Are you going alcohol-free or cutting back alcohol in an attempt to lose weight?
Many people go alcohol-free, cut back alcohol or even try to ditch alcohol completely in an attempt to lose weight.
But this is just a waste of time and will not help you lose weight despite the lies you’ve been sold.
Going alcohol-free is a sign of a drinking problem.
Having a drinking problem is a reflection of your habits.
So to solve your drinking problem you need to address the habits that lead to the drinking problem, instead of avoiding the problem by going alcohol-free.
Going alcohol-free is nothing but noise and distraction from the real problems you need to address.
Just like focusing on food and exercise won’t help you lose weight, nor will going alcohol-free. That’s because the problem isn’t in the what (the drinking), it’s in the why (the reason you drink). Put simply going alcohol-free avoids the real problem, which only perpetuates it because it denies you the chance to address and solve the problem of why you rely on alcohol. Drinking problems and habits around alcohol are just a reflection of keystone habits. As you may already know, going alcohol-free is not how you change your habits.
Most people focus on their drinking and then use motivation and willpower to either get rid of alcohol in their homes, cut back on how much they drink or go completely alcohol-free. However, this doesn’t solve the problem of why they were drinking in the first place. So when willpower fails, (which it will) or they are placed in a situation where there is alcohol (such as a restaurant or a pub), they return to their habit of drinking.
It’s like having a punctured tyre and refilling it with air every time it goes flat, hoping that will solve the problem. While refilling it with air will solve the problem temporarily, the puncture still exists and so the tyre will continue to go flat. Instead, you should seal the puncture and address why you got the puncture in the first place so that it doesn’t happen again.
The solution to reducing your drinking is to address the reasons you drink, otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before you run out of willpower and fall off the wagon again — just like the tyre continues to go flat when you don’t seal that puncture.
Why people rely on alcohol
While there is nothing wrong with having a drink, there is a problem if you drink too much, or you drink for the wrong reasons.
People who drink too much do so because of their habits, and it’s these habits that also contribute to weight gain. There are three main reasons why people rely on alcohol:
- To soothe stress or numb emotions
- To fit in
- To feel confident.
Soothing and numbing stress and emotions
Using alcohol to soothe stress and numb emotions is very common. For example, having a wine or beer at the end of the day is the way many people unwind after their day at work. But just as stress management techniques won’t eliminate stress or help you deal with your emotions, nor will drinking alcohol. Simply going alcohol-free won’t address the reasons you’re stressed or can’t handle your emotions. You’re simply distracting yourself from the real work you need to do, and you’re using willpower to distract yourself. Once this willpower runs out, you’ll end up going back to alcohol, because your problems and habits will still be there.
The key to solving your stress problem and inability to handle your emotions (and therefore the reason you drink alcohol) is to look at why you are stressed and can’t deal with emotions. Some of the most common habits contributing to these issues are:
- Not being able to put yourself first and say ‘no’ to other people
- People pleasing
- Trying to control everything
- Procrastinating, and then running out of time to do what you need to do
- Comparing yourself to others
- Toxic relationships
- Having a diet mindset.
These habits are the reasons you drink. Going alcohol-free won’t address your need for control, or won’t stop you from comparing yourself to others. Using willpower to go alcohol-free is just a distraction masking the real problems you need to address. This explains why people end up falling off the wagon and turning to alcohol when something stressful or emotional happens — because they haven’t learned to reduce stress or handle their emotions.
When you address the habits that cause you to feel stressed, you will automatically reduce your stress, which will in turn help you reduce your drinking and make it easier for you to lose weight.
It’s important to note that increased stress levels also make it harder for you to lose weight because it’s a metabolic blocker. You can read how in our blog How stress and weight gain are linked.
Fitting in
Another common reason people rely on alcohol is that they feel the need to fit in. Alcohol is an intrinsic part of Australian culture. Heavy drinking is seen as acceptable in almost all social situations, with very few occasions where drinking is not encouraged. This helps explain why a lot of people go along with the crowd (people please) and drink even if they don’t really want to.
The reason that people drink to fit in, is because they are afraid of being judged and abandoned. We explain this in more detail in our blog Why fear influences your weight more than diet and exercise.
Focusing on not drinking or turning to alcohol-free substitutes may reduce alcohol consumption, but it won’t address your fear of being judged and abandoned — which stems from a lack of self-worth. And when push comes to shove, you’re more likely to succumb to the temptation to drink just so you feel more comfortable.
However, building your self-worth will free you from feeling like you need to fit in, which will therefore help you to reduce drinking. You can find out how to do this in our blog How to build your self-worth do you can lose weight for good.
For confidence
People who lack confidence or suffer from imposter syndrome often turn to alcohol as a way to feel more confident. This is why people without confidence often have a drink in their hands at social events. While alcohol may give you a false sense of confidence, it’s nothing more than a mask to hide behind. If you rely on alcohol to help you feel more confident in social situations, your need to feel confident (even if it is a false sense of confidence) will override any willpower you have to say ‘no’ to a drink. Rather than relying on willpower, the way to reduce your need for alcohol in these situations is to address your confidence problem. We tell you how in our blog How to be confident: 8 things you can start doing today.
Why going alcohol-free is not the solution
Despite what the diet and weight loss industry tells you, you don’t have a weight problem because you drink alcohol. You have a weight problem because of your habits, and many of these habits are causing your drinking problem.
This is why focusing on alcohol and going alcohol-free is trying to solve the wrong problem.
It doesn’t help you address the habits to reduce stress in your life, build your confidence, or build self-worth. Instead of focusing on things like alcohol consumption, food, and exercise (which is what most people do), you need to focus on addressing the habits that contribute to your drinking, which are also the habits that led to you having a weight problem in the first place. We explain this in our blog The solution to your bodyweight problem is not in addressing what you do, but why you do it.
Of course, just like food and exercise are important aspects of weight loss, so too is limiting the amount of alcohol you drink. But these are only tools, not the solution. Like any other weight loss tool, you should use them simultaneously, while you address your habits. Just like refilling that flat tyre, going alcohol-free without addressing your habits is just a waste of time.
How DATSTM Program helps
The DATSTM Personal Coaching Program (habit, mindset, and weight loss) takes the guesswork out of your approach to weight loss and helps you identify the habits, beliefs, and mindsets that are contributing to your weight problem. It will help you build your self-worth, increase your confidence and reduce stress, so you can easily reduce your alcohol intake, lose weight and gain the body, confidence, and lifestyle you want.
The DATSTM Program will see you work with the world’s leading personal coaching in habit and mindset change, and permanent weight loss. DATSTM will give you the knowledge, systems, tools, and skills so you can lose weight and keep it off — even on your worst days.
In summary…
- A lot of people believe that their alcohol intake is why they can’t lose weight.
- To lose weight, they cut back their alcohol or go alcohol-free
- When you focus on alcohol consumption, you’re trying to solve the wrong problem.
- To reduce your alcohol consumption you need to address the reasons why you drink because when you do this, drinking will take care of itself.
- Focusing on alcohol isn’t the solution to your weight problem.
- The only way to lose weight for good is to address the habits that have led you to become overweight in the first place.
- Our DATSTM Personal Coaching Program will help you identify and address the habits that have caused you to become overweight, so you can lose weight for good.
- Our DATSTM Program gives you the knowledge, systems, tools, and skills to help you lose weight and keep it off, even on your worst days.
