Hard to give it up!
The wine that is. Like many women of my age I know very well that I drink too much. Its become a nightly ritual - finish work, head for the kitchen to start cooking and out comes the bottle - well I deserve it don't I? Hard day at the coal face, lots of stress and now to relax I deserve that crisp glass to ease me into the evening.
I listen to the guidelines being trotted out - 14 units a week max - and actually even thats really too much.
Recently, after examining my weight and waist line and wondering why, after 3 yoga classes a week and lots of swimming, nothing was shifting on the scales I decided to address the drink issue. I summoned up the guidelines on my tablet and got out the measuring vessels. It was as I thought - I have been in denial for a long time and while I still don't consider that I have a problem I realised that the fact I was regularly drinking close to or sometimes over the recommended amount I should stop.
In the past I have given up alcohol for three months - mainly to see if I could. It wasn't too hard and I substituted wine with fizzy water with a slice of lemon and ice. It was ok.
But this time I knew I would need more help. Since the Alzhiemer's diagnosis, my resilience to stress and my emotional strength have become seriously challenged. It doesn't take much to tip me over the edge and I have, worryingly, been reaching out for the old Pino of an evening, with more of a sense of need than anything else. There is something about holding the wine glass, maybe the colour of the wine - I don't really know what, but when a friend suggested this particular new recipe it appealed. I tried it and now I am hooked.
Take a wine glass - splash a little unsweetened lime juice to your taste - I recommend not too much or it will just taste of lime - I think of it more as a colourant!. Fill up with fizzy water then add the magic ingredient - Angostura Bitters - about 3 drops works for me and voila - really quite a quaffable drink. I have had this for nearly a week and not once craved anything else. I even mixed up a bottle and took it with me when I went for supper to a friend when I knew I would be driving. Happy liver!!
So thats my effort for the weeks lifestyle change - lets see how it works.
Meanwhile Richard is off today at his Monday voluntary job. Pretty much every week he pedals off down the road the few miles to Bore Place - an organic farm and Centre where great things happen! www.boreplace.org . Here he helps out in the kitchen gardens mainly digging, planting and preparing beds. Hard physical work and great exercise. He will often come home and continue the physical labour - cutting up wood for the fire, planting new trees or just having a good old clear out of a bramble bush. Lucky bloke - he has absolutely no concept of 'watching what you eat', he just doesn't need to. Unfortunately he just doesn't understand my predicament - i.e. I really can't/shouldn't eat the same quantity of food as he does. After our first little ride out yesterday, he came home and whopped into huge chunks of toast and peanut butter with slivers of cucumber offering me similar - Yum! I moved away from the kitchen and nibbled on a few almonds until supper. Sad smily face.
He will be home soon so I will just go and put the kettle on.
I listen to the guidelines being trotted out - 14 units a week max - and actually even thats really too much.
Recently, after examining my weight and waist line and wondering why, after 3 yoga classes a week and lots of swimming, nothing was shifting on the scales I decided to address the drink issue. I summoned up the guidelines on my tablet and got out the measuring vessels. It was as I thought - I have been in denial for a long time and while I still don't consider that I have a problem I realised that the fact I was regularly drinking close to or sometimes over the recommended amount I should stop.
In the past I have given up alcohol for three months - mainly to see if I could. It wasn't too hard and I substituted wine with fizzy water with a slice of lemon and ice. It was ok.
But this time I knew I would need more help. Since the Alzhiemer's diagnosis, my resilience to stress and my emotional strength have become seriously challenged. It doesn't take much to tip me over the edge and I have, worryingly, been reaching out for the old Pino of an evening, with more of a sense of need than anything else. There is something about holding the wine glass, maybe the colour of the wine - I don't really know what, but when a friend suggested this particular new recipe it appealed. I tried it and now I am hooked.
Take a wine glass - splash a little unsweetened lime juice to your taste - I recommend not too much or it will just taste of lime - I think of it more as a colourant!. Fill up with fizzy water then add the magic ingredient - Angostura Bitters - about 3 drops works for me and voila - really quite a quaffable drink. I have had this for nearly a week and not once craved anything else. I even mixed up a bottle and took it with me when I went for supper to a friend when I knew I would be driving. Happy liver!!
Wine on the left and the substitute on the right!
Meanwhile Richard is off today at his Monday voluntary job. Pretty much every week he pedals off down the road the few miles to Bore Place - an organic farm and Centre where great things happen! www.boreplace.org . Here he helps out in the kitchen gardens mainly digging, planting and preparing beds. Hard physical work and great exercise. He will often come home and continue the physical labour - cutting up wood for the fire, planting new trees or just having a good old clear out of a bramble bush. Lucky bloke - he has absolutely no concept of 'watching what you eat', he just doesn't need to. Unfortunately he just doesn't understand my predicament - i.e. I really can't/shouldn't eat the same quantity of food as he does. After our first little ride out yesterday, he came home and whopped into huge chunks of toast and peanut butter with slivers of cucumber offering me similar - Yum! I moved away from the kitchen and nibbled on a few almonds until supper. Sad smily face.
He will be home soon so I will just go and put the kettle on.
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