Me? A booze hound? How VERY dare you!
For the past few years, I’ve committed to taking a month off the booze. I started because I knew I should look after my liver (being a Naturopath and all that….). Then I realised how much alcohol gets in the way of weight loss and maintenance for me, so I did it again. And it made me feel good.
I saw how it helped me reset my alcohol boundaries too – I find it very easy to slip into drinking Thursday - Sunday (I blame my husband and the fact that I’m clearly easily-led), but know I’m much healthier, more energetic, better rested when I drink less.
After my dry month, sticking to 2 nights a week is no problem: Friday & Saturday nights. It’s easy for a while, then it may slip a little as we head towards summer and I need to focus on it again and remind myself I just feel better. Simple.
You probably know my drink of choice is gin. Just gin with a mixture of tonic & soda water. No wine as a rule. My body certainly finds gin much easier to process than wine. I’ve found that out through experimentation, which came about while I was learning what I needed to do to lose weight: no alcohol, no problem, the weight comes off. A week of wine (not even very much), and eating really well means I’ll be heavier. When I drink wine, it leads to water retention – I can see it on my body when I look in the mirror – I look puffy, and not just around the eyes – everywhere. I was gobsmacked the first time I made the connection. And I only made it because I’d had a month off alcohol. Gin, I’m delighted to tell you, I can get away with if I don’t drink too much of it.
I’m aware I sound like a total booze hound as I type this, but I’m not – I think I’m fairly average in my drinking habits. It is my weakness: these days I rarely fall down on the food – it’s always the booze I have to watch.
So Dry January it is – for the first time ever; I usually choose February, on the basis that it’s the shortest month. Somehow that feels easier, and I can ease out of Christmas mode more slowly.
For 2019, though I’ve got some goals to hit – I’ll be joining my Intelligent Weight Loss members on the weight loss mission starting on 29th January. While I’ve lost 3 dress sizes and maintained for a long time, I want to shed another 5kgs, hopefully it’ll come off the bottom half of me this time 😊 😊 😊 Let’s hope I can hang in there for the extra 3 days!!
Who’s with me? Request to join our private free group, The Transformation Vibe, and join us in the Dry January Challenge, starts today! Click HERE to join.
