Alcohol and Sugar

About Diet. Something that has made a huge difference for me, and something you may have noticed about any healthy weight loss diet you may encounter, sugar is bad for you.  For so many reasons sugar is detrimental to your health.  Alcohol is just another form of sugar.  It is made from a fermentation process which I will go into later in more detail. We all know that wine is made from grapes(fruit sugar) and that the type of grape that is used determines many aspects of the wine. Rum is totally made from sugar cane.....what does that tell you? 

When we eat, donuts, fermentable carbohydrates, or any other easily broken down form of SUGAR our blood sugar quickly rises, peaks out, and then drops like a rock. The fall in blood sugar causes us to be suddenly hungry and sometimes even weak.  So, a benefit of not drinking is that our blood sugar will start to even out. If we accentuate this by removing other forms of sugar from our diet, we can reduce our craving for sweets and alcohol.  I lost ten,(count them) ten pounds since I stopped drinking and stopped the sugar and fermentable carbs. This doesn't mean that I don't splurge occasionally, I'm no saint.  However, now that I don't drink wine while I cook, which I was totally guilty of, I can sit down and eat a small dinner whereas I used to throw caution to the wind and eat until I was stuffed and the wine was gone.  Wow, what a difference! Rock on Sobriety!

I will be adding some videos of recipes soon too! I've come up with some things to make up for not eating so much sugar because I love something sweet after dinner. We are selling our house so am super busy getting it ready and can't make a mess in the kitchen right now.....darn  :-))

Trying to relieve the pain....emotional self medication does not lead to serenity

They always say live in the moment to be truly happy.... At first this was particularly hard for me because I could not stop dwelling on yesterday and tomorrow. Sitting still and clearing your mind is so difficult. Finding a quiet spot in our lives is getting more difficult every day.  Have you ever tried to sit still and think about nothing, nothing at all?

Looking at a tree and realizing how beautiful it is with its branches blowing in the wind and the sun shining with all it's natural power and light is a complete miracle and we get to see it every day, unless of course you live in Alaska.  How do we get to that place in our minds where we can just stop and be still....and nothing can intrude and cause us pain?

I believe we all have things in our past, mistakes we have made, past hurts and trauma. Whether from a family member or something that we ourselves did to someone else that continues to crush us inside constantly and without any sign of mercy. Can we get a grip and somehow find away to stop thinking about that deed or trauma?  Forgiveness is forever sought.

Alcohol acts an anesthetic. For how long does it kill the pain? Does the pain not return upon awakening from a stupor followed by more pain from a throbbing maniacal headache that only time, sleep, water, and aspirin may cure?  I guess this pain takes our mind off the pain that caused us to drink in the first place. When one pain wears off, the next begins, and the anesthetic is again needed.  My, what an obnoxious circle.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

        

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

 

Science Smience......Your Liver. Why you gotta have it.

Ok so I'm gonna mention this from the aspect that we all know we need our liver, right?

I'm gonna go with the thought that we all want to live full healthy lives and that we really give a crap if one of our major organs gradually dies off due to overwork and poisoning. If this is not something you have thought of then I implore you to do so, and now!

Your liver has about 500 things to do on an daily basis besides trying to filter your poison habit. Because alcohol is an immediate danger it gets to go to the top of the list when it is present in your system. This leaves the other jobs on the back burner until toxins can be dealt with. Here are your liver's functions.

processing nutrients from food;

storing energy;

making bile to help with digestion of dietary fats;

filtering toxic chemicals and bacteria from the body;

helping with blood clotting; and

processing medicines.

Your liver is also the main place in your body where alcohol is broken down.
About 90-98% of alcohol is broken down by your liver. The other 2-10% is sent out in your urine, breathed out by respiration and sweated out. Alcohol is initially absorbed  by way of oral mucosa, stomach, and small intestine, and this is why you get an immediate effect from alcohol, because it absorbs quickly and goes straight to your head, literally!!! Once this happens, I don't know about you but all inhibitions are leaving me and I stop paying attention to how much I am gulping down.

 I like the way Dr. Oz says that your liver is like border police in that everything has to be inspected in order to pass through. Here is the breakdown of alcohol by the liver:


by www.mydr.com Your liver has to break down the alcohol to a less toxic chemical that your body can process and expel.

I know everyone has heard of a fatty liver.  THIS IS IMPORTANT SO PAY ATTENTION@!!!!

According to www.webmd.com:  This is a direct quote:

More than 15 million people in the U.S. abuse or overuse alcohol. Almost all of them -- 90%-100% -- develop fatty livers. 
Fatty liver can occur after drinking moderate or large amounts of alcohol. It can even occur after a short period of heavy drinking (acute alcoholic liver disease).

 So, if you think your helping yourself by just cutting back, or perhaps just binging occasionally, think again. It's all bad. Poison is poison.  By this way if you are young, you don't get a free pass, you can still damage yourself. It goes this way----fatty liver, then comes cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is death of the liver, where scar tissue forms. Those cells that are turned into scar tissue are done, there is no cure.  Let this soak in.... People that destroy their good liver don't get to the top of the transplant list easily, if ever.

About My Sobriety

First I want to thank publicly all the people I have conversed with since this blog began. I have met several people that are on this journey. Some that just began living a sober life and some that are not yet ready to give up the drink completely. If you're are not ready to let go completely then it is a good thing that you are realizing you are not ready. I am not a psychologist but it is general knowledge that if you are not ready to quit drinking alcohol, you won't. I was ready and will never take another drink. Don't get me wrong, I tried to stop drinking several times and fell back into the hell hole repeatedly. I don't need alcohol to be happy and in fact it is a depressant. I remember times when I dealt with my problems by taking a drink. Ok so I'm depressed so I'll medicated myself with a depressant. What kind of sense does that make? NONE

 Sometimes now I just break out in laughter for no reason! My husband thinks I have a screw loose. hahahahah see?

Moving on....I implore you if you are reading this blog right now, I suspect you are concerned if not downright worried that you have a problem. I am going to start reviewing some books that I have read that made me really think about what was very gradually and unsuspecting creeping up on me. They will make you laugh, cry, and relate. Some of these autobiographies I have read are of hard core alcoholics that waited until they were near death before they took steps to save their own lives. Many were trying to kill the memory of a past trauma by killing brain cells, or sedating themselves. Some lost families, loved ones, and jobs. These are all things that start out with just a cocktail at the end of a long day.....Think about it. 

To the right of this blog there is a link called Great Sober reads. There are self help books but also there is a book by Augustan Burroughs that is a great read called, "Dry." It is a great book to start with. I recommend the audio book because he himself is that narrator and it adds a great personal touch. The Audible link is at the top of the page.

Once you decide to stop drinking.....here's what you do next.

The first step in correcting an alcohol problem is acknowledging you have a problem. The second is really deep down wanting and willingness to correct that problem. I was recently asked how I actually have remained sober without much pain or stress. I won't lie to you, taking the first step and that first week was not a breeze but....I had help and it got easier by the day.

 I am going to tell you my secret... I came across a method by an Author named Craig Beck. The name of his book is Alcohol Lied To Me. This book can be purchased in audio, digital, or paperback form. I preferred the audio form because I just never have time to sit down and read. So, I listen while driving or cleaning or just what ever I am doing. As of today I have listened to his book at least 10 times. I kid you not. At the end of his book there is a hypnosis session that I listened to every night for 3 weeks, and still do occasionally. Even though many times I fall asleep while listening I know the message is getting through to my subconscious. There is that word again, "subconscious.!"

There is a companion audio book you can get also called, "Stop Drinking Hypnosis" which is just short hypnosis sessions back to back and is nice to have. I have used all the techniques in the book and even though I did not take the supplements I am beginning to do so because as Mr. Beck says it is important to follow every step in the plan.

  Here are the Supplements:
This is taken directly from Craig Becks book Alcohol Lied To Me:

1000MG Omega 3 fish oil supplement and take three of these a day either all at once or spread over the day.

Broad spectrum ‘once a day’ multivitamin, B Vitamin Complex

 50MG 5-HTP supplement with a sweet liquid at bedtime unless you are diabetic.

 Vitamin C

Other things that I do would include Yoga, and meditation. I will talk more about this in another post!

The Road to Making a Sober Decision

Subconscious change has definitely been the answer for me. The first week was the worst but gradually and definitely it got better and better. It started for me with trying to discover what  underlying problems might be causing my craving for alcohol and then gradually looking for a cure or therapy other than AA, or another popular group therapy situation. I was very familiar with AA because my own mother was a recovering alcoholic for 38 years.  I received her 38 year certificate and coin right after her funeral.

The road to making the decision to stay completely sober can be a tough one.  One has to make up their mind that staying sober is more pleasant, and brings more benefit to life than drinking. Realizing that drinking alcohol has incredible power over us that we cannot control is another obstacle, this is why we find ourselves struggling, sometimes even arguing with ourselves over whether we should drink, that we can handle our alcohol, whether we can have just one drink and then stop, and other BS episodes of rationalization and excuses we try and create in our very feeble conscious egotistic minds.  This is why subconscious change is so important. Because willpower(this is our conscious mind trying to tell our subconscious what to do) doesn't work!

I may have mentioned in another post how I have come home grabbed a full wine bottle, opened it, poured it into a glass and slugged down a huge swallow without even consciously thinking about whether it was the best route for me to deal with the days problems. Before I knew it I was on my second glass.....At this point my subconscious had taken over because this behavior is stubbornly and forever engrained there and because my conscious need for relief, fast numbing relief, was greater than my conscious strength to fight the superhuman strength of my subconscious. Ahhhhh that felt good to get out!

Staying Sober around other drinkers.............

Ok so I wanted to talk a little about staying sober for the last 5 weeks. Your probably thinking "wow, that's not very long!" You would be correct in saying that too, but it is long for me. Especially since I am still around drinking nightly and out of politeness to me bottles of wine(my preferred poison) keep appearing. My family doesn't understand how determined I am to never drink again. I sometimes worry that others think  I am doing this to be anti-social and am unintentionally boring. Anyone think they need alcohol to be social?

Go Miss USA!

Was watching the Today Show this morning and Miss USA mentioned that she has had alcohol problems in her family. She also talked about rising above that stigma, making a change and becoming Miss USA. I say go Miss USA, and I hope she does much to publicize the permanent and lasting damage that alcohol can do to a family, work, and career.

Great Video by Craig Ferguson:

Please enjoy this video by Craig Ferguson. It will make you laugh and if you have ever had a problem with alcohol you will be able to relate!  He talks about his 15 year sobriety.

Legal Addiction: My View On This Alcohol Thing

Legal Addiction: My View On This Alcohol Thing: Ok so I really believe in subconscious change and that there is no such thing as willpower. I mean willpower exists, but there is just no po...

My View On This Alcohol Thing

Ok so I really believe in subconscious change and that there is no such thing as willpower. I mean willpower exists, but there is just no power in it. The change needs to come at a Subconscious level. We have several levels of consciousness and we cannot make a change at a conscious level. I have found my peace through meditation, hypnosis, and viewing alcohol for what it really is, poison Next.......

Legal Addiction: Wet House

Legal Addiction: Wet House: Anyone heard of a Wet House? You can go to www.wethouse.com and read about it but just briefly.....it's a place where homeless alcoholic...

Wet House

Anyone heard of a Wet House? You can go to www.wethouse.com and read about it but just briefly.....it's a place where homeless alcoholics can go to live and drink. It is paid for with government funds and it supposedly gets people off the street and reduces alcohol related crime, drunks in the street, and hospital visits. I am not sure how I feel about this.....Aren't we enabling them? The majority of the residents end up drinking themselves to death. They are not really encouraged to rehab although it is always an option.

But, why are we giving a homeless drunk person a place to drink? Obviously many times people drink because of underlying problems, so by enabling them they may never get help and therapy they need. Its like we are giving them what they need to off themselves. I understand maybe they don't want help but it just doesn't seem right.:-(

Getting to 30 Days

Getting to 30 days sober has been a trip bar none. I can't tell you how many times (ok well I would be embarrassed to tell you) I found my self looking to open a bottle of wine without even reasoning with myself about it. It's like my subconscious took over and I found myself grabbing the bottle and the corkscrew without even thinking about the fact that I had just made a commitment to stop. It was so very difficult to tell myself NO! It's like wrestling with someone else that lives inside me that just does not care what alcohol is doing to me on the inside, not to mention the outside over time. I literally had to get angry with myself and empty the bottle down the sink, all the time thinking what a waste..... Well I decided at that point that I needed help. AA meetings were just not my thing, and neither were all the other organizations that you can join and go to meetings. I needed something that I could access all the time, anytime I needed it! I found it and it worked. Not saying that it will work for everyone but it worked for me. I will write about that plan in my next post. I would love to hear what worked for you!