Soooo, everyone who knows me, knows I LOVE me some wine aka Mommy Juice!
I mean what is there not to love about wine???
It has been said that red wine can be good for your health and that may be very well true but when it comes down to it, it is still alcohol which can be toxic to the body. Not to mention, I typically drink white wine so no benefits for me 🙂
According to the CDC, moderate alcohol intake is 1 drink a day for women and 2 drinks for men. In wine terms, that would be 5 ounces (12% alcohol) per glass. Well, my glasses are typically double that.
CHARDONNAY!!!
Over the past year, I started to notice that my wine intake had increased. For example, I went from having an occasional glass of wine to having a glass or two pretty much every evening to wind down before bed. Just to clarify, it’s not that I needed the wine but rather I wanted the wine and after so long your tolerance increases. I started to notice a few things, I gained some weight, I was always tired in the morning and I was spending a lot of money on wine.
After a little self-reflection, I thought, hmmmm I should probably find a healthier way to wind down at night because this can’t be good for my liver!
In all transparency, no matter how “healthy” we are we ALL have that one thing that we love! For some it’s sweets for me it was wine!
So I decided to CHALLENGE myself and limit my wine intake. In the past, I have given up alcohol during the month of January to give my body a fresh start and reset for the New Year. But, I didn’t want to wait until then, I thought to myself…why not change now? Typically, when we put things off the Law of Diminishing Intent takes over.
We intend to act when the idea strikes us, when the emotion is high. But if we delay and don’t translate that into action, the intention starts to diminish.
I always say that when you decide to change, you should make small changes at a time, otherwise it will be difficult to do and you may be tempted to give up. So I decided to give up wine during the week and only have wine on the weekend.
So how did it go?
Actually, it went pretty well! By not drinking wine throughout the week…….
I Became More of Morning Person!
- Anyone who has ever worked with me, knows I’m not a morning person. Drinking wine before bed didn’t help this at all. I have noticed that I feel more energetic in the morning which has led to increased productivity throughout my day.
I Lost 4 pounds!!
- I noticed that just after one week of not drinking wine every evening I lost four pounds and I didn’t change anything in regards to my normal workout routine. When you think about how many extra calories I was drinking on top of the increased appetite that resulted from drinking, it makes sense!
I Saved Money!
- This speaks for itself!
It Helped My skin!
- Alcohol can lead to dehydration which can cause dull skin and “dehydration wrinkles”. By reducing my wine intake, I have noticed more of a glow to my skin and there was a tiny wrinkle on my forehead that has actually went away! As a result of limiting my wine intake, I have also increased my water intake so it is a win-win and my skin is loving it!!
I Reduced My Want for Wine!
- When I did finally make it to the weekend, I had my glass of wine and surprisingly the one glass was enough. By disciplining myself throughout the week, I actually reduced my want for wine!
In summary, am I saying I am giving up alcohol all together, that would be NO. On the contrary, I also know that in order to take my body to the next level of health and fitness I do need to limit my intake.
So guess what?? That’s exactly, what I’m going to do! It will definitely be a challenge but the benefits speak for themselves!
Take home message……Set a plan, Act on it, Be Disciplined!
Find Health in Every Day!
Dr. Lindsay