Friday, March 27, 2009

"The hard part is defining 'special occasions'!"

Day Five of the Reckoning:

Ms. K and I have gone to the gym four times this week and now that the soreness has worn off, it's starting to feel good . . . except the part where we wake up at 6:15 am, which doesn't feel good.

The other thing that doesn't feel good? (This is a bit of a pathetic confession coming up.) Wait for it . . . wait for it . . . .

Not drinking.

Ugh, it's so true. I haven't had a drink since Monday evening per our new fast and healthy lifestyle rules and it's killing me. (Not literally, of course, but good goddamnit I feel like I could murder for one of Ms. K's blood orange margaritas.) Who knew that coming home after work and having a beer or fixing a cocktail had become so routine -- routine enough that my body came to crave it?

Even though Monday was supposed to be a day abstinence, I invoked the Special Occasion clause as I had a staff dinner for the magazine I freelance for. The meal was a seven course chef's tasting menu of locally produced foods, lots of Long Island red wine, and a smidge of bourbon. (That's how I define "special occasion", kittens.) Then I slammed into a booze free Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday and boy did it hurt.

Ms. K has been feeling the pain too. When she came home from work on Wednesday, she flung herself onto the bed, face buried into the duvet.

"I want a cocktail."

Her voice was muffled, but the sentiment was clear and it was a cry for help. Suddenly Friday's cocktail hour was seeming so very far away. But thankfully we made it without slipping.

Yes, we are the biggest losers ever.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good, I'm not the only one. I've gone through countless "No drinking for 'X' period of time!" things and I always break them after about a week. I don't even drink that much, but when you suddenly decide you can't have something, then you want it even more. I'll shout out a pity cheer to you next time I have a drink.

Anonymous said...

i hear your pain, am in same pain of late. I'm still trying to figure out what could substitute a nice glass o wine in the evening that gives one the same feeling. That of letting go of the day.

We've invoked the weekend only rule around her for about two months, and it's still as struggle. Not as much of a struggle, so be brave. your body will appreciate it... mine has!

so here's to fridan night! yay!~

Anonymous said...

I totally understand what you're going through. You and Ms. K have to come up with a special drink that acts as a substitute and drink it whenever you would normally have a cocktail. It can be as mundane as club soda and lime, or something that you have to mix that contains an ingredient that takes the place of the alcohol. The trick is that you drink it EVERY SINGLE TIME you would normally have an adult beverage, and only then. It's less than satisfying to begin with, but eventually (a couple of weeks), you'll get there. I quit drinking for over a year using this method and ended up losing a ton of weight.

Anonymous said...

Martinelli's makes a sparkling apple juice that I swear tastes like champagne.

Josephine said...

Well, I think a tasting menu of locally produced foods is definitely a special occasion.

My suggestion for a substitute beverage is sparkling water concoctions. Get some sparkling water and squeeze a little of the blood orange or whatever flavors you like into it. It's very low calorie but tasty. I drink a lot of that sort of thing when I'd rather be drinking a beer or a Dr. Pepper.