365. The number of days I have just committed to abstaining from alcohol. There will be no cool beers on the beach this summer, no cheeky cocktails with the girls and no shots on a big night out.

Liquid courage. 

Legless. 

Hangover. 

Regret. 

Costly. 

Escape.

Excuse. 

Health. 

…a few of the reasons this came about. I hate nothing more, than a day wasted in bed with a bucket beside you and a throbbing head. Yet, this is where I have found myself too often of late. I blow my money on a big night out, sometimes to go out and have fun, sometimes to escape from it all. And that right there, speaks for itself. Truth be told, I don’t even really like alcohol. I drink to keep up, I get messy quickly and its all down hill from there. I don’t do it often, but I’m quickly learning that my personality is “all or nothing,” and alcohol is no exception.

I’ve gone without alcohol before, and its funny to see how uncomfortable it makes people around you. You see so many young people today, and they have thousands of friends on Facebook, heaps of “girlfriends” or “mates” that they socialise with. Take alcohol out of the equation, and suddenly not only do many of these “good friends” not know how to relate, they have nothing in common any more. If people can’t relate and get to know me without alcohol, then I’m not interested.

After far too much time off, I finally got back into training a few weeks ago. Alcohol affects my training for days afterwards. My CV endurance is non-existent, I can’t lift nearly as much, and half the time I miss a session or two while I’m “recovering”.

One of my best friends and her partner have inspired me. They chose to quit alcohol for one year, and that was 18 months ago. They both feel that good that they still haven’t had a drink. Not even a sneaky little sip. My beautiful mother has also committed to come on the journey with me. We pinky promised on it over coffee this morning. (And everybody knows you can’t break a pinky promise).

How about you, is it time to give your body a rest? X