Confession #1: This is not my first time giving up alcohol
When I was 26 years old, living it large in London and consuming a LOT of booze on a regular, three nights-a-week minimum basis, I went for a full physical health check-up through my fancy corporate job. Before the appointment began, they gave me plenty of forms and questionnaires to fill out. When it came time to sit down and talk to the physician, he told me he had been alerted by my paperwork that I had a drinking problem.
Gulp.
We talked through my drinking patterns and he absorbed the half-truths I told him. In his specific terms, he told me that it sounded like I had a reaction to alcohol, and wine specifically, which was close to an allergic reaction and he advised me to never drink again. I walked out of there and decided on a compromise. I decided to give up drinking for six months.
You have a reaction to alcohol that is similar to an allergic reaction and you should never drink again.
Physicians’ advice
He was right that my drinking was causing me problems. I was 26 and a social butterfly living in West Kensington and my behavior was starting to slip right as my career was taking off. Far from ideal.
- Friday nights spent out with friends would end with drunken arguments fueled by white wine.
- Work conferences always saw me closing out the hotel bar and struggling through the next day with a hangover.
- Travel home blighted by falling asleep on the bus or tube and missing my stop.
- Flirty encounters with untrustworthy fellas despite my always being in semi-serious relationships with other blokes.
The idea of giving up drinking appealed to me. I knew I needed to find a somewhat more wholesome lifestyle. I knew my life was a series of drunken mishaps and narrowly escaped disasters. I knew I was a hot mess.
Confession #2: Back in the day, drinking was not my only vice.
As well as being a booze hound, I was also a smoker (hanging my head in shame). Marlboro Lights my cigarette of choice. I had a big love of the two paired together in fact; Marlboro Lights plus a cold, crisp glass of white wine equalled heaven. And so, back then, to give up drinking was a commitment against my other love: cigarettes. For a short while, I decided I would give up both cigarettes and alcohol to really Martha Stewart-myself up. And by ‘short while’, I believe that lasted about 4 days before my good friend Sarah reminded me that ‘everyone needs a vice’. With that encouragement, I lit a cigarette but stuck to my guns on not drinking, and stayed on the wagon.
Confession #3: Red Bull became my guilty pleasure
To continue with the confessions comes my guilty pleasure. Red Bull. Back in 2006, when I decided to keep smoking cigarettes but stop drinking alcohol, I needed to find a non-alcoholic beverage that still went well with Malboro Lights. Something that I could still sip in a British beer garden and smoke to my hearts content while my mates got lashed around me, something that would give me a mini buzz and taste good with the ciggies.
Hello Red Bull.
Everybody needs a little motivation. A can of Red Bull gives you wings to reach greater heights.
Redbull.com
Why Red Bull is the perfect alcohol-free drinkie poo:
- It’s super naughty and perfect for a party or night out. Full of sugar, taurine and caffeine with a unique taste.
- It gives you a slight buzz. The caffeine and taurine together ‘give you wings’ aka energy and increased focus.
- For me, it has a taste of a past-boozy life as I remember enjoying them thickly-laced with vodka.
- With extra energy, I feel like a fun friend (with wings) rather than a dull alcohol-free friend.
- It may leave you with a Red Bull hangover which you might find comforting to your former boozy self. 🤪
Red Bull Gives you Wings
Ingredients
- Red Bull of choice (classic full sugar or sugar-free)
- Heaps of ice
Instructions
- Chill can of Red Bull until nice and frosty.
- Fill chosen glass with ice. Recently I have been using a wine glass but I also like to fill a highball glass with ice.
- Pour Red Bull over ice.
- Drink immediately.
- Do not pair with a cigarette. Those days are over.
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.