Self Control

It’s now been a week of trying to go without both meat and alcohol. I want to talk about it without being preachy about it, however sadly I’m not sure the two are compatible, so, sorry in advance.

The biggest reason I gave up both of them was to try and feel better about myself, which certainly does not make me think or feel like I’m better than anyone who consumes those two things. Losing weight is definitely a major driver in these changes, and I think cutting out alcohol is one of the best “easy” ways to meaningfully reduce my weekly calorie intake. Not eating meat, while not necessarily inherently cutting down on the number of calories I consume, will force me to make conscious decisions about what foods I eat, which I hope will in turn lead to better self control.

Speaking of self control, I think that is likely to be the biggest benefit to my new regime. Not feeling like I need to drink or binge-eat to regulate my emotions would be a huge step in the right direction, and already making only a handful of “good” choices (like getting a tap water in the pub last night) have left me feeling proud of myself for not capitulating to the desires of my monkey brain like I so often do.

I hope I can keep it up, at least until Christmas. I’ll report back later with how it’s going, fingers crossed for me.