How I Became A Non-Drinker

I wasn�t sure whether I would talk about this on my blog because I didn�t want to come across as preachy. We all make our own decisions in life and I don�t want to presume to influence yours, however I have been asked to elaborate on being a non-drinker and am happy to do so.

I think there are a lot of very normal people out there who are not happy with the way they think about drink. I know I wasn�t.

Never in a million years would I have considered myself to have a drinking problem or need to go to AA (I still don't), however I would jokingly say I was concerned at how much I looked forward to a glass of Chardonnay, brandy and dry or g&t when I got home.

I also did not like the fact that these drinks helped me keep me just that little bit fatter than I would have liked. This is due to the fact that alcohol is highly calorific being worse than pure sugar, plus you might add mixers (choose your poison � sugar or artificial sweeteners). AND a drink seems to include snacks for me.

So I had a love/hate relationship with my cocktail hour. Love the chance to sit down with a magazine or book, hate the fact that my evening drink(s) were making me unproductive with a dumpy figure.

It all started a couple of years ago in a conversation with one of our sales reps who was pregnant. She told me she was so glad she had given up smoking a few years earlier, as it would have been harder to do once she found out she was pregnant. I asked her how she did it and she said she read the Allen Carr book which completely cured her instantly and she�d never thought about it since.

At the time I remember thinking, I�m sure he has also written a book about dieting, maybe I�ll look it up at the library. When I was doing this, I saw he had another interesting title called �No More Hangovers�. I requested them both, and picked them up next time I was in at the library.

Even though I initially wanted the diet book, I ended up reading No More Hangovers first. Because it is a tiny book and very simply written, it didn�t take long. A few hours later I remember putting the book down and thinking to myself �well, I won�t be drinking alcohol again�.

I never dreamed that that would be the case, but at this stage it is. I read the book in May 2012 and haven�t so much as desired a single sip of alcohol since. I don�t really know how this happened and if I ever want to drink again I certainly will, but I just don�t want to. It doesn�t bother me being around other people drinking and I always, always have a few deep sniffs of a good wine and can really appreciate the bouquet.

I felt like I had to apologise to my husband for ditching him as a �drinking partner� as we used to enjoy a nice wine together. He says he is fine with it and we have an honest enough relationship that I believe him. He reckons it doesn�t bother him in the slightest that I do not drink and even said it has helped him cut back too which he feels better for. On nights when one of us might have poured a drink out of habit, he doesn�t. Now he only has wine on the weekends (we would have had drinks 3-5 nights per week before) and the occasional cold beer in summer.

Last Christmas we holidayed in my native Hawke�s Bay which is very much wine country. I was the happiest person around being the chauffeur showing off our beautiful vineyards while my husband sipped. It really was as much fun for me even though I never tasted a drop.

I do miss the taste of my favourite wine varietals don't get me wrong, however I don�t want the feeling that comes with drinking now. I have tried de-alcoholised wine but it doesn�t bear much resemblance at all.

So what are my new tipples?

If I am in a bar or restaurant after work and want a pick-me-up, for a one-off treat I might order a Red Bull, which I agree isn�t very chic sounding, and I always ask for it to be served in a flute. It is a golden colour and looks just like champagne!

In a more casual bar I might order a ginger beer. In Hawaii most bars and restaurants had an alcohol-free beer option � St Pauli and Becks, both German. To me they taste just like normal beer and it�s nice not to feel like a kid with a glass of Coke.

I also never feel �apart� from the drinkers if it�s a group of us. Strangely enough I often feel a bit happy along with everyone else later on, as though I�ve had a few drinks. But I�m just getting into the spirit of things!

We still have cocktail hour at home too. I usually keep in the fridge:

- Diet Coke in a can (I�m not a fan of artificial sweeteners but I don�t want to drink sugar. I buy it in cans so I can have a single portion and it�s always fizzy).

- Mini bottles of Perrier with Lime or Lemon flavouring (expensive but a yummy and stylish treat).

I serve both the Diet Coke or Perrier in a flute. It feels more special and I sip it slowly, rather than gulp if it was in a big glass. I heard once that apparently French girls called Diet Coke 'Champagne Noir' which probably gave me the idea, impressionable consumer that I am!

- Clausthaler German beer which is 0.5% (classed as alcohol-free) (usually from the bottle on a hot day).

I have any of these and now limit my snacks (cheese and crackers or a little bowl of potato chips) to the weekend. We have our dinner earlier on weeknights and the combination of all these things has helped me to become more svelte. Plus I enjoy my dinner much more not having had snacks beforehand.

If I am going somewhere I might take a few Clausthaler beers, or for a more formal occasion a large bottle of Perrier to have by itself or mix with sparkling grape juice. Always out of a champagne flute of course.

I have had many ask if I am pregnant (no) and look at me strangely (I have learned to live with that). Sometimes I say I am the designated driver, and sometimes that �I am on a health kick� and it seems to satisfy people. Once you turn down a drink most people want you to have one more than ever.

Really, I can�t even tell you have good I feel. My body (and mind) is so happy. I dropped 2-4 kg without even trying. I never wake up seedy anymore. At my age even one glass of wine could affect my sleep and have me feeling below par in the morning. And if you have a �fun� night where you �let go�, the next day is a guarantee of poor quality eating (at least it was for me) because you feel so rotten.

And it�s all down to Allen Carr�s book plus, I suppose, my underlying wish to not be beholden to alcohol. I feel so grateful that alcohol no longer has a pull over me. I never hear it calling my name and can walk past any display at the supermarket. I just know �it�s not for me� anymore and that is my wish, not something I am �trying to stick to�.

My sister who has two young children, read the No More Hangovers book a month after I did and the same thing happened to her. She is an ecstatic non-drinker now. Like me, she used to worry about how much she looked forward to her evening drink, even if she didn�t drink that much.

I�ve probably said enough by now, but if you have any questions I�d be glad to answer them!

Update 31 August 2015:  Still a super-happy non-drinker and I'm not even tempted.  I heard recently that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.  And that's how I feel about alcoholic drinks, I'm indifferent to them.  But I still don't know how this one little book worked its magic on me, I'm just glad it did :)