re: Giving up alcohol in general

I give it up for Lent some years. In my late 20's, I was trying to get life insurance, and the bloodwork from my physical came back with my liver enzymes through the roof. Now grant it I did the physical and bloodwork the Monday or Tuesday after the LSU/Florida game, which I attended and got absolutely hammered. Tylenol is terrible for your liver if you're hungover I found out later. I got denied insurance and was told I needed to see a physician immediately. The doctor told me to stop drinking for 3-4 months and he would take bloodwork again, which came back in normal levels. I was able to show that to another life insurance company and get insured.

That just put a little scare in me, that I'm not a spring chicken and need to slow down. It also showed me how much I normally drank, which was probably too much. The first few weeks were hardest, which scared me. Now many years later, I don't drink during the week at all. I may have a couple on the weekend, but don't need to. Usually just drink a few socially, or when we're out to eat maybe. I can go weeks without drinking and wouldn't even notice. I went from easily drinking a case on the weekend, or even just a Saturday, to having a case last 4-6 weeks in my beer fridge.