One Year, Zero Alcohol
What I’ve learned
Hello, my friend. And welcome back to the madness. School. Sports. Work. It’s all happening. Transitions are tough so it’s a great time of year to give yourself some grace with getting all of it done. Personally, I’ve eased up on the workouts for this week and prioritized sleep. I’m trying to listen to my body and lean into healthy habits to get through it all. As part of that, I’ve got three things for you today:
The latest (solo!) episode of the Intentional Wisdom podcast
Some thoughts on hitting the one year / no drinking milestone
A few additions to your content diet
Let’s do it!
Today's newsletter is brought to you by my friends at Athletic Brewing Company. If there was one massive difference between my experience quitting alcohol in 2018 and my experience quitting it this year, it’s been the addition of Athletic N/A brews.
In 2018, it was either O’Doul’s or club soda. Okay, fine - it was really just club soda. Not exactly something to get excited about. In fact, VERY boring. This year has been totally different. I found Athletic. And thank God I did. It’s been (dare I say) actually a really fun year trying out so many of their N/A brews… from IPAs to extra darks… even their hop-infused seltzers. I’ve really enjoyed the variety. My favorites are Upside Dawn and Athletic Lite but I continue to try more of their seasonal brews to find the next one to add to the mix. If you find yourself going down the N/A path or are just curious about Athletic, well, you can…
Try Athletic Brewing Non-alcoholic Brews for yourself.
Click this link and use code WISDOM to get 15% off your first order at athleticbrewing.com (I’d do this now before this offer expires btw…)
Near beer. Exclusions and conditions apply.
Athletic Brewing Company. Fit For All Times.
Ep.25 - One Year, Zero Alcohol
I’ve had so many people ask me for details about what it’s like to give up drinking (or to cut back substantially). I’ve gotten tons of questions like: What do you drink instead? Isn’t it super boring? Don’t you want to enjoy your life? Did you actually notice any health benefits?
All fair questions. So I decided to sit down for a solo episode of the podcast and answer all of these questions and more. Think of it as having coffee (or a non-alcoholic beer) with me and hearing the inside story (pro’s AND con’s) of giving up booze.
As usual, you can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc., and watch the full episode on YouTube. Do me a favor if you listen: Let me know what you think (good or bad!). I’m experimenting with the solo format so reply to this email, leave a comment where you listen/watch or tag me on Twitter (X) with your thoughts. Appreciate you checking it out!
What I’ve Learned From One Year Off the Sauce
In no particular order…
We don’t actually crave alcohol, we crave relaxation, laughter and human connection
All of the above are possible (in some cases, easier to achieve) without alcohol
Non-alcoholic beverages are having a moment. Check out the N/A section in your local grocery store. It’s likely grown 10x in the last year. A ton of people are drinking this stuff and there are some awesome options.
You don’t need to quit alcohol to drink N/A beer, mocktails, etc. I have tons of friends who are “zebra striping” - basically mixing in N/A beverages with alcoholic beverages. Everyone’s got their own motivations but a lot of it comes down to not wanting to feel like sh&t the next day.
Most restaurants now have at least one decent N/A option. Some don’t but it’s not THAT painful to drink club soda with lime now and then.
Alcohol is poison. Not trying to evangelize here but this is a fact. Ethanol (aka alcohol) is poisonous to the body. It’s just one that our culture has deemed acceptable to ingest.
Alcohol is highly correlated with a marked increase in the risk of certain cancers. Learned this from Huberman (see Content Diet section below).
My decision to quit was a result of spending everyday trying to cultivate positive habits in all areas of my life (nutrition, sleep, fitness, relationships, work, etc.) but then putting poison in my body on weekends that counteracted all of the other efforts. Just didn’t make any sense when I looked at it rationally given everything I’m trying to achieve and who I’m trying to be.
Nothing disrupts sleep more than alcohol. I have the Whoop data to prove it. If you believe sleep is the foundation of mental and physical health like I do, this is not an inconsequential fact.
No alcohol = way less stress and anxiety. It’s a well-documented fact that alcohol is highly related to anxiety, and not just in the days after drinking. This is ironic as most people consume alcohol as a stress-reliever when in fact it leads to higher stress and anxiety.
One thing I’ve noticed not drinking is that you avoid the high’s and the low’s. So there is no “high” from drinking N/A beverages. This is a downside, no doubt. But there is no low the next day or in the form of ongoing elevated anxiety. I like this trade.
“Enjoying your life” depends on how you define it. I decided for me that “enjoying my life” was not being overserved on a Saturday night, getting crappy sleep and then being short with my kids on Sunday morning. Enjoying life to me is getting to bed at 10pm, crushing a 5-mile run at 6:30am and making breakfast for my kids at 8am. The “high” of the latter is much more rewarding for me.
Nutrition tends to improve when you quit alcohol. Guess how many times you eat late-night pizza when you don’t drink?
Fitness tends to improve when you quit alcohol. A lot of this comes down to not missing workouts. If you have a full-time job, it’s possible the time you have for really long or really intense workouts is on weekend mornings. Knowing that you’re going to wake up feeling great on Saturday and Sunday mornings allows you to plan ahead AND get more ambitious with your workouts. Metrics like RHR and VO2 max are byproducts of this increased frequency and intensity. My RHR has been on a downward trend all year. Cool to see at 45.
Nobody cares about you quitting drinking as much as you do. And it’s less awkward at parties, weddings or work functions than you might imagine. Sure you might get some pushback at first, but then people realize you’re serious and start making it EASIER for you not to drink (stocking N/A bevs when they know you’re coming over, etc.). Like most things in life, people are much more concerned with themselves than whatever you’re doing.
I’m surprised at how much my kids have noticed that I don’t drink anymore and how good it makes me feel to set that example for them. They do what we do not what we say.
Despite all of this… (and let me apologize if any of this felt like a soapbox speech), I have zero interest in trying to “convert” friends, family or anyone else to non-drinkers. I have my own reasons for quitting, but I think it’s a totally personal choice. Zero judgement ever for others.
If any of this was interesting to you, I dove into all of it in greater detail in the solo podcast episode. Or if you don’t have time listen to that, check out this quick video I did Debunking the 4 Biggest Myths About Not Drinking.
Content Diet
I’ll keep up the non-alcohol theme here and give you a few pieces of content to consider if you’re interested in cutting back or quitting alcohol yourself.
Podcast: What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain and Health - Andrew Huberman
This one is an absolute eye-opener. Here's my Cliff's Notes summary. Apologies in advance for the buzzkill:
Ethanol (alcohol) is toxic to the body and destroys cells (aka you are ingesting poison).
Alcohol changes neural pathways, making us more impulsive, more anxious and more stressed (measurably higher cortisol levels) when we are NOT drinking - even 1 or 2 drinks on a regular basis has this effect.
Alcohol kills bacteria indiscriminately (including so-called 'good' bacteria) wreaking havoc on gut health, leading to inflammation, digestion issues, etc.
The architecture of sleep even after just one alcoholic beverage is disrupted.
The theory that red wine is good for you has been thoroughly debunked. The optimal level of alcohol consumption for humans is zero.
Alcohol consumption is associated with a statistically significant rise in cancer risk (due to its effects on cell mutation and the immune system). Regular consumption is associated with a 4-13% increase in breast cancer risk.
But good news... Many of the negative body/brain impacts of alcohol are reversible after abstaining for 2 to 6 months. So don’t say I was a TOTAL buzzkill today.
Podcast: Bill Shufelt (CEO of Athletic Brewing Co.) - The Alcohol-Free Revolution
I wanted to re-share this conversation with Athletic’s CEO Bill Shufelt. He’s an awesome guy. We talk about his how journey to remove alcohol from his own life and how and why he started what ultimately has become the #1 non-alcoholic beverages company in the U.S. I’m super-proud to have Intentional Wisdom associated with Bill & the Athletic team.
Finally, here is the full YouTube version of my solo podcast episode if you’re interested in checking that out:
Appreciate you reading. See you in two weeks!
Greg