If you’ve been a part of our A-Game community, you’ll know we promote an alcohol-free life style.
We’re not here to demonise alcohol which means we’re not here to insult alcohol drinkers out there. (and we never want to make anyone feel like crap because they’re drinking!)
We all make different choices…
But for a large part of our lives, we drank alcohol casually and in excess at the weekends so it’s safe to say that we know a thing or two about alcohol ourselves.
We want you to be honest with yourself and assess every aspect of your life. Because we all want to be better right?
Below are 5 reasons why a few glasses of wine or pints of beer each week is tripping you up…
Booze wrecks your sleep
Do you think alcohol helps you sleep? Alcohol is one of the most misunderstood sleep aids out there…trust me, it doesn’t help you sleep. In fact, it does the complete opposite by disrupting your deep restorative sleep cycles (REM) so you wake up feel tired and irritable. This affects your focus, energy levels and prevents you from being on your A-Game.
It enhances your stress and anxiety
The booze does not make you feel good. It may seem that way when you drink it but this is a misconception. We drink to feel better, however, alcohol artificially stimulates the pleasure and reward centre of your brain. It plays a trick on your brain making you feel great but at the same time altering other brain chemicals that are enhancing feelings of depression. As alcohol is a depressant, it can’t relax you or make you feel any better. It will briefly slow down your thinking but will not truly relax you. Once the alcohol wears off, your stress and anxiety returns, often stronger than before.
Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that alters your perceptions, cognition, behaviours and mood. Alcohol is a depressant which means it causes a large part of your stress, anxiety and irritability. Crazy hey?!
Affects your productivity, mental clarity and focus
No one likes the feeling of being hungover and making poor food choices as you binge watch Netflix. Or trying to look after the kids when you are lacking energy and feeling irritable. Because alcohol wrecks your sleep and artificially stimulates your brains neurons and hormones it reduces your productivity, mental clarity and energy.
Imagine waking up in the morning, leaping out of bed and feeling completely ready to take on the day rather than feeling lethargic, unmotivated and having to drag yourself out of bed. By going alcohol-free, you will gain deeper restorative sleep which in turn will improve your mental clarity and focus.Your learning and problem solving skills will improve along with improved decision-making skills and creativity. What’s more, your productivity and energy levels will go through the roof and you will also be better able to control your emotions and behaviour.
It blocks your true confidence and authenticity
You may drink at parties to feel more relaxed or down a beer before talking to someone you’re attracted to. Yet does alcohol truly increase your confidence? The simple answer is no! It’s true that alcohol directly affects the brain, but not in positive ways. While drinking may make you feel a little more confident, it’s just a mask that you can hide behind. Self-acceptance without alcohol is the real way to find the strength to be yourself.
It directly impacts your health and weight loss journey
Studies show that alcohol temporarily reduces fat metabolism by 73%. In other words, when you drink alcohol, it’s harder for your body to burn your stored body fat pausing your weight loss. The calories in alcohol are ’empty’ meaning that they have no nutritional value for you body. It is also very easy to consume excess calories from alcohol preventing you from being in calorie deficit to see fat loss.
Coaching Corner – idea of the Adams: We encourage you to evaluate your relationship with alcohol by asking yourself:
1. What’s right with it?
2. Am I achieving all my goals when drinking it?
3. Is it adding to the quality of my life?
4. Am I more productive when drinking?
5. What benefits am I seeing to drinking right now?
If this blog resonated with you, why not take a break! What do you have to lose?
And once you’ve tried living life without alcohol, you’ll be able to create the life that you crave.
if you’re ready to take a break, but you’re not sure how to do it, we have something for you! Check out our 30-Day Alcohol Reset Challenge.
