Willpower Sucks!
Are you Going Sober for October? Its a fantastic idea to do a challenge when everyone else is, you raise money for charity, feel proud and hopefully reap some benefits into the process. Many people do it because they hope they will sleep better and lose weight, but do wary of the ‘sugar monster’ rearing its head as the ‘wine witch’ is sent on her way.
Over in our exclusive facebook group in The Sober Club someone was talking about doing weight-watchers and the role of alcohol, and another member was sharing that they are doing the 5-2 diet so on fasting days they weren’t drinking.
There’s no doubt that alcohol can be responsible for adding on the pounds and definitely doesn’t assist in a weight loss programme, however what we know for sure is that ‘depriving’ ourselves of anything is hard. Trying to use willpower alone is hard. Trying to ditch the booze while you are on a tough diet is hard. We all know that when someone says…’You can’t have that biscuit, that snack bar, that sandwich, that glass of wine’… we want it more and when the ‘wine witch’ or the ‘sugar monster’ come calling we will almost certainly cave, especially if we’ve had a bad day.
Make a plan!
It’s all in the planning and we’ve had some successes already in The Sober Club from members who shared that they were going on holiday, or had a meal with relatives coming up, or an event to attend, where they would usually drink copious amounts of alcohol and / or consume the wrong foods. Just by stopping, thinking about their ‘big why’ (the commitment they have made to lose weight / ditch the booze) and importantly put steps in place to deal with the obstacles as they come their way, they were able to dodge the triggers and successfully remain in control.
You’ve heard the acronym WOOP I’m sure, it’s so useful when you are trying to change any behaviour. Challenge yourself and write down the answers in a notebook or on your phone.
W stands for WISH, what is it I really want? (to lose weight, to ditch the booze, to reduce my drinking)
O stands for OUTCOME, what is the outcome I want. Think of a specific occasion, do you want to have a great time without drinking? Do you want to eat veggie food all week?
O stands for OBSTACLE, what might get in your way? Think where things have been tricky in the past, be realistic about what might ‘trip you up’. It might be others egging you on, or feeling stressed after work etc
P stands for make a PLAN, This is where the work comes in, once you know what you really want, and what might trip you up you can plan for it.
Happy WOOPing!
You can listen to lots of inspirational episodes of Alcohol Free Life Podcast at www.thesoberclub.com and grab your free guide Selfcare in Sobriety