Intuitive Drinking

I talk a lot about intuitive eating here on the blog. If you are like, "what is intuitive eating?" it's basically the anti-diet approach to eating and is a framework based on 10 principles that helps people quit dieting and have a healthy relationship with food. For more blog posts on intuitive eating, check out these!But today, we're going to talk about intuitive drinking, something I can't believe I haven't talked about here yet! This has been a post I've been wanting to write about for a while, so I'm excited to finally be talking about it! Because, though some of the same principles apply, some things differ. My goal with this post is to empower you in your relationship with alcohol and with food involved while drinking alcohol. Let's dive in!I want to preface and say that everyone's relationship with alcohol is different. I want to empower you to decide for yourself what you want your relationship with alcohol to look like as well as what your history with alcohol tells you about the way you should approach it. I, personally, have people in my life who have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and because of that have chosen to abstain. I have other people in my life who have chosen to not drink for other reasons and convictions. And then others who simply don't like the taste! We're all at a different place. But one thing's sure, wherever you are, you're not alone. I want to encourage you to know yourself with this. Alcoholism is a serious disease and if it's something that you struggle with, please don't hesitate to seek help.My own relationship with alcohol has had it's ups and downs. I've struggled in the past with figuring out how to drink in a way that feels good for me. Growing up, I was allowed to have sips of my mom's wine and I really do think that that helped me, personally, not see it as this forbidden thing. I also, with seeing people in my life struggle with alcohol, feel I had (and still do have) a healthy fear of alcohol.When I turned 21, I had a joint birthday party with one of my roommates and everyone who came brought a bottle of wine. Yes, you can imagine how many bottles we had at this party. I remember all of us having fun, sipping wine like the *fancy* adults we now were. But I also remember waking up the next morning not feeling so hot.At this time, I was still very cautious with food and very aware of the calories I was eating. And then, the times I did drink too much led me to waking up feeling so much guilt and restricting my calories the next day to make up for the night before. I was very aware of how many calories were in 8 oz. of wine and didn't allow myself to have mixed drinks because...sugar...and somewhere I read that cocktails were unhealthy, but wine at least had some health benefits. Also, it was always red wine, never white, again because..."healthier".As I started to make peace with food and let go of some of the rules I had with eating, I noticed that the times that I drank oftentimes led to overeating. Alcohol decreases our inhibitions as well as messes with our hunger, so with that, fears started to creep back in as I began to feel less in control around food when I drank. Also, since alcohol was something I feared in the past, now that I was free with it it was harder to stop when I wanted to stop drinking. I so wanted to eat intuitively, but I wasn't sure how to combine intuitive eating with intuitive drinking?Fast forward, what I've learned personally about intuitive eating and alcohol is that there are some similarities as well as some differences. For example, even after I'd come to a place where I felt really good about eating intuitively, I still struggled with the times where I was drinking. Just like when I was learning how to eat intuitively, I had to go through a phase of learning how my body works with alcohol. I had to learn my tolerance, what getting close to too much feels like. I had to begin to connect how I wanted to feel that night as well as the next day with how much I drank. Just like with intuitive eating, asking questions like these can really help you figure out your own body with alcohol. It's all about tapping into how you feel and how you want to feel, just like with food.I also noticed that as I continued to work on making peace with all foods, giving myself grace to "mess up", and learning from every opportunity, I began to feel more confident, more at peace, and more relaxed around alcohol. It wasn't something that was off limits or something that I was afraid of because of the calories, so it didn't have the same power over me.Now (well, not exactly right now because I'm currently pregnant), I realy do feel like I have a much better grasp of how to practice intuitive drinking in that alcohol isn't something that I fear being out of control with, but rather can enjoy with friends and with special meals.So, what if you're strugling to feel calm around alcohol? Especially at this time of year with the holidays coming and fun drinks like spiked eggnog and mulled wine and others, I wanted to share a few tips with the hope that you'll be able to feel more confident while drinking and eating. 1. CHECK IN WITH (AND HONOR) YOUR HUNGER BEFORE DRINKINGAlcohol can mess with our hunger signals and decreases our overall ability to tune in to our bodies, so check in with your hunger before you start drinking. I always like to make sure I have something "carby" before drinking because I've learned that it helps alcohol sit better for me. Also, eat normally throughout the day just as you would any other day. It can be really dangerous to not eat and then drink calories (we had an episode on the Embracing Balance Podcast all about this thing called "drunkorexia" if you're interested).2. LEARN WHAT A HEALTHY AMOUNT FOR YOU FEELS LIKEIt may take some time, but pay attention to how much makes you feel good. I know, for myself, more than about a glass and a half of wine or one cocktail makes me not feel so great the whole next day. So, I keep that in mind when I do decide to drink.3. ENJOY WHAT YOU'RE DRINKING, GUILT-FREETake away the guilt from drinking, just like I encourage you to do with food. Guilt around calories with drinking can lead to the same all or nothing that happens with food when we feel guilty.4. ASK YOURSELF YOUR MOTIVATION FOR DRINKINGIs it to have fun with friends? Enjoy your meal more? These are all, in my opinion, healthy reasons for enjoying alcohol. Alcohol, like food, can be something we turn to to cope but can't actually solve any of our problems, so be aware of times where you turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism.5. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS WHILE DRINKINGThis can be more challenging than with food sometimes, but try to practice mindfulness while drinking. Before you go to pour another glass or shake up another mixed drink, check in with how you're feeling. Because alcohol can take some time for us to notice how it's affecting us, wait a few minutes after finishing one glass before going for another. I hope these tips help! Tell me, what's your experience with intuitive eating and intuitive drinking been?