Need some advice about quitting drinking and performance

Triathlon Forum
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Due to some life issues (blood pressure, bank account, half ironman), I quit drinking alcohol a week ago.

I never really thought of myself as a heavy drinker, but I guess I must have been because I’ve been having some mild withdrawal symptoms (sleeplessness, headaches), and I’m having a terrible time running.

I’m almost two minutes off my regular pace and even maintaining that is a struggle. My legs feel like lead and it doesn’t go away, I just struggle the entire run and then feel like crap.

I’ve tried asking this question on recovery forums and I’ve not found many athletes there.

Ditto my doctor. Tries, but not an athlete.

I’m not super confident that anyone here is going to be of help, either, but just in case - how long did this last, if it’s temporary? Do I have to build back up to my old pace slowly?

Any advice?

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How much we’re you drinking?

(A). Crushing vodka sodas during the work week?

(B). Drinking some (3-4 drinks) on the weekend?

(C). Drinking wine coolers during The Bachelorette?

(D). Other…

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Good for you…like quitting any drug, there is going to be an adjustment for you body. It will pass…

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That was one of my questions too – how much were you drinking? Also, do you think the life issues you mentioned could be responsible for some of your symptoms? Stress can really wreak havoc on the body, and sometimes you aren’t initially aware of it. Are you drinking enough water? Anyway, congrats (or good luck?) on trying to quit. I have never met anyone who regretted giving up alcohol. Some miss it (as I would!), but nobody regrets it.

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It sounds like you may be going through some degree of alcohol withdrawal, which can last over a week. But you’re probably close to being through the toughest part, and your body might be adapting to the change. The poor athletic performance is probably just temporary, but it can be a sign of some more serious nutritional issues. Long term alcohol use can have negative effects on how the body absorbs certain nutrients, and these interferences can then effect athletic performance and recovery.

You may benefit from taking certain vitamins (vitamin B1/thiamine and folic acid), but you should ask a doctor and/or nutritionist for specifics on this. If they prescribe vitamins, it will be for a specific set of conditions. Your doctor, or a savvy nutritionist with some experience treating alcohol withdrawal, can explain this. A nutritionist may also be able to help you see any “gaps” in your nutrition.

Beyond thiamine deficiency, alcohol can have some effects on fat metabolism, and there are other unproven connections between alcohol and nutritional deficiencies.

Ultimately, giving up booze should help your athletic performance, and you’ve already made it through some tough moves that take courage and will power. Good luck!

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there is very little harm in taking those vitamins, as long as you don’t take whopping doses. We hand them out to pretty much anybody who could conceivably be an alcoholic in the hospital. I would take thiamine, folate, calcium, vitamin D, iron, and/or a multivitamin. For most people these are useless, but since you’ve been drinking enough to have withdrawal symptoms, there is a decent chance that you may have mild nutritional deficits. I do not think they would explain your sluggishness, but they might.

I don’t have a good answer on when the sluggishness will pass, but people are usually out of the clear on withdrawal symptoms in about one week. I agree with the prior poster–what you are describing can occur with things like depression. May be worth getting screened by your PCP for depression.

In any case, nice work quitting. Once you get through this hard stretch you will feel much better. If having trouble staying sober, AA can work wonders.

good luck.

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Basically I was drinking 2 - 4 glasses of wine every night.

That’s it. Just wine. Guess that’s why I didn’t think it was a big deal.

Crazy, huh?

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there is very little harm in taking those vitamins, as long as you don’t take whopping doses. We hand them out to pretty much anybody who could conceivably be an alcoholic in the hospital. I would take thiamine, folate, calcium, vitamin D, iron, and/or a multivitamin. For most people these are useless, but since you’ve been drinking enough to have withdrawal symptoms, there is a decent chance that you may have mild nutritional deficits. I do not think they would explain your sluggishness, but they might.

I don’t have a good answer on when the sluggishness will pass, but people are usually out of the clear on withdrawal symptoms in about one week. I agree with the prior poster–what you are describing can occur with things like depression. May be worth getting screened by your PCP for depression.

In any case, nice work quitting. Once you get through this hard stretch you will feel much better. If having trouble staying sober, AA can work wonders.

good luck.

Thanks!

I take a multi vitamin, and have for quite some time. I also take a fish oil supplement and a calcium/potassium supplement.

I’ve already gotten a clinical depression diagnosis - I’m just changing meds since it’s clear the old ones weren’t working.

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Thanks! I’m glad it might just be temporary.

I’m under a doctor’s care - I can’t afford rehab (where I’d have access to a nutritionist and deficiency tests), so I’m having to ghetto it.

I’m taking a women’s multi, fish oil and calcium/potassium.

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a 5 oz glass of wine = 1 beer = 1 shot.

So every night you were doing 4 shots of tequila. That is a lot. And that is assuming you weren’t drinking 8+ oz glasses of wine.

Your body is healing. Give yourself a break, it takes a while for the body to repair itself when it is broken.

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That was my question from the old ER days. Between the 2 Beer Bar where you get a blood ETOH of 340 from “2” beers , To the guy from the hood who only had a couple beers… Were they 40oz? Um, Yea… In everyones mind ,everyone else is an alcoholic who drinks two more drinks than you do each day. Good on you for quitting, 24 oz of wine a day is getting up there if you are small, if you are 100 kilos maybe not so much. But either way half that amount is better. Off the stuff is best. Give it a couple weeks and I would guess it will be in the rearview mirror. Hang in there, long slow distance can work wonders for depression. You seem to be doing all the right things. Even if you “Ghetto” style your own rehab/base build. Just say no to ETOH until you get your baseline rock solid.

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I’m where you were, and I’m rooting for you. I believe you’re doing the right thing on many levels.

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I’m not a medic but – could it be that the (temporary) sleeplessness is affecting your recovery? That would explain the heavy legs. Once your sleep rhythms get back to normal you may find your legs get their snap again.

You don’t mention your age, but you may find that quitting alcohol now is the best thing you can do for your athletic performance as the years go on. I’m past 50 and even one glass of wine kills any training gains made that day, it’s like the alcohol is actively toxic to rebuilding.

Stick to it and find/hang with people who will support you. Good luck!

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My situation is like yours. Alcoholism runs deeply in my family. In my early 30’s I was drinking anywhere between 1-3 beers a night, every night. I would rarely get drunk, and when I did, that was only 4-6 beers. Even though that was not a lot of drinking, my wife was a little concerned because of my family history. One day she asked me if I thought I could go 1 year without drinking at all. After some self-analysis I decided to give it a try.

During that year I realized what part of my problem with alcohol was. During the day, I would think about having a beer when I got home. On a Saturday I would start thinking at around 1 or 2 o’clock, is it too early to have a beer. The problem was, I thought too much about drinking. I enjoy food too, but I never think, “Man, I can’t wait to get home and have a warm burger.” With beer, that’s exactly what I did.

The other issue was, I noticed when drinking a beer, I would start to think about the next beer before the one I was drinking was finished. I didn’t just enjoy the beer I was currently drinking - I needed the experience of drinking. If I was out golfing with a buddy I would have a beer or two on the front nine and on the back nine I would start to think about whether or not I should have more. Usually I would but then I would think about driving home with 3-5 beers in my system. For most drinkers 3 or 4 beers over a 4 hour game of golf is no big deal but it started to become one for me. Drinking was becoming “a thing” for me and when I stopped for that year a whole lot of stress disappeared. If you don’t understand what I’m saying then you probably don’t have an issue and I wouldn’t worry about quitting completely, just cut back.

Alcoholism is a funny thing. People who don’t have an issue with drinking don’t understand why people who are light drinkers decide to quit completely. My friends have asked me about this many times - It’s almost like they try to convince me that I don’t have a problem and I’m being silly. They don’t understand why I don’t drink because they don’t have an issue with it. (or maybe they do and just don’t want to admit it)

There are some negatives to quitting completely. Your friends will harass you. They’ll basically think you’re weird for not drinking. That is the thing that shocked me the most. If you stopped eating fried food no one would give a shit but when they figure out you don’t drink at all any more, that’s a different story. I don’t know why, but it seems to be a bigger deal for my friends than for me. You will also notice that alcohol plays a HUGE role in people’s lives, and how awkward it will be for you to be around some of your friends. There are some friends I don’t see any more simply because we can’t do ANYTHING without alcohol being involved and I got tired of being around them. It was as if my quitting drinking bothered them more than me. And NO, I was never one of those guys who brought it up, I just told whoever offered, “No thanks,” and if asked why I said I don’t drink any more.

I truly wish it wasn’t like this. I would love to be able to just have a beer now and then with my buddies or have a glass of wine with dinner – Some times I miss it. But as the years go by, I miss it less and less and am terribly happy I quit completely. After that year went by I realized my life was much better without alcohol. It would be better if I didn’t have these issues and could just drink alcohol the same way I drink soda (now and then when I wanted one) but it’s not like that for me.

You may want to try what I did – go for a period of time without it and see how you feel. You’ll know in your heart whether you have a problem and need to quit or if you should just cut back a bit. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you one way or another, you’ll know yourself after a few months if you have an issue or not.

To answer your original question – Yes, you will feel physically better in a few weeks. Mentally, it will be difficult and if you have an issue with alcohol prepare for a tough road ahead, but not nearly as tough as dealing with a drinking problem while still drinking. The good news – after a few years you will feel great about it. BTW – I’m 45 now, it’s been around 10 years since I quit.

This may sound cliche, but take control of your life, don’t let alcohol control it for you! I never went to AA (for many reasons) but one of their mantras that bothered me was that you can’t control alcohol - YES, you can!

P.M me if you want to chat more about it.

Good luck!

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Congrats! We’ll suffer together :slight_smile:

I chose to forego AA and am instead using SMART Recovery - it’s less about powerlessness and more about accountability - they have some wonderful online forums that have been very helpful!

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Thanks so much everyone - the advice is very helpful and the well-wishes are appreciated :slight_smile:
.

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a 5 oz glass of wine = 1 beer = 1 shot.

So every night you were doing 4 shots of tequila. That is a lot. And that is assuming you weren’t drinking 8+ oz glasses of wine.

Your body is healing. Give yourself a break, it takes a while for the body to repair itself when it is broken.

More like 3-4 ounces of wine, depending on strength. It’s whatever delivers 1/2 ounce of ethanol.

But yeah, 2-4 glasses of 8 ounces is way more than a couple drinks.

John

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Good for you!! I’m not a doctor either, but it sounds like your body is just adapting to the change.

I quit drinking thirty years ago when my running volume exceeded 100 mpw. I found that sub-consciencelessly I was drinking less and less. Like many, I usually had a few beers in the evening, but figured with the high milage my body was telling me it didn’t want the alcohol. As an experiment I quit drinking altogether for a month. At the end of the month I felt incredible. My training, personal life and professional life all improved. And I got faster! I also realized that being clear headed 24/7 was actually its own buzz. 30 years later I’m still going strong and heading back to Boston in a few weeks. Had I not quit drinking I doubt I would still be doing all of this and having as much fun as I do.

Many people will say that high volumes of running or cycling are substitutes for alcohol and/or drugs, like that is a bad thing. Most of “us” know that not only isn’t it bad, its actually a great substitute.

My advise is to stay with it. Forget about pace and time for a while. Let yourself get into the “zen” of the training. In short order you will begin to get total control over all aspects of your life.

Post updates over the next few months. I know a lot of people would like to hear how everything is progressing as you adapt.

Keep it up!!

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**There are some negatives to quitting completely. Your friends will harass you. They’ll basically think you’re weird for not drinking. That is the thing that shocked me the most. If you stopped eating fried food no one would give a shit but when they figure out you don’t drink at all any more, that’s a different story. I don’t know why, but it seems to be a bigger deal for my friends than for me. You will also notice that alcohol plays a HUGE role in people’s lives, and how awkward it will be for you to be around some of your friends. **

This. I was a heavy drinker in college, cut way back when I got out. Just social at that point, kept it to only on a couple drinks on Saturdays instead of binging Thurs, Fri and Sat.

I quit drinking because it starting physically hurting my stomach and causing an allergic-like reaction in my mid-20s. I

I haven’t had a drink in 18 years and I am really surprised by how people react to me not drinking. I had someone on here tell me they wouldn’t trust me if I came to a party where alcohol was served I didn’t drink. As in, a barbecue with a keg and I refused the beer. WTF?

Alcohol is a huge part of people’s lives and they really do look at you funny when you don’t drink. I’ve been to bars and when people ask, I get a virgin cocktail and say I’m driving. That usually gets them to not say anything. The server at a nice place typically has a great option. I’ve had an amazing virgin pomegranate mojito.

Good luck!

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I come from a family of alcoholics and I’ve been one myself. I refuse to say I AM one, because that’s so defeatist when you’re trying to break free. That said, I’m 5 days dry. I quit for over a decade ending just a few years ago and found myself in a social situation where I was tempted and gave in to just one beer. Well, two won’t hurt … just this once. Now I’ve struggled on and off for the last 4 years. And I’ve just managed to flip the switch off again.

I’ve trained and raced throughout this time, but I’ve had no good results without drying out for a spell and I’ve done that successfully a few times, only to slide back again post-race.

Here’s what really prompted my reply. Every time I’ve quit, the beneficial impacts on my training have been nearly immediate and dramatic. I’m an old guy and I had one of the best Saturday rides I’ve had in two years today, hanging with some Cat 2 and 3 guys many years younger over 72 hilly miles if hard riding. Even a week ago the thought that I could possibly do that ride wasn’t in the realm of possibility. I’m surprised your experience has been so dissimilar and I strongly suspect it’s the meds you’re taking. I’m no doctor. I have no idea how important those meds are to your well-being, but if it IS the meds that are keeping you from realizing some immediate benefits, how much better would your outlook be if you dropped the meds and started crushing workouts?

My experience with this isn’t uncommon. It’s documented that quitting can have a very immediate impact on your testosterone levels (just to name one thing) and have other very beneficial and immediate effects. That you’re NOT enjoying that experience leads me to wonder what’s up and that leads me to the meds.

Food for thought. In any case, all the best! You’re not that person who drinks anymore! Remember that!

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