That’s a wrap

Heading into Christmas is a tricky time to be sober, especially when it’s your first one. I had two Christmas lunches this week to navigate and I had been feeling quite nervous about dealing with them. 

The Board of the organisation I work for don’t know me well and I like to keep it that way. It wasn’t a group with which I’m prepared to share something so personal. 

At the Board and Executive lunch I asked the waiter to pour me a half glass of red wine and didn’t touch it, even for the toast. It meant I could avoid anyone asking me why I wasn’t drinking.

Interestingly I noticed the retired surgeon next to me wasn’t drinking and a few others only had one or two glasses. But no one noticed I wasn’t and if they did no one said anything. That solved that lunch easily.

But I still had one to get through and this was going to be more difficult.

The next day was the Executive lunch. We’re a tighter knit bunch and know each other well. I decided to get it out of the way early by explaining I wasn’t drinking and why. I sort of had to. The difference with this lunch was the company will pay for the meal but not the alcohol, so whoever was drinking was going to split the alcohol bill. So right up front the question was asked, who’s drinking?

And surprisingly four of us weren’t. One who never does, one who doesn’t drink wine and only drinks spirits and therefore doesn’t drink at lunchtime, one who is managing an iron deficiency and me. 

No one gave me a grilling and no one was disrespectful about my decision.

It was such a relief. I’d been worrying about nothing.

And that’s a wrap for the year, no more work functions to worry about - from here it’s five weeks of camping across three states with my family and no pressure, none at all. 

Survival

Well, I’m surviving through the Christmas season without any booze. I did a sneaky at the Board lunch today. In the end I decided to let the waiter pour me half a glass of wine so I didn’t feel the need to explain why I wasn’t drinking at this fancy restaurant when I’d ordered, what turned out to be, a beautiful piece of eye fillet.

I wasn’t even tempted to drink the wine. But now I sit here writing this post I do feel like it was such a waste not to have a stunning local red wine with my fabulous piece of meat.

But. I went for a short run after work and I don’t think I would have been able to do that if I’d had wine at lunchtime because I wouldn’t just have had one. If I’d had one, I’d want another delicious glass of glorious red wine. And maybe another.

I’m also very tired. I think it’s long work days which are making me feel so fatigued. Because I’m working hard in the lead up to going on holidays I can’t isolate whether it’s long work days or something else. 

In her book, the Sober Diaries, Clare Pooley talks about hitting the wall after day 40.

I read Clare’s book after I came across it on this webpage. There is a whole category of books called ‘Quit Lit’!

https://www.goodto.com/wellbeing/how-to-stop-drinking-alcohol-521760

Gosh what a book. Fantastic insight into someone else’s life as they gave up alcohol completely. For the ‘sober curious’ it’s a must read. As is her blog 

http://mummywasasecretdrinker.blogspot.com/

The wall is not about exhaustion, it’s about boredom and feeling bleugh. I’m not sure I feel like that exactly but I’m definitely tired. Bring on holidays!

Me, Me, Me

Last weekend my husband and I ventured out for a Sunday afternoon at a pub to farewell some friends (former colleagues) who are leaving the city to move to a regional beachside location. 

I had arranged to pick up another friend on the way who has been one of my drinking buddies for years. We've been to the races together, partied together, and in later years spent afternoons getting happily sozzled at wineries.

When I offered to pick her up on the way she sent me an SMS saying thank you and that she'd buy our drinks. I remarked to my husband that we'll be cheap dates!

When we arrived at the pub we came clean about not drinking and explained about the surgery. She was surprised but it was no big deal. I drank cloudy apple juice and my husband had Heineken 0.0.

The most intriguing observation of the entire afternoon was that we re-connected with people who I've worked with years ago and had not seen for a long time and not one of them asked me a question about what I was up to these days.

People were entirely self-absorbed.

I left the pub after three hours and in the car on the way home I shared my observation that the only way anyone would have any clue about my life is if they've asked me a question, which they didn't.

I, on the other hand, knew who was divorced, what plans people had made for Christmas, where they worked now and a host of other information. 

So, does alcohol breed preoccupation with one's own life at the expense of curiosity about others?

I intend to find out.

The little house of calm

It’s the first day of the school holidays today. It’s two weeks before Christmas. Usually at this time of year I’d be feeling exhausted, stressed and anxious about whether I can everything done in time before I go on leave. But today, I’m not feeling any of those things. 

We went out for dinner last night for the first time since we stopped drinking. It was really strange not ordering a bottle of wine with a meal. The upside? The bill came in at under $100. That’s unusual...

I had planned nothing for today. No appointments to get to, no social plans, the kids don’t have to be anywhere by a certain time. In fact it’s 11am and they’ve not emerged from their rooms.

I slept like a log and woke up at 8.45am. Had a cup of tea in bed and thought about my day. I have all the time in the world today and I feel, for the first time, completely and utterly calm. 

Present with the presents

Every year in the lead up to Christmas there comes a moment when I need to get all the kids presents and stocking fillers out of their various hiding places and make sure I’ve got a relatively even number of gifts. I’ve been picking things up and shoving them away for a while now and I’ve lost track of what I’ve bought.

So I get everything out and assess the equity of the parenting at Christmas. Then I decide what is from us and what is purportedly from Santa Claus. 

One year when my youngest was 7 or 8 I was in a rush and I used the same wrapping paper for all the gifts regardless of whether it was us or from Santa revealing in an instant to a smart kid that there was no in fact no such thing as Santa. Santa had been revealed as being non existent much earlier than I had hoped. 

I probably would have been in a rush because instead of savouring the moment, wrapping the gifts with care I’m pretty sure I would have been trying to do it quickly because I wanted to crash on the sofa with a glass of wine and a TV show. It would have been a big week at work, trying to get everything done before I went on leave and I would have seen it as a chore I had to do instead of something magical and fun I wanted to do. 

Today is the Equity in Gift Giving day.  Both kids are out and I have the entire afternoon to lay everything else and assess what I’ve been collecting. 

This year I have bought beautiful paper with native Australian flora on it and lots of wrapping accessories such as bows, ribbons and tags. I’m going to play Christmas Carols at full volume and think about how excited the kids will be opening their presents on Christmas Day. I’m going to treat this time as a special moment. One day the kids will be living overseas or have in laws whose turn it is to see them at Christmas and we will be without them. 

So this Christmas I’m going to be completely present with the presents. 

The First Firsts

COVID has been the perfect cloak to avoid many social occasions while we’ve been learning how to live without drinking. A couple of work dinners were cancelled when the ‘pause’ was announced. Boards and committees I’m involved with have not organised anything at all, just in case they had to be cancelled. I admit I had a sense of relief about this. It was just easier not to attend these sorts of functions. 

But this week I have faced up to dealing with a bunch of firsts. First time we put up the Christmas tree without a glass of champagne. First team Christmas Secret Santa drinks and nibbles where I didn’t order a glass of wine and first team Christmas lunch where I had a mocktail instead. 

Apart from the utter surprise of a colleague who has worked with me for a decade and asked ‘how’s that going?’ It was absolutely fine. 

No one really noticed and certainly no one cared. I didn’t get a grilling and I didn’t feel uncomfortable. 

I have two lunches next week. Our Executive and Board Christmas Lunches and I am feeling slightly apprehensive. I will be the only one not drinking and it will be noticed. I haven’t decided how I’m going to handle it yet but I think I’m just going to be honest and tell people my husband is having a big operation next year and we’re not drinking for six months so he can go into the operation as healthy as possible. I work in government where respect is a key value, no one’s going to question me. So that’s my plan. I’ll let you know how I go...

Raw feelings

All the content I’ve read about giving up drinking, better skin, clearer eyes, deeper sleep has all been happening and it’s wonderful. But it’s the raw feelings I’ve been experiencing that has been hard to cope with this week.

The week started off badly when my teenage daughter wagged school on Monday afternoon. I grounded her for the week on a week when we’d agreed she could be signed out for two days to go to the beach with her friends as school is winding down. She’s been miserable.

I’ve also had an extremely stressful week at work this week for three reasons; I have had to step in to deal with an employee who has borderline personality disorder, PTSD and an eating disorder. Three of my Senior Managers have been off sick and I’m in the final stages of negotiating a complex multi million contract which needs to be signed before I go on leave for Christmas.

I’ve been working long hours, late nights, early mornings and I’ve exercised every day. I’m tired, physically and mentally. 

I have a marketing background and when we run marketing campaigns we always have a control group. I am like this group, separated from anything that may affect the way I truly feel.

In normal circumstances two nights this week I would have come home and drunk a bottle of wine to deal with the stress of work. One night I went for a run instead and the other I went to Bikram. Both nights I came home feeling good and very relaxed and not feeling like a drink at all. 

It’s like exploring a whole new world. 

This week my body has kept it’s own score and it’s been raw. But as I’m not affected by the effects of alcohol tiredness I know my emotional state has been entirely real. Genuinely tired, not hungover tired. The experience of tired between these states is quite different. 

It’s been a tough week but I’m really proud of myself for handling it without caving in and having a glass of wine (or ten). 

Well Lubricated

Because I practice such an intense form of Yoga it’s very easy to identify issues with my body or mind. Bikram uses every bone, muscle, joint, ligament, tissue, and organ in the body during the 90 min session so you can always tell if something’s not right.  

Each session runs through the exact same poses so you can always tell what state your body and mind are in. How flexible or stiff you are. How deep you can go into a pose. How your mind quietens or doesn’t. How long it takes to find stillness and peace. 

One of the unexpected benefits of not drinking has been the feeling of being oiled when practicing. I’ve been able to bend noticeably deeper into some of the trickier postures.

Combined with a calmer mind that’s gives me more control over my thoughts after five years of attending these classes I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere.

Instead of being well lubricated by alcohol I’m being well lubricated by my own body. 

I have no idea what’s going on here so I search around on the web. Apart from the diuretic effects that are well known, alcohol decreases the body’s production of an anti diuretic hormone which helps the body reabsorb water. I do drink a lot of water so I think my body is rehydrating itself as it’s not fighting with anything in doing so. 

The result is I feel like my joints have had been sprayed with a can of WD40. It’s a satisfying feeling. 

The heart matters

So, as you know, my husband has to have open heart surgery next year. He had another consultation with the specialist today and brought home a pile of leaflets. I felt nauseous reading them.

Ever the optimist I consider the silver linings.

1) We have great life insurance. 

2) Our trauma insurance will pay out.

Are you wondering if I’m too focused on the financial benefit of my husband’s major surgery? 

Indeed I was, until surgery became the catalyst for giving up the booze. Now I’m focussed on our health and the positive lifestyle changes which are coming with it. 

We have never embarked on a long dry period together before. We seem to be closer because of it.

It’s made me ponder that the heart, both literally and figuratively, matters. 

Namaste

Secret Sober Yogi xx

Namaste

Every Monday night I spend 90 minutes in skimpy clothing contorting my body into 26 yoga poses while sweating profusely in front of a floor to ceiling mirror in a room heated to 40 degrees C. 

Each week I show up on the mat reluctantly because I know the class is going to be hell and each week I leave the practice feeling amazing. I sleep deeply and the next morning I feel on top of the world. 

Bikram Yoga is addictive. But it’s also incredibly confronting. The practice exposes every weakness, every vulnerability, every insecurity you have both mentally and physically. 

One pose, Camel Pose or Utrasana is supposed to open the heart. If you’re feeling at all emotional Camel Pose can literally make you cry. 

To get the best out of a Bikram class you should be well hydrated, well rested and have had nothing to eat in the two hours before class. During those 90 minutes you will get to know your body and mind deeply and intensely. 

Bikram and alcohol do not mix. Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes your body to remove fluids from your blood. I have endeavoured to do many a class on a day after drinking. 

After nearly six weeks alcohol free the difference in my practice is unbelievable. My balance has never been so good. I can much more easily bat away thoughts that would normally distract me until at least a third of the way through the class when my mind finally quietens, my body feels like it’s been lubricated with oil and my poses are deeper. 

If you’ve never practiced Bikram Yoga and have no idea what I’m talking about check out this video of the world champion Kasper Van Den Wijngaard - it’s quite something what the body can do when it’s at its peak physique. 

Namaste

https://youtu.be/PLBOsOt3qtc

EQ

Virtual drinks went well. When one of the team asked what everyone was drinking I just waited until others started to answer and by the time it got to me the conversation had moved on to other topics.

One team member was making her way pretty quickly through a bottle of rose. 

I know her pretty well and it was fascinating to watch her mannerisms change and her EQ diminish.

We were discussing what everyone had asked for this Christmas.  I’ve asked for an acupressure mat and how excited I was about getting it and using it, particularly after my yoga classes.

This particular colleague told us her husband had one so I asked her how he finds it. The long and rambling answer was it was all hype which burst my bubble somewhat I can tell you.

Another colleague came to the rescue and said that she loves hype. 

I’ve never noticed this before. Is EQ the first thing to go when you’re drinking? 

Namaste

Secret Sober Yogi xx

Virtual Drinks

I'm a non beer drinker but my husband likes craft beers. On the second weekend of no drinking I stopped in at the bottle shop to see what non alcoholic options there were. No non alcoholic craft beers unfortunately (there's a gap in the market for some enterprising individual). I brought home a six pack of Heineken 0.0. My husband told me Heineken is not beer. 

Semantics I said.

I tried one and to me it tasted exactly like beer. Or lager. Whatever. I don't know the difference.

It worked a treat at a party we went to around Day 14. No one even clocked we weren't drinking. 

We're in a 6 day lockdown (or 'pause' as we're calling it) so my pre-booked team drinks scheduled for this afternoon are now virtual. 

I'd been wondering how I was going to deal with it. These people know me well.

They would have wondered why I'm not drinking. I'm not ready to share this yet. Because I don't know if this is temporary, whether I want it to be permanent or whether I can manage it.

The great thing about virtual drinks is that I can pop a Heineken 0.0 in a stubby holder and voila, no one has any idea I'm not drinking alcohol.

Genius.

Namaste

Secret Sober Yogi xx

Because COVID

During our first lockdown the bottle shops were doing a roaring trade. Massive queues at the drive through bottle-o’s.

We drank a lot. Most nights. Our immediate family live in three different countries. I was stressed about my parents and parents in law who live overseas. I wondered if I should reach out to the brother I haven’t spoken to in three years. My daughter was not coping at school and was utterly miserable. Work was crazy busy, long days. 

When COVID eased up and went back to the office I discovered a colleague had used the COVID period to lose weight. 23 kilos in fact.

She looked amazing and unrecognizable. So while we were chugging back the booze and increasing our Naked Wines subscription she’d been using the non commute time to exercise.  No social occasions and work functions meant it was much easier for her to give up alcohol.

Why didn’t I think about doing that? 

We’ve just gone into a new lockdown here. This time I won’t be wasting it. 

Namaste

Secret Sober Yogi xx

Secretly Sober

When my husband decided not to drink in preparation for his operation I felt a sense of relief. If I’m being 100% honest with myself I’ve wanted to do this for a while. 

I’d been given this wonderful reason to stop drinking. 

Doing it together has been great because we can talk about what we‘ve been experiencing. 

Poo has featured more in our conversations than I care for.

Sleep has been amazing.

My skin looks fantastic.

Zero indigestion.

Waves of contentment.

Moments of euphoria.

One month in and we are feeling good. We’ve told our parents we aren’t drinking because we need him to go into this operation as healthy as possible and I’ve told my best friend but I haven’t told anyone else.

We are secretly sober. 

It appears we have been experiencing the pink cloud. While this is a term used by Alcoholics Anonymous it is fitting to use because the moments of euphoria have come unexpectedly and in waves.

It’s like being high on life. 

I know this sounds utterly ridiculous, my senses are alive and it feels wonderful.

Namaste

Secret Sober Yogi xx

Networking

One of my biggest challenges in giving up alcohol has been how to deal with work or networking functions.

I go to ALOT of networking functions. I am a networking queen.

People will notice I’m not drinking. They might think I’m pregnant. No. Unlikely. I’m nearer menopause. They might think I’m menopausal. Or a recovering alcoholic. This isn’t good.

I have a networking lunch coming up next week. The wine will be good - that’s annoying. It’s a flat fee which will include the wine, that’s even more annoying. What’s with that?

What are my alternative drinking options? Should I call the restaurant beforehand and check what they have? I don’t want to be drinking sparkling water. I also don’t want to be drinking some sweet syrupy thing if we’re having a good piece of meat. That needs a wine match. Clearly. By a good sommelier. Will they even have a sommelier? Ok, STOP.

I’m overthinking this. 

How difficult can it be to go to one lunch and not drink any alcohol?

I drank sparkling water. It didn’t pair well with the medium rare kangaroo fillet.

I made some topical observations. I was witty and clever (completely subjective opinion of course). 

I didn’t make any commentary when the only other female at the lunch knocked over her glass of red wine all over the table and down her dress. 

I just gave a silent thanks it wasn’t me. 

Couch to 5k

I've never been a runner. All that puffing and panting, sweat and effort. Shin splints, knee injuries, chafing. What could possibly be the attraction?

Last year I started a new job and one of our sponsorships was a breast cancer fundraiser run so I thought it would be cool to be able to run it.

I had visions of surprising colleagues and friends, 'I never knew you could run!'. 'Yeah, just knocked out an easy 6kms' I would say.

I wasn't sure how to get started and I didn't want to ask my runner friends.  

At the time one friend was posting Facebook posts of her regular 10km runs.

A former colleague was posting Facebook posts of her regular 20km trail runs.

I had a long way to go. Baby runner. Just born. Red, wrinkly and crying. 

God love the NHS. They have a free Couch to 5k app with the lovely Laura. I got started by driving to a housing estate with little roads where I didn't know anyone who lived there.  

I remember those first few times I could manage to run from one end of the little cul-de-sacs to the other. 

It took me four months of running three times a week to run 5kms. I was so proud of my achievement.

Running is amazing. I feel fantastic afterwards. There’s a reason they call it the runner’s high.

The first 15 minutes is the hardest, then my body seems to accept I'm running and I get a second wind. If my legs are feeling strong, my breath allows the run to be relatively easy.

I’ve been running more since I stopped drinking. My breath is coming more easily and I’m picking up the pace.

Last week I watched the movie Brittany Runs a Marathon. She quit drinking and partying, started training and ran the New York Marathon.

If she can do it...

Doing it for the dog

I have a really clever friend who founds start ups. His most recent tech start up is an machine learning eCommerce platform for small and medium businesses. With my marketing background I was really intrigued by this new venture and wanted to hear all about it. So a few weeks ago we arranged to meet him and his wife at a local pub for a catch up. 

We really enjoy their company. They’re big drinkers and we have such a laugh. I have absolutely no idea how many bottles we got through that afternoon but I know it was a lot because a) the bill was massive and we hardly had any food and b) I felt terrible the next day. 

When I say terrible I mean AWFUL. More terrible that I’d felt in a long time. The following day I spent the day on the sofa watching Netflix. I couldn’t manage to do anything else. 

I couldn’t even manage to take the dog for a walk, which is one of my favourite things to do (see my love list - it’s top of the list) He looked sad all day. He has this gorgeous brown eyes that look at you with love or in this case utter disappointment and judgement.

The dog did not deserve this. 

Since we stopped drinking the dog has been in heaven. We walk for hours. He’s a Kelpie and we tire him out! If you’re not familiar with Kelpies, they need a lot of exercise. A day without a walk is not a good day for a Kelpie.

https://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/australian-kelpie

Even if we weren’t doing this for ourselves, it appears we’d be doing it for the dog. 

Rapture

I was out shopping in David Jones (that’s an Australian department store that believe it or not is still going).

I was looking for a black blazer, playing it safe for work when I spotted the most magnificent leather jacket by Sass and Bide. I have never owned anything by this label. They have the most magnificent clothes, a Melbourne label worn by celebrities all over the world. 

https://www.sassandbide.com/

For quite some time I skulked around the rack wondering what to do. I really wanted to try it on. 

The jacket is called ‘The Rapture Jacket’ and it comes in Forest Green which Trinny and Susannah confirmed for me many years ago is a colour I should embrace at every opportunity. Plus I t was reduced from $950 to $450 so you can see my dilemma. 

$450 is not the sort of money I can spend without consulting my husband. We’re pretty good at discussing large purchases and I’ve never been the person who spends huge amounts on clothes. Probably one of the reasons he married me.

In the end I walked away. Now is not the time to be buying expensive leather jackets.

However I was still feeling resentful that my husband had spent $450 on wine at a cellar door when we were away camping for October school holidays. Wine..jacket...hmm. I weigh it up. I’m definitely choosing the jacket. 

If this six months alcohol free works in the weight loss department I’m buying this jacket or something similar. I’ll have saved way more than that on wine we haven’t bought. 

Bring on that moment of Rapture!

My Love List

I have a rule in our house that if it’s not in the diary it doesn’t exist. Alongside that rule is the sub-rule that whoever gets in the diary first wins that spot. It’s a great incentive to be organised. 

For our first weekend alcohol free my husband has sent me a meeting request for a four hour walk.

We will be walking, I suspect, from one end of the Adelaide Hills to another. 

I love walking. It’s one of my favourite things to do. 

If we’re not spending time sitting around drinking does this mean I’ll have more time on my hands? I’m always wishing there were more hours in a day. 

I decide that if I’m going to have more time I should make a list of the things I most enjoy which I’m calling my love list. This will show me what I’m going to be doing when I have all this time. 

I got this idea from this blog about being more with less. 

https://bemorewithless.com/how-to-make-a-love-list/

Walking in the country

Reading page turner books

Gardening (but not weeding)

Camping (especially by the beach)

Creative writing

Watching Netflix

Podcasts (usually while walking)

Running (on flat surfaces)

Bikram Yoga

Re-organising my wardrobe and creating new outfits (easier when your clothes fit you)

Networking (meeting new people)

Sleeping in

I’m not sure how this list it makes me look to someone who doesn’t know me. Does it make me look boring and suburban? 

I shouldn’t be too concerned about other people’s perceptions of me.

It’s all about being authentic these days!

As Keala Settle sang in the Greatest Showman, I’m not scared to be seen, I make no apologies, this is me (of course this image below isn’t actually me. Just to be clear). 

Wine Wednesday

Since we decided to go booze free I’ve become obsessed by finding out about other people’s drinking habits. How much do they drink? When? What do they drink?

A few years ago when my husband and I were going through a difficult period in our marriage I instigated Wine Wednesday’s. When the kids went to bed we’d sit at the kitchen table, get tipsy and in doing so we were able to talk freely and without inhibition about our issues. 

Since then Wednesday has been the only workday weekday that alcohol is consumed in our household. It’s not a strict rule, rather a framework that makes sure we have a number of alcohol free days each week.

A couple of months ago I was out for dinner with a small party of people including two women. The conversation turned to our various lifestyles and one of the women mentioned that she has a no alcohol policy on Sundays and Mondays and the other said she doesn’t drink on Mondays or Tuesdays.

My mother in law is trying to lose some weight so she’s only drinking on Saturday nights but I’ve noticed that on these nights she appears to make up for abstaining the rest of the week.

My father in law has a large Rye Whisky (or two) every night.

My neighbour doesn’t have a rule but then he has a rather active social life which may not be conducive to implementing an AFD framework. 

Dr Michael Apstein, who has the unusual distinction of being both a wine writer and a liver doctor, suggests that people should have at least two alcohol free days per week. His article about whether taking a month off alcohol is beneficial is here 

https://www.decanter.com/learn/is-dry-january-beneficial-287019/

I have been known to be competitive so it makes me feel smug that we’re overachieving with seven. Cheers!

Day Dot

My husband has to have open heart surgery in March next year.

It’s not a shock, we knew this operation was coming but looking it square in the face makes it very real and rather frightening for both of us. 

On the plus side:

It’s not unexpected - we can plan and prepare

Our insurance policy will pay us a chunk of money

And best of all the cardiologist tells my husband he needs to lose weight before surgery.

I think about Dylan Thomas, the Welsh poet, whose poem about death and dying began with the line “Do not go gentle in that good night”.  My husband is not going into the biggest operation of his life with any risks around his health so we take this advice seriously. 

I'm pretty active but in the 14 years since I had my daughter I've put on 14 kilos. It seems like a good time to join my husband in losing weight. I would love to feel healthier and lose weight.

I have so many wonderful clothes that don’t fit me and I don’t love what I see when I look in the mirror.

We’ve talked about losing weight for years but our lifestyle hasn’t enabled it to happen. We’re big drinkers, love eating and are generally very social people. 

We discuss our strategy. It needs to be simple, easy to follow and above all, something we can stick to.

I’m not prepared to bamboozled by diet fads, pay for food to be delivered or go on any form of crash liquid diet. 

Calories in - calories out should be a simple formula. We’re both fairly analytical people and it makes sense to just cut out the things that are high in calories and low in nutrition. 

Oh dear, those two things happen to be cheese and wine. And one goes with the other. Sigh.

We decide not to set weight loss goal, we decide to do this by timeframe.  The first priority is health, weight loss will surely follow. That way we also don’t need to be weighing ourselves each day and stressing out about the number of kilos on the screen.

There are 635 calories in a bottle of wine. A female’s daily intake for the whole day should be 2000 and 1500 if you’re trying to lose weight. This means drinking a bottle of wine is nearly half of these calories. And what’s worse is that those calories are empty calories. They have zero nutritional value. ZERO.

This makes me feel better. I’ll be cutting out something that does absolutely nothing for my body. 

In addition, alcohol lowers our inhibitions and stimulates the appetite, a lethal combination which lowers willpower and leads to packing on the calories from snacks like crisps (also a weakness). 100 grams of crisps = 536 calories.

Alcohol can also lower blood sugar which causes cravings for sugar and carbs. 

We’re convinced. 

It’s Day Dot of six months alcohol free. We’ve never gone more than a month without alcohol. Can we do it? 

Let the journey begin...