The Fizzy and Free Show: How to Quit Drinking as a Mom

In this episode, Ashley talks about the “Fresh Start Trap” and why waiting for Monday, the end of vacation, or the next calm season of life probably isn’t what will help you stay alcohol-free.

She breaks down why so many moms keep quitting and starting over, what alcohol may actually be helping you cope with, and why lasting change starts with understanding the reason you reach for it in the first place.

If you keep telling yourself, “I’ll quit when…” only to find yourself back in the same place, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why waiting for the “right time” to quit can keep you stuck in the drinking loop.

• Why a fresh start can create momentum but isn’t enough to help you stay alcohol-free.

• What alcohol may actually be helping you cope with at the end of the day.

• Why removing alcohol without addressing the need for relief can lead to replacement coping patterns.

• How the motherhood expectation gap can make alcohol feel like an escape, reward, or something that’s finally yours.

• Why building stability in your real life matters more than creating the perfect sobriety plan.

Resources & Support:

If you’re tired of starting over and want help understanding what’s keeping you stuck in the drinking loop, book a free Drinking Loop Clarity Call at fizzyandfree.com.

During this free consultation, you’ll look at what alcohol is helping you cope with in your real life and what kind of support could help you move forward.

If you’re ready for support, reach out:

• Email: [email protected]

• Instagram: @fizzyandfree

• Facebook: Fizzy and Free

• Join the Raising Kids, Not Glasses Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingkidsnotglasses 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a mom who might need it. Follow the show, leave a review, and remember, you’re not alone in this. Until next time, keep raising kids, not glasses.

In this episode, Ashley sits down with coach Jeanne Panucci, Inner Work Coach for a real coaching conversation about overwhelm, comparison, and learning how to find calm in the middle of life's chaos.

Together, they explore how overwhelm shows up in the body, why so many moms stay stuck on autopilot, and how even a brief pause can help create more calm, clarity, and self-compassion. Through this honest conversation, Ashley experiences these practices firsthand and reflects on how they connect to the journey of changing your relationship with alcohol.

If you've ever felt like your mind won't slow down or life feels too overwhelming to catch your breath, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why overwhelm often shows up in the body before you recognize it mentally.

• How autopilot and avoidance can keep you stuck in unhealthy patterns.

• Why comparison quietly fuels stress and self-judgment.

• How taking a simple pause can help you reconnect with yourself.

• What it means to expand your capacity instead of pushing through.

• Why self-compassion is an essential part of creating lasting change.

Resources & Support:

If you'd like to get in touch with Jeanne Panucci:

Schedule a free 30-minute connection call:

https://link.feacreate.com/widget/bookings/30minutecall_

Or follow her on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/jeanne.panucci

Take the Which Sitcom Mom Drinking Style Quiz to discover your drinking pattern and what it’s really telling you.

If you’re ready for support, reach out:

• Email: [email protected]

• Instagram: @fizzyandfree

• Facebook: Fizzy and Free

• Join the Raising Kids, Not Glasses Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingkidsnotglasses 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a mom who might need it. Follow the show, leave a review, and remember, you’re not alone in this. Until next time, keep raising kids, not glasses.

In this episode, Ashley answers the five biggest questions she hears from moms who know something needs to change with their drinking but feel stuck figuring out what comes next.

From wondering why moderation never seems to work to questioning who you'll be without alcohol, Ashley unpacks what's really happening beneath the surface. These questions aren't about willpower. They're about stress, overwhelm, identity, and the ways alcohol quietly becomes a coping strategy during motherhood.

If you've ever found yourself saying, "I know I need to stop, but I don't want to," this episode is for you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why knowing alcohol is hurting you isn't always enough to stop.

• Why moderation feels so exhausting and often doesn't last.

• What you're really looking for when you ask, "What do I do instead?"

• Why thoughts about alcohol become quieter over time.

• How alcohol can become tied to your identity and what happens when you begin rebuilding self-trust.

• Why stability has to come before lasting change.

Resources & Support:

Take the Which Sitcom Mom Drinking Style Quiz to discover your drinking pattern and what it’s really telling you.

If you’re ready for support, reach out:

• Email: [email protected]

• Instagram: @fizzyandfree

• Facebook: Fizzy and Free

• Join the Raising Kids, Not Glasses Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingkidsnotglasses 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a mom who might need it. Follow the show, leave a review, and remember, you’re not alone in this. Until next time, keep raising kids, not glasses.

In this episode, Ashley sits down with registered dietitian Emily Gozy of Nourished with Emily, for an honest conversation about stress, alcohol, sugar cravings, and why so many moms feel stuck in survival mode.

They talk about what actually happens in the body when you stop drinking, why sugar cravings can feel so intense in early sobriety, and how chronic stress keeps so many women trapped in the cycle of reaching for relief at the end of the day.

This conversation is practical, compassionate, and full of small shifts that can help moms feel more supported while navigating change.

• Why quitting drinking can trigger sugar cravings.

• How stress and nervous system overload impact alcohol habits.

• Why “just use willpower” rarely works for overwhelmed moms.

• Small nutrition and routine changes that can support early sobriety.

• How autopilot habits and dopamine-seeking behaviors keep cycles going.

• Why shame around food and alcohol often makes everything harder.

Resources & Support:

Connect with Emily Gozy at nourishedwithemily.com or on IG @nourishedwithemily

If you’re ready for support from Ashley, reach out:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @fizzyandfree

Facebook: Fizzy and Free

Join the Raising Kids, Not Glasses Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingkidsnotglasses 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a mom who might need it. Follow the show, leave a review, and remember, you’re not alone in this. Until next time, keep raising kids, not glasses.

In this episode, Ashley shares why quitting or cutting back on drinking can feel especially challenging during the summer. What’s meant to feel fun and carefree can quickly turn into overwhelm, chaos, and exhaustion, especially with kids home and routines out the window.

Through her own experience, Ashley breaks down the real reasons it felt so hard to stop and why it wasn’t about willpower. Summer brings unique triggers that make old habits feel automatic, but awareness is the first step to changing them.

• How a lack of structure can increase stress and trigger the urge to drink.

• Why feeling overstimulated and bored at the same time makes alcohol more appealing.

• How the “it’s summer” mindset can lead to relaxed boundaries and drinking habits.

• Why alcohol being everywhere makes it harder to say no and easier to justify “just one.”

• How one drink can quickly turn into an automatic pattern.

• Simple ways to create structure, plan ahead, and reset when triggers hit.

Resources & Support:

Take the Which Sitcom Mom Drinking Style Quiz to discover your drinking pattern and what it’s really telling you.

If you’re ready for support, reach out:

• Email: [email protected]

• Instagram: @fizzyandfree

• Facebook: Fizzy and Free

In this episode, you’ll learn: If this episode resonated with you, share it with a mom who might need it. Follow the show, leave a review, and remember, you’re not alone in this. Until next time, keep raising kids, not glasses.

In this episode, Ashley breaks down one of the most common (and least talked about) experiences in early sobriety. If you’ve ever quit drinking and thought, “Is this it? Why does life feel so boring?”  you’re not alone. And more importantly, there’s nothing wrong with you.

Ashley explains how alcohol reshapes your brain’s reward system, why your evenings can feel empty without it, and what’s really going on with dopamine during this phase. This episode is all about understanding the science, normalizing the experience, and giving yourself the patience to let your brain recalibrate.

Because sobriety isn’t boring, your brain is just healing.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why early sobriety can feel dull, flat, or unmotivating (and why it’s temporary)

• How alcohol becomes the “highlight” of your day and rewires your reward system

• The truth about dopamine and why it’s not just a “pleasure chemical”

• How your brain starts associating anticipation (not just drinking) with reward

• What a “dopamine baseline shift” is and how it affects your daily life

• Why normal activities don’t feel exciting at first and how that changes over time

• Simple ways to support your brain as it recalibrates

• How keeping rituals (but changing the substance) can ease the transition

Resources & Support:Take the Which Sitcom Mom Drinking Style Quiz to better understand your patterns and what they mean.

If you’re ready for support, reach out:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @fizzyandfree

Facebook: Fizzy and Free (Free Community Group)

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a mom who might need to hear this. Follow the show, leave a review, and remember you’re not doing this wrong. Your brain is just learning a new way to feel good again.

Until next time, keep raising kids, not glasses.

In this episode, Ashley shares the red flags she completely missed while she was drinking. Not the textbook ones. The real-life ones. The small habits, the justifications, the things that felt “normal” at the time, but looking back, showed just how much alcohol had woven itself into everyday life and motherhood.

This episode is an invitation to reflect, not judge. Red flags aren’t about labeling yourself. They’re about awareness. And awareness is often the very first step toward sobriety.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How hiding alcohol, stocking up, or ordering ahead can signal shame and preoccupation.

• How trying to control your drinking with limits and promises can signal a deeper struggle.

• Why feeling disappointed when you can’t drink points to deeper emotional reliance.

• Why rushing through bedtime or structuring your schedule around drinking reveals shifting priorities.

• How increased tolerance, early-day thoughts about drinking, and random weeknights becoming routine are subtle warning signs.

• How rewarding yourself with alcohol keeps the cycle going and leaves you more drained than restored.

Resources & Support:

Take the Which Sitcom Mom Drinking Style Quiz to discover your drinking pattern and what it’s really telling you.

If you’re ready for support, reach out:

• Email: [email protected]

• Instagram: @fizzyandfree

• Facebook: Fizzy and Free

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a mom who might need it. Follow the show, leave a review, and remember, you’re not alone in this. Until next time, keep raising kids, not glasses.

In this episode, Ashley is joined by her husband, Al, for a candid conversation about navigating a relationship when one partner stops drinking.

They discuss how alcohol can become woven into daily routines and connection, what changes when awareness around drinking begins to shift, and how sobriety impacts partnership, communication, and family life. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How alcohol can quietly become a shared relationship “ritual”

• What it’s like when one partner stops drinking and the other continues

• How sobriety can trigger grief, fear, and identity shifts within a marriage

• Why awareness often comes before crisis

• How sobriety impacts emotional regulation, depression, and daily energy

• Why connection doesn’t disappear without alcohol, it deepens

• How kids observe, absorb, and learn from sober choices

• Why couples need shared connection beyond drinking

Resources & Support:

Take the Which Sitcom Mom Drinking Style Quiz to discover your drinking pattern and what it’s really telling you.

If you’re ready for support, reach out:

• Email: [email protected]

• Instagram: @fizzyandfree

• Facebook: Fizzy and Free

This episode offers a grounded, compassionate look at sobriety inside a partnership, especially for moms who worry that quitting drinking will change everything. If this episode resonated with you, don’t forget to follow, leave a review, and share it with a mom who’s navigating sobriety inside a relationship.

In this debut episode, Ashley Young, founder of Fizzy and Free, shares her honest relationship with alcohol, how drinking quietly escalated through motherhood, and why the “just quit” approach to sobriety doesn’t work when you’re already exhausted, overwhelmed, and carrying the mental load of everything.

This episode introduces Stability Before Sobriety, a different path for moms who feel stuck in the day-one cycle and unseen in traditional sobriety spaces.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How drinking can quietly sneak up on moms

• The mental load, identity loss, and emotional overwhelm behind the habit

• Red flags, moderation rules, and constant mental bargaining

• Why so many moms don’t feel represented in traditional sobriety spaces

• What led to creating an approach that actually meets moms where they are

Resources & Support:

Take the Which Sitcom Mom Drinking Style Quiz to discover your drinking pattern and what it’s really telling you. If you’re ready for support, reach out:

• Email: [email protected]

• Instagram: @fizzyandfree

• Facebook: Fizzy and Free

Don’t forget to follow, leave a review, and share this episode with a mom who’s ready to keep raising kids, not glasses.

Three-Minute Meltdown Reset: No Wine Required

In this mini episode of the Fizzy and Free Podcast, Ashley, a sober mom, provides a brief but effective three-minute reset for overwhelmed moms, especially on hectic days like Memorial Day. She encourages listeners to practice simple breathing exercises, unclench tense muscles, and take a moment for themselves without resorting to alcohol. Ashley emphasizes that needing space and feeling burnt out is normal, advocating for self-care over toxic positivity. The episode concludes with empowering affirmations and a reminder to keep raising kids, not glasses.

Follow on Instagram: @fizzyandfree

00:00 Welcome to the Fizzy and Free Podcast

00:24 A Quick Memorial Day Episode

00:52 Three Minute Meltdown Reset

01:32 Breathing and Relaxation Techniques

03:22 Affirmations and Encouragement

03:57 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

04:02 Disclaimer