In for a penny ...

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Well this is it, the final day for 366 days during which I am inflicting self-imposed teetotalism ... I have convinced myself that it is 'a good thing'; as of tomorrow I will be drinking anything other than alcohol.

I have to remember that:

1. it's for charity - so, by default it's a good thing;
2. it's for saving money (but I'll spend elsewhere, no doubt ... iPad, here we come); and
3. it's for the apparent health benefits, which I still have to see.

So I have a load of beers tonight, and I shall be happy to down them up to 23h59m59s ... thereinafter let's see!

Biting off more than I can chew ... ?

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I absolutely adore beer and find the process of brewing fascinating. Dark beers, IPAs, stouts, wheat beers, white beers ... you name it, I love it. Unless of course you mention American light beers, because they're like drinking flavoured water …

I'm not a drunk, I hasten to add. I don't drink in the mornings, I don't get the shakes if I go without, but I do adore the flavour, aroma and 'social lubrication' that beer brings. It's been a big part of my life since I was a teenager, and will continue to be.

Of late, however, I've found I do have a love/hate relationship with beer, principally because it takes me what feels like the equivalent of the half-life of plutonium to get over major drinking sessions (the last one, at the beginning of December 2010, took me too long to mention).

In recent months, therefore, I have been considering a number of important questions:

1. could I realistically give up alcohol for a period of time?;
2. could I overcome my own (weak) willpower - the hardest battle?;
3. could I find (legal) alternatives to beer?;
4. could I craft something useful – a realistic goal (or goals) - out of abstaining from beer, such as giving to charity / health benefits / savings, etc.?; and
5. if I give to charity, which charity should benefit?

Besides these questions, I needed compelling reasons for abstention. These are based I have to be honest around fears / my neuroses, and are as follows:

1. the condition of my liver – my father died of cryptogenic (i.e. cause unknown) liver disease in 2008, so it makes me wonder, do I have an inherited liver weakness and do I want to aggravate it if so?;
2. why I consume alcohol in the first place – I rarely get paralytic, but I do use it as a social lubricant, as a combat against stress and to simply relax; question is, are there alternatives?;
3. the cost of alcohol – I spend quite a lot on it, I must've spent £500+ during 2010 alone (and compared to some people, that's not a lot at all);
4. how much I want to carry on drinking beer – in order to abstain, I have to abstain 100%, there can be no half-measures (excuse the deliberate pun);
5. calorie intake – for the amount of exercise I do (clearly not enough) I at best cancel out the alcohol calorie intake; how much better could I feel by continuing / upping exercise and yet stopping alcohol?; and
6. "drunkenfreude" - the sense of needing to enjoy a little joyful observation of drunks in action.

After much deliberation, therefore, I have decided to go for "no beer for one whole year" during 2011. Friends and colleagues I have mooted my idea to have branded me anywhere between "brave" and "tw*t" ... in fact, sat in The Brewery Tap bar at The National Brewery Centre yesterday, supping my beloved Worthington's White Shield, I did begin to seriously doubt myself. Could I do it? Am I just being stupid? Do I crave attention? (don't know where that one came from) ...

If I am to successfully abstain for the whole of 2011, I need goals. I also need structure. The structure will be as follows:

1. January – March: probationary period, settling in, invitation to others to see my progress at this blog before ever having to sponsor me, proof-of-concept, teetotaller acceptance (i.e. can and will I actually do it?);
2. March – June: invitation to others to sponsor me (proof that I can abstain proven by 1) above) + SurveyMonkey tickboxes for sponsors to choose which charity I should give to (I can't decide myself) in a year's time;
3. June – December: establishment of a JustGiving charity page once I know which charity to give to; and
4. January – December: weekly reports on this blog of my thoughts / difficulties / benefits / triumphs, etc.

I just hope I can manage this now ...