Why I’ve Decided To Give Up Alcohol

Recently I’ve felt the urge to change my weekly drinking habits and wanted to share why I’ve decided to give up alcohol…

well during the week days….. anyway.

Now if you know me you you’ll know that I do love a little glass of vino or two.  I found that it was becoming more of a regular thing. Plus after the last 12 months I sort of gave myself permission to use that so called “2020 year” as an excuse. Well for far longer than I should have.

Um ahh…!

Sometimes I often felt that if you’ve had a particular hard day or long work week it’s ok to have that  glass of wine or yummy cocktail as a reward to yourself.

The Effects The Day After Drinking Alcohol

I started to realise that the nights I did have a glass or two of wine my sleep that night was rather unsettled.  Sometimes I’d get quite thirsty, wake up more often to have a glass of water  (and to do a lot more wees).

I would often wake up around 2 or 3 am with my mind chatting off on its own somewhere.

Then waking up feeling rather sluggish with bigger bags under my eyes than I already had

I only would seem to have one glass of wine and I would be slurring my words. If the fire was on before I knew it I would have to rest my neck on the pillow and was out for the count with a snore to accompany. Greg would say my mouth was wide open ready to catch flies.

Extremely attractive don’t you think?

But the biggest factor for me was the realisation of all the time wasted.  I had plans to do things like finish reading my book, look through recipe books

I’ve missed the middle of so many movies it wasn’t worth watching the end cause I didn’t really know what was going on anyway.  Oh my.

How I Want To Stay Accountable

So I thought writing this blog post would make me more accountable to only have a vino maybe on the weekends and not during the week.

And also share my experience with wine and how it’s affecting me especially at my age now.  I didn’t want to admit it but some of the things that used to be enjoyable or a no brainer, can actually start causing havoc when your older.’

So I’ve come up with a few ways to get my mindset going in a different direction.

• Start by choosing designated wine-free days.
• Substitute the wine glass with a similar style of one filled with a sparking water and a mix of flavour and ice to feel like it’s kinda a specialty drink. I use soda stream fizzed water so it’s readily available at home.
• Think how good my sleep will be that night…..
• Only have wine in the house on the weekend. Drink slower and pop some ice into the glass.
• Actually road test some non-alcoholic versions and alcohol free wine and drinks from the bottle shop
• Use the time to do something fun, read, study
• Start investigating beautiful teas hot or cold to create new healthier tasty drinks.

When Things Don’t Go To Plan

My new goal will be challenged I’m sure, no doubt about that. I don’t really want to be a party pooper and decline a celebration, but I do want to stick to my new goal of less alcohol consumption.

So I’ve prepared myself with a few options to keep myself on the straight and narrow.

• Remember not everything revolves around alcohol and enjoy the celebration for the people who are there.
• Take a bottle of non-alcoholic wine for yourself to the party and a normal one as a gift for your guest.
• Make mocktails
• Offer to be the designated driver so you can’t indulge.’
• Plan an activity to do the next morning
• Remember that this is a gradual change and even as little as a 1% change will make a massive difference.
• If you do want to have a glass of wine, you can make a “spritzer” and mix with a non-alcoholic sparkling  additive.
• With so many alcohol-free alternatives for almost any beverage at liquor stores and supermarkets, it’s a great idea to keep stock of alcohol-free beer and wine on hand at home.

I’ve found two really helpful blogs that were full of great helpful tips.

30 Days After Giving up Alcohol  and 11 Ways To Curb Your Drinking

Fingers crossed I hope that I keep on my goal.

*As always if you’re unsure it’s always a great idea to check in with your GP or health professional,