This Is Steph Sober

Moderate drinking is something we in the sober community wish we could do. Join Steph (Ex-Binge Drinker and Sober Lifestyle Blogger) as she shares her experiences trying to moderate her drinking. Have you tried to moderate your alcohol consumption, but end up breaking that promise to yourself? If you were a binge drinker you might be surprised to find out moderation is out of your control. In this episode Steph explains why.

Show Notes

https://www.sunnyside.co/ Cut back on your drinking with no pressure to quit.

Blog post http://thisisstephsober.com/moderate-drinking-and-why-it-didnt-work-for-me/

Link to CDC https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/moderate-drinking.htm

Link to Huberman Lab Podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ebY3WNejLNbK47emgjd1E?si=009c5ef96d3d435b

Connect with me on Sobergram! https://www.instagram.com/this.is.steph.sober/

Read my blog thisisstephsober.com

Season 2 starts next week and we are so excited! Join Steph (Sober Blogger and Ex-Binge Drinker) each week as she shares her sobriety journey as well as special guests who inspire her daily in her sobriety.

Do you want to stop drinking, but question what that looks like? Do you worry it will cost you your relationships? What would your life look like without it? If thing have crossed your mind then this podcast is for you.

Our guest this week is Linda Christensen, a fitness trainer and 4th degree Taekwondo martial artist (+ master trainer) who addressed her lifelong love affair with alcohol in the aftermath of an out of control night her daughter bore witness to.

She grew up in Scotland where regular drinking from an early age was the norm and she resolved then and there that she'd break the cycle.

Many years on and Linda is a mentor to the women she coaches (Steph is one of them). One of the challenges she sees a lot of women face is managing their relationship with alcohol as they get older - especially when the affects of menopause kick in.

In this episode we chat to Linda about the physical, hormonal and emotional factors that come into play during the onset of and progression through menopause, and how women can avoid diving into the all-too-common wine glass shaped swamp to deal with all their icky feels.

SHOW NOTES:

Tour De Force, Lance Armstrong: https://www.amazon.com/Lance-Armstrong-Force-Daniel-Coyle/dp/0007195281

Strong Women Lift Each Other Up, Molly Galbraith: https://www.mollygalbraith.com/home1

Age Is Just a Number, Dara Torres: https://growingbolder.com/stories/dara-torres-age-is-just-a-number/

Born to Run, Christopher McDougall: https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189

Surely AF wine: https://www.drinksurely.com/

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: https://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/0743269519

Eric Roberts is a health and fitness coach who specialises in strength training, fat loss and performance-based fitness but, folks, he’s so much more than that.

Eric is on a mission to (and. we. mean. MISSION) to see everyone he interacts with succeed, or as he would say ‘to win’. And, actually, that’s quite a lot of people. As of recording, Eric’s instagram following is hovering just below 300k and his coaching business is a global phenomenon.

Eric encourages people to succeed by asking them to critically evaluate what they want in life and then also consider A) what will get them there and B) what will move them away from their goals. You guessed it, drinking is one of the things that sits squarely in column B.

In this episode, we chat to Eric about living to our values, how alcohol can impact the pursuit of fitness goals, how the pursuit of those goals ultimately played a part in all of us choosing sobriety (yep, Eric is sober too and has been since age 18) - and much more.

Find out more about Eric and his health and fitness coaching on his website and give him a follow on Instagram. While you’re at it, if you’re not already, follow us @thisisusober, too!

SHOW NOTES:

Eric Roberts Clubhouse

ERF Podcast: ‘My Honest Thoughts On Alcohol’

‘Can you drink and lose weight: the hidden truth’ by Eric Roberts

It's episode four and Sarah and Steph chat about all the things that surprised them in sobriety.

While Steph got sober to ease her hangxiety and Sarah to break free from habitual drinking, they've both discovered unexpected benefits (benefits that definitely outweigh the 20 minute buzz you get from alcohol).

Resources:

Steph's Blog : 11 Things I didn't Expect to Happen When I got Sober http://thisisstephsober.com/11-things-i-didnt-expect-to-happen-when-i-got-sober/

Eric Roberts Fitness Podcast: My Honest Thoughts on Alcohol https://open.spotify.com/episode/5KJfzdJa0P6p1SfLaU3Kxa?si=kxXBZ9s5StugmoFQCVTnZQ&utm_source=copy-link

Girls On Tap: https://www.facebook.com/girlsontap

In this episode, Steph and Sarah talk about how you can support a sober friend or spouse. A lot of times when someone decides to get sober it can cause some awkwardness in relationships.

When you have a better understanding of what the person choosing a sober lifestyle is feeling it can really help both of you thrive.

• Checking in and asking how sobriety is going really helps. It is all the sober person is fixated on, so having someone validate is huge.

• If someone is questioning their relationship with alcohol, don't give them your opinion. Be a safe space and support how they are feeling.

• Don't take it personal if they start to pull away from social interactions. It takes a lot of self discovery to get sober. We are learning who we are what we love.

Resources:

Steph's 'How To Support a Friend Or Partner' article: https://thisisstephsober.com/how-to-support-a-sober-friend-or-partner/

Sobriety Counter App: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/i-am-sober/id672904239

F45 Training: https://f45training.com

The Huberman Lab (podcast):

The Inner Work by Mat & Ash (book): https://www.amazon.com.au/Inner-Work-Invitation-Freedom-Happiness/dp/1096714612

The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer (book): https://untetheredsoul.com

With 70% of the population of drinking on the regular, it's easy to forget that alcohol's a drug.

Steph and Sarah talk about the way people often view alcohol as separate to other drugs and how its ready availability means it's the most used drug in the US where Steph lives and in Sarah's homeland of Australia, too.

Alcohol is in the top 5 of most addictive drugs. It kills more people than all other drugs combined according to addictioncenter.com.

The episode delves into the role alcohol plays in society and culture and the impact it has on health - both mental and physical. But it's not all bad news, young people are getting wise to the booze's bulls&#t and bringing down national drinking averages across the globe.

Steph's post '7 Ways to Say No to Alcohol'

Other sources:

• Why are young people drinking less than their parents’ generation did? (The Conversation)

• Global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption: a population-based study (The Lancet)

• Every alcohol drink increases your risk of cancer (Alcohol & Drug Foundation)

• Number of Australians drinking wine, spirits and RTDs up significantly in 2021 while beer drinking holds steady (Roy Morgan)

• https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/03/risky-levels-australia-is-the-drunkest-country-in-the-world-new-survey-finds (The Guardian)

Sobriety, especially early on, can be a challenge. Steph and Sarah found each other on sober Instagram and have played a key role in each other's newfound sober lifestyles.

In this episode, our shiny new first episode, we introduce ourselves and talk about how we drank (before we decided that we didn't want to be fuzzy, unmotivated and hungover anymore).