Latest / ShameOver - The Drink Less Podcast / How to Drink Less This 4th of July and Skip the Sunday Scaries
Transcript
- Erica+ShameOver: Hello, welcome back to Shame Over the Drink Less podcast, where you're really here for everyday empowerment to know that you are not alone in this or anything else that you're going through, but that you are so much stronger than you think. A lot of it is just understanding yourself, your behaviors, who you are, and how you can actually get above and beyond whatever it is you're dealing with. Obviously, a lot of what I talk about is alcohol, but what I've learned through not only doing this, myself but through coaching others through this for almost five years now is it is almost never about the drinking. It comes out in that way, but most of us don't actually have a drinking problem. It's been the solution for so many different things. It's understanding what it's the solution for and how we can navigate life without alcohol being our main coping tool, our savior for everything. So This is going to be a very, very quick episode for you. me saying that, it'll probably be longer than I even anticipate, but that is the whole plan is you to really get some actionable steps, key takeaways ⁓ a very short episode going into a holiday weekend. If you aren't listening to this when I'm recording it live, ⁓ you can still use this for any drinking. event, any big drinking weekend, any holiday weekend, any vacation, any anything that you're going to where it's going to be very drinking s centric. a lot of this is not only how to go in feeling prepared and empowered, ⁓ how to go in knowing that you can moderate, ways lose the hangover, ⁓ minimize chance of a hangover, all that good stuff. ⁓ And of all, to avoid the Sunday scaries, because a lot of the Sunday scaries Is actually hang anxiety essentially, us trying to recover from the alcohol leaving our system. So with that, welcome. I'm so glad that you are here. And me, Fourth of July is coming up. Hopefully, for those listening, you are in the same boat. ⁓ And I Fourth of July for me is we're outside, there's booze all around. It used to be a very, very big drinking holiday, ⁓ but Fourth of July weekend is always a long weekend, right? Unless it, even if it falls on the weekend, you still get a day off here in the States for it, which I guess no one else in would celebrate Fourth of July besides us. So yeah, but it's always a long weekend. In our minds, long weekend means drinking, means holiday, means party, means I can't have fun without drinking. Whether you've actually had that thought or not, a lot of us have trained ourselves to believe this is going to make by this, I mean alcohol is going to make. This situation more fun, this party more fun, I'm gonna be more enjoyable, I'm gonna enjoy myself more, I'm gonna all these things. I've learned, again, through doing this work all myself and through helping hundreds of people through this directly one-on-one, is it is ⁓ the conditioning that we've taught ourselves that make us believe this. So if you are thinking like, ooh, Fourth of July, fireworks. Beer in hand or cocktail or whatever it is, you are not alone. That is just essentially conditioning and it's also habitual. It's what we've we've taught ourselves because we've done it so many times. So one of the things that if you take away nothing else is just remember to drink like a player. It is kind of my signature. What really helped me on my whole journey, my whole thing going into this was not to ⁓ a non-drinker. It was how can I drink less? How can I finally one day incorporate days off? I was a daily drinker at that point, even if it was just a glass or two of wine. Still, it was every day. my ultimate goal was I just want to be able to drink normally. I want to be able to ⁓ like I feel like everyone else can, to not think about it all the time to blah, blah, blah. How I taught myself this was through what I coin now, drink like a player. ⁓ this is what we're really going to dig down to. So your P is going to. Be plan and prepare. What I see most people do when they're doing this is they plan, but they don't really get specific and they fail to prepare. So if you only do one of the peas, prepare. Lose the plan, just focus on the preparation. But this can be you're going to a barbecue. Maybe the preparation is bringing drinks yourself. So you're not, know, you're you're telling yourself you're not allowed in a sense. To drink anything else there, you're only gonna drink what you bring. So that way you have full control over that. Maybe it's bringing boost-free options, or you know, seltzer water, sparkling water, anything along those lines. ⁓ something that can help you ⁓ to the plan that you're doing. If you're going to, I know here ⁓ baseball is always a huge, huge thing to do on Fourth of July. ⁓ you, you know, you you've gone to the stadium before. You know what they offer. ⁓ only going to have ⁓ of the, you know, the Beers are massive anyway, but like one of the beers or two of the cocktails or whatever that looks like. Just come up with a plan, be specific, and do what you can to prepare so that you can actually see that plan through. this is ⁓ marathon weekend. The days are long. So what you can to remember the marathon mindset as opposed to like, I just gotta get in and get started. ⁓ So that note, if if you can. Start later, absolutely, but we're gonna get to that. Actually, that is what I L, start later. I know for me, one thing was always like, okay, I'm gonna in the morning or bloodies in the morning, and then you know, we're just drinking all day long. The earlier I started, the more I drank, especially if it was bottomless. Obviously, ⁓ encouraged to drink as much as you possibly can. So ⁓ on starting later. This can be five minutes later, it can be an hour later, it can be not starting until 5 p.m. or whatever. You figure out what is going to be best for you that's most realistic for you to stick with because if it's not realistic and if it's not attainable and easy for you to do, you're not going to do it. So focus on back when you're starting and what that looks like. Again, even just ⁓ normally start in the morning, ⁓ not starting until afternoon. That is going to help you in the long run. So focus on that later start. A. Alternate. am very big no matter what. I'm always double fisting. I always have my alcoholic drink and then a big, huge water. ⁓ not a problem for me. ⁓ as we're drinking, it is you probably already know this, but alcohol is a diuretic. It is making us pee a lot more. It is going through our system. It is getting rid of all that. ⁓ we're doing that, we're also losing the electrolytes, we're losing the vitamins, we're losing all the things that we're getting out. And Our bodies can only process one alcoholic drink per hour. So really focusing on if you can stick to only one alcoholic drink per hour, alternating between. So after your first drink, you have to have a full can of sparkling water or a eight, ten, twelve ounce cup of water. Put electrolytes in it if at all possible. You're gonna feel so much better if you do. ⁓ but it can also help it so you don't just like I'm just drinking water. It's better to alternate with non-alcoholic whatever it is over nothing, but you're going to feel your best if you are making sure that whatever you're alternating with is hydrating, no calories, no sugar, no junk in it, just really focusing on that hydration. So water, sparkling water, anything like that. Yes, the electrolytes are a-okay. That is going to be the best for you. Not only how you're gonna feel with the alcohol, but how you're gonna feel the next day. So focus on that. Why know your why? Why is this important to you? Do you just not want to feel like shit tomorrow? Do you not want to want to make a fool of yourself like you did last year? it bigger than that? Is you want to wake proud of yourself? You want your kids to be proud of you. You don't want to pick a fight with your husband. Like whatever it is, ⁓ just a why and really have it be something that's meaningful that will help you in that moment. Because as we're drinking, our prefrontal cortex right here, which is decision making. being rational, using our tools and tricks. That's all right here. Once we've had we have alcohol in our system, this is paralyzed. It no longer works. That's why we can have all the tools and tricks at our disposal, but all of a sudden we're on drink three and we're like, ⁓ screw it. Doesn't matter. Like I know I had a plan. I'm not sick into it. is why is it literally paralyzes up here. So your why has to be so important so it can at least take you get you more intentional, take a pause, get you in the moment to be like, you're right. I did, I did say I was committing to three. I am going to make sure I stick with that three or less. Again, make up numbers, whatever works for you. The E is eat and end earlier. A lot of women, we are taught not to eat alcohol hits you faster. Get rid of that garbage, especially the older we get, the more that we need to be eating, specifically focusing on protein is going to be huge. But as you're drinking, protein and having carbs, really a well-balanced meal is going to be your best friend not only again for processing the alcohol and having it take take its time through your system, but also for helping you the next day. So really focusing on that. And the end earlier. If you're starting later, ending earlier, as long as you're not playing ketchup during that time, you are going to be doing so much better. So maybe you say, okay, my time is from p.m. until 7 p.m. That is my window. Here's what it's gonna look like. Again, be specific there. That is what's going to help you. If you need to set an alarm on your phone to remind you, do it. Whatever you can to help get you, you know, back in your head, even when this is paralyzed, so that you can start making the decisions that you want to be able to make. And if you're drinking more than one drink an hour, it's going to be impossible for you to make those decisions. I'm just letting you know know now. So lastly, R, rest and repeat. Once we have alcohol in our system until it is basically out of it, it is impossible for us to reach REM sleep, which is that very important sleep for our body, for our brain, for all of that good stuff, for us to be able to repair all of that. So, really focusing on sleep, especially those who are like me, if you're a perimenopause in your 40s or later, sleep matters more to you today than it probably ever has in your life. You are not going to be able to get good. quality sleep once there's a lot of alcohol in your system. So again, focusing on ending earlier so it has time to get out. If you, for me it's always a 3 a.m. wake up, but if you have that 2 a.m., 3 a.m. midnight, whatever wake up where you're like wired and you know, that is the alcohol literally escaping your body that your body is coming back to like essentially from survival mode, just trying to process the alcohol and the toxins and essentially the poison. getting it out of your system when your body comes back online it's it's the alcohol being out of your system or leaving your system that that's what like shocks you back into it. So again, I had this all the time. I'm very familiar with the 3 a.m wake ups. So that is just something that you want to avoid at all costs. So the best way to do this is to focus on your rest, your sleep, which is through the hydration, through all these steps of drinking like a player. So again, plan and prepare Start later, alternate, know your why, eat and end earlier, and rest and repeat. That is what is going to really get you through any big drinking event, any marathon drinking weekend, any occasion where you want to be able to show up, have some fun, have some drinks, but do so in moderation and not worry about what you said, what you did, blacking out. hangovers, anxiety, anything along those lines. So if this is helpful, please, please, please leave some thoughts and feedback. Share it with someone who it can also be helpful for. These are all tips that work. It doesn't mean you have a drinking problem. It just means that you want to have a healthier relationship with alcohol and this is going to help you start getting there. So wishing you all a beautiful, wonderful, safe holiday weekend. if If you are curious what kind of drinker you are, I actually have a free quiz. I'll put it in the show notes too. But you can just go to shameover.me slash quiz and find out the kind of drinker you are. It's literally less than two minutes, and it will it will hopefully help explain a lot of your drinking patterns and why you drink when you drink, what it's doing for you, all of that good stuff. So you can have a little bit more intentionality behind your process moving forward. ⁓ If this weekend or any event, anytime that you're hearing this, if this really has you taking a look at yourself and your drinking, I am here to help. So again, contact me, shameover.me here to help however I can. But have a beautiful, wonderful, ⁓ holiday weekend. Drink like a player, ⁓ we will see you next time. Cheers.