My philosophy is that you are better off without. I haven’t had a drop for decades, and never ever feel I am missing out.
Here are 10 compelling reasons to give up or dramatically cut down on your alcohol consumption. Remember the One-A-Week challenge is about giving up these beverages for just a week.
- Cancer Risk: Drinking alcohol increases your risk of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. It can increase estrogen levels, and even damage DNA in cells. Women who have only 3 alcoholic drinks a week have a 15% higher risk of getting breast cancer. Experts believe that the risk goes up from there by 10% for every extra drink a woman has each day.
- Weight Gain: It’s fattening: Women who don’t drink alcohol find it much easier to keep the pounds off. Diet soda may be even worse for weight gain, but alcohol is not far behind. Most alcoholic beverages have the calorific content equal of half a candy bar – so 2 drinks and you’re almost up to a Nutter Butter!
- Bad For Your Skin: It catches up eventually. Even women who indulge in a few glasses of wine each week can start looking puffy and inflamed. I can always tell a women who drinks everyday because it shows in her skin (hint: red and puffy).
- Silly Mistakes: Drinking a few glasses of wine can invariable lead to saying something you regret, weeping (embarrassingly) if you’re sad, outbursts of anger, and sending that text that you regret sending for a whole year!
- Sluggish: Since alcohol is hard on your liver (your main organ for detoxification), drinking even a couple of glasses a wine every evening can slow you down the next day.
- Sleep Issues: Most women become more sensitive to alcohol as they get older. This often shows up in disturbed sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, give up booze!
- Intolerance: When my Mom hit 60, she got drunk after just one glass of wine. This is typical for post-menopausal women, who often develop extreme insensitivity to alcohol. If your cheeks burn, and you find yourself slurring your words after just one glass of Prosecco, you might have become sensitive/intolerant.
- Not Gorgeous: Tipsy women, never mind full-on-drunk women (and men for that matter) are not attractive. There are other ways to chill out and socialize that are far more alluring!
- Saving Money: Going out for dinner and drinking water instead of wine can almost halve the bill. And what about the cost of a drink at a bar? Seriously, you’re better off saving up for those shoes!
- People Love You – because you are their free Uber-ride home!
