Once in a while almost each of us decides to forfeit one of his/her indulgences. The reasons for that depend on our personal life philosophy. One intends to return the body back to equilibrum, another to prove to oneself that he can live without IT, but most of us sin-inclining human beings simply want to maintain good health.
In my case a wine detox equals alcohol detox. Since I rarely drink other ethanol-bolstered drink than wine it is simple – giving up wine for a couple of days. Easy to say, harder to do. As many of you will confirm once you decided on giving up something in life, you want it more. It is psychologically natural to think more about something what we prohibit ourselves to do. That is why many dieters fell. On the other hand, there are some successful ‘givers up’.
During my week-long wine detox I have discovered some of the tricks how not to slip and keep up going. I will share these with you now.
But first how it all happened or why I have decided to sacrifice my passion for wine?
After a month full of wine tastings in various wineries from Loire, through Rhone, Provance up to Spain I felt, conceivably, that it was too much – drinking from lunch (sometimes even before) through the entire afternoon, at dinner and of course some dessert wine before going to bed – my inner supernatural divinity told me that I need to slow down a bit.
Me and a cup of tea
The plan was simple – one week drinking tea instead of wine. I love tea, so I have decided, like smokers do with chewing gums, to substitute my treat with another one which I like at least as equally, but it is better for my health when consumed in larger amounts. I have always been a supporter of moderate drinking, but you know, we all slip from time to time when the liquid tastes so good and at the same time our friends are tuning us into the right mood… I was supposed to start on Sunday. An ideal day to leave out wine, just after the weekend. But …
As the turns, twists and curves of our lives lead us sometimes surprisingly in different directions, the unexpected event sped up the starting point of my wine detox.
A night in Monaco. Yes, there we are – an easy place to treat oneself with something special. In my case it ended up with a terrible hangover the following morning – on Friday. One would think that it is the worst day to start an alcohol-free week, but it was an easy decission for me feeling so much under the weather, that the only think I could eat all day was plain cookies.
Day one: Friday
My friends invited me to their summer house near Cannes for a day by the pool. Arriving slightly after lunch with my stomach and head feeling as if I spent a day on a roller coaster and not just a short drive in a car from Monaco it was more than easy to refuse a glass of champagne everyone around me was drinking. Later on seeing my friend’s fathers’ wine cellar would result in normal circumstances in postponing my wine detox at least for a day. What a temptation. God, thank you for the hangover! I thought for myself. On the other hand I was sad that I could not join the mery group in their wine feast. I left them just before the dinner to join my future husband for a meal in Cannes. My first normal meal of the day. Lovely fish! I enjoy my wine better with food. Therefore, this would pose the first lure to get a glass of a crisp white Provencial wine. On top of that my husband  got a half-bottle! In normal circumstances, the devil in my head would say – come on, leave it for tomorrow, just enjoy today. I guess, that is one of the challenges many of us giving up something have to face. Why to start now? Tomorrow is another day for it. On the other hand one saying goes – what you can do today, do today, and do not leave it for tomorrow. One of my dad’s favourite teasers. So I resisted.
Day two follows in the next article as I go through my ordeal.