New choices.
Three weeks ago today, I quit alcohol. I’m not quite sure yet if it’s for good or just to give my body an extended rest but either way I am super proud of myself so far and have intentions to continue for a little while yet.
My decision to remove alcohol from my life was in order to make healthier choices for me and my family. As a mother of two young boys scarily close in age (3 and almost 2), a puppy and my own business, I simply don’t have the time for a fuzzy head anymore. Weekends are precious family time that start at the crack of sparrows for two boys and do not wait or slow in speed for anyone or anything.
I want to wake up each morning with a spring in my step, feeling grateful for everything I have and able to tackle my day ahead – which is hard when you’ve been up half the night with a teething toddler after half a bottle of wine. I decided I can’t change the teething toddler (damn it) but I can change what I put into my body – so why make life harder for myself by adding a few glasses of wine into the equation.
Mothers ruin.
I am a wine lover. I love it. Love love love it. I would happily drink 1 or 3 glasses of wine every night. On my own, with friends, in the garden, at the pub with my husband, over a long lunch. Anytime.
I’m not sure I regularly have much more than that (parties and weddings aside), and I’m definitely not a wake up every morning and have a drink person, but over time, that glass (or 2 or 3) of wine a night has become a ritual. Boys in bed, work finished, glass of wine poured and dinner on. And gradually as the boys sleep has failed or I’ve woken up thinking about an article deadline, every morning for the last year I have woken up wishing I hadn’t had that glass of wine. Because had I not, I’d be feeling a hell of a lot better about my day ahead.
So after to-ing and fro-ing and an inspiring story from friend doing sober spring (look it up!), I decided to just bloody do it. So now, three weeks in I am feeling the best I have felt in years.
Next step – sugar.
Not one to do things by halves, I am by nature an ‘all or nothing’ person, my next challenge commences. Therefore having replaced alcohol with chocolate, thank you left over Easter eggs, I have decided to take the ball by the horns and tackle my other addiction – sugar.
Working in dentistry, I am fully aware of the implications of too much sugar in your diet. I am also now more than ever, aware of when a love of something moves into a reliance of some sort and am increasingly uncomfortable with my replacing wine with chocolate.
I want to be healthy in body and mind and I want to make good choices for my body and to lead by example for my children.
Food should nourish your body and your mind and not feed an emotional void. I don’t eat chocolate because I’m hungry or my body needs it; I eat it because I feel I deserve it, or need it somehow. I don’t like that feeling; it feels out of my control.
This will not be easy and like the alcohol, I don’t know if it’s forever, or just a break and a personal challenge but in shouting loud about it and sharing my story, somehow I feel like I am making a pledge to everyone to stick to this.
This week I will embark on my research and will rally around and try to recruit as many friends and family as I can to join me – next Monday the real hard work will begin as I go SUGAR FREE FOR EIGHT WHOLE WEEKS…
Wish me luck!!
Gemma
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