My week...
Monday: After running 5 miles at the gym and doing some upper and lower body weights, I got a text from my friend around 7pm. My friends had an extra ticket to see Dropkick Murphys at the 9:30 Club -- did I want to go? Heck yeah! I shoved 4 leftover oven-roasted cracked black pepper chicken wings in my mouth and was there by 8. I had two beers, which is showing a great deal of restraint considering it's an effing Irish band. 
Tuesday: 4 miles at the gym, no weights. [Colleague] couldn't make it to a hockey game with potential client, he gave the tickets to his assistant/my friend and she asked if I'd go with her. Did I want to go? Heck yeah! Beers consumed: 5. My dinner was a delicious mess of chili mac from the Hard Times Cafe vendor. Though I burned 3264 calories yesterday, I would consider the day as a whole a flop because of the massive pile of carbs and cheese that I inhaled.
Wednesday: Hoping for a good run at the gym, do some ab and tricep work. Amazingly, nothing planned tonight. Will go home, clean up after the whirlwind that tore through my apartment the past few days.
Thursday: Double Booked!! I'm in charge of hosting a retirement cocktail hour for a colleague. On the menu: Old Bay spiced corn fried calamari with gribiche sauce; fries with truffle aioli; mini croque monsieur; beef sliders on mini brioche; mushroom, herb, fontina focaccia squares; tuna carpaccio BLT; bacon-wrapped scallops; chicken portabella turnovers. Oh, and the cake? Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse filling, chocolate ganache on top. And an open bar.
And then.... dinner with @MerbearMN (blog here) and @Mazzie (blog here) at Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons in DC. Take a peek at the menu. I gained 5 pounds reading it. I will be eating something delicious with something delicious in a wine glass to go with it.
Friday: One of my closest friends' birthdays is this week, and he decided to celebrate both on his birthday (yesterday) and Friday. He graciously didn't give me crap for going to the hockey game (though I did stop by the bar where the gathering was (it was on my walking route to the game) to wish him a happy birthday and to give him cupcakes he was supposed to have eaten 3 weeks ago, but that have been living in my freezer). I'm going to try and be on my very best behavior and stick to seltzer water.
Saturday: ShamrockFest. The weather is supposed to be rainy but warm. This might put a damper on my willingness to spend all day at an outdoor music festival with a bunch of drunk and rowdy people. But there's going to be good music and food there. And well, I do not like using Port-a-Potties. That in-and-of-itself is a very good reason not to drink. So I'm going to focus on the music, the dancing, the fun and not drinking. Feel free to tweet at me and hold me to my promise.
The thing is this -- I really do agree with Alton Brown's 4-Lists, and that alcohol is a 1-time a week indulgence:
In the past, I have given up alcohol for a few reasons: (1) because of the medications that I was taking for my back issues (2) in solidarity (3) because of the negative impact it had on my body and workouts (4) I realized that I didn't need to drink to have fun and (5) I realized that I'd rather have quality over quantity most of the time. In the past, I have also written about alcohol.
Alcoholism/addictive issues runs through the bloodlines on both sides of my family tree. I used to be a bartender at an Irish Bar in Brooklyn (my dad helped get me the job because I told him that I wanted a skill that would guarantee employment anywhere I landed after college). I have seen alcoholism up close and personal. I know that it's not something that I want for myself or my body.
I also know how alcohol impacts my weightloss/health gain and vice versa. On days where I have exercised, I feel the effects of alcohol much faster. If I continue to drink, I am less likely to exercise the next day. This is the main reason that I didn't drink on Friday nights when I was boxing -- burpees are terrible when hungover.
Sunday: back to 1 drink a week, but probably after I give my poor liver a break for a week or two...maybe a month.
5 comments
First of all, I'm TOTALLY jealous about you seeing Dropkick Murphy. TOTALLY!
ReplySecond, I'm laying off the sauce for awhile. It makes me feel sluggish and I don't like it. I hit the bottle HARD a feel weeks ago on a trip we took (with my husbands boss, which is another story) and I've regretted it since then. Felt AWFUL for about a week.
Sarah
www.thinfluenced.com
Sarah--
Replyit's actually the third or fourth time that I've seen them :P
And I'm glad that i'm not the only one that has figured out how counterproductive alcohol is. It can be nice on occasion, but I have to ask myself "why am I doing what I'm doing?"
That's tough. Sometimes it's so hard to avoid the alcohol. I'm not a huge drinker, but when I am it's always because of too many social obligations. Sometimes its worth it, sometimes it is not. It's hard to figure out the right balance.
ReplyI just said to my husband this morning that we really need to limit alcohol to once a week or maybe not at all for a while. We don't get smashed every night or anything, but we do often have a glass of wine with dinner or after the kids go to bed. And the calories add up. And sleep is affected. And it opens the door to a snack to go with it or whatever. So yes. I get it.
ReplyL-o-L: I'm not a huge drinker -- but I do have slippery slope issues somewhere after the 2nd drink. It'd be nice to get into the practice of one being enough.
ReplySue: It's weird how that sneaks up on you -- those calories add up, and it becomes like a key that unlocks all the wrong doors. Cheesy fries? the beer said I can...
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<3 Robby