Your thoughts have got me thinking too, it is always best to drink when you really want to, like all things in life. I personally find myself drinking not so much on social excursions now, but much more only when going to a pub/clubbing. I find the confidence that alcohol gives to be its greatest positive. However, drinking for confidence and fun has to be balanced with not doing it too often, and not drinking too much in excess that leads to the feeling of “I wish I was sober”. Then again, if I could gain that confidence when sober, then drinking would be much less necessary.

One thing that was brought up in your log comments is herbal teas. I would strongly recommend green tea. I’ve never drunk normal tea or coffee regularly in the past, so I can’t say how the caffeine feels, but its really low; http://www.green-tea-health-news.com/caffeine-content-of-green-tea.html

And it has a huge amounts of health benefits; http://www.green-tea-health-news.com/index.html There is some dispute as to how much one should have a day, I would say no more than 5 cups.

I really appreciate your comments, don’t ever be afraid of rambling! :)

Thank you for sharing your discoveries that you made from this experiment. I have a lot of feelings about alcohol especially. Both my parents grew up in alcoholic households, but thankfully they themselves drank very little. However, I still think the effects of their upbringing has lasted with them for a lifetime.

I guess you can say I’m a little sensitive about drinking (especially drinking too much). My previous girlfriend was from Eastern Europe and drinking was such a part of her culture. She’s a really wonderful person but the amount that she drank really scared me. She complained so much about being tired and out of energy, but for some reason never connected the fact that her fatigue was from her drinking lifestyle. I tried to get her to stop, but in her mind, there was no problem. Needless to say, it was essentially the reason I ended the relationship.

My first job was at White Castle. If you live on the east coast of the U.S., you know that its open 24 hours and its food is the perfect companion to any kind of drinking. I still have vivid memories of working the cash register during a midnight shift and smelling booze on everyone’s breath when they ordered. I vowed then that I wouldn’t ever get like “those people.”

Flash forward to last March – 20 years later. I got laid off for the third time – the layoffs occurred in the late morning. By lunch we were all at the local pub having lunch and drinking. I ended up spending the next five hours there and miraculously made it home without incident. Yes, I can usually control all of this, but I have my moments, too.

In summary, there’s a lot to say for alcohol and caffeine. When not abused, these substances can make life good. But there is so much to say about clear thinking. Sorry to ramble.
.-= Tim´s last blog ..The Only Source of Confidence: You =-.

Lori — I’d love to read other people’s accounts of similar experiments. I suspect my reactions are probably pretty normal, not that I expected it to be quite like this.

There are other readers who said they would join me in my experiment, I think I’ll drop them a message soon to see how it’s going.
.-= David´s last blog ..Ethanol Free — 30 Days Without Drugs Update =-.

Thanks for the reminder and for describing, so well, your experience. I hope that others will try your experiment, too.

And, finally, kudos for your commitment. Maybe you got some of the “balls” to do it from your Russian Kettle bell training? ;)