I Spent Over $7,000 Trying to Keep Drinking. Here's What Four Months Without Alcohol Did Instead.
By Colin Casillas, Founder of Prepared Sobriety
In September 2022, a CoolSculpting clinic sent me a quote. Chest, lower flanks, abdomen, upper back, arms and sides. $19,200.
I committed to it. I spent over $7,000 on it.
I weighed 230 pounds. I ate well and went to the gym. The weight wasn't moving, and I knew why.
What I was paying for
I ran a routine of products alongside the drinking. Z.Biotics before I drank. An Ullo wine purifier while I drank. 25 supplements a day for four to five months.
They were supposed to fix IBS every Saturday and Sunday, which I'd had for six years. Hangovers that hadn't used to happen. Inflammation I could feel in the mornings.
None of it worked. I kept buying it anyway.
The part I kept to myself
My wife knew about the supplements. She made fun of them. I told her they were for things like inflammation.
I knew the real cause was drinking. I never told her I was thinking about stopping.
Why smart people do this
High performers solve problems for a living. We research, build a system and find the lever. When alcohol becomes the problem, we don't ignore it. We build a system around it. Purifiers. Supplements. A $19,200 treatment plan. Anything except saying it out loud.
Thirty years of my social and work life were tied to drinking. Giving that up felt like a loss. So I paid for workarounds instead.
The date
I'd been preparing since 2019. Surgery in April 2025 set the date. I was told to stop drinking two weeks before it.
I retired from alcohol on April 16, 2025.
Four months later
By August 2025:
- 14 lbs gone, 230 to 216.
- LDL from 212 to 142.
- Total cholesterol from 285 to 202.
- hs-CRP from 2.9 to 1.6.
- No more IBS on weekends, after six years of it.
By February 2026 I was off amlodipine for blood pressure and omeprazole for acid reflux.
Do you have your own version of the CoolSculpting quote, something you're paying for so you don't have to stop? Open to talking it through? Book a complimentary call, or start on your own time with Reserve.
Colin Casillas founded Prepared Sobriety to help high performers retire from alcohol on their own terms. He retired on April 16, 2025, after 30 years of regular drinking. Four months later his LDL was down 33% and he'd lost 14 lbs. Within ten months he was off two medications. You can work with Colin one-on-one or on your own time.
Frequently asked questions
Why do smart people keep drinking even when they know it's causing problems?
High performers apply the same optimization mindset to drinking that they apply everywhere else. They research supplements, buy products, and engineer workarounds rather than address the root cause. This isn't weakness. It's a pattern. The optimization instinct delays the decision by making symptoms feel manageable, which is exactly why grey area drinkers stay in Stage 3 longer than they need to.
What are the products people buy so they can keep drinking?
Many grey area drinkers develop elaborate supplement and product routines to manage the effects of drinking: pre-alcohol drinks, hangover supplements, gut support, sleep aids, inflammation support. These products treat symptoms. None of them address the root cause, and the ongoing spend is itself a signal that the friction has become undeniable.
When does managing the symptoms of drinking become a decision point?
When the management starts to feel shameful. Openly taking supplements is coping. Hiding them from a spouse is a different signal. Shame about the workarounds usually indicates Stage 4 is approaching, the moment when a decision becomes possible.
Is spending money on appearance treatments a sign of a drinking problem?
Not on its own. But spending significant money to address a physical symptom while knowing the actual cause is a classic Stage 3 behavior. It's denial wrapped in action. If you've found yourself solving for the symptom while knowing the variable, that's worth a closer look.
How quickly does the body recover after retiring from alcohol?
Results vary, but Colin's experience was significant within four months. LDL dropped 33%, he lost 14 lbs, chronic IBS resolved completely, and inflammation markers improved across the board. Two prescription medications were eliminated by month ten. Biological recovery tends to move faster than most people expect.
What's the difference between retiring from alcohol and stopping drinking?
Stopping can feel like loss and willpower. Retiring is a decision made from readiness, not crisis. Colin spent six years preparing before his April 16, 2025 retirement date. That changes the psychology of the decision entirely.
How much do people spend trying to manage drinking instead of stopping?
It adds up fast once you count the workarounds, not just the alcohol itself. Colin committed to a $19,200 CoolSculpting plan (spending over $7,000 of it) rather than name alcohol as the actual variable, on top of 25 supplements a day for four to five months. None of it addressed the cause.