Hira Nathan: I'm avoiding alcohol, fast food for one year

Over the next 365 days, I will stop drinking alcohol and avoid fast food instead of wasting away my weekends with blurred memories. Photo / Thinkstock

Opinion

The blackouts, the health risks, the days lost to hangovers after extended binges — the price of heavy drinking has finally become too much for Hira Nathan.

I'm a binge drinking, burger eating, sports watching, fight sport loving, rugby playing "real man." Drinking and getting drunk is what we do. Had a hard week at work I deserve a few beers, had a good week at work I deserve a few beers. I had a good game I deserve a few beers, I had a bad game going to have a few beers.

Good day out there, good day for a few beers, it's raining can't do anything else may as well have a few beers. I'm just going to have one, may be two, maybe three, I've got nothing on tomorrow may as well go to town with the boys. I could write a book of internal monologues that people use to convince themselves to drink you name it I've probably used it.

I got an award once at a rugby court session for turning up to every game smelling like last night's party and looking like something someone had sicked up. My prize, a shot, every minute on the minute a mixture of beer shots and spirits and I thought it was hilarious I would eventually get dropped from the team.

I have some still unexplained health issues. After a heavier-than-usual drinking session, I kept passing out for no apparent reason; when the doctor asked how many drinks I would have in a normal drinking session I hesitated because I was a bit embarrassed. I told him a 15-box, he was already surprised. I hadn't finished yet and then we go into town and have maybe another 10 beers, and half a dozen shots. Horrified he said you have over 30 drinks in one session and I said yeah then do it again on Saturday night. When I told my friends we all thought it was hilarious. Seven days later when they finally discharged me I walked around to a friend's house and we went surfing and then you guessed it a "few" beers.

Hira Nathan says quitting alcohol could save him around $200 a week. Photo / Dean Purcell

Drinking has no longer become about socialising; my life had become about drinking. I wasn't playing rugby, going to concerts and birthday parties to enjoy the occasion I was going to get drunk and if there wasn't an occasion I could just fire up an impromptu barbee and abracadabra reason to drink and once the first bottle was open I was there till the last one was drunk or I passed out whatever came first.

But! The time for change is now and it is never too late, well it's probably too late to rekindle my dreams of being an All Black, but not too late to lose the booze.

Over the next 365 days I will stop drinking alcohol, avoid fast food and attempt to get the monkey off my back and instead of wasting away my weekends with blurred memories I'll try something new meditation classes, Bollywood dancing, race car driving the options are endless. It's going to be exciting and fun but for a 24-pack a week drinker - it's not going to be easy, honesty is hard when you've been lying to yourself for so long, confronting your own weakness is hard, and fixing yourself is even harder.