Drinking too much alcohol causes all sorts of problems and makes you miserable… but many of us try very hard to make sure everything looks just fine on the outside!
Is this you?
Going to the gym. Running. Watching your weight. Most people surely would consider you to be ‘health conscious’!
And that’s the inspiration behind today’s blog.
Here’s what happens when you exercise like mad to make up for over-drinking: –
You will try just about everything healthy… with the exception of healthier drinking!
Spinning classes? Yoga in the park? Training for a marathon? The maple syrup diet? You will give it a go. But healthier drinking? That thing where you learn to relax naturally at the end of a stressful day, without inhaling a glass of wine first? let’s just ignore that.
Selective calorie counting
Throughout the day you try to keep track of how much you’ve eaten, in a bid to shift a few stubborn pounds. But as soon as you start drinking, all that goes out the window. Calculating liquid calories is too complicated (and depressing) so Its easier to pretend the it doesn’t exist. Sadly, your waistline WILL notice…
Selective fact finding
As a former over-drinker, I could’ve told you all about the merits of quitting gluten and the risks of not getting enough exercise. But drinking? Hmmm. That was a bit of a vague area in my mind, because frankly, I didn’t want to know. The information I did retain was remarkably one sided, which brings me on to my next point…
Drinking for the ‘health benefits’
If I told you that eating chocolate is healthy because of the milk content, you would roll your eyes, wouldn’t you? And plenty of people are perfectly happy convincing themselves that drinking red wine is for the ‘health benefits’. A little bit is good for you, right? (It isn’t actually, just look it up).
Staying ‘chemical free’
By day, you scrutinise food labels so you can be sure of what was in the products you bought. No e-numbers, weird ingredients or nasty chemicals for you, thank you very much! But when it comes to wine, you like to think it’s just mashed up grapes. Ring any bells
Its wrong to pop pills
Antibiotics? Painkillers? You only take them if you really have to. You never liked popping pills for any old reason – it just feels wrong. And yet you will happily self medicate with alcohol, ignoring the fact that it was, ahem, also a drug… one that kills and harms a lot of people.
In summary…
If you recognise yourself in this blog, then I’m guessing that you, like me, really value your health. If you’re investing a lot of time and energy into living a healthy lifestyle, it’s worth taking a proper look at how drinking is affecting that. Is alcohol is supporting or sabotaging your goals?
If you need any support to stop drinking, call us on 01527 878162 or email julie@actalcohol.co.uk