Where Do I Start Rethinking Drinking?

Over the past few decades, we’ve all given up or cut back on things we know aren’t healthy for us - high-fat foods, cigarettes, bottles with BPA. It didn’t happen overnight and you did it in your own way. If you’re rethinking drinking, celebrate that choice - that’s a start! Here are some things to read, listen to and do that will get you started.

1. Snuggle Up & Read Some QuitLit

Rethinking drinking doesn’t start with you dumping all your wine down the sink. If you’re just dipping your toe in the idea that drinking isn’t serving you, the best place to start is where thinking starts - the mind. These books can help every woman find the way forward.

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace

This book is considered the unofficial bible amongst women who have successfully quit drinking. Annie doesn’t think you should dump your alcohol down the sink, as she’s confident that you won’t WANT to drink after reading her book. This Naked Mind highlights all the things we see around us that make us believe we need to drink - advertising, TV, our friends - and challenges us to rethink these influences. Using her strategy of learning leading to action, she helps change your mind first in order to change your life.

Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker

This is the book that Chrissy Teigen read to help start her rethinking drinking journey. It blows the covers off the ‘sobriety’ establishment that was mostly built by old white men, and challenges each of us to pick a journey that works for us. Whitaker also makes you question why we haven’t demanded more accountability by big alcohol for all of society’s problems. The connection to her own struggles may not be relatable, unless you are in your 20s and working for a high tech firm, but the underlying story is that alcohol has become so centralized in our lives that it’s making us all sick.

2. Listen Up!

Podcasts about not drinking are popping up daily. They range from very AA recovery focused to light and health-oriented. Go for a long walk and throw on one of these podcasts, and you will find a renewed source of inspiration. Here is a list of a few of our favourites:

Annie Grace - This Naked Mind
Sober Curious with Ruby Warrington
Sober Powered with Gillian Tietz
A Sober Girls Guide

More details on each of these podcasts can be found over here.

3. Instagram as a resource

Whatever your reason is for cutting back or quitting drinking, there is no end to the inspiration and resources available to you on Instagram. Following popular hashtags like #sobercurious #alcoholfreelifestyle and #nonalcoholicdrinks can help your IG feed fill up with positive reinforcement, strategies for surviving the journey and other like-minded community members. You also have the power to temporarily unfollow anyone who makes you feel like your missing out on drinking. Curate your feed to compliment your life journey and you will find it supports you more than you know. You’ll be part of a great community that uplifts women who are choosing not to drink.

4. What to drink when you’re not drinking?

We take our job seriously! We’ve compiled dozens of recipes and product reviews of the best in the alcohol-free drinks market in Canada. If you’re looking for some guidance on what to buy, try our round-up of non alcoholic gin, or our picks of non alcoholic wine. For zero proof cocktail recipe ideas and product reviews, check out our Recipes & Reviews page.

Check out our guide on where to buy alcohol-free drinks, mixers and ingredients across Canada.

Make it Easy!

Making a complicated cocktail without alcohol is not always achievable when you first start rethinking drinking. And who has time for a cocktail shaker anyway? If you’ve just quit drinking, or have decided to cut back, making it easy to grab a non alcoholic drink is the best approach. Stock your fridge with lots of options that you can grab when you need to surf the urge.

Low brow, quick fix

The alcohol-free shandy is the simplest light drink that you can make. Alcohol-free beer is sold everywhere now, and there are some great options. Mix half a can of beer with the same amount of any low sugar tonic water, squeeze some lime into it and voila, you have a reasonable drink that is beyond just a beer. President’s Choice also makes a sparkling lemonade that makes your drink actually closer to a real British shandy than anything else we’ve tried!

Image courtesy of The Spruce Eats.

These resources will help you kick-off a successful dry journey. Whether you’re quitting drinking, cutting back or just sober curious, there are an abundance of resources available to you. If you start with the things on this list, you’ll be well on your way to success!