7 months ago almost to the day, I woke up feeling sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. It wasn’t that I was an alcoholic… it was just that wine had become my best friend before and during the quarantine.
A friend called that Sunday morning and asked me to go on an alcohol cleanse for 90 days. For some reason I said yes. I think there was a greater force at play in that moment!
It still surprises me because I never could make it through any cleanse of food, alcohol, social media etc. I would make it to the day before the 21or 30-day mark and give up.
Why? Because it felt like punishment, something I “had” to do, something I had to white knuckle through to the end.
So here I am 7 months later and can say I definitely made it through 90 days. After day 30 I actually stopped counting. Have I had a glass of wine in the past few months? Yes. Has it been every night like my habit was before? No way.
In fact, I probably have a glass of wine every 1-2 weeks. The truth is, I’ve gotten so used to feeling so good that I refuse to give up the good vibes! I make evening choices based on how I want to feel the next morning versus the slight fuzziness that now even one glass can create.
I can only speak for myself. For many people, they can’t moderate due to addiction. For others, taking a break can open your eyes to what lies outside the scope of alcohol and the many benefits of taking a break.
So it got me thinking today…. Why did this time work?
I believe it worked because:
- Rather than approaching it as a punishment, I treated it like a gift I was giving myself.
- My inner talk wasn’t “I HAVE to do this” but instead “I GET to do this.”
- I chose to love myself enough to give my body a chance to feel good.
When you choose love as your mindset, your vision becomes fueled with a deeper meaning and purpose.
So it got me thinking even more today… What is next?
For those of you in my “Live More Drink Less” (aka Sober Tranquility) community, you know sugar became a big issue for me when I, as my niece said, “gave up the hooch.” You know you’ve got a sugar issue when you notice a tootsie roll pop stick stuck to your pillow. …. I know nothing 😋
The good news, knock on wood, is I made it through the candy and ice cream phase because again I approached it from a space of love…
Rather than trying measures like beating myself up, I tried Hypnotherapy instead. (ps. If you are interested in hypnotherapy I know a great resource!)
Resisting the urge to sign up for one of the millions of diet programs, I pulled out my “French Women Don’t Get Fat” book. (Not really a fan of the title, but I LOVE the approach of putting the focus on the joy, beauty, and fun of eating delicious food.)
The thing I’ve come to realize is nothing good comes from beating yourself up and everything worth experiencing arrives through the space of love.
So, with vulnerability I share that while yes I have made it to a space of “’living more and drinking less” and choosing moderation with sweets (because come on… can anyone really live without a delicious slice of birthday cake or a shortbread cookie with your tea???)…I can’t quite crack the code on those potato chips.
And frankly, I don’t want to give up potato chips!
I just want to give up have them as a staple of my diet.😳
So perhaps I can repurpose the alcohol theme and go with a new tagline of… “Potato chips aren’t bad…. It’s more about your relationship with them.”
Because frankly the 30 Day Reset for Sober Tranquility can be applied to anything you are working at shifting by applying things like….
- Figuring out your “Big Why”
- Crafting and embodying your “muse”
- The “time traveling” strategy which is so powerful.
Hence the title of today’s blog… The Love Diet.
- If I loved myself, would I drink the whole bottle?
- Is loving myself eating potato chips for lunch and pizza for dinner?
- Would doing this be a loving act towards my body?
- If I loved myself, would I eat the whole bag of tootsie roll pops in 3 days? (again, not naming names!)
Choosing to exude love requires consistency, patience, and attention. Loving ourselves (and others) isn’t just for when it’s convenient.
So, if you are craving change in any area of your life, try the love diet. It has a great return on investment and allows for any type of change to occur with elegance and ease.
XO-
Meg
