April 1st, 2007 marked 100 days since I stopped drinking alcohol, and I started thinking about the many good things - and a couple of not-so-good things - that have happened to me since then. See, you didn't expect me to list the not-so-good things, now did you?! (nope, this not an April fools joke, either)
On the bright side, I have noticed a remarkable difference in how I feel without alcohol in my body. I no longer have daily headaches or nightly stomach aches, and my overall energy level is not only much higher, but it is much more consistent throughout the day. I also feel that I am thinking MUCH more clearly - and that my thoughts are stronger and crisper, if that makes sense. In other words, I'm simply thinking much more deeply now that alcohol isn't messing around with my brain chemistry. In addition, I am eating a MUCH healthier diet, and I feel stronger, younger, and more in control of my daily life and my future than ever before.
Things are also very positive on the financial side, as I'm on pace to at least DOUBLE my income this year - and it's simply because my sobriety has allowed me to work much more efficiently at my home business. Or, to put it another way, I no longer have hangovers getting in the way of my making money! Also, I am saving a LOT of money by not wasting it on alcohol, which has allowed me to reduce a great deal of debt in other areas of my life.
So, to sum up the positives: my overall health is MUCH improved, and I definitely feel better in my body and my mind than I have in at least 20 years. I am making more money, saving more money ... and I HAVE a lot more money than I used to. And that, needless to say, makes me very, very happy.
But, as I said, there are a couple of not-so-good things in the past 100 days. The first is my weight, which continues to be MUCH above where it should be for me to be healthy. I am presently about 20 pounds overweight, and I must confess that I truly believed that I would EASILY lose that amount in 3 months of not drinking. But, it hasn't happened, though I did lose about 7 pounds within the fist 7 weeks - just nothing since then. But, to be honest, I haven't really been exercising as much as I should have been, as I guess I was using the "not drinking alcohol" as a crutch to not exercise! I've since rededicated myself to that important area of my life, so I am quite positive that the next 100 days will finally see me lose that 20 pounds of flab.
The other not-so-good thing is that my girlfriend kind of "misses" me drinking. I think it's a combination of a couple of things: 1) she drinks (very little), and she is happier when we share things; and 2) she perceives me as being "more fun" when I drank before. I think what's actually happening is that as long as she's known me (going on 7 years) I've been a drinker. We have a LOT of good memories, and she's connecting those good memories to the fact that we both drank. I deeply feel that the longer I avoid alcohol, and the more good memories we have in the coming months and years (which we will!), the more she'll begin to identify me with simply being a non-drinker. This will only serve to guide us both toward being healthier and happier for years to come.
Thus, looking back at my first 100 days, there have been MANY positives in my life - both in how I feel today, and how I view my future. There have been only TWO slightly negative things, but both of those will become positives in the near future. The bottom line is that I would absolutely do it all over again because the day I stopped drinking alcohol was the best day in my life!