On June 14th when I decided to give up alcohol of any kind for 30 days I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.

Originally, the goal of this challenge was to experiment with my body to witness what, if any, affect the absence of even the limited amount of alcohol that I do consume would have on my overall health.

However, this challenge quickly evolved into a battle of wills and the ultimate social experiment before I could say, “I’ll have a virgin Pina Colada please“.

[Sure sheep are cute, and love to party, but it's best to climb out of the pen and think for yourself]

I never realized what a central role “drinks” play in our everyday social environment. When I posted the idea for my challenge here, I received a message from a couple of people undergoing the same challenge.

A Facebook friend said when she read my initial post she believed she was the last person to ever use alcohol as a social crutch, yet during her own 30 day challenge she found herself avoiding all social situations that involved drinking (aka most of them). She said she’d rather “avoid temptation then to suffer through it“.

As I contemplated her message I wondered:

“Are many of us really so eager for group approval that something as “everyday” as alcohol has such an enormous impact on how we function socially?”

Unfortunately, it appears the answer is an inebriated and slurred “yes”!

The benefits vs. the suffering

Perhaps it’s just me and my already eerily low amount of social inhibitions that makes sober such an easy task, but I found the “suffering”, as she mentioned, faded very quickly and the benefits I gained were far and away worth the forgoing of a couple (or several) useless drinks while out with friends or co-workers.

But this was not immediately apparent.

During my first two weeks I found zero difference in overall health. My workouts were normal, my energy levels hadn’t changed and I didn’t notice any difference in my cognitive abilities.

But week 3, right on the dot, is when something changed.

I awoke in the morning, and the “fog” was noticeably clearer and I became fully alert much faster.

My short term memory was noticeably better, my conversations were smoother and I was never stuck searching for a word or a phrase. All pistons were firing. At this point, purely on a physiological level I was convinced, you booze you lose!

Drinking and the effects on relationships

But the question still remained:

How would this impact my social relationships?

It seems in any personal health initiative this is the most difficult task; being confident enough to live a healthy lifetime in the midst of an entire planet seemingly working against you.

Example 1: Try being a male going out to a steak house and ordering fish or chicken.

Example 2: Try being a male and ordering only a salad at any restaurant.

If you’re doing this for the first time, unless you’re already friends with a progressive group of men or only friends with women, be prepared to be labeled “as less of a man” quicker than Ryan Seacrest.

The more challenges of this nature I put myself through I’ve noticed it doesn’t just take the proper mindset to live healthier, but it also takes some personal strength and conviction to make the right choices no matter who may be watching.

Personally, I’m not typically one to lie or dodge questions, so when I’d say, “I’m not drinking tonight” the reactions were always entertaining.

The news would evoke immediate questions to justify my actions:

“Are you driving? You must be driving. Are you on a detox? One of those juice things right, ya, those are tough.”

“30 Days? NO booze? Are you kidding me? In the middle of the summer? Why didn’t you do this in February? You’re an idiot.”

“Have a drink. No seriously, have a drink. Don’t be gay.”

This is my favorite, because somehow gay people are now also being associated with boycotts on alcohol? Apparently, living a healthy lifestyle is such a vile and inconceivable concept that it approaches lunacy.

I had never realized the massive herd mentality that drinking alcohol created. I found it especially interesting that even those that tried to limit their consumption were constantly being pressured by other drinkers to “top-up” or drink more as if trying to justify their own inebriation by breaking the will of their peers.

Finding the strength and support

This seems to be how many diets fail, because of a lack of will power to be your own person, especially without the right support group in place.

So any of you out there trying to lose weight for the first time, or get back into shape, the most important way to look at it, is you vs. The World.

During any health based challenge, it is important to stick with the people that will support your goals. I don’t mean people that live as you live, just merely peers that accept your decision and will stand behind you.

My friends for example, have been ideal. Never once resorting to anything more than a one-liner dig, that I would likely have thrown their way myself. Other than that, my Sober Sally challenge has been a non-issue.

It is also important to realize anyone playing devil’s advocate and naysayer simply aren’t strong enough to it themselves (or even stand by and support you).

In Part 2, I will be discussing how alcohol can seriously affect your waistline, and I’m not even talking about calories. Even just a few drinks can seriously disrupt your sleep, your overall health, AND your weight loss goals!

I had some really crazy offers for fat burning remedies this week in my email inbox. Offers such as a six pack of hydroxycitric acid all the way to pre-packaged garlic cloves. I think I might have a problem!

These emails are like Entertainment Tonight or Celebrity News for me… probably because they are so comical in their claims and the poor grammar never gets old.

Getting back on track: I have a new-found love of herbs and spices after having dinner with friends at a restaurant in Toronto called Spice Route.

[Talking about spices got me thinking back to my weekend trip to Marrakesh, Morocco. The food markets in the town square were overflowing with herbs and spices.]

It’s Indo-Chinese cuisine that tantalized my taste buds like nothing of recent memory. Perusing the menu was an eye-opening experience.

Indian spiced dips with Naan bread, Ginger chicken, Vegetable Pakora and so much more. Never mind the tea selections. I felt like I was being guided through expansive tea fields in Japan.

Our table was like a bunch of eight year-olds at Chuckie Cheese for the first time. “What? I didn’t know you could use that? I wonder what that taste like? That taste is absolutely wicked!”

Spices and Fat Loss?

Not only can spices make a healthy meal exciting (I’m looking at you turkey breast sandwich) it turns out that spices can help you and me burn more body fat.

The August 2006 issue of The Journal of Physiology and Behavior cites a couple of studies on spices and herbal drinks that increased thermogenesis in the body.

Quick chemistry lesson: Thermogenesis is the process of heat production in mostly warm-blooded animals (that would be you and me) through exercise and diet predominantly. Since we’re talking diet here, it’s simply heat and we know calorie is a unit of heat, so guess what?

More thermogenesis = more calories burned = Less body fat.

One particular study from the August issue by Margriet Westerterp-Pantenga at Maastricht university in The Netherlands concluded the consumption of spiced foods or herbal drinks not only increased thermogenesis significantly but also satiety.

Damn, spices are powerful indeed!

So which spices help you burn body fat better?

Capsaicin
The compound gives red chili pepper its heat, increased energy via heat expenditure by up to 23% after ingesting it at breakfast.

Black Pepper
Increases body heat (thermogenesis) by bonding to TRPV1 receptors in the brain. (Are we reading a Star Trek script here?)

Turmeric
It has both anti-cancer and pro-thermogenic support. Sounds like the best of both worlds.

Combine these three spices (red chili pepper, black pepper and turmeric) and use them liberally, or as much as your taste buds can tolerate, on your lunch and dinner meals.

If your looking for recipes that utilize the spices above, here’s a quick list to give you some ideas:

Monkfish recipes
Ginger, Chilled, with Prawn Curry, basically has it all from world renowned chef Jamie Oliver and his user community

Chicken Kolhapur
Indian style recipe which goes well with Naan or rice.

Cha Ca La Vong
Vietnamese dish which is marinated and then char-grilled. Scroll down and you’ll find it near the bottom.

Beef and Potato Curry
Classic Pakistani dish which incorporates a bunch of other interesting spices.

Just be careful not to go crazy with the spices, otherwise you’ll end up with more heart burn than fat burn, or worse yet, an extended visit to the Washroom Inn, if you catch my drift.

Very few fat loss programs out there discuss the use of spices as a part of ones’ fat loss strategy. Raylen Sterling and his Master Cleanse Secrets book attempts to tackle the world of herbs and spices right from the start with his lemonade recipe which includes cayenne pepper. Check out our Master Cleanse review to see if Master Cleanse is right for you.