To recap on my drinking status, I was a heavy drinker throughout the week and weekends - not to the point of 'addicted' but I absolutely developed a dependency. Is there even a difference?
I'd start drinking on a Tuesday and would carry on until late Sunday night most weeks, sinking on average two/three large glasses of wine a night or three/four beers, whatever was available. In the latter stages of my alcohol abuse, roughly six months prior to the date I quit drinking (08.07.18) I had switched to mid-week spirits, was hiding my consumption from my husband and getting through roughly six to eight bottles of wine a week.
Now lets talk about my body when I was doing all of that. Here's what I have been tolerating since my early 20s:
- Mouth uclers. Huge ones. On my gums, tongue and inside of my lips. I'd get them every other week without fail. And after a heavy night on the booze I'd always wake up with a tongue covered in tiny white sores.
- Spots. Nasty, cyst like mounds on my cheeks and under my chin. Red, raw and painful.
- Rosacea on my nose and at the top of my arms. When I'd drink heavily sometimes my bicep/bingo wing area would flare red and go very blotchy. As a result I always wore long-sleeve tops and never got my arms out. I hated them.
- Flat, lifeless hair. I have long brunette hair but it's fine, and over the past 6 months it's rapidly been losing volume and body.
- Cellulite on the tops of my thighs, front and back. Dimples and dents everywhere.
- Weight gain. I was 8.5 stone when I got married in 2015 (age 28) and when I weighed myself on the day I quit drinking I was bang on 10 stone (140lbs). It's the most I've ever weighed at 5ft 3in. My BMI was 24.8 - 0.2 away from being classed as overweight.
And here's what I've noticed on sober day 66:
- No mouth ulcers or tongue sores since quitting drinking.
- My skin has improved dramatically and I've only been getting the odd spot when I'm due on. All of my cyst-like bastards have now disappeared and I've finally stopped using foundation! A quick skim of primer and powder is all I'm needing these days.
- Absolutely no signs of a red boozy nose and my skin tone on my upper arms has completely normalised. It's my friend's birthday on October 6th and I may go skimpy dress, arms out...!
- I've been receiving so many compliments on my hair. It's glossy, fuller and seems to have grown since I gave up booze. When I earn my Three Month sober chip (in 25 days) I'm going to treat myself to a day at the salon and possibly run some blondes through it! :)
- Less cellulite and firmer legs.
- I've knocked off exactly a stone in weight in 66 days. As I've removed alcohol from my daily routine I have the time to run more, play hockey (I've joined a team again, whoop!) and I'm consuming fewer calories and eating much more healthily.
Quick bit of math: two x large glasses of wine = 360 cals. So one bottle of wine = roughly 700 cals. Multiply that by six, the number of bottles I'd get through in one week, and I was consuming approximately 4,000 cals per week just from alcohol!
Sobriety is doing wonders for my physical wellbeing and I can't begin to describe just how great it feels to be back in control of my body. A combination of healthy eating and regular exercise has helped me to obliterate the worst bits of my wine gut and I'm now at a stage where I can really start conditioning my body to (hopefully) start showing a bit of tone and definition.
My lungs also feel like new having packed up the cigarettes at the same time. Since the beginning of 2018 my smoking had increased from socially (when drinking) to four to six a day. I was actively buying cigarettes and getting through roughly a pack and a half a week thanks to weekend binge drinking/smoking marathons. Another thing I was hiding from my husband that I feel so guilty for.
So a combination of removing toxic booze and smoke from my system plus increasing my exercise and health food levels has led to me basically feeling the happiest I've felt in a VERY long time.
Looking forward to documenting the results at day 100.... :)
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