11. What could you drink instead of alcohol?

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Hello darling heart and welcome to the drink less, live better podcast. This is the podcast that helps you to see that drinking

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less doesn't need to be stressful, lonely, or boring. I'm your host, Sarah Williamson, and I decided to have a year alcohol

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free as a little life experiment and haven't looked back. With my experience and training, I now help other women with their

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alcohol free or drink less adventures. I'm here to tell you that you can relax, connect and have fun without alcohol in your

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life. Join me here each week to find out how. Today I'd like to tell you a story about what I chose to drink instead of alcohol.

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This episode is inspired by my chat with Lee from Glow Sober last week. If you didn't catch it, go back and listen to episode

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10. It's a doozy. When I first decided I was going to drink less, I happened to have a box of 6 bottles of rose wine in my

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house. At the time, this was one of my favourite things to drink. I took it round to my neighbours to store, and then I only

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went and picked up a bottle if I was going to take it to a party or go round to a friend's house. This really helped to stop

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me from drinking it at home. When that wine was gone, I never replaced it. Once I had decided on my totally alcohol free experiment,

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I took a slightly different approach. Whatever alcohol was in my house back in December 2019, I poured away. I felt really

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odd doing that, and it took me quite a while to build up to getting it done. Now there were random bottles of Ouzo, limoncello,

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cherry brandy, and other slightly random purchases or gifts which were easier to pour away because I wasn't really emotionally

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attached to them. But the half bottle of gin, vodka, and Pimm's, I struggled to get rid of. Perhaps it was because I didn't

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want to let go of the thought of not drinking them for a whole year. Perhaps it was because it felt like a waste. Perhaps

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it was because I liked the bottles, or a combination of these reasons. By this stage, I had come round to accepting that alcohol

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was a toxin and wasn't helping my physical or emotional state, so I took a deep breath, poured them away, and put the bottles

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out for recycling. I suppose I felt a bit safer. The only alcohol that was left in the house from then was my husband's beers

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and his whiskey. Because these drinks have never appealed to me, I'm not at all tempted to drink them, so they are safe. The

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alcohol was gone, but what now? I knew there was water and I knew there was juice, and that was fine to start with. One of

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the issues I'd come to realize over time was that I've never drunk enough water. When I'd got stuck into a glass of wine at

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the end of the day it was always in part as a thirst quencher, which is never a good thing, so starting to drink more water

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during the day was a brilliant starting point. It meant that come 6 o'clock I wasn't dehydrated. The first thing I missed

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was my Thursday night g and t, and part of what I loved about my g and t was the ritual of getting a nice heavy glass out,

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cutting up a lime, clinking the ice into the glass, and then pouring the drink before leaning back on the counter and taking

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a large thirsty gulp. So I made a really simple switch to a non alcoholic gin. I get the same feeling of the Thursday night

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ritual, but with none of the negative side effects of the alcohol. Perfect. Have you ever heard of kombucha? I hadn't. It's

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a fermented, lightly sparkling flavoured tea drink, and there are loads of brands and flavors out there, or you can make your

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own. I started drinking it from time to time as a replacement for white wine, and now I really love it. In a pub, I love a

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ginger beer or an alcohol free lager if they have one. If I'm out with my girlfriends, I'll quite often have a flavoured tonic

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in a fancy gin glass so I don't look like I stand out as a non drinker. I found lots of nice flavoured waters, iced teas,

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alcohol free fizzes, and I've also loved making my own alcohol free mocktails over the last 18 months. I've never felt deprived,

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which, in a way, I'm quite surprised by. I used to be a massive cocktail drinker, and whenever I'm out on a cocktail night

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now we always make sure we go somewhere where there is a nice choice of alcohol free options. It's the atmosphere, the company,

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the fun times that I crave and not the alcohol. If you're struggling to think of what you might replace your alcoholic drinks

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with, please do check out Lee's Instagram page at glow sober for inspiration and honest alcohol free reviews, or drop me an

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email at sarah@drinklesslivebetter.com and tell me what you like and I'll give you some recommendations along with some where

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to buy tips. Thank you for listening to this episode. Please listen in again next time. You can sign up to my 5 day drink

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less experiment and find out about working with me one to 1 at drink less live better dotcom. It would make me happier than

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a Buddhist monk. If you would please subscribe, 5 star review, and comment on my podcast on whatever platform you listen.

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Imagine it like the tasting notes on the finest wine I am never going to drink. Thank you and, PS, I believe in you.