On May 7, 2019, I took my last drink of alcohol. At the time, I had not made the decision to never drink alcohol again. I just decided that I needed to take a break. While I hoped that I was not an alcoholic, I knew that I was drinking too much. I also decided that the alcohol could be the main reason that I was unable to lose the weight I wanted to lose. So, on that fateful evening, I decided to change my mantra from, “I am not giving up my Chardonnay.” My mantra became, ‘Well, I have tried everything else, and nothing else is working, so I will see if eliminating alcohol will work.” It did. I lost 50 pounds. What I also lost was my compulsion, or addiction, to alcohol.

I was shocked that I was able to eliminate my almost nightly glasses (2 or 3, usually) of Chardonnay, so effortlessly. Drinking had become a habit, and I did not know if it had become an addiction. I would not have been surprised to have needed help with this decision, such as AA. While I would have taken advantage of that resource if I thought I needed it, I didn’t.

Although friends and family continued their social drinking, I just stopped. The longer I was away from drinking, the better I felt. While I had not known that I did not feel as good as I could, I realized soon that I was sleeping better, thinking better, and (my friend said) behaving better. (I decided to not tell my friend that she might also benefit from making the same decision! We all have to find our own way with this decision.)

As the days and months passed, I decided that this change would be a lifetime change. I knew that with alcoholism so prevalent in my family, and with my addictive tendencies, I was playing with fire drinking alcohol. While I was able to stop at that point effortlessly, there might come a time when I couldn’t.

The weight loss of 50 pounds was not just a result of no alcohol, I also (finally) got serious about Weight Watchers. While I have found some of that lost weight. (10 pounds,) I am, for the most part, ok with that. I am a lifetime Weight Watchers member and attend at least monthly meetings to maintain that status. If I gave up sugar, I could lose those 10 pounds. That is a decision I am contemplating.

Today is my 7th anniversary of being sober. Although I do not like that term, “being sober,” that is the common reference of the decision to eliminate alcohol.

Do I miss Chardonnay, Appletinis, and Lemon Drop Martinis? Not often, but sometimes. Drinking for me was a social thing, as it is for many people. When I am sitting in a bar with others in my family and friend circle, I do miss the social aspect of drinking. I do not enjoy the bar environment for that reason, and do not go to bars often. But since this is my decision and not anyone else’s until and if they decide to make this change, I do find myself in drinking environments occasionally. While I am not really tempted to drink alcohol again even in those environments, I do not enjoy being there.

Perhaps my comments about this have stirred something in you. It may be your drinking, or it may be something else for you. If there is something you can eliminate from your life to be your best, perhaps my story can encourage you to do so. Change isn’t easy. But once we make a change and get on the other side of it, it gets easier.

I wish you well in your journey.