Credits: Social Media
Performance coach recommends giving up one thing from your diet to unlock the ‘real you’
While a hangover from a heavy night of drinking may be treated like a badge of honor in our 20s, as we start to get older and hangovers get more pronounced and difficult to get over, we may find ourselves saying Never again to the prospect of drinking.
That is a subject that forms the basis of the latest episode of the Feel Better, Live More podcast, hosted by Dr Rangan Chatterjee, which sees him invite a former professional soccer player-turned-performance coach to discuss the benefits of taking a break from alcohol.
His guest is Andy Ramage, who as well as being an ex-professional athlete has since gone on to earn a Master’s degree in coaching psychology and positive psychology, and has devoted his life to helping people unlock their authentic self by cutting back on their alcohol consumption or giving up drinking altogether.
In the episode of the Feel Better, Live More podcast (#438), posted on March 27, 2024, Ramage explains that he aims his advice at what he calls Middle Lane drinkers, effectively the average person who may occasionally enjoy an alcoholic drink.
Alcohol consumption in todays society
Early on in the two-hour podcast, Ramage takes a moment to discuss the alcohol consumption habits in modern-day society and while alcohol-free options are becoming more prevalent, there is still a cultural blind spot to alcohol.
In many ways, we treat it like water, he says. We consume it all the time, for every celebration, commiseration and stressful day.
I dont think we realize the impact that its having on us until we remove it and I think thats why I always like people to take a break, he continues.
What does it feel like for you on the other side of that break? he asks.
Experience life without alcohol and you might find that many of those things that you thought you needed alcohol for, to socialize [for example], that actually youre even more social, that you have more fun [without alcohol], he says.
Maybe [thats] whats underneath some of those low moods, maybe mild anxiety, maybe depression [you potentially suffer], he continues. A lot of those things for lots of people, not for everyone, often disappear when you remove alcohol, even as an average drinker.
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Bringing alcohol into perspective
Asked by Dr Chatterjee how he would encourage someone who wants to start a similar alcohol-free journey, Andy Ramage had one key method to help people bring their alcohol consumption into perspective.
We need to put a quick caveat in here, Im talking to the Middle Lane, so this is the average drinker, he begins. If youre someone that might identify as alcoholic or youre worried that you might be dependent on alcohol, if you do decide to take a break, you need to seek professional medical advice.
But lets just say someone wants to take a break, which is great, Ive got a tool, a little technique, he continues. I call it the ambivalence seesaw.
So, youd almost draw a line and a triangle underneath it, like a little kids seesaw, if you can imagine. And what Id get everyone to do on the right-hand side of the seesaw, is write down [their] perceived benefits for drinking alcohol, he says. And what you tend to find is its quite a short list. Itll probably say something like, helps me socialize, helps me relax. Its not an exhaustive list.
And then on the left-hand side, Id say write down all the consequences that youre currently experiencing in your relationship with alcohol as a Middle Lane drinker,'” he continues. It might be tiredness, might be grogginess [and] to more extremes, a bit of anxiety, a bit of low mood, not performing as well as Id like to in my career, [being] grumpy, snapping at the kids, not as consistent in my exercise, not as consistent in my nutrition.
Its quite a big list, so instantly, youre starting to get a visual representation, Ramage adds.
On top of that, Id put a line and say What are all the benefits you think you might gain from being alcohol-free? he says. You might get more time, more energy, better skin, better health, more momentum.
So visually, you start to see this big list on the left starts to dwarf some of these perceived upsides on the right, he continues. So you start to see your whole relationship with alcohol on the page.
And from that place of awareness comes the ability to make change, Ramage says. It doesnt necessarily make it easy but you gain a whole new level of awareness.
Advice for someone considering taking a break
When asked by Dr Chatterjee about what the best method is for reducing alcohol intake, Ramage says, Any change is good.
He agrees with a point made by Dr Chatterjee that reducing alcohol intake is beneficial but it wouldnt be his preferred method.
On a personal note, I want people to take a break, whether that be 28 days or ideally 90, to experience all the benefits for themselves, he says. To have that physiological, visceral experience of sleeping better, what it feels like to wake up without that low-grade anxiety hanging around, to get your authentic self back for a month or two and collide with life.
The longer you can have that stretch of sobriety, whether it be 28 or 90 days, the more impactful that will be, he concludes. Then you wont need me to tell you, you will know for yourself, that is a completely different world from reading it in a book or listening to it on a podcast.
You can listen to the full episode of the Feel Better, Live More, episode #438, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube among other podcast platforms.
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