7/5 Whole Life Wednesday

Today we honor one final heroine, Amanda. Amanda was named after the 2009 CrossFit Games competitor, Amanda Miller. In 2009, and known by her pistol tattoos on her hips, Miller moved on to the Games after finishing 6th in the Mid Atlantic Regional. She placed 55th overall that year. Unfortunately, one month later she soon crossed more challenges as she faced a battle with recurring melanoma. She passed away on April 23, 2010 at the young age of 24.

Our Whole Life Challenge Weekly Lifestyle Challenge this week is to take 7 days off from drinking. 
The instructions are simple:

1. Each day this week, abstain from drinking alcohol.
2. Leave the beer in the fridge, the wine unopened, and the liquor cabinet closed. Unlike the Kickstart and Lifestyle levels of the Challenge (both of which allow a relatively small amount of weekly drinking), this Skill Practice foregoes all forms of alcohol at all times.
3. The intention of this practice is not to keep you from enjoying life — you’ll still attend parties, go to restaurants, and spend time with your friends.  You’ll just do it knowing that you’ve made a conscious choice to keep the booze out of your system for seven days.

The WLC folks this is an important practice because: 

"It seems like alcohol is everywhere we go — an accepted part of our social lives, an easy way to relax, an expected part of after-hours conduct. As a culture, we drink (and we enjoy it).

At the same time, alcohol consumption has far-reaching consequences for those pursuing calm, balance, and a wellness-oriented lifestyle. Here are some of the potential effects:
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• Fat Loss: Ethanol (the primary chemical that gives alcohol its effects) has metabolic priority in the body, ensuring that it is metabolized before fat, carbohydrates, or protein — this effectively stops any ongoing fat loss in its tracks.
• Mood: Alcohol can have an impact on mood, with high alcohol consumption rates linked to depression.
• Sleep: Alcohol consumption is correlated with a reduction in sleep quality and duration, as well as an increase in sleep disturbances.
• Athletic Performance: Alcohol consumption can impair recovery from athletic activities, inhibit motor coordination, reduce muscular work capacity, and increase the potential for injury."

Going booze free for a week may seem like cakewalk (or it may be a great personal challenge). Regardless, you’ll get the chance to see the effects that abstaining has on your emotions, your physical performance, your body composition, and your sleep quality — perhaps giving you some insight into how you’ll approach drinking in the future.
Good luck! Please let me know how it’s going in our secret Facebook group. I'm excited to hear about your experiences with this week’s healthy lifestyle practice!

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