Addictions and Alcohol and how it Relates to our Fitness

I hope all the Mothers out there had a fantastic weekend!

Let's get right into it. Some tough stuff to start the week but that's okay, we're tough people!

Over the weekend, I watched an old 20/20 episode about stay-at-home mothers who became alcoholics by using alcohol to make their day a little more interesting and unfortunately they wound up becoming alcoholics.

Here are some notes about what I was watching. My comments on what I was watching and how it relates to us are in [brackets].

- Initially alcohol works well for an alcoholic. She'd drink in the morning but it was okay because she 'didn't pour the drink in the morning.'

[Initially, and for a long time food works well for us. Food is love. Food is easy. Food is reliable. When we're little, we get treats if we're good. We get treats to calm down, etc. When we're adults, we don't even realize what we're doing (using food to soothe ourselves) until we look in the mirror one day or our doctor tells us to lose weight, etc. Or, maybe we do but we continue to lie to ourselves.]

- The highlight of her day was drinking alone on her back porch

[The highlight of many people's days is going home to a greasy dinner or a sugary dessert. However, food shouldn't be a reward. It should be used as fuel and it should be enjoyed. We shouldn't use food to make ourselves feel better. Food is only food. It's not our best friend. Nor our worst enemy. It's only food!]

- This one lady they profiled, a Harvard professor, would tell herself, "I'm going to get up early, run 5 miles, write a book, paint the house and make a nutritious dinner for myself." However, she'd wake up every morning and think, "well, maybe not today."

[I think, for many of us, it comes down to fighting each urge one at a time. For her, not having a drink for an entire day is daunting! I agree - that's scary. Instead, why not focus on not having any unhealthy food for your very first meal Take it one meal at a time.]

- One mom they featured had Hepatitis C and drinking alcohol could cause her to lose her life but it's still not enough to stop her.

[Unfortunately, we use our short term / irrational mind way too often. But when we use this, it doesn't feel good. And we wind up eating more to make ourselves feel better!]

- 90 percent of people relapse. "If you pull out a beer right now it'd be very hard for me to turn it down."

[Like alcohol, certain foods are hyper-palatable - foods high in sugar, salt and fat - once we start, it's hard to stop. They're extremely tempting too. In the beginning, it's worth it to not be around any temptations. Easier for a drinker as we have to eat. But if you tell everyone around you what you're doing they should respect your wishes.]

- Regrets and not being the perfect mom can drive women to drink even more

[There's no such thing as perfection in any aspect of life. Evolution and growth is the goal, I think.]

- The minute you start lying to other people about your drinking you get a little more lonely and get a little cut off. Women tend to feel more guilty. "I knew I needed to do something but I kept putting it off."

[Lying is the worst feeling in the world. That's why this works so well. No matter what - fess up - you'll be glad you did! One of my favorite expressions is 'better the devil you know'. It takes a lot of courage to change. It's a lot easier to just keep delaying. Most people rather just keep doing what they already do even if it's self-destructive.]

- Facing the past is important. One woman lost her father to alcoholism. She was also gang raped, etc. In what's known as "psycho drama" they force women to watch a re-enactment of past events to bring up the feelings. The point is to learn that we can deal with the feelings - they won't kill us!

[Not to minimize anyone's past because some people have had very hard pasts. However, until you accept it, and face it, you're going to keep letting your past affect your present and future, and keep trying to suppress those feelings with food.]

- We can all quit - it's staying quit that matters

[Yes, couldn't agree more! Consistency is the key!]

- The rewards are endless (coming from a former alcoholic). It's the biggest gift you can give yourself. Because I'm the person I want to be. I'm out of that vicious cycle.

[This is what drives me. The rewards are endless for us too!]

-Okay no more notes. At least not anything else worthwhile.

[I hope you enjoyed this inspiration! Let's make it a super week choice by choice! :) ]

-Adam