Do I really have to give up alcohol too?

I was explaining Bright Line Eating to my mother one day:

“You have four bright lines: no sugar, no flour, three measured meals a day with no snacks.”

“Wow. That seems like a lot to give up.”

“And apparently the successful people also give up alcohol and coffee.”

“So you have to give up, like, 5-6 things. Even alcoholics focus on abstinence from just one thing: alcohol.”

That got me thinking. Like so many others, I resented being told to give up alcohol and coffee. Come on, it’s hard enough just to give up sugar. I have to give up flour too. And snacks. And unmeasured meals. And coffee. And alcohol. And I don’t even drink much alcohol because more than one gives me a headache and puts me to sleep! Harrumph.

Ok, I’m not going to argue here the benefits of doing so, which are covered much better elsewhere. I totally get it. It is definitely a good thing to give up all these things. But it just felt SO unfair.

Isn’t it crazy unfair that at AA meetings they always have sugary goodies and coffee available? At least they do in movies, I’ve never been to one so, yeah, I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I do know that people I’ve met trying to recover from alcohol addiction eat a lot of sugar and drink a lot of coffee. How come they don’t have to give up that sugar but I have to give up alcohol? Unfair, unfair. Harrumph.

Then again, one of the things I’ve learned in this journey is that my thinking creates my moods. To keep my moods even-keeled, I need to keep my thinking peaceful and balanced, not resentful and full of “woe-is-me.” So I need to reframe this thing. Rather than feeling like my journey sucks because I have to give up so much, maybe I need to shift my thinking. What if alcoholics who ease their cravings by eating sugar and drinking gallons of coffee are actually making their recovery harder not easier?

Maybe there just hasn’t been enough time/studies/insight about sugar in alcoholic recovery. Maybe future brain science studies will show even more convincingly that eliminating sugar and coffee in alcohol recovery makes the journey much easier. People just don’t know or believe that yet.

Maybe I shouldn’t get annoyed that alcohol addicts still “get” to eat sugar and instead give myself a hug. By giving up alcohol (and coffee and flour and snacks and unmeasured meals), I’m making my recovery a lot easier.

What I “get” by giving up all these things is an easier journey where my brains heals more quickly and with less stress. That is totally worth it.