Well its kind of perfect that the week seven chapter is all about alcohol and tobacco just as everyone is off to spring break. I don’t smoke tobacco and never have so I didn’t feel like any of that stuff really applied to me. I do drink alcohol occasionally. I’m not a really big drinker. I definitely drank more in my younger years though .I’m in my forties now and my days of binge drinking or over drinking on the weekends is in the past. The section about alcohol and college students did remind me of some of my not so good choices in the past though. The fact that over 30% of college students did something they regretted in the last 30 days while drinking is pretty scary. Unfortunately not really super surprising. Alcohol and bad decisions seem to go hand and hand.
The section on metabolism and absorption seems like maybe the most important part of the chapter. Knowing the factors that influence how quickly alcohol gets absorbed can make a big difference in drinking safely or putting yourself at risk. Some of these factors include, “alcohol concentration in your drink; the amount you consume; the amount of food in your stomach; and your metabolism, weight, body mass index, and mood” (Donatelle, 2019). Obviously, knowing these factors will help you to make better decisions. One important thing to do when you know you will be drinking is to make sure you have eaten.
The most interesting part of the chapter for me was the detailed descriptions of all the short-term and long-term effects that alcohol can have. Some of these were obvious, but some were a surprise. All the associated cancers with long-term use was very surprising. Yikes!
I’ve actually had an opportunity to see a preserved liver with cirrhosis at a show called the bodies. It was pretty awful looking. The image of it stuck with me. In addition, I once volunteered at a nursing home and I was surprised to see a relatively young patient there (young by comparison to the rest). When I asked about him I was told that he had alcohol induced demensia. That corresponds with the books description of long term effects on the brain including memory loss and damaged brain cells.
All this information was kind of depressing to hear right before going on vacation. But since I’m really not a heavy drinker and haven’t been for a long time, I didn’t let it bother me too much.
Before going on vacation this week I spent some time thinking about how I wanted to approach my wellness goals. Here’s what I decided.
Some times we get so hyper focused on our goals that we can’t see the forest for the trees. We put so much emphasis and meaning into every little slip-up. But the real purpose of setting these goals, at least for me, is improved general health by improving my self care. That may mean eating better, exercising more, or managing my mental health. So this week was a mental health break.
This week I decided that although I would still try to make the best choices that I could in regards to healthy eating, it was more important for me to have a fun vacation and not stress to much about meeting all of my goals.
I saw this display of sweet temptations. I was actually able to walk by and not get any dessert, but I chose an indulgent lunch sandwich with sweet potato fries. Could be worse, could be better. Either way I enjoyed it.
I included veggies in my meals if I saw something on the menu that looked good, but if not then I didn’t worry about it. I wasn’t able to do my 3x per week exercises, but I did do a lot of walking. Granted some of that walking was from one brewery to the next … but again its vacation. I’m not going to kick myself over it. I did drink more than I usually would if it was a regular week, but I kept it to a safe and reasonable amount. We also made sure we didn’t drive on the nights we knew we’d be drinking. Yay Uber!
Now I’m back home and getting back on track. I had a great vacation and I feel like that is an important part of my overall wellness goals. Making sure I’m enjoying life along the way. 😎
Lucy 2.0 My Healthy Journey 