Well, have I got something to say this week (not that I didn’t last week – and thank you for the amazing messages in support). So, I did ‘Dry July’. I have to qualify that, before someone tells me off. Because Dry July is actually a fundraiser for cancer. You ask friends or family members to sponsor you to go alcohol-free during the month of July, then when you achieve your goal the funds raised are turned over to the Dry July Trust who distribute the funds to various causes. You get the idea. I had a dry month influenced by the loose knowledge of what Dry July was, without fundraising. I had no idea when I started that I wouldn’t drink for a month – I was aiming for 5 days, just a general health kick – but once I got into it, I just kept going, even when going out for dinner and socialising, which is often the hard part. To help me on my journey I did have a little bottle though, and it’s nearly been my downfall….
It started with checking the zero alcohol offerings on the supermarket shelves. There were quite a few wines to try so I decided to give them a go. I missed the ritual of a glass of wine at the end of the day. And don’t ‘tsk tsk’ thinking one shouldn’t drink alone, that it’s surely the start of the end! That’s nonsense. If you like a glass of wine, just because you don’t have anyone to chat with while you consume it, there’s no reason not to have it. That’s the law according to Julie, anyway. But having an alcohol-free break is something I have done often in my life, (just so I know who’s the boss!).
I do enjoy a wine spritzer – wine and soda water mixed. I generally go ⅓ wine to ⅔ soda water in a long glass. I’ve got a Sodastream, so it’s easy to have chilled bubbles on hand. This is my drink all through summer. In winter the proportion changes to nearer 50-50 and I might swap the Sauvignon Blanc for Tempranillo.
It worked with the zero alcohol wines! I soon worked out a favourite, an Australian rosé, knocked it back to the 30-70 ratio and I was in business throughout July, and August, and into September. I had breakouts, of course. There’s no denying I love bubbles. And sometimes I longed for something with more flavour. But all of that aside, something bad was happening to me. Seriously bad.
I wasn’t eating any more than usual, and I was exercising and walking … but I was getting FAT. Seriously fat. By mid-September I was 2kg heavier than I was at the start of June. I increased my walking, threw the chocolate chippie biscuits to the birds and vowed not to buy any more Proper Crisps or other naughty Lockdown treats, and expected results, but there was no reduction on the scales. And I felt sluggish. Heavy in my body. When this happened after my Covid jab I blamed the jab. When it seemed much worse after the second jab, I really thought, oh here we go, I’m one of the weird ones who has been affected by the vaccine. It was hard to get on top of the sluggishness. Moments of racing energy, then down I’d crash hardly able to move. What was happening? I had a blood test. Normal (good results on the liver!). And then it dawned on me: I read the back of the label of the bottle of zero alcohol ‘wine’. HOLY SMOKE! 7g of sugar per 150ml glass!!! I’d been poisoning myself with sugar!!!
Dry white and red wines have the least amount of sugar, and dessert wines, as you would expect, the most. Sauvignon blanc has less than 1g of sugar per glass. Champagne about 1g per glass. Even by diluting zero alcohol wine with soda water I was still consuming more sugar than I ever had in my life. Fat Bear Championships here I come. Not! I was on the highway to hell (diabetes) and I had to get off. I went out and bought a bottle of 2021 bracingly fresh Sauvignon Blanc, poured some in a glass and cut it 50-50 with effervescing soda. It was glorious. Chilling and thrilling, sharply fresh like a squirt of lemon on an oyster, light and refreshing. I quickly downed it before the bubbles disappeared and poured another.
Well done on your efforts. It is interesting to note that the supposed good ones are not so good. I have one of those bottles, so will have to look at the sugar content. I am afraid I look forward to my glass at night as a reward for the day’s efforts. I live on my own but do not feel guilty. I have abstained once for a year due to a health problem then. Now I regard it as one of life’s pleasures. Be well. Diane. PS. Dr Mosely’s 5 + 2, 5 days normal eating and 2 days of your choice 800 cals. Be sure to still have your wine in the count. My daughter and I do this coming into summer.
Thanks Diane. Yes the 5+2 really does work. I often go through till about 1.00pm with nothing, perhaps a herbal tea, though oddly, some days I am ravenous by 8.00am! Guilt about drinking is a thing that a lot of people who live alone have to work through. Can’t stand the righteous! I like to live and have fun, so I’m back into enjoying a glass of wine with soda, which works for me.
Oh Julie, I love your posts, what a whirlwind you have been on and you did it on your own in the middle of Covid. Good thing you noticed the little mishap – and figured out the cause. Summer is approaching and hopefully more socialising, I will look forward to reading more of your adventures.
Thank you Leanne! I truly thought I had turned into a slug, just so tired. Blamed Covid, blamed the jab, when it was sugar all the time. What a shocker!!!
Yep, summer is something to look forward to, with proper wine! Ha ha.
Refreshing to read your experience Julie, a very interesting vignette! It is indeed true that this sugar thing can catch one by surprise. Would you believe I once drank two cans of soda a day (one a cola, one a ‘dew’), yes -24/7, for the caffeine boost that gave me, in lieu of drinkng coffee or tea. It was addictive, come mid afternoon I was craving for that second can. Then one day I sat down and read the labels. I was consuming 64g sugar/day from just these two drinks! So for 360 days that equated to some 23,000 grams of sugar. Holy Schamoly!! That comes to over 50 pounds of sugar. I looked at 50 pounds of bagged sugar in a large supermarket – yep, that’s a lot of sugar. Yikes, a whole lot of sugar. With the help of my partner, I rapidly weaned myself down to one can per day, then eventually searched for the ‘zero calories, ’10 calories/can’, or ‘no sugar added’ varieties, non-carbonated, non=phosphoric acid. Happy to say I found satisfying alternatives that still contained adequate caffeine, but very little sugar. Now when it comes to wine, well …. that’s a whole ‘nother story, which I won’t go into here. Suffice it to say Julie is my sister.
Wow that is an incredible amount of sugar Rex. It was killing you, for sure, slowly, week by week, month by month.
You gotta hop off the train if you want to stay healthy. Glad you did xxx
Thank goodness it was just the sugar!! I thought you were going to tell us something really awful had happened to you. Sugar you can take care of. Phew!
I’m just so thrilled you are alright. :))
Thank you Mary. I did think I had something going on as my energy was low most of the time during the day and I’d perk up in the evenings. Obviously a sugar rush from the zero wine!
Amazing! Best stick to the tried and true, nothing wrong with a tipple of the real stuff! Will be glad when we can have a couple with you!
Thanks Ros. Yep, you’re doing it hard in Sydney.