if they're you're friends they kind of give you the laugh and crazy eye... it's happened to me before too, and it kind of kicks my willpower down a little bit.  Holding a bottle of disguised water definitely helps.

 

It's a lot of willpower and balancing fitness with tasty drinks but if you really want it, you can do it - especially here, the NF community is wonderful and will keep you motivated to be your best!  Welcome welcome!!

[Carly Rae Jepsens Warlock]

Oh, my beer-loving friend. I FEEL you. I'm not from Ireland (although it is my heritage) but I just love craft beer, and one of our big social outing locales is at a bottle shop in our neighborhood where all of our friends hang out. It's tough to go there and not have a beer ... or two ... or five. Yeah. I know beer is a big reason why I've packed on a few pounds, but it's just such a social thing that it's hard to stop. I've been in that cycle before, too much beer because it's tasty and fun and social and then the regret and feeling like ass and vowing never to do that AGAIN, until the next weekend... yep. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you, where it's practically a part of every-day life!

My only tip that I have been (SECRETLY) doing lately is .... once I'm done with a beer, I'll escape to the bathroom and fill my beer bottle up with water, and just keep drinking that. It's HARD when people ask why you're not drinking beer, and you tell them why, and even if they're you're friends they kind of give you the laugh and crazy eye... it's happened to me before too, and it kind of kicks my willpower down a little bit. Holding a bottle of disguised water definitely helps.

It's a lot of willpower and balancing fitness with tasty drinks but if you really want it, you can do it - especially here, the NF community is wonderful and will keep you motivated to be your best! Welcome welcome!!

Cheeky, cheeky~ totally love your wisdom, my friend!

"This message was brought to you by my fingers which were activated by the electrical signals sent from my brain through a network of nerves and ganglia".

[Leigh]

That is a tricky thing to try and work on. I had a friend back in college who chose to cut down on his alcohol intake when he found out his uncle died drunk driving. But there he was, a binge drinker on weekends and lived in a shared house where there was more booze than food available and struggled with it like mad.

What worked for him in the end when drinking at the pub with friends was to only bring a small amount of cash and leave his credit/debit cards at home. He also asked the bar staff to refuse to sell him any alcohol if he ever asked for more than two drinks.

Good luck!

[Estel]

Well done on your transformation so far!

 

I'm not Irish, I'm Australian, and we have a pretty strong binge-drinking beer culture here too. My husband and all our friends are big drinkers. My sister is even an oenologist (wine-maker). However, I had an enforced 2 years off while I was pregnant and breast feeding my son. There was no "oh, just this once as a reward", of course not, in that situation. The things is, since then, I've chosen not to go back, except in a very moderate way. So, here's my thoughts on being a moderate drinker in a binge world:

- I'm a lightweight now! 2 glasses of wine or bubbles, or 1 pint of beer and I've got my buzz on. This increases the fitter you get too. 

- It's a heck of a lot cheaper. 

- Living the whole day, every day. Time is precious, and after 3 years without a hangover I would never want to go back to wasting half my day, sometimes more than one day a week, feeling rubbish and not able to do the things I want to do. Too much of that in my 20's!

-  Finding out which of my friends and parties I enjoy. I love to get out and see my mates, go to a great party, or see a great DJ and get dancing. The real test has been working out which of my mates I enjoy hanging out with whether I'm drunk or not. One of the best parties I've ever been to was my friend's Long Island Ice Tea Party 35th, at which I had zero drinks. What made it awesome was getting to chat, dance and enjoy my favourite people being hilarious. On the sadder side, there have been a few friends that I realised I didn't really enjoy hanging out with if they were drunk and I wasn't. I've had to accept that perhaps they weren't the greatest friends to begin with, if we need "social lubricant" to enjoy each others' company. Sorry to be a downer, but it's true in some cases. 

- Better nights out. To end on a high note: not being belting drunk can actually mean better nights out. You don't get lost, get stuck in a huge queue without really knowing why, you don't spend money getting in somewhere and then realise none of your mates followed you, you are able to go where you want to go, do what you want to do. And if a great DJ comes on at 3am, you're not too legless to get on the dancefloor. 

[Gregasaurus]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

I've decided to quit drinking. No indefinites, no conditionals. Seeing it as a permanent thing, which may come under review when I fully achieve my 'level up' goals.

 

My ultimate goal is to live in Spain, achieving near-fluency in Spanish, teaching English, with a nice, healthy home environment. I'll ideally have enough free time to write fiction, play guitar and keep fit; excelling to a point where I can get things published, play gigs and compete in competitions, respectively.

 

Once I've achieved all that, I may review the decision to allow myself a limited amount of good beer, only when controlled and appropriate, and in good company.

[Jay T Bone]

gregasaurus,

maybe you should consider "going sober for october", as it would really help you [in my humble opinion]

anyways, thats what i think

[SpecialSundae]

Hey gregasaurus!

Awesome progress so far!

What helped me stop drinking was starting to compete as a powerlifter. I'm so focused on improving my lifts that I'm unwilling to do anything that compromises that and after a while I just don't want to deal with hangovers even when I'm not having a training day.

[Gregasaurus]

gregasaurus,

maybe you should consider "going sober for october", as it would really help you [in my humble opinion]

anyways, thats what i think

 

I've tried Dry July, Sober October, Austere August... been there, done it! The mentality of being 'between drinks' is not a helpful one for me, as I find myself just counting down the days until I can binge again!   If it's in my head that I'm not drinking - period - then it's a lot easier to have conviction and determination about my sobriety.

 

Went to a bar with my friends earlier (after a 35km bike ride and sprints on the beach) and sipped on a soft drink while watching the soccer. Had a good time, wasn't tempted in the slightest, and while the rest of the lads went on to the next bar, I went home with a clear head, and will sleep soundly tonight. 

[Estel]

Nice one, gregasaurus! Sounds like you know yourself well and understand what will (and won't) work for you. Best of luck on your new path. 

Your long term goals sound awesome, btw