Do you feel like you’re drinking too much alcohol but at the same time, don’t really want to give it up? I love wine but I also love fitness and health. It’s taken me a long time to find a balance. If you want to know how to drink in moderation, this post is for you.

From over drinker to health nut. Here’s my story.

Oh and while you’re here, I help women free themselves of the agonizing cycle of dieting and food restriction and help them start fueling themselves properly to look and feel their best. If you’re new here, I invite you to start my free 5 day clean eating challenge. In the challenge you get a meal plan with recipes, a grocery list, cooking tips, and daily health tips to keep you motivated.

I have a lot of passions, my favorite is being active and living healthy, which has lead me to start The Body Bulletin. 

I love this blog, however, health and fitness is just one facet of my life. I work full time, I have a husband and 2 dogs I spend most of my free time with, and live in my favorite place in the world – San Diego. 

Another passion of mine is wine.  But as a healthy person, this poses a real dichotomy in my life. 

How can a fitness enthusiast and Nutrition Coach be a wine-lover?  

I’ll tell ya, I’ve had to learn how to drink in moderation over many years. In fact I used to over-drink quite a bit.

Here’s my story from over drinking to fitness enthusiast and how to drink in moderation.

I turned to fitness, like most people, when I wasn’t happy with my body.  Turns out my nightly ritual of drinking a bottle of wine paired with brie cheese, turned me into someone I was not proud of. Yea. Pretty scary. 

How the over drinking habit started

In college I worked at bars.  My love for nightlife and partying was at an all time high.  I developed a taste for quality drinks and just started to dabble in wine.  

Once I started working full-time, the nightly ritual of having a drink after work began to take shape.  Wine was an easy pour and tasted amazing. It wasn’t every night, but many of them. I worked out here and there but nothing consistent. 

My life was far from health-centered at the time but I was still in my early 20’s (fast metabolism), didn’t really know anything about nutrition, but was working in a job that I was standing and walking for the majority of the day, so my physical activity was still high.

It’s tricky, because while I wasn’t eating well or exercising regularly, I was still relatively thin.  At the time, I associated my weight with health, in this case, I had no compelling reason to change my ways.  

Settling into the over drinking habit

After years of working full-time, including moving to San Diego and starting a desk job (bye bye walking).  My lack of friends and hobbies really fueled my drinking habits further. The only activity I got was some yoga once a week, barely enough to call it a hobby.  I was in a long distance relationship and felt stuck. I didn’t feel like I could go out and meet people as that might look bad to the boyfriend at that time.  

Also, moving to California only increased my passion for wine.  Although, looking back, I can hardly call it a passion. It was more of a love for the taste, drinking, and curiosity into other types of wine.  

A friend introduced me to a Cabernet Sauvignon I loved and that was the catalyst to developing my nightly ritual… 2-4, sometimes 5 glasses of wine a night.  Yes, that meant I had to open a second bottle some nights. Yikes.

The flavor is what I craved. More more more. The buzz put me in a good mood and helped pass the time each night.  

I wasn’t proud of my nights, this was most definitely a low in my life.  For months this was my reality. I had no social circle, no friends, near by just my long distance boyfriend, wine (and brie).

I lived for work during the day and wine during the night.  

It’s hard for me to admit this was my life.  I’m ashamed of this time. I knew I needed to make a change, find friends, and get off that hamster wheel. 

After 8 months of living this way, I decided to move.

The social shift

I moved into a new place with two roommates in a hot part of town. I met more people, made friends, I even started a new (local) relationship, and working out during lunch with some coworkers. 

My coping mechanism of drinking alone at home, turned into social drinking.  Not exactly a step in the right direction for someone who was already over drinking.  But it felt better to be interacting with others.

This social drinking only meant more going out, more spending, more booze. 

It was fun, but an empty fun.  A buffer. And while I had a lot of fun with my friends, there were times when going out was honestly, a waste of time. 

The over drinking turning point.

After many months went by, I remember looking in the mirror and realizing I’d never looked bigger (softer) or more unhealthy.  I was ashamed of my body and ready to turn my life around.  

I wanted to lose weight. I wanted to be smaller since I was already taller and bigger than most other women around me. 

I wanted to be a better version of myself.  

I wanted to be fit. 

I had higher expectations for myself that the current me wasn’t meeting. I wanted to break the nightly habit of going home and parking it on the couch. Which only lead to boredom eating and/or drinking. 

I wanted more for my health and for my life. 

The fitness shift.

I’d always been intrigued by kickboxing. I was just too chicken shit to try it on my own.  Finally, a friend came to visit and agreed to give it a shot with me. I was so relieved I had someone to go with but also still very intimidated by an MMA gym. 

But I tried it. And I loved it.

I’ll tell you, I was scared as hell, but after class I signed up for a membership anyway.  $99/month, holy crap, I’ve never paid for a gym membership before and that was a lot. I took a big leap and said to myself I wouldn’t make excuses. I’d go every day after work. 

I wanted this. I wanted a new life. And dammit I was going to get it, even if I was tired, sore as hell, or scared. 

My first few weeks were a huge learning curve. I was TERRIBLE.  I felt bad for those that had to be my partner since I didn’t know anything!  They came to workout and instead got a project.

Eventually the soreness subsided and I finally created a habit around working out.

Related: How to stick to your workout for good.

The problem was, even months later, I was still drinking too much.  The excessive wine habit didn’t budge.

Once my workouts became regular, I may have reduced my overall booze intake, but I would still have about 2-3 or occasionally 4 glasses a night. 

It was a scary habit and even scarier when alcoholism runs in my family. 

Finally, one day, my kickboxing/Muay Thai coach said to me in so many words, I had to lay off the drinking if I wanted to excel in my practice and fitness ability.

He told me something I was well aware of, but for some reason I needed someone else to say it.  

I finally listened. 

It was just the push I needed to make a change. But the biggest issue was I didn’t know how.

The first phase:  How to drink in moderation.

My plan didn’t happen right away.  I thought long and hard about how I’d go about reducing my over-drinking habits.  I ultimately decided I needed to start small and create an attainable goal that I could easily achieve.   

Initially, I set a goal to have two nights a week without a sip of alcohol.  You might think that’s easy, but to me at the time, it was a challenge. I needed my goal to be realistic while setting me on a better path.  I planned this weekly around events or for any travel that I might want a drink for. I was very strict with this goal. And it paid off. 

I was able to maintain this habit for a year straight.  Even with vacations, holidays, you name it. I stuck to it.  

“I set a goal to have two nights a week without a sip of alcohol”

The second phase:  How to drink in moderation

After a year of doing that I upped my goal to three days of no alcohol. This was a little less strict and I’d find myself going overboard one week (sober one or two days) but making up a day another week (sober four days).  Basically I was more flexible with myself.  

This lead to a reduced desire for wine. The weeks I’d go four days of no booze started to occur more often.  My goal was to drink less and having that goal was crucial for those nights when wine sounded good (really good) but it was my day off. 

Starting from over drinking nightly in my mid 20’s, to nowadays a bottle or two a week (usually shared with a friend), I’ve drastically curbed my alcohol consumption. 

The third phase: How to drink in moderation.

Now let me be clear, I never wanted to quit drinking. I love the taste of wine, there’s nothing like it.  (Remember, it’s a passion of mine). My goal was to dramatically reduce my consumption. To drink in moderation. 

To do that I had to make some real changes and create a plan that ultimately led me to where I am today. 

I wanted to know how to drink in moderation. My long term goals and weekly plans (mentioned above) held me accountable and helped break my over drinking habits. 

Now well into my 30’s and making 6am workouts every morning, I simply cannot drink much during the week or have more than 1-2 glasses (with a meal).  

I hate hangovers or feeling fuzzy the next morning. Those are punishment enough for me to stop at 2 drinks. 

I’ve also noticed my quality of sleep is affected when I consume any amount of alcohol. For this reason alone, I make a point to skip the wine when I know I need a good night’s rest. 

Now on the weekends winding down with a lovely Italian stunner is enjoyable for the mere taste. I avoid the hangover by not drinking too much (usually stopping at 1.5 – 2 glasses or no more than 12 oz). 

I also drink higher quality (pricier) wine but since I drink less overall, I actually don’t spend as much on booze than when I was downing a bottle a night of the cheap stuff. 

Tips to on how to drink in moderation:

1. Don’t drink on an empty stomach
2. Drink water between each drink
3. Order lower alcohol by volume drinks
4. Order a mocktail instead
5. Workout instead of drinking
6. Don’t keep alcohol in the house
7. Don’t look at the alcohol menu, it will tempt you
8. Tell yourself a new narrative – “I’m not a big drinker” or “I’m not interested in drinking”
9. Think about the way you’ll feel in the morning if you drink
10. Prioritize your sleep or go to sleep early

Some common questions around drinking in moderation

How can I stop excessive drinking

This is highly individual.  I chose to create a slow and steady plan for myself.  For some, this may work, for others who want to cut out alcohol completely, going cold turkey might be a better solution.  

Can heavy drinkers learn to cut back?

This was my path.  I was a heavy drinker and didn’t want to be.  I do enjoy alcohol for its taste, social component, and getting a slight buzz to relax. However, I didn’t want alcohol to take over my life.  I didn’t want to feel crappy anymore. I didn’t want to feel like I needed alcohol to have a good time.  

If you’ve been struggling to cut back, I have a coaching program that might help. If you’d like to learn more about it click here.

Conclusion

Navigating a healthy lifestyle while enjoying wine has been an imperfect journey to say the least.  There were many days/nights along the way I over drank. Usually sitting on my couch with friends and not realizing what I’d consumed.  

Today I look and feel so much better drinking less while still being able to enjoy the flavors only wine delivers. Creating balance was the key to this.

I’ve also found that eating properly for your needs can dramatically improve your relationship with alcohol and desire to drink. This is what Fit + Fueled Accelerator can help you with.