My Journey With Weight Loss – It’s Sober October!

So recently I have been feeling like I am gaining weight. My clothes feel tighter, I feel flabbier, I am sure I am backsliding. This hasn’t been helped by going on the cruise nor the fact I am only doing ‘gentle’ walks and not my normal workout (albeit the minimum amount of walking is 1 1/2 hours a day). Today I decided to bite the bullet and get on the scale. I took a deep breath, stepped on the scale and looked down. Yes, the scale confirmed it, I am friggin’ crazy! Total weight gain? 1 lb. As I mentioned before this is really not out of the scope of my maintenance weight but obviously I need to do some work on believing I am doing all the right things.

I am now doing Sober October (or as my husband calls it, cranky wife month). Each year I try to complete both Dry February and Sober October by going for those months without alcohol. I admit, this month there are a couple of cheat days, today as we are celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving (normally it would be tomorrow but since Tom is only home until tomorrow morning we decided we will do our dinner tonight) and October 19th which will be the 5th anniversary of my Mom’s passing and a toast is required. However, there will be penance for these 2 days, I will continue to do no alcohol until November 5th which means those 2 cheat days are costing me 5 additional days (these are my own rules to discourage additional cheat days).

Those of you who know me know I like my wine so why would I put myself through this kind of torture? Simple, going without alcohol even for a month can have health benefits. Let’s start with it can help you get a better night’s sleep, ok probably not for me since nothing I do helps me sleep. It can lower both your cholesterol as well as your risk of cancer. It can help boost your immune system which of course is so important as we struggle through the 4th wave of the pandemic. Most importantly, leaving the alcohol alone can help reduce anxiety and depression.

I had a friend once suggest that instead of doing these sober months you should just limit the amount of alcohol you drink all year round. Ok, that is a logical suggestion but where is the challenge in that? I like doing these dry months, it really makes me feel like I have accomplished something. I should note, if I successfully complete this month alcohol free (with the exception of my planned cheat days) I will make a $50 donation to the Canadian Cancer Society. If I blow the sobriety then my donation will double each day I partake in alcohol. Yep, my rules but they just add to the fun of the challenge.