I am so damn proud to say that today marks four years since I quit drinking alcohol. That’s forty-eight months without a sip, drip, or drop of booze. As I reflect on this major milestone, I can say with great certainty, that as soon as I stopped drinking alcohol, I started getting my life back.
The day I quit drinking, I became time rich. I immediately gained back thirty hours a week that I had been giving to the bottle. Between thinking about drinking and talking about drinking, going to the liquor store and hanging in the pub, the time spent actually consuming alcohol and the massive black hole of a dreaded hangover, my habit had practically become a part-time job. Albeit, one that cost me more than it ever paid.
Gaining back all of this ‘extra time’ was overwhelming at first. I wasn’t even sure what to do with it all. I found myself drawn to spending more time outside, going for evening walks and long bike rides with Matt, hanging out in the mountains and wandering through the trails, giving myself much needed contemplative time, while simultaneously feeling less bogged down than ever before.
Challenged by my change, once reliable drinking buddies vacated the scene and I found myself seeking a new tribe. I started tuning in to educational, motivational, stimulating podcasts ripe with inspirational ideas on how to uproot old habit patterns, untangle from my victim mindset and begin to rewrite my life.
Since I was no longer consuming after work beers, my evening sugar intake became drastically reduced. This made it easier for my stimulant-sensitive self to get to bed earlier and fall asleep faster, giving my body a chance to get longer, deeper, more restorative rest. This lead to a significant reduction in waking-up-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-bed, frothing at the mouth for a frosted cinnamon bun and other such hanger pangs from the sugar monster. I found myself becoming a more pleasant and patient human being (and I hadn’t even had my coffee yet)!
My newfound ability to delay eating first thing in the morning led me to entertain the novel idea of intermittent fasting. I began consuming all my daily calories within an 8 or 10 hour window and then giving my digestive system a break for the remaining 14 to 16. This curbed my late-night overindulgences like family-sized bags of potato chips and solo pints of ice cream. The more conscious I became with my nutrition, the better I was beginning to feel.
From here, I began slowly (and I mean, sloooowly) transitioning from a lifetime of fuelling off nutrient lacking, sugar laden, processed foods to a much healthier, nutrient dense, whole food eating regime. After a couple weeks of the dreaded low-carb flu, I bounced back to a better, brighter, more fat-adapted me.
David Asprey’s now famous Bulletproof Coffee became my new morning routine, a rich concoction of grass fed butter, MCT oil and my favourite №6 Coffee which produced a magical time release caffeination along with a great source of fat-based fuel to feed my body and brain for hours on end.
Hangovers were now a thing of the past, which meant that instead of starting a head throbbing, dry-mouthed, blurry-eyed day reaching for pain killers at eleven o’clock in the morning while throwing myself a pity party, I was now waking up with the birds, loaded with gusto and inspired to pour this new found energy into an exciting new direction. So, I did.
After years of unknowingly working up to it, I now had the fitness, fuelling and resilient mindset to build into a brand new movement practice and so, I started trail running. I had never ran before (well, except away from the cops) and much to my surprise, I fell madly in love with it right away. I had always thought of runners as the A-type, spandex clad, do-gooders I had seen pounding the pavement while I pounded the beers. How much fun could they actually be having? Turns out, a lot (though I’ll take dirt over pave any day).
I didn’t put any pressure on the progress of my new running practice, I let it build up slowly and organically and because of this, I continued to look forward to it. I ran every single day, rain or shine, for the entire first year of my sobriety. It became my own personal practice, my therapy, my meditation. The more movement I got, the better I felt. I was losing weight, gaining confidence and cultivating a new passion, all thanks to walking away from alcohol.
With one less voluntary depressant weighing in on my mental health, I noticed my thoughts becoming more positive. I started a morning mindfulness practice, carving out some space for solitude and reflection, meditating for at least ten minutes (almost) every single day.
Turning my awareness inwards and looking at the deeper, unresolved issues that had influenced my problem-drinking took courage and compassion, but I finally felt ready for the challenge of accepting responsibility for my life and equipped with the tools and support system to make the necessary changes.
This awareness would eventually empower me to reflect upon the patterns of unconscious consumption that had infiltrated all areas of my previous sleep-walking life; from self-medicating with substances, stimulants and snacks to mindlessly consuming social media and material goods.
The realization that I am the sum of all my small decisions gave me the strength and courage to selflessly prioritize my health and well-being. The discipline to continue ‘showing up’ everyday and practice self-care continues to lead me in pursuit of my own version of success.
This ever-evolving journey of being my best self is one in which I strive to choose that which supports me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually and in return, I can go out in the world and support others on their path to do the same.
While I am in no rush to re-establish my relationship with alcohol, I feel empowered to envision a future for myself where deliciously crafted beer, wine and spirits can be mindfully integrated into my more consciously consuming life with a better and brighter balance. But that’s another story for another time . . .
Until then, Cheers to Four Years, No Beers and all the greatness that lies ahead!
Big Love & Stay Rad.
Ali B