Health and Men

Reflections Of A Health Blogging Hypocrite

by Scott on April 27th, 2008

I’m going to open up a bit here and get personal.

In 2006 I stopped drinking as often as I used to because I was trying to lose weight and it was overall better for my health. At that point I had spent almost 11 years of my life in the military and was currently in the US Army National Guard. In those 11 years I spent a lot of time drinking and was a habitual smoker. I stopped drinking frequently and only drank every now and then and when I did it was only a beer or two. I decided late in 2006 that if I really wanted to be healthier I would have to do more than eat healthier and slow my drinking. On New Years day 2007 I started using Commit lozenges to curb my smoking addiction. This worked well and I was totally smoke free and was on my way to a better health habit, working out everyday, sometimes twice a day.

While still in the National Guard I would sometimes get bored during weekend drill and have a cigarette with some co workers but never more than one or two during that weekend and never buying cigarettes or smoking at home. Mid 2007 I was doing great. I put on a good amount of muscle mass and would drink a glass of wine every now and then on weekends. I guess out of stress and boredom I started to drink beer more frequently on weekends and due to being slightly hung-over I would not work out on Saturday mornings and that’s when I started to slip.

Fast forward—In the past six months this has been my routine: Work all week. Weekend comes I buy a six or twelve pack of beer. Get up Saturday morning, pop a few aspirin or Goodies Powder to relieve a slight hangover and blog for an hour or two. I found myself craving cigarettes when I drank and would sometimes buy a pack and only smoke when I drank. Telling myself not to make a habit out of it, I would not smoke during the week but sometimes I would have a lot of cigarettes left over from the weekend and smoke a few during the week. This went on for about a month or so and come February I found myself smoking more often. Instead of stopping myself there upon realization like I should have, I started smoking habitually and even started smoking at work with the smoking crowd.

Last Friday the 25th of April I left work and stopped at the store to get some beer. A six pack of Miller Genuine Draft. Saturday morning the 19th, I woke with a terrible headache and had a moment of reflection while lying in bed. I was tired of hangovers and was very tired of smoking already. I hated the smell of cigarettes and hated the way it made me stink and the way it seemed to drain my energy. I decided right there and then that this was my turning point. In order to quit smoking I would have to quit drinking. Sometimes to quit one dirty habit, you have to quit another. I have not drank since that night, the 18th but I still have been smoking. I set a date for myself for the 28th. This is the day that I will stop without assistance from any stop smoking aids and it’s not going to be easy. I enjoyed waking every day this weekend feeling hang-over free and still fully hydrated and I got back into my workout routine this past week. I quit smoking once and I know I can do it again. It’s going to take a lot of determination and learning again to occupy my time differently. Taking on these habits  has questioned my abilities to be a health blogger. How can people take someone seriously when they themselves aren’t living so healthy. Nobody is perfect and I know I’m not the only one with bad habits, but I’m making an attempt to turn things around and get back on the right path. Nobody ever said living healthy was going to be easy, especially when you try to turn yourself around after 13 years of making a habit of living unhealthy. This is once again…my turning point.

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POSTED IN: Me, Setting Goals