What is it about alcohol that makes it so appealing?
Excessive drinking has a funny way of numbing unwanted emotions, masking your mile-long to-do list and at times, causing us to live in a blissfully unaware state of mind.
There comes a day in every social butterfly's life when the loud music, platform heels and winged eyeliner literally start to suck the life out of her.
The mornings after are becoming physically painful, and it's getting harder to escape the fact your body is really starting to hate you.
In an attempt to mend my aching body, I got Jillian Michaels-aggressive by cutting out grains, sugar and basically everything in the American diet (except alcohol) this past summer.
I saw little changes in my body, but not the dramatic kind I was expecting.
I thought I would sweat and bleed health and wellness because I ate my vegetables and worked out daily.
However, Blue Moon might as well have been its own food group.
While on my mission to obtain the perfect six-pack, I was willing to take drastic measures, meaning I finally decided to entirely cut alcohol out of my diet for five weeks.
At first, everyone around me assumed that because I stopped consuming alcohol, I obviously had a drinking problem and was on the road to getting my sh*t together.
Wrong.
I'm still currently a hot mess, but after five weeks of sobriety, I now consider myself a healthier, well-rounded, hot mess.
Society doesn't hesitate to discuss the dramatic social changes you experience when you decide to stop consuming alcohol, but what about the drastic physical changes you go through when you give up Sunday mimosas at brunch?
Here are five things I learned about my body during five weeks of sobriety:
1. Sleep is a beautiful aspect of life.
My new well-rested lifestyle puts me in bed and asleep by around 11 pm on a late night.
The vast majority of the general public (my college campus) acted as if I was missing out on a huge chunk of life, due to my now non-existent nightlife.
In reality, when I stopped drinking, I really started living.
I began replacing late nights I could not even seem to remember with days full of fun activities I would've normally slept through.
On a beauty sleep related note, the bags under my eyes began to disappear, and I actually woke up on Monday mornings ready to tackle the week with freshly brushed hair. (This was a big accomplishment.)
I know the people in my early morning classes appreciated the serious attitude adjustment and lack of hoarseness that reflected the six hours of sleep I got over the weekend.
2. I like my calories f*cking dense.
Without changing anything else in my lifestyle except for my drinking habits, I began to lose weight in the areas I desired most.
My waist began to get smaller, and my ass started to get tighter, all while I continued on my normal 16-year-old boy type of dietary lifestyle.
Dreamy.
Empty calories are for people with bad karma, and I don't need that kind of negativity in my life.
3. No more sick days.
Alcohol drastically weakens your immune system, making it so much harder for you body to fight off that obnoxious sinus infection your fellow schoolmate ever so kindly brought to class with him or her.
I am usually prone to sickness this time of year, and even with a house fill of sick roommates, I somehow remained healthy.
God bless thy healthy liver.
4. Moving my body became so much more enjoyable.
Working out has always remained a staple throughout my life, but it became so much less of a burden when I stopped drinking.
I was able to actually work out first thing in the morning without feeling the need to roll over in my grave.
I became one of those people who needs to move her body first thing in the morning and genuinely enjoys it.
Who even am I anymore?
5. There are many physical gains.
Above all, I was finally able to really see the physical gains I was making in the gym.
My metabolism started to even out, and my body became a fat-burning, muscle-building machine.
Taking out the late nights full of junk food, alcohol and lack of sleep allowed me to really push my body to its full potential.
