My Mounjaro Journey Week 7 - Alcohol Free

 Hi everyone

This week I went on a business trip.  As I mentioned in my last blog, I had to take my scales and my medication with me as my check in was due during the week.  

The worst thing (or best) about working away from home is the excuse to eat and drink all the things you wouldn't normally indulge in. Full English for breakfast, a buffet lunch, including cakes and cookies, and nothing to do in the evenings except sitting in the hotel bar knocking back the vinos.  Obviously, I needed to avoid all those things but my colleagues don't know I'm on the flab jab.  Luckily, they do know I'm prediabetic so they didn't question me when I had fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, ham salad and no cake for lunch and steak with vegetables for dinner.

The drinking part was a bit harder but I explained that my New Year's resolution was not to drink indoors anymore and to only drink when I went out.  This led to dry January, which led to extending my alcohol free target to 50 days which led to being alcohol free for a 100 days. This will take me up to a holiday in Cornwall when I'll be able to enjoy a few glasses of wine whilst lazing in the hot tub.  So, when I ordered 0.0% gin with slimline tonic, my colleagues didn't bat an eyelid.

Alcohol is the most addictive drug the average person uses but, because it's legal, everyone assumes that it's safe. However, excessive drinking can cause  liver damage, heart problems, an increased risk of certain cancers & stroke, as well as impacting mental health, sleep patterns, and cognitive function. Plus, of course, poor decision making which at best leads to overeating (how many times have you had a kebab on the way home from the pub?) and at worst, sleeping with someone you wouldn't normally look at twice (awkward).

If you say you're trying to lose a few pounds or are giving up smoking, everyone is very understanding.  Say you're giving up drinking and they'll pull a face and ask you why.   Giving up smoking is seen as a good thing and everyone is really supportive and will give you helpful advice on what situations to avoid, what the best nicotine supplements work, etc. But, giving up the booze makes you a bit of a pariah.  Everyone is suddenly suspicious of you and acts like you're judging their life choices.  "Just one won't hurt", they'll say but if I could just have one, I wouldn't need to stop.

I like drinking.  I like how half a glass of wine instantly relaxes me but it's the fact that one glass is never enough.  I'd happily drink a whole bottle in an evening, sometimes two at the weekend.. It would then effect my sleep and I'd wake up at 2am, 3am, 4am wishing I'd stopped at one glass and then I'd be knackered in the mornings. Not only was it bad for my health, it was also a whole lot of additional unnecessary calories and definitely contributed to my weight gain.  Alcohol is a poison and when you drink, your body puts all its efforts into clearing it from your body so it doesn't bother burning fat.

There's also the cost.  An average bottle was costing about £6 so, if I was drinking around 5 bottles a week, that was £30 per week and £120 a month. It won't surprise you to hear, therefore, that I'm funding my Mounjaro using the money I'm saving by not drinking.  I don't really need much more motivation than that and Mounjaro stops me craving alcohol too.

So, I weighed myself in the hotel room and administered the injection.  I was really worried about being in a car for hours and hours in case I needed the loo urgently but I haven't had any side effects at all this week. Now that's got to be a good sign.

Time for this weeks progress report:

Weight  - 14st 13.5lbs
Mounjaro dose - 5mg
BMI - 39.6
Total loss - 1 stone 1.5lbs

I lost 1.5lb this week, which is what I was aiming for.  I have been trying to get a bit more food in so I've been eating mini babybels and additional fruit. I'm not a fan of spending money on protein bars or shakes as I think we should try and eat good food rather than supplementing a poor diet.  It's all about retraining our brains after all.

Until next time x

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