The benefits of 4 years alcohol free are many. First, a little about how I managed this milestone.

On 23rd September 2018, I had my last drink. I was going to be 60 on 19th October 2019. I wanted to do a year alcohol free as part of my ’60 before 60′ challenge, but think I knew I really didn’t want to drink again. Ever! And I have now been alcohol free for 4 years.

I used all of the same mindset tools I use with others to stop drinking (and lose weight, that’s a post for another day).

This Time Felt Different

Once I took the decision to stop, it was very easy. I had had periods of being teetotal previously. During my pregnancies I didn’t drink, although they were a long time ago. I often took a week off, regularly did dry January and abstained during Lent. I had also taken 3 months off a few times. But this time felt different.

In 2016 I had taken 3 months off drinking completely. With a 28lbs weight loss I looked and felt great. And then followed various problems, during which my dad died suddenly. I drank pretty much every night for a year. The weight piled back on and I looked and felt awful.

12 Month Challenge

I knew I just didn’t want to carry on like that. And so I set myself the challenge of 12 months alcohol free. I announced it publicly on Facebook and Instagram, as an added accountability check.

Prior to stopping, I had listened to, and read, quite a few books. Some of the best were:

• Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Control Alcohol
• This Naked Mind by Annie Grace
• The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray
• Emotional Sobriety by Tian Dayton
• The Sober Diaries by Clare pooley
• Mrs D Is Going Without

There were others, but the list above were the ones I found most helpful.

As well as reading, I listened to self hypnosis videos on YouTube and followed sober accounts on social media. I would fall asleep listening to a book or self hypnosis. I also joined Janey Lee Grace’s The Sober Club membership. I also journaled about how I was feeling, and that was a great help.

No Redeeming Features

All in all, I just came to deeply understand that alcohol actually had no redeeming features at all. My life would be much better off without it. When I started off, I didn’t know if I would be able to manage a full year. What about Christmas, parties, birthdays, holidays?

The Obstacle Is The Way

As it turned out, these ‘obstacles’ all came about quite quickly. On my birthday I hadn’t yet reached 1 month alcohol free, and the following day my sister held a party – a reunion for cousins on my mum’s side. The wine flowed copiously, but I didn’t find it difficult. I had made my decision and just didn’t have any inclination to drink. At the end of the night, I drove myself home safely. No having to wait for a taxi, nor having to pay for one.

Eight days after the party it was my grandson George’s christening, and the next day I went on a 10 day cruise around the Norwegian coast with my cousin Liz. I was glad I wasn’t drinking because the price of wine on the boat was astronomical!

And of course, less than two months later it was Christmas with all of the usual celebrating. These obstacles became the way, to borrow a phrase from Marcus Aurelius. I navigated the way with ease, and entered 2019 knowing I could not only do this, but would enjoy doing it.

The Benefits Of 4 Years Alcohol Free

So, what are the benefits of 4 years alcohol free? These will vary from person to person, but here are some that I have enjoyed.

Better Sleep

Many people speak about how nice it is to wake up hangover free and feeling rested and ready for the new day. That’s true for me too. Yet even more enjoyable is getting into bed fully conscious. I love to do a few gentle yoga stretches, read a book, do some colouring and/or listen to an audiobook or a YouTube video.

It’s also true that alcohol induced sleep is much poorer quality. And there’s no waking up at 3am desperate for a glass of water when you’re teetotal.

Now, I go to bed earlier, I fall asleep easily and consciously, and I average between 6 and 7 hours per night, and hit all of my benchmarks as per Fitbit. Some nights I get 8 hours or more, and am always excited about that.

Weight Loss

To be honest, weight loss took quite a while for me. That’s because I developed a raging sugar addiction when I stopped drinking alcohol. That habit was harder to break than stopping drinking, and I will write another post about that.

In the last 12 months I have lost nearly 3 stone (42lbs or 19kilos). The weight has come off slowly but surely, and would have been a lot harder if I had been adding in empty calories from alcohol.

I still have a way to go, but know now I can do it. If you’re finding it difficult to shed the pounds, definitely take a look at how much alcohol you are consuming.

Not only does alcohol contain lots of empty calories, but it lessens our willpower, and you may find yourself reaching for a bag of crisps or a takeaway during or after a drinking session.

Improved Mood

Depression has been something I’ve struggled with for many years. Since cutting out alcohol, however, my mood has been much improved. There are lots of factors involved, and although I wouldn’t say it is solely down to quitting alcohol, it’s certainly helped. There’s the weight loss and the better sleep, but they are down to quitting alcohol anyway.

If your mood is low, or you are on antidepressants and they’re not working, consider taking a break from the booze for a while and see if it makes a difference. Alcohol is a depressant after all. Don’t stop taking any medication without chatting to your doctor though.

Improved Concentration

I definitely have better concentration and improved memory since I stopped drinking, and even more so since I drastically cut the amount of sugar in my diet. That could be from not ingesting alcohol regularly, and also from getting much better sleep.

I have a longer attention span when reading or watching tv or studying than I did when I was drinking.

Better Overall Wellbeing

Some other benefits include reduced blood pressure, lower blood sugar levels, improvement in digestive issues and problems such as headaches, heartburn and indigestion.

You are likely to have a much better nutritional balance and increased energy.

Much Improved Finances

According to the app I set up on my phone when I stopped drinking, I have saved almost £22,000.00. That’s staggering. When we are spending the money in dribs and drabs we don’t notice it so much, but if you start to add it all up, you realise what a waste it all is.

There’s not just the money for the alcohol, there’s forking out for taxis to get home. And the petrol to go and collect your phone the next day because you left it in the taxi (that happened to me several times).

Imagine what you could do with that money if you put it into a savings account each day rather than buying booze. I wish I had been disciplined enough to do that. Give it a go, and let me know if you do it.

The Only Downside

The only downside for me was a massively increased consumption of sweet things – fruit and nut muesli for breakfast, biscuits, chocolate and cake throughout the day. This was despite the fact that I knew sugar dependence often happened after giving up alcohol.

If you do decide to take a break from the booze, try to be really aware of this, and get help if you need it. I found that if I ate plenty of fruit (natural sugars) the craving for the sweets disappeared.

Book A Discovery Call

All in all, cutting alcohol out of my life is absolutely one of the best decisions I ever made.

If you feel you’re drinking a little too much and would like to cut back or cut alcohol out for a while, book a discovery call with me to see how I can help. It is a relaxed, no obligation chat and you can find out how my mindset and mindfulness mentoring can help you to change your relationship with alcohol.

Making any change to habits begins (and ends) with mindset. I created a mindset of knowing alcohol was something I didn’t want in my life. I use tools such as reading. listening, affirmations, self-hypnosis, deep-dive journaling and meditation to help you create your desired habit change.

Just a note – I help ‘grey area drinkers’ who feel they are drinking a bit too often or a little too much. If you have a more serious problem with alcohol, it’s important to talk to someone who can get you help such as your GP.

Gill Washington does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information