In days gone past, I would either be feeling rough as a badger's behind or had to take the day off work as a weekend at the HK Sevens is exhausting. Most of the stadium-goers are likely to be feeling it today.
There is no better day in that case to talk about alcohol.
This is not my first blog about booze, but it is a personal one.
I don’t drink very much anymore and haven’t done for a while now
I used to though.
I’ve been living in Hong Kong for 18 years where drinking is a past time, so of course I’ve drunk.
So what changed? Menopause, change in lifestyle, getting older, anxiety, scuppered sleep, week long hangovers, getting sick, feeling bad, performing badly in the gym, getting fat, making an idiot of myself and not remembering the night before, waking up with bruises.. the list goes on and on…
Interestingly just after the HK Rugby sevens; Hong Kong’s biggest party, half of me wanted to be back in the stands on Friday for a few minutes, beer in hand, having fun. And then I remembered how I’d feel the day after or even a few hours after. Or even the week after….
Drink just isn’t generally worth it for me anymore. I have too many other things I need to do; puppers to walk, study to do, work to do, a business to run, trails to run. Running on last night’s fumes feels just bloody awful.
.
Also, I’m a naturopath, natural health is my thing, and I know how bad alcohol is for you. It’s a huge toxin; it ruins your body and can be downright dangerous.
Can I say that I will never have another drink again? I’m not sure I can wholeheartedly, however from here on in, I’m going to give it a go to avoid booze like the plague and just see how it goes, taking one day and event at a time. Going through the whole ‘will I drink, will I not, will I have just one’ thought pattern in my head is stressful. It’s so much better for me to just take alcohol off the table altogether.
For those of you that want to get healthier and/ or leaner and want to stop drinking, just do it. Replace drinking with something you’ve always wanted to do or used to do, understand your why. Work out why you drink. Be brave. It’s a brave thing to stop doing something that’s possibly been part of your life for most of your life.
I wish you luck!
If you feel you need help with your health generally (and not just with booze), then drop me a line, I'd be happy to help.
Ally van de Pol is a Naturopathic Practitioner, Holistic Health Coach, Healing Diets Coach, Iridology Consultant, Herbalist (graduating 2024), Naturopath (graduating 2024).