Living is Much Better than Just Being Alive

Health becomes a reciprocal proposition as you creep into your 40s. You get what you put in. Gone are days of eating whatever you’d like, sedentary carelessness all weekend, smoking cigarettes as a stress reliver, staying up late for kicks and imbibing mind-altering chemicals at will. I suppose you can do those things, but the consequences become real. Looks fade. Weight increases. Agility and energy plummet. Mental acuity drops. You’re chances of heart attack, stroke, cancer and autoimmune disorders skyrocket. Shit gets real quickly in middle age.

You can’t beat father time, but you can certainly increase your health span to make the roughly 80 years of life most of us receive to be a much more pleasurable experience. I can speak to this undeniable truth in sobriety. As a sober 41-year-old, my health has gone from questionable (at-best) to good during the past couple years. My physical and mental health have rebounded to levels I haven’t attained since my mid-20s. Drinking was the No. 1 contributor to my poor health. No question. I doubt I would have made it another 10 years drinking out of a tub of vodka on the regular. Simply not drinking has likely doubled or tripled my remaining lifespan. However, I’ve taken myriad steps to improve my health beyond a sober existence.

I spend 1.5 hours at the gym six days a week – lifting weights and doing cardio. I eat a fairly balanced diet chock full of fruits, vegetables and meats and mostly avoid sugary drinks, fast food and ultra-processed meals. On the mental health side, I put in about 10-15 hours each week on meditation/reflection, therapy, AA meetings and journaling. I’ve improved my sleep hygiene with a regular sleep schedule. I’ve stop taking three medications for my mental health that were probably not necessary in the first place.

The results are stunning. My traditional health measurements such as blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI are in healthy ranges. My face is clear and free of redness, bloating and blemishes. My mind and recall are sharp. My energy has increased and I have a renewed zest and vigor for life. I am more productive and get more done in less time.

I’m not perfect. I live my life while juggling three young children and a full-time job. I eat ice cream or a sweet treat most nights. We have pizza as a family every week. I could push myself harder at the gym. I usually sleep six hours instead of 7 or 8. I’m impulsive. I can easily become overwrought with stress. I fail to meet some of my goals. I’m a fallible human.

The change in my life is that I put in the effort on a consistent basis. I aim to live a healthy life with practices and habits that are sustainable over a long period of time. It would be cool to have a six-pack, take on a side hustle for extra cash and enroll each of my children in three extracurricular activities. I can’t do those things and live a happy or manageable life without crashing and burning. I’d be setting myself up for failure in the long run. Instead, I do what I can repeat most days to keep me feeling like a B+ in the game of life.

The first and biggest step to getting my health back was sobriety. There have been many subsequent steps in my health journey, but none of them would have been possible without putting the cork in my bottle. It feels good to be living – not just be alive.