Sober

[Pelagic]

I am drunk on life with the primary stimulus being a clear head to enjoy it to the fullest.

No excuses!

[Minggat]

Tager,

Good on ya !! Wishing you all the best.

I do none of the above. Never had to give it up. I am feeling a lot less lonely now after reading some of the responses here.

100% can be tough becaue you have to read evey soda can label these days. Don't be hard on yourself if 100% is the goal.

I've heard it said that New Years resolutons get abandoned because of one compromise. Don't fall for that. It's the war you want to win.

[s/v 'Faith']

A cup of coffee in the morning, and a glass of wine in the evening (no more then one)....

Are they not considered healthy? The coffee is (last I read) and anti-oxidant as is the (red) wine...

Why would these things be on the list with cigarettes?

No offense intended to the OP, or any, for whom total abstinence may be the best defense against excess.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by sailstoo

Life is sure a lot less fun now, isn't it?

I hear that from time to time. No offense, but it feels like ridicule when you hear it too often.

[hummingway]

It's funny, the good for you bad for you thing. People begin drinking green tea because of the anti-oxidants (white tea has even more) so coffee is discovered to have some (in studies financed by Juan Valdez). The amount of coffee that you have to drink to compare to green tea is quite significant as in the caffeine might kill you. On the other hand small amounts of caffeine (one cup of coffee) is good for brain functioning anyway. Me I have two because I need all the help I can get. Red wine helps lower colesteral because, wait for it, it's made from seeded red grapes. The eating of said grapes is likely better for you then drinking a lot of wine however the amount of alcohol in a glass of wine is likely beneficial as a relaxant. You can also cut out the middle man and take grape seed extract since that is where the concentration of reservatol is highest. What the hay? I bet people have croaked from worrying about what was going to kill them.

It amazes me how misinformation permeates the world of food and drink. As I mentioned in an earlier post I was a vegetarian once upon a time. The other day I over heard some young people talking and they were saying how people were never meant to eat flesh, biologically speaking. I had heard the same thing 35 years ago. One belief amongst cellular biologists is that omnivores tend to evolve more rapidly because the pursuit of a wider variety of foods evolves greater functionality which is part of the explanation for the complexity in the human brain structure, the same brain structure that lets us make up fairy tales about humans not being designed to eat meat. Somewhere a snake just ate his tail!

[MichaelC]

Hey, about the tea in China .... Western man has been drinking alcohol for 7 or 8 thousand years that we know of. And there have been lots of ill effects. I do not drink alcohol .... with the exception of a few beers a week, a few glasses of wine, a bit of rum and some peppermint schnapps in my hot chocolate. I don't smoke anything. Lots of black tea, coffee, espresso. But other than that, hey, I'm clean, man. I am beginning the construction of a retirement sailboat, and planning to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in two years. I just turned 70. Any young honeys out there want to go along? I have a two person tent .....

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by MichaelC

I do not drink alcohol .... with the exception of a few beers a week, a few glasses of wine, a bit of rum and some peppermint schnapps in my hot chocolate.....

OK, I'm convinced. No alcohol

[MichaelC]

Another East Coast sailor introduced me to the 1234 drink. One sour, two sweet, three strong, four weak. Lime juice, sugar, rum, water. It ain't for the faint of heart. Or weak of heart, for that matter .... but of course, I don't drink it. Nossah. I mean, I would NEVAH ... well hardly evah ...maybe onct in a while ....

[tager]

I am still going strong. I think people are misinterpreting me a little, assuming that I must be avoiding these things because they are bad for my health. In reality the motivation was a bit more reserved than that. I stopped smoking a certain something just to see what the sobriety would be like. Following that I stopped drinking. Even caffeine has been avoided for a few days.

It is not so much a health kick as it is an exploration of the mind. I figured, I have been hopped up on something since I was 8 years old, so it's worth some investigation just to see what it's like to be free of those things.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by hummingway

The other day I over heard some young people talking and they were saying how people were never meant to eat flesh, biologically speaking.

Then why do we have canine teeth?

[bloodhunter]

I 'd have a very hard time giving up coffee. My wife and I drink iced green tea as our only soft drink and would have problems finding a substitute.. Haven't totally given up alcohol and certainly intent to hoist a few for my son's wedding Saturday

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by bloodhunter

I 'd have a very hard time giving up coffee.

I gave it up when I was a student. I worked out how much sugar I was digesting (2 spoons per cup) and I was getting through a 2lb bag of sugar a week. Since I did not take sugar in tea I stopped drinking coffee. After I graduated I found most workplaces offered coffee, not tea or that the tea was lousy so I started back on the coffee but sugar-free. It was vile for about a week until I realised how cheap the coffee brand used was. Ever since I've only drank quality teas and good ground coffee.

I still make far more tea and coffee than I ever drink...

To be honest, unless you have an underlying medical condition, then I do not think that tea, coffee or alcohol - taken in moderation - will do you any harm. With most things it is "excess" that does you damage.

Congrat.s on your son's wedding. I hope it all goes smoothly on the day.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Then why do we have canine teeth?

Very true if you do any reading/watching of the history of homo-erectus. Latest evidence has 5 different versions of our predecessors with the 2 "vegan" versions not making it and of the carnivore/omnivore version the one with the ability to "adapt" and think of alternative survival strategies is our ancestor. If you watch enough "nature" shows you will come to the realization that basically the whole organic world is based on the "eater and the eaten."
- - Giving up on "less than healthy" foods/drinks is a lot easier when living on a cruising vessel as we do not have constant access to such foods. We tend to have access to natural foods grown by locals without the aid of chemicals, fertilizers, and other "modern" mass-growing systems. And they are extremely different from the factory produced version available in "modern" countries.

[Mariness]

Originally Posted by mintyspilot

To be honest, unless you have an underlying medical condition, then I do not think that tea, coffee or alcohol - taken in moderation - will do you any harm. With most things it is "excess" that does you damage.

Amen!
I don't drink because alcohol is bad for migraines, and I don't need any more of those! But with just about everything else - a little bit now and then won't hurt.
(I do worry though that we won't be able to socialize much with other cruisers...glad to see we're not going to be the only "dry" boat.)

[97fxdwg]

I enjoy coffee and have a drink or two nearly every day. And I enjoy it too! Yo Ho Ho...... and all that.