How does alcohol consumption relate to intuitive eating? Is there such thing as intuitive drinking?
This is a topic I’ve gotten a few reader requests on and one that I can certainly relate to. I’m not quite sure I have all the answers, but my relationship with alcohol and my journey with intuitive eating has changed significantly over the past five years and I’ve learned a lot. My hope in this post is to combine my personal experience with my clinical experience to shed some light on this touchy topic.
First I think it’s important to recognize that everyone’s relationship with alcohol is different. It’s a sensitive topic. Alcoholism runs in my family. I also have family members who barely drink at all. I’ve personally seen the devastating affects of alcohol and I know this is not a topic to be taken lightly and want to be very sensitive. If you think you might have a problem with alcohol, first know you’re not alone. And second, please know there are many resources available to you.
While I’ve lived around unhealthy and dangerous drinking habits, that didn’t stop me from going through seasons of unhealthy and excessive drinking. I was your typical sorority girl at Indiana University where I spent a lot of my weekends at the frat house taking shots or at the bar until 2am, followed up by late night pizza and a nasty hangover the next day. Only to do it all over again the next weekend. In college I would restrict my calories on days I planned on drinking. If I didn’t plan on drinking and a spontaneous event came up where there would be alcohol, I wouldn’t go. I had to plan ahead of time if I was drinking so I could compensate for the alcohol calories consumed by not eating as much during the day. And then because I hadn’t eaten that much, alcohol hit me a lot faster and I almost always ended up feeling way looser than I intended. Looking back, it was as stressful as it sounds. And now my 28 year old brain is like, yes DUH ROBYN. If you don’t eat and then take shots you won’t feel good.
Throughout my early twenties when I moved to Charlottesville, I continued to drink in social settings. I would drink with the intention of getting at least tipsy, if not drunk. My drinking was less frequent, but the when I did drink…I drank in excess.
Throughout my years in Charlottesville over time I began drinking less (since shots at the bar or frat were replaced with glasses or wine or a cocktail..I couldn’t fathom the idea or the purpose of a shot) and had given up on restricting calories during the day because the stress was no longer worth it. Because of those two things, I didn’t find myself face deep into a large pizza at midnight and I was better able to gauge how much alcohol I could drink and still feel okay the next day. But I still struggled with a healthy and peaceful relationship with alcohol and with food when alcohol was around. I was still mentally restricting foods, telling myself for example, “cupcakes are bad, you shouldn’t eat them.” So when I was at a party drinking alcohol and cupcakes were around…I felt out of control and would eat past fullness.
I share all that to say, I can certainly relate to binge drinking, restricting my food intake to compensate for alcohol calories and “drunk eating” at night. Some of you might have no idea what I’m talking about, and I’m so thankful for that. Some of you might know exactly what I’m talking about, and I want you to know that you’re not alone. I get it.
I’m now at a much healthier place with alcohol. Rarely, rarely rarely do I end up drunk. Thankfully. Sometimes at an occasional wedding where I get swept up in the occassion and end up having my glass of wine refilled too many times. Then I realize I need to start chugging water because I’m feeling the alcohol way too much. And I don’t worry about alcohol calories at all now, what I eat on days I drink alcohol is the same as on days I don’t. And I’m thankful for that too.
For the purpose of this post and this space, I want to focus the conversation on alcohol and how that integrates with intuitive eating. The rest of this post if for those who don’t struggle with addiction or an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. If you do, I’d encourage you to seek out help from someone you trust or the resources linked above. If you don’t care for the taste of alcohol or abstain from it for many other very valid reasons, that is 100% OKAY. I would never want this post to make anyone feel like they should be drinking alcohol. Rather, I hope it sheds some light on how to bridge alcohol consumption with intuitive eating.
It’s the holiday season. So now more than ever you will hear about the calories in such and such food just as much as you hear about the calories in spiked egg nog or mulled wine. “A glass of egg nog has just as many calories as three slices of pizza!” Ugh. Way to totally kill the holiday mood and experience. Every holiday party or social gathering somehow becomes a cocktail shaker filled with our calorie fears, social nerves and the pressure to be merry as ever. It’s a lot. And I think our experiences can most often go one of two ways.
- We feel distracted from the social experience because we’re riddled with fear, avoiding the food and drinks and thinking about calories the entire time.
- We grab another drink, then another cookie, then we freak out and think, “well screw it” and then grab another drink and cookie. Perhaps this cycle happens a few more times.
Which makes me think, perhaps it’s not the social event or festivities itself, but the fear, morality and mental/emotional restriction that leads to us to over doing it?
IS INTUITIVE DRINKING POSSIBLE?
Whether that’s with drinking one too many drinks, eating one too many cookies or slices of pizza, or restricting calories during the day to compensate for the alcohol we plan on drinking tonight or the alcohol we drank the night before. It all circles back to rules and regulations and disconnecting from how we feel in the moment and how we want to feel the next day.
Food and alcohol are not the same thing at all. Equating a drinking problem with disordered eating is a false and harmful misunderstanding. But, I do think there are some similarities between the two. If we think about it, both food and alcohol are coping mechanisms used for emotional soothing/numbing and also self-harm. Both can have the potential to negatively impact your mental and physical health. And both food and alcohol are treated as something to avoid and control rather than enjoy and appreciate.
Intuitive eating allows us to come to peace with food. It allows us to dismantle morality from food and see food in a neutral way – where we can eat out of self care and desire rather than self harm and distress. It allows us the freedom to stop fearing food and instead appreciate, respect and enjoy food. And then move on and fill our days with other more meaningful things. Through intuitive eating we learn to cue into our body’s internal wisdom vs external rules.
So although alcohol is different than food, what if we approached booze with the same intuitive mindset? In the same way that intuitive allows us to eat pizza for dinner and not compensate by eating a salad for lunch or a smoothie for breakfast the next day, what if we allowed ourselves the freedom to drink alcohol in a mindful way without judgment and without restricting calories before, during or after drinking?
Through my own personal experiences I’ve realized that when I took an intuitive approach to alcohol and placed it on neutral ground I began to enjoy it more, not drink more of it. For me, feeling stressed around food and using food as my default to emotionally cope (which can be one tool to self soothe, but we need other tools) was never helpful. In the same way, telling myself I shouldn’t drink because of the calories or using alcohol to self soothe and cope was always stressful and never helpful. When I began to release the stress and fear around calories, and instead be more mindful around alcohol I was better able to make conscious and intentional decisions about how much and when to drink. And that allowed me to better care for my body and my mind.
While I’m never going to tell you how much or when to drink, I hope these tips and tools help you decide what is best for your body and for your mind when it come to drinking alcohol.
ASK YOURSELF WHY YOU’RE DRINKING BEFORE YOU TAKE YOUR FIRST SIP
This is the first thing. Why are you craving alcohol or choosing to drink? Is it to numb out, relieve stress, cope, fit in..? If the answer is yes, ask yourself if this is how you want to deal with how you’re feeling. Are there other healthier and more fitting ways you can deal with your feelings? If you’re drinking for the taste or experience I think those could be healthy reasons to consume alcohol.
LET GO OF THE RULES AROUND ALCOHOL
Just like intuitive eating teaches us to let go of the morality, restriction and compensatory mechanisms around food, do the same with alcohol. If you want a glass of wine on a Tuesday and it feels mindful, drink it. Think about how you feel during and after. Is that how you want to feel? Does that help you be your best version of yourself? When I started drinking a small glass of wine during the week at home with dinner, I felt way less vulnerable to drinking 3 or 4 on a Friday night as I collapsed into the weekend. Just like pleasurable and less nutrient dense foods such as a cookie or cupcake are part of healthy eating, alcohol can be too. Remember that intuitive eating means listening to your hunger and cravings vs outside food rules… and that applies on days you do and don’t drink alcohol. Compensating for calories is dieting, not intuitive eating.
CHECK IN WITH YOUR APPETITE BEFORE YOU DRINK
Alcohol inhibits ghrelin – your hunger hormone – which makes food sound less appetizing and your hunger cues less reliable. And what we know is that alcohol is absorbed more quickly on an empty stomach. Say hello to feeling more buzzed than you intended and maybe even hungover. Blah. So be mindful about having a drink before you eat knowing it might affect your appetite. And if that happy hour drink does kill you dinner appetite, part of intuitive eating is eating out of self care. This would be a time where you eat out of self care and eat something anyway to make sure your stomach isn’t empty. You’ll avoid a hangover and the intense hunger that comes with it. Too much alcohol and not enough food causes you blood sugar to be all over the place. Couple that with the dehydrating affect of alcohol and your body is programmed to wake up in survival mode. Which means you’ll be craving starchy comfort foods in the morning. This isn’t necessarily a “bad” thing, but pair it with a hangover and it doesn’t lead to the most intuitive and stress free eating experience.
RECOGNIZE THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DRUNK EATING
The same blood sugar drop that causes a hangover can also lead to you feeling “munchy” the night before – hence the stereotype of late night pizza after a night of drinking. (I’m raising my hand here..) Since we’re talking about intuitive eating, more importantly is to recognize alcohol lowers your inhibitions, therefore you’re more likely to eat foods that you have restricted in your every day life. Then you wake up the next morning in a tornado of self shaming and guilt for eating those foods. If you allow yourself to eat foods sober, you won’t feel the urge to eat certain foods only when tipsy. When I stopped restricting certain foods from my life, I found the late night eating stopped too. Would I eat something if I was hungry after being out with friends and having some drinks? Sure. But it felt calm and intentional, not chaotic and cloaked in judgment.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND WITHHOLD JUDGEMENT
As with any habit or behavior, can you without judgment and instead get curious? There’s nothing wrong with enjoying alcohol in a healthy way. But do a periodic self check to ensure it stays healthy. Is it becoming habit forming or addictive? Is it becoming an unhealthy coping mechanism? Is it adding to or taking away from you living your best life? If you feel your alcohol consumption might be negatively impacting your life take a break and see how you feel – physically and mentally. Go to a social event and drink soda + lime vs alcohol and check in with how you socialize. But remember, abstaining from alcohol can be another form of a diet and any form of restriction never ends in a healthy place. Have an open, curious mind as you learn what amount and frequency of alcohol feels best in your body and mind.
I really enjoyed this post! Back in college, I also did a lot of irresponsible binge drinking, and a few years later, I’ve now realized I feel like crap when I do that. I always felt depressed the next day and I never felt physically good from all that alcohol. Not only that, but I realized I was using alcohol to deal with feeling insecure about myself – I would use it to help me socialize “better” and make people like me more. I sometimes drink now, but I stay tuned in with how I’m feeling and I don’t pressure myself to drink more if I don’t truly want to. I still struggle with a lot of aspects of my practice in intuitive eating, but this is one thing I’ve been able to get a good handle on. Really love your rawness and honesty, thanks Robyn. 🙂
I can 100% relate to using alcohol to feel more comfortable in unknown social situations. Thanks for sharing and being honest Ashley 🙂
This is the first intuitive drinking post that I’ve seen that is SO accurate! You made it so easy for individuals to understand. Thank you for writing this! I too used to restrict calories to compensate for drinking and I never understood why I would get drunker than my friends. Now it seems so obvious, but there is such little information out there that talks about dieting & drinking. Thankful you are spreading this message!
I’m glad you enjoyed Bridget! I can soooo relate to being the friend that was a “light weight” when really it was because I wasn’t eating….duh Robyn.
Robin, thank you so much for this thoughtful post. As someone who has also seen the devastating effects of alcohol in my family, I love the way you approached this topic and am grateful for your non-judgmental tone and wisdom.
Thank you for your encouraging feedback Kelly!
I absolutely LOVE THIS!! And this provides a lot of clarity for questions I’ve had, but I just really didn’t know how to ask. I grew up in the “bible belt” of Kentucky, where drinking in any form is very taboo. No one in my family drinks alcohol and until just last year, I still lived in a dry county. In fact, my hometown is still a dry county. However, I didn’t want that to take away from the life I wanted to live. I have never felt confined to these traditional values and enjoy a glass of wine here and there. It was once I began intuitive eating, that I actually also saw my alcohol consumption increase. Not to the point that I was EVER getting drunk, but just to say it increased because before I was restricting it, much the same as you discussed here. However, now that I have adapted an intuitive eating approach, I have struggled with ‘how much is too much’ alcohol. And now more than ever I seem to feel a sense of morality with whether or not my drinking a glass of wine on a week night is a “bad” thing because others in my family or in this area would think that it is bad. BUT, I love how you have clarified here. I feel now that my increase in consumption is ONLY because I no longer restrict myself. I genuinely see nothing wrong with enjoying a glass of wine on a weeknight, especially when I know in other parts of the country it is totally normal to have a glass of wine with dinner nearly EVERY night. Thanks so much for this!
I can totally see how growing up in a more conservative Christian environment could foster a legalistic view on alcohol. Thanks for sharing your journey and how your environment shaped your views. I know others can relate!
Thank you for this wonderful post! I found at the height of my disordered eating problems I would also turn to alcohol to compensate for my anxiety and unhappiness. Like you described, I’d restrict calories during the day, get drunk and then secretly and ashamedly binge when I got home. Thankfully that’s all behind me now. You also make a great point that restricting alcohol is still restriction that will lead to bingeing. Everytime I’d try to stop drinking completely I’d end up binge drinking and regretting it. Mindfulness is key! Wonderful post, thank you!
I had the same experience with going “sober” and then finding myself a bottle deep on a Friday night with girlfriends…not good!
Thanks for the great post Robyn! My past drinking sounds exactly like your college experience. I still feel that I struggle with balancing restricting calories before drinking which I know just makes the effects of alcohol worse. I hope one day I can get to a place where I eat normally throughout the day even if I am drinking later on. I want to stop feeling bad about the calories in alcohol. I find it to be a “diet-y” mentality of mine to feel bad about drinking calories– whether in alcohol, a smoothie, coffee drinks, etc.
You will get there Molly! There is space for you there, I see it 🙂
Awesome post, Robyn! I started using Intuitive Eating in my practice earlier this year, but I’ve always wondered the best approach when it comes to alcohol. This is the first article I have come across that discusses the two. Thanks for taking on the challenge of writing this. Very helpful! 🙂
I’m so glad you found it helpful Amanda – I too haven’t found much written on it either so thought I might as well take a stab at it 🙂
This is a thoughtful post, but I think people also need to consider where their “intuitive” drinking consumption lands them on the scale of light, moderate, and heavy drinking. More than two drinks in a day is considered binge drinking by the CDC, and whether or not you want to agree with that definition, there is no doubt that it’s easy to have 3-4 drinks and still “feel good” at a holiday party (we’ve all been there – two overly large pours of Chardonnay over two hours and you’re already set, although you’re probably just tipsy and not falling down drunk). There are far more reasons to restrict alcohol consumption than to restrict calories and those are still worth having a conversation about – reducing your cancer risk, reducing damage to your liver, protecting the quality of your sleep, keeping your wits about you to be responsive to your family and friends, etc. Perhaps it would be better to ask yourself not only “does this taste good/will this make me feel good,” but “would any more pose additional risks to my health?” Health is not just body size!
ETA: Sorry, I had a typo – it’s actually 4 drinks on one occasion for women, not 2! That gives a little more room, but it’s still very easy to hit that target early on. Do that twice in a weekend and you’re at the limit for “heavy drinking” – 8 drinks in a week for women.
I agree. I have mixed feelings on this post given the data that shows how binge drinking is so much more common than people know or realize. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with drinking but I feel like perhaps this topic is incomplete in the way it’s brought up if that makes sense.
I agree that binge drinking is a problem. I think if we are being intuitive and assessing how alcohol makes us feel physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, etc ..I’m pretty confident that people would not find themselves binge drinking…ever. It’s because we DISCONNECT from ourselves (body and mind and therefore intuitively) that both myself and others find themselves binge drinking.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and concerns and starting a conversation around this!
Hi Liz — I completely agree with you, healthy is not just body size and I think that is the reigning theme of this space, that health is NOT simply what you eat and how you exercise and how that affects your body size.
And I hear you when you say everyone needs to consider their habits around alcohol. Unless I made the post 5000 + words, there’s no way to cover it all. I started the bulk of this post with these sentences…
“The rest of this post if for those who don’t struggle with addiction or an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. If you do, I’d encourage you to seek out help from someone you trust or the resources linked above.”
I think we have to realize there are tons of things that increase our “cancer risk” and cause liver damage, mess with the quality of our sleep and pose risks to our health. I’m in no way making alcohol into fruit juice, but I think if we are asking those questions I’ve posed in the article about how does it make you feel (which goes beyond physical and includes mental/emotional/relational/spiritual health etc then answering those questions is going to allow us to drink alcohol in a healthy way. The key is to really get honest with yourself.
Thanks for your comment and thoughts Liz!
First post I have read about this topic that was so refreshing and brought so much clarity! Amen to all of this, you are the bomb.
Glad you enjoyed Delaney!
Thank you SO much for sharing this post. As I’m learning to have a more intuitive, balanced mindset around food, I continue to struggle with where social gatherings and alcohol fit into a more flexible lifestyle. I too find myself making efforts to compensate throughout the day if I have plans to meet up with others for drinks. It makes the whole experience much less pleasurable, and I am so thankful you were able to capture this feeling into words. It is so encouraging to relate to others through this topic. Thank you again, as always, for such a wonderful post!
I can certainly relate to your feeling Devon. I am thinking of you and encouraging you on in this journey <3
Thank You so much for this post Robin! Your gentleness and honesty with this topic is so helpful and considerate. I used to go through exactly the same cycle. Thank you for your valuable words and inspiration 🙂
<3 <3 Fiona
Thanks for explaining this difficult topic 🙂 I am so glad I have found a healthy relationship with alcohol. Being able to enjoy a fancy cocktail when I’m out at dinner is so nice. I love that alcohol can just be something pleasurable like a cookie or a bubble bath…not stressful. There are enough stressors in life! The most important piece for me was understanding I can say no/approach alcohol the way I want to, not the way social norms may sometimes dictate how we approach alcohol.
Yes I love how you refer to alcohol as something that can be pleasurable…it’s there for us if it adds to our life but we have the control to say no if that’s what adds to our lives.
Thank you for this! I can 100 percent relate. I don’t drink very often but when I do I know I will binge eat! Happened this past weekend. I am not in a place of intuitive eating (yet) and so when that first drink is gone I bing eat because my inhibitions are gone and I feel shame and guilt the next day for what I ate. So I will intentionally NOT drink for a while because i don’t want to binge eat. I don’t know how to have a glass of alcohol with my husband and enjoy the evening because food consumes me after I par take in a drink. I would love to get to a place of intuitive eating and then this will hopefully not be a issue…. not there yet and not sure when i will be. Thank you again for your openness.
Thank you for vulnerably sharing Lindsey! Know that you are NOT alone and that many women (including myself) can relate to your feelings at one point or another
xx
This topic is so important! I love how you stressed that alcohol is not the same as food, and can be legitimately dangerous, but that approaching drinking with the same intuition as you would food can help you safely enjoy alcohol in a balanced way.
After leaving college, I find that I’m much more willing to spend a little bit more on a drink that is interesting or tastes good, and enjoy that moment instead of spending less so I can drink more. This quality over quantity mentality has helped me drink intuitively.
Quality over quantity – love that point you shared McKenzie!
Thank you so much for this post Robyn. Alcoholism also runs in my family and I too have experienced the devastating effects alcoholism can have on a family. I have gone back and forth a lot with this topic in the past, especially that now my younger brother has decided not to drink at all and I wondered if I should do the same. I will often do a similar “check-in” with myself to find out really why I am drinking and I try to keep the drinking only to times of fun or celebration and not drink when I’m feeling sad or down. I will admit to having a couple of glasses of wine on a Friday night after a stressful week but I don’t feel that I need to have it or can’t live without it. I hope to continue to include alcohol in a healthy way in my diet but I also hope that I would have the ability to recognize if it ever became more than that. I think that this topic needs to be brought up more with our age group so I think it’s great you’re starting this conversation even if it might be a bit controversial.
I totally agree that this is a conversation that we are not having that often. Thank you for sharing so bravely Sydney!
Thanks for this!
I binged for the first time in nearly 80 days last weekend after having one too many drinks! Thankfully i’m at a place where this doesn’t devastate me anymore and i can use it as an opportunity to get super curious (e.g. am i still subconsciously restricting? was this a backlash from food guilt or body shaming?) .
I’ve also realised i should probably stop counting my ‘binge free days’ as it can make me feel like ive gone back to square one, when in reality i should be really proud of my self.
In other news i tried egg nog the other day! we’re seriously missing out on that drink in the UK! This time last year i would not have even tried it because i would have been worried about the calories/ messing up my diet. Recovery is worth it xxxxxx
YES
curiosity >> judgement always. everything is a learning opportunity
Recovery IS worth it! Rooting for you <3
Thank you for writing this Robyn! So well put. I have had a similar experience since being more intuitive with eating and having that correlate with how I drink alcohol. Love that you touched on a not as talked about subject and totally nailed it!
<3 <3
Thank you Robin! I always appreciate how you discuss hormones in an “easy to digest manner.” Finally, thank you for your open-mindedness concerning a sensitive issue that affects a lot of us! I love the taste wine and enjoy it on the weekends. However, there were definitely times in the past that I drank for reasons outside of taste. Learning to sit with emotions rather than hide from them…that is a life’s journey!
Thank you Randee for your encouragement – its’ a sensitive subject for sure but one I think is important to have. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome post and totally put into words how I feel about drinking! Happy to have found your blog. 🙂
Welcome Kaitlyn!!
Thanks so much for this post! I feel like your journey with alcohol has been very similar to mine (and no doubt countless others) I always appreciate your perspective, grace, and openness when discussing these topics. Great work, as always!
We are so not alone and I think that’s comforting and give shame less room to get in. Thanks for reading Anna!
This is great! I have noticed since starting my intuitive eating journey that I crave alcohol much less often. I think it is because I used alcohol frequently to allow myself to “let loose” and that is when I would eat all my forbidden foods and majorly binge. Now that I’m not restricting foods, I don’t think I need that as often.
That’s makes a lot of sense Tory – what’ great insight! I’m sure others can relate perhaps. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you!! I can 100% relate to your behaviors – I have acted and thought the same ways. 2 years into my intuitive eating journey, I have finally begun to mindfully enjoy alcohol. Thanks for the insight; it will certainly keep me moving forward in my journey. I hope that you do the same!
Cheering you on in your journey Caroline!
Love your post- I’m in college now and I feel like it’s becoming cool to brag about how little you had to eat that day or how much of a lightweight you are so that way guys will say “no duh you’re a lightweight it’s because you’re so skinny”. It makes me really sad. I hate how college binge drinking is so normalized and almost respected in college. I’m really looking forward to graduating so my friends drink like reasonable adults rather than college kids. For myself, I never really find myself craving alcohol and only drink it socially but maybe that will change when i’m around good alcohols.
It felt very similar to your experience when I was in college Savannah. Looking back I’m horrified. I was itching to get out of college by the end of my senior year where I felt like I could breathe from the binge drinking culture. So know your’e not alone 🙂
Love the blog. So much wonderful information here. A question I have is regarding intuitive eating. How does this work for the “ post Menapause woman”? I am 62 -avid workout enthusiast…. fond of plant based diet for my body. I have to say that I have a good relationship with food and have been on the small size ( 102-106#) all my life. (Exception… 3 babes 29-33 years ago). However this size post Menapause is tough staying at. Believe me when I say, it is hard. One cannot stay same shape/size/ weight without daily workouts/ walks with our 3 dogs…. and eat like one used to eat. For me it is “planned eating and meals “ that make this work for me. Any ideas or suggestions ? My Menapause GYN is not too helpfl with regards to diet. Good luck on the Boston move…. our daughter did her college/ grad school in Boston and we loved visiting her while there.
Hi C! Thanks for your comment. While I don’t know much of your story so can’t speak much to it…it sounds like the weight you are at isn’t sustainable for your body size since it takes daily workouts and eating a regimented way to do that. I would encourage you to perhaps talk with a non diet dietitian you trust or perhaps pick up the book Health At Every Size…our bodies change and that’s okay!
Thanks for sharing!
Such an important topic! I’ve been working on a project around this issue. This is so taboo because binge drinking is normalized among young adults (especially women in their 20’s). As I am currently coming out of an eating disorder and I’ve noticed my motives around alcohol are the same as food. I’ve been exploring ways to put my sober self in settings where I would typically drink and dissect my emotions. Taking a break from alcohol can truly help reevaluate your relationship and strengthen it altogether. While working towards balance with drinking, I recommend starting out in places you’re familiar with and with people you trust. I believe we should be treating alcohol the same way as dessert, it’s nice to have but in excess isn’t going to make you feel great.
Love that dessert analogy and everything you said here Valerie. So true, inspiring and helpful for others!
Robyn, thank you for being bold and posting about this sensitive topic! This post is really getting me thinking. In college (not that long ago) I was very concerned about drinking calories, whether that was alcohol, juice, etc. Now I am not as concerned about that, especially as I have started practicing intuitive eating. I do feel like I still drink to cope with stress or social anxiety (not to excess at all, but a glass of wine after a stressful day is always so nice). Because of this post, I am going to try to practicing intuitive drinking. It’s all about being mindful!
Glad it was helpful Katherine! And thank you for sharing your story and where you’re at!
Love this post! I’ve always enjoyed a drink, previously mainly for social, “let’s get drunk” reasons but more now to enjoy alcohol I like such as red wine, craft beers and gin. I very rarely get drunk now (well I’m pregnant so never but before that!) If I do let go of my inhibitions and drink a little more than I would like and feel slightly worse for wear the next day I struggle a little with feelings of guilt but I have been working on that!! I’m very much looking forward to the first red wine or stout after my child is born!!
Thanks for sharing Carey and congrats on your baby!!!
Great post. I appreciate you writing about such a tricky topic. Remind me of when I was at University and people would purposely not eat all day so they could get drunk faster, it was ‘eating is cheating’ which is such a sad reflection of New Zealand’s drinking culture.
I really relate to the this and had an a-ha moment when you mentioned no longer drunk eating foods like pizza because you weren’t restricting them. I can remember eating a certain way in the days leading up to a night out with the mentality that I would drink but also binge on food. So I would over-eat when drunk and feel awful the next day. I haven’t done that in so long and didn’t click my relationship with alcohol has changed along with my relationship towards food.
LOVED this post. Thank you for writing it! I can totally relate to everything you talked about here and hoping one day I can be at the place you are with alcohol and food freedom.
I just reread this post because it was featured in your newsletter. And let me just say that it’s EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I’m on vacation where more drinking inevitably happens but I was feeling like I’ve just been coping with alcohol lately. Being a country girl in a city is a lonely place sometimes. I’m more inspired to look inward and ask myself these questions so I can move forward without judgement. Thank you for reminding me about this post.
I’m so glad this resonated with you Megan! Love to you!!
I just LOVE is! Thank you for taking the time and being open enough to explore this and share your own experiences expeirences. It’s the exact topic I’ve been pondering and what you have said resonates deeply with my relationship to alcohol. Well said, in so many ways!
I’m so so glad this resonated for you Holly <3
Really useful. Thank you
I read this post a year ago (or whenever it first came out) and I can distinctly remember being super triggered by it – it was too much for me to think about repairing my relationship with alcohol in that time. Happy to say re-reading it I feel a sense of peace and calm, and ready to start asking myself some questions about alcohol that I shied away from last year! Thanks Robyn, as always your compassionate and informed posts are healing!