As the co-owner of a South City bar, I’ve gotten used to having a daily availability of discounted (and sometimes free) alcohol. And while I’d like to think that about two years in the business hasn’t impacted my health, I’d long had a sneaking suspicion that: my intake was exceeding my need; that the spare tire I was carting around was definitely tied to the job; and that I wasn’t alone in this. All it took for a true reconsideration of it all was a quick, simple question from a new doctor.
Right about 10 weeks ago, I started seeing that new GP and, during our first visit, he asked about my various health habits, including alcohol consumption. I told him I knocked back about 20 a week, realizing (even as I said it) that the number was conservative. In reality, as someone who spends a lot of time in a bar (actually, many bars), I probably had some weeks closer to 30 drinks, a few under 20, and most within in the 23-25 range.
Like others in the industry, that number grew from orders placed over hours-and-hours. For example, I’d open the bar and have a drink. Sometimes, a friend or regular would come in and that would mean a second. Before six o’clock, then, I’d already put two drinks on the now-running meter. An evening might round out with beer at dinner and maybe another one, or two, for a nightcap. Even a cutback on drinking at my own place wasn’t making any real dent.
One day, on a Monday not long after that doctor’s appointment, I pulled up a simple notes document on my laptop and typed in the days of the week, 10 times over. For those next 10 weeks, I counted every single drink, with no single week allowed to exceed 14 drinks; that was a hard cap. At the conclusion of 70 days, ending this past Sunday, my numbers looked like this:
No drinks: 24 days
1 drink: 19 days
2 drinks: 17 days
3 drinks or more: 10 days
Total: 89.5 drinks, rather than 230-250
Average: approximately 9 drinks weekly, roughly a 60% drop
There were a lot of small realizations that came along with that. Here are a few, in no particular order.
As the countdown started, I also began attending Kundalini yoga classes at SoSLo BAB (South St Louis bliss and bodyworks), trying to make both classes offered each week. An attempt to do the more-intensive Bikram form (a hot yoga style) sorta fell to the wayside. As every self-help book will tell you, exercise plus diet equals a change in health. Why scrimp on either?
At 27 years old, I'd have weighed about 180 pounds after this experience, but my metabolism has changed, which is scientifically reasonable, but completely infuriating. At 47, even with added exercise, discernible weight loss or added fitness has been a marginal, not magical, addition. Time is always a companion, not always a friend.
Here’s a positive: I “enjoyed” one, very, very mild hangover over the course of a fifth-of-a-year, which is, in all honestly, a change from my previous norms. (That the night causing that mild bender included a wrong-side-of-midnight trip to Pop’s, which seldom leaves you feeling better.) Getting off to a fresher start in the morning is, almost without question, the best bit of this experiment.
Throughout, I found myself focused on moderation at events like when watching soccer matches or attending concerts. Rather than just making that next order, it became an easier process over 10 weeks to just slow down, pass on the last round, and keep a low number for the week in mind. With a plan and goal in place, both binge sessions and afternoon-into-evening nights of alcohol use began to dip. And a lot of the days with zero drinks were planned in advance, allowing me to “bank” an extra drink for a day with a party or event. (Having looked up other folks’ experiences, at least two days of absentia a week are recommended.)
While I'm continuing the practice for the next 10 weeks, and am doing this for personal/selfish reasons, I believe strongly that a lot of folks involved in the industry would benefit from some type of similar experiment. Taking the time to slow down and assess my own habits was a strong experience in sharing, via a version of this note on Facebook.
Speaking of which, my next li’l goal in life is to cut down on social media usage. Open to suggestions on that one, since I’m pretty sure halving that will be tougher than the booze.
And to close this out, a simple question, especially for friends and colleagues in the nightlife world: how much are you drinking weekly? Good luck with whatever emotion that answer brings you.
