ALCOHOLICS: RECOVERY & FITNESS (Serious Only Please)

[chodan9]

I think it's a reference to AA meetings and Al-Anon meetings where people smoke like chimneys.

almost all the meetings in the area I live in are now non smoking,
when I started they were all smoking meetings.

Times change I guess.

[Baldiewonkanobi]

I have watched most fail, some over and over, and a few succeed. The only long term sober alcoholic/addicts I know still standing are 100% zero booze, mind altering drugs and nicotine....PERIOD.


The most religious man I know is my workout partner Wonder Boy. He is a devoute, vocal, meeting attending Athiest. Every day he rails against Islam, the Pope, and Angelicals. He can quote passeges from every Athiest speaker/author on the speaking circuit. He studies religions so he understands why he hates them so??? He places AA in the same camp as Missionaries who work skid row. "Bate and switch". I tell him to "shut the F up and load on two more wheels". "It's like working out with a mirror of Pat Robertson".

If my sobriety were predicated on whether or not I understood "God" in the AA pretense... I would have been dead now for over 25 years.

Baldiewonsoberagnostic

[charlesbrian63]

New to bb.com and to this forum, was cool to see something on here about people who are in recovery from alcoholism. I had to take every drink that I did to get where I am today, at the end I was ready to have the madness stop but I couldn't, thats a terrible place to be, probably everybody here knows that place. I think it was chodan9 that mentioned working on parts other than the body in first yearS of sobriety, thats me, been sober for 8 years and in 06 decided to lose weight to wear smaller jeans and ended up working with a weight coach since june of 07. Won't bore ya with the rest about ME, "this is a we program" right? Hope I did this right, if I didn't, I'll try again, look forward to interacting with recovering, weight lifters who I don't know, but I know!!!.......peace....

[BigDaddy33]

^^^^



Man, people just don't get it.

This is my last post in here. Good luck to all.

Is'nt that just like going to a meeting. Some don't get it. But some of us do get it. Thanks for the good luck wishes, but it really has nothing to do with "luck" does it?. Sorry to see you go.....

New to bb.com and to this forum, was cool to see something on here about people who are in recovery from alcoholism. I had to take every drink that I did to get where I am today, at the end I was ready to have the madness stop but I couldn't, thats a terrible place to be, probably everybody here knows that place. I think it was chodan9 that mentioned working on parts other than the body in first yearS of sobriety, thats me, been sober for 8 years and in 06 decided to lose weight to wear smaller jeans and ended up working with a weight coach since june of 07. Won't bore ya with the rest about ME, "this is a we program" right? Hope I did this right, if I didn't, I'll try again, look forward to interacting with recovering, weight lifters who I don't know, but I know!!!.......peace....

Worked fine!! Welcome to BB.com and the thread!!!

[BigDaddy33]

I have watched most fail, some over and over, and a few succeed. The only long term sober alcoholic/addicts I know still standing are 100% zero booze, mind altering drugs and nicotine....PERIOD.


The most religious man I know is my workout partner Wonder Boy. He is a devoute, vocal, meeting attending Athiest. Every day he rails against Islam, the Pope, and Angelicals. He can quote passeges from every Athiest speaker/author on the speaking circuit. He studies religions so he understands why he hates them so??? He places AA in the same camp as Missionaries who work skid row. "Bate and switch". I tell him to "shut the F up and load on two more wheels". "It's like working out with a mirror of Pat Robertson".

If my sobriety were predicated on whether or not I understood "God" in the AA pretense... I would have been dead now for over 25 years.

Baldiewonsoberagnostic

Just a "little bit pregnant" LOL, Social drinker or smoker....LOL. You either do or you don't, or are or are'nt.... NUFF SAID

[boathead]

i had thought this was going to be a thread at to how exercise helps us achieve our sobriety goals?????

all the talk about religion and aa is a red herring. has nothing to do with anything. aa where i've been, some 15,000 meetings, has nothing to do with religion. aa has its roots in the christian oxford group movement of the 1920's to 1950's, but split off. some remnants remain, i am told largely in ohio, but that is about it.

and the person standing at the door will have a reservation no matter what program he is looking at. that is what drunks do....we want to drink, and it's a tall order to think that the gig may be up. THAT is the root reservation. suggesting that it's a religious thing because of some misguided notion perpetuated my those that have no clue is a cop out.

anyone can quit drinking if they are DESPARATE enough. but once the marriage is back on solid footing, or the boss is off their back, or the judge let them off the hook...the desparation goes away. then what? that is the key to all the recovery programs...not to get you sober, but to keep you sober.

[chodan9]

i had thought this was going to be a thread at to how exercise helps us achieve our sobriety goals?????

all the talk about religion and aa is a red herring. has nothing to do with anything. aa where i've been, some 15,000 meetings, has nothing to do with religion. aa has its roots in the christian oxford group movement of the 1920's to 1950's, but split off. some remnants remain, i am told largely in ohio, but that is about it.

and the person standing at the door will have a reservation no matter what program he is looking at. that is what drunks do....we want to drink, and it's a tall order to think that the gig may be up. THAT is the root reservation. suggesting that it's a religious thing because of some misguided notion perpetuated my those that have no clue is a cop out.

anyone can quit drinking if they are DESPARATE enough. but once the marriage is back on solid footing, or the boss is off their back, or the judge let them off the hook...the desparation goes away. then what? that is the key to all the recovery programs...not to get you sober, but to keep you sober.

yes
not drinking is just the beginning of what its all about.

as to your first point, for me I had worked for years on my mental and spiritual well being and realized I was out of balance, I had let my physical well being go.
Now my difficulty is reigning in my natural obsessive nature and not doing too much, I have had to force myself to not take this too quickly.
I think for many in recovery the lure of oversupplementing might be a danger. We are used to taking stuff to help us to do what we want to do. Not a good habit to carry into weight lifting
I'm not saying don't take supplements, but take them to supplement, not replace your diet, and don't expect miracles from them either.

[boathead]

there you go.

balance. you can find that as a tenet of any recovery program. imo, it should be THE tenet.

in early sobriety, whenever i had the urge to drink, i went to a meeting. 4 meetings a day for 2 years! now i either go to a meeting or workout. fortunately the urge to drink doesn't visit as often, and doesn't stay as long!

[chodan9]

there you go.

balance. you can find that as a tenet of any recovery program. imo, it should be THE tenet.

in early sobriety, whenever i had the urge to drink, i went to a meeting. 4 meetings a day for 2 years! now i either go to a meeting or workout. fortunately the urge to drink doesn't visit as often, and doesn't stay as long!

cool!

I can't even remember the last time drinking or drugs even occurred to me as an option, and I am grateful for that.

[chodan9]

So what are your new years eve plans guys?
I will be staying home with my honey, but I know some home groups have New years parties. Anyone planning to go out tomorrow night?

[boathead]

i'll be going to my home group's party....until about 10...i haven't seen the ball drop in many years!

[Baldiewonkanobi]

Honestly it's been some 25 years since Lady W and I have stayed up past 10pm with the exception of my oldest daughter's wedding with vows said at 11:55 pm Dec. 31st. Now that was a party with an Ike and Tina Turner tribute band. I will be sound asleep under my USC blanket (yes I have one) anxiously waiting to have my boyz shut out Joe Pa. Our gym opens from 7am to 1pm on New Years and I will be there setting up day one of a great productive sober 2009.

[tatdawg]

i imagine i'll be in the bed by 9 or so and SOBER thank god. i will hit the gym early tomorrow mornin to get the year started off on the right foot and a full day of bowl games.

[timitsoo]

I'll jump on this thread to say that I know I need to quit for good. I don't know if today is the best day to stop being New Years Eve, and my girlfriend is playing games with me. However, I might as well try because I know life will always be full of tuff things that come up and turning to some booze can't be the answer.

It's crazy because I can feel the urge come with serious anxiety. Like yesterday I had a brief conversation with my girlfriend that kinda led to the understanding that she needs to figure some stuff out. Bla bla bla, but the point is that after that talk I had "that feeling". Like I needed to numb the pain type thing. So as soon as I got home, that's what I did. Didn't get too gone, but enough to take some of the wind out of my sails today. And I did so good at the gym yesterday too. Errrrr.

So, I know the answer must be to learn how to recognize that feeling faster and do something more constructive. Any tips from you veterans? I know meetings and all that, but I mean things to do when the urges seem to hit so fast.

Good to be here. Thanks, timitsoo

[charlesbrian63]

Just wanted to share my experience with timitsoo on my quiting for good, I said the same thing for about the last three years of my drinking career. After the gift of desperation and a few months in aa, it was suggested to me that I just try to stay sober today, one day at a time. I believe that I had to take every drink that I did to get to where I am today, not one more, not one less. For me, the end was not fun because I finally wanted to quit drinking but couldn't because I was physically addicted. I had to ride the dump truck all the way to the dump, some people are fortunate enough to get off that truck a little early. In a wierd way, weight lifting has become my friend kind of like King Alcohol was. If you drink again, just get back up go at it again, if YOU want it bad enough you will do whatever it takes and let me tell you, YOU are worth it and life will get amazingly better! Best of luck to you in the gym and life........peace......

[joed]

...I know meetings and all that, but I mean things to do when the urges seem to hit so fast...

I can reply to this from the angle of dieting/eating clean. After all, an urge is an urge. More often than not when I think of eating something that's not healthy for me, I step back and tell myself it's just a thought passing through my mind. I don't have to act on it right now. If I start doing/thinking about something else, my focus will shift and the urge will pass or at least seem not so strong. Then I can resist. Simplistic but it brings me into the here-and-now and my mind seems able to help control the urge.

[boathead]

urges....it helps if there is no booze around. simple.

my first attempt at quitting: i'd go to a bar and drink club soda. what do you suppose always happened?

when i was newly sober i was in rehab. i had to be in a controlled environment. if that is not an option (i highly recommend it), then workout out with an intensity you never have, including tons of cardio, go to lots of meetings...clear your house of booze....stop for the time being hanging out with those that drink.

just some thoughts off the top of my head.

[GreenWave1]

I'll jump on this thread to say that I know I need to quit for good. I don't know if today is the best day to stop being New Years Eve, and my girlfriend is playing games with me. However, I might as well try because I know life will always be full of tuff things that come up and turning to some booze can't be the answer.

It's crazy because I can feel the urge come with serious anxiety. Like yesterday I had a brief conversation with my girlfriend that kinda led to the understanding that she needs to figure some stuff out. Bla bla bla, but the point is that after that talk I had "that feeling". Like I needed to numb the pain type thing. So as soon as I got home, that's what I did. Didn't get too gone, but enough to take some of the wind out of my sails today. And I did so good at the gym yesterday too. Errrrr.

So, I know the answer must be to learn how to recognize that feeling faster and do something more constructive. Any tips from you veterans? I know meetings and all that, but I mean things to do when the urges seem to hit so fast.

Good to be here. Thanks, timitsoo

You have to make up your mind that you are not going to use today. When you get the urge, pray, hit the weights, do some pushups, take a shower, whatever. Do something to take your mind off of the urge.

Best of luck to you. It's not easy. But you CAN do it.

[chodan9]

my first attempt at quitting: i'd go to a bar and drink club soda. what do you suppose always happened?

LOL
you would think simple logic, but we can be a thick headed lot.

I would tell my pigeons (sponsee's) "hanging around a bar and trying not to drink is like hanging around a funeral home waiting to die", or another one "you hang out in a barber shop long enough you will wind up with a haircut"

[boathead]

thick headed indeed.

i also explored a thing called "moderation management", a program for problem drinkers...it had a plan where you could drink, but no more than 4 drinks in a day, and never on consecutive days. a bunch of forum members decided it would be swell to meet, and we did.

and everyone had their 4 drinks. next morning about 20 of us were literally passed out on this guy's floor, with vodka and whiskey bottles strewn about. seems after 4 drinks someone made a beer/liquor run.

that was enough of moderation for me, and i was off to the races again for a few more years/arrests/job losses etc.

[chodan9]

thick headed indeed.

i also explored a thing called "moderation management", a program for problem drinkers...it had a plan where you could drink, but no more than 4 drinks in a day, and never on consecutive days. a bunch of forum members decided it would be swell to meet, and we did.

and everyone had their 4 drinks. next morning about 20 of us were literally passed out on this guy's floor, with vodka and whiskey bottles strewn about. seems after 4 drinks someone made a beer/liquor run.

that was enough of moderation for me, and i was off to the races again for a few more years/arrests/job losses etc.

I remember my last attempt at "moderation" LOL
it ended with a half a 5th of 151 bicardi

[bjc12]

Moderation? ha ha whats that?

Though I don't identify myself as an alcoholic I was psyched to see this thread. I tried booth fellowships when i first got clean and found that na worked better for me. God willing will be celebrating four years on the 16th. Glad to see there is a group of us working toward the same goals, both physically and spiritually that is. It would be cool if we could get this as a main thread and have several other off shouts from it. One thing I was mainly thinking of was how do you guys handle your supplements. My sponsor lifts as well and does not like me taking much beside protein and creatine, i do anyways ( nothing illegal) but just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on this.

[chodan9]

bjc12

I was primarily a narcotics addict, but I also realized I can't drink either (as illustrated by my last post heh heh).
I think many of us have a tendency to look for chemical solutions to our problems out of habit, but the trick is learning that balance,
I knew one guy in the program who was a bodybuilder, and after he got clean he went almost immediately into using gear, a while later he came to the self realization that he was falling into the same old habits of chemical dependancy, so he stopped using that too, before it lead him down the wrong path.
Honestly beyond protien and creatine, your not going to find much that very helpful, a clean diet will do more than most supplements. Thats just my opinion though.

[BigDaddy33]

Moderation?!?!?! What is that? LOL

[chodan9]

a bit of irony for the new year

[BigDaddy33]

LOL Thats Funny. Happy New Year everyone. My first one and I made it out with no drinking. Worked until about 11, went to a get together with my wife at her sisters house then home by 1am and in bed. feel great today, no hangover and I love it. Going to start the Muscle Tech Contest tommarow....

[bjc12]

chodan,
thanks for the insight. i've been lifting for just about two years, so of course i had to go into it with my addict mentallity and try every product out there. But now being a little further into working out and into my recovery i think i am coming to realize that i really dont need much else besides the protein. Just switching up my pre and my pro workout drinks thats about it. not sure how much benefit from adding these but the drugs didn't work for a long time too before i realized it.

[biggaz]

LOL Thats Funny. Happy New Year everyone. My first one and I made it out with no drinking. Worked until about 11, went to a get together with my wife at her sisters house then home by 1am and in bed. feel great today, no hangover and I love it. Going to start the Muscle Tech Contest tommarow....

I didn't get through new yr without a drink, and tonight me and my partner have been out for a couple, " but one drink leads to another"

I'm a happy drunk, but my partner isn't, I can drink a lot and still be very aware of other people drinking and the situations that arise because of that..

My way out of all this **** is to be better, your way is the MT contest, mine is to be on stage in 2010....

4 days off beer and eating right and my lifts have gone through the roof, my best lift has gone up 35lbs

Thats it I'm done, gonna be the best that I can

[BigDaddy33]

Keep comin back!!

[bjc12]

Just wanted to post a couple of other areas i have a little bit of problems that i believe has to do with my addiction.

Not over doing it. I always read beware of over training and not sure if I do or not. Also not sure or i would change my routine even if i was. i usually work out 6 times a week sometimes five. i have always been an all out or not at all kind of guy and this is one area where it is tough for me to control at times i can get just as obsessed with the gym as i did with the drugs. i understand that over training is counter productive but... so was a good part of my life.

After having absolutely no regard for my health for years, i still have trouble caring about the safety of products. I still am after that instant gratification and if one is good then two has gotta be better. Not wanting to be patient it is hard not to buy up the strongest products even though many others would avoid them because of the sides, (mainly ph's, and weight loss supps.)

Just wondering if anyone else could relate or has had any experience dealing with similar situations.