After a couple of indulgent weeks (first week in Italy, and then a few days in Norfolk – plenty of pasta, puddings and pinot grigio) Mr Chalk and I have decided to have a bit of a detox.  Normally I do not favour this type of regime as I feel that any benefit gained from going without all the usual culprits is eradicated as soon as you go back to them again and it is much better to eat and drink fairly healthily all the time.  But actually in this case we have decided to go without alcohol until Christmas.

Yes, that’s right, until Christmas – that’s two months of pre-Christmas parties and socialising, mulled wine and spiced cider on bonfire night, the lovely glass of red to accompany a warming winter stew …..   Are we mad?  Although neither of us are heavy drinkers, when we sat down and thought about it we did realise that we actually drank most nights – even if it was just a glass of wine – and it would be interesting to find out if we could even do it.

In order to make the path easier I have employed a few tricks from the trade – self-hypnosis and NLP techniques in order to trick my mind into thinking that I am not missing out, and actually the benefits will be so well worth it.  For me, the evening glass of wine is very much bound up with the tactile thing of opening the bottle, and holding onto the stem of the wine glass, so another thing that I have done is make sure that I have bought some really nice non-alcoholic alternatives to the wine, like elderflower and cranberry presses or perhaps different fruit juices topped up with fizzy water and put them in one of my lovely crystal wine glasses.  One thing I would suggest, however, if you are thinking about going down the teetotal route, is do not try the non-alcoholic wines – they are mostly quite disgusting!

Only a few days in, and so far, so clear-headed.  I have to say that my skin, eyes and hair are thanking me already – alcohol is known to dehydrate, and this is never a good think for us women of a certain age.  I have also had the best couple of nights sleep that I have had in years, and this seems to have the effect of putting me in a much better mood for the daytime.  Recent studies suggest that the quality and quantity of sleep that we have has a significant effect on our overall health, and there are strong links to lack of good sleep and obesity.  Having regular good quality sleep can also significantly help us to be better able to handle the stress in our lives so this has got to be good.

Maybe you feel that your body is telling you to look after itself a bit better, but you wouldn’t know where to start as you feel it all sounds a bit difficult.  Hypnotherapy and NLP can really help when we want to initiate new healthy habits – call me on 01449 780352 or 0781 7158429, or email me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,
Wendy