May I whine about wine?

[tillymonstar]

So this will now be my SECOND attempt at a Whole30/Paleo challenge doomed by... You guessed it. Wine.

I don't discriminate. I like all kinds. White, Red, Rose. I like it them a bit too much. The paleo challenge I was on allowed moderate dry wine and spirits. I did more then moderate amounts. My sleep has been terrible and I'm annoyed with myself.

What do you lovely forumites do when the mood strikes? I need alternatives! I need support on this as my DH doesn't provide much.

I was able to cut the grains, sugar and dairy for two weeks without too much work. Though I missed cheese a lot. But nooooo, not my wine. I felt too deprived when I had to go without. So I didn't.

I want to restart a W30 but am too chicken. I'm obviously not in the right mind space. Thoughts?

[befabdaily]

Nothing much to suggest except the usual -- don't have it in the house, make it harder to cave in to the mood. I liked my wine a lot before I started this and it's the thing I miss most. Which probably means that wine and I needed a break. It's been harder for me than sugar.

[Aberrantatavia]

You aren't alone, I miss my wine terribly. But I've had great success with kombucha. If you find one you like, you will adapt to the flavor pretty quickly, at least I did.

I can tell you that sticking with this is worth it, even if you have to restart 10 times. We are all human and you just have to get back on the bike.

I haven't been able to sleep more than a couple of hours a night, broken sleep, for all of my adult life. Even before I started consuming alcohol on a regular basis. I have fibromyalgia and it's very hard to get into good deep sleep.

But since starting my whole 30, I sleep at least 6 hours straight every single night. Last night was the first night I went to sleep a little late and woke up in the night. It's amazing the difference this is making in my sleep. My very holistic physician had me on some pretty hefty sleep aids because we couldn't figure out a way to get me to sleep. She's actually the same person that turned me on to whole 30, as she began doing it herself.

Restarting does not mean you failed. Restarting means you believe in yourself and know you are worth trying again

[JoanneK]

Yep, I too love my vino. I am on day 22 and made it this far. My husband still has a glass or two almost every evening. I think the first week was tough but if I can do it; so can you. I usually just drink filtered water. Sometimes flavored seltzer or I will have a spicy V-8 mocktail.

It had become a regular habit that I do not really miss anymore.

Hang in there! If your craving gets too intense, take a nice bath.

[tillymonstar]

Sadly... There won't be a time when I don't have it in the house. I have about 8-10 bottles at a time that I store in my makeshift wine cellar. We save for special occasions though I sometimes drink them without a good reason. I have been wine tasting up and down the coast of California and find MUCH pleasure in the whole experience. I enjoy food pairings and cheese with wine as well.

I know I've read a few success stories of people who made wine or beer ok on their paleo/primal journeys and I hoped to be one of them. I did end up losing weight when I did moderately drink but it's just not consistent.

I realized if I drink after like 8pm I won't sleep good at all. Just when my sweet toddler is regularly sleeping through the night. That was when I knew I had to look into my own habits to figure out the issue. It saddened me to find it was the wine.

I have thyroid issues and the medication side effects include insomnia so this might be an issue as well.

I bought some yummy mineral waters and am going to start googling whole30 approved mocktails!

And Joanne-- bravo for sticking to it when your hubs drinks around you every night! That's hard. Will you reintroduce? Did you have any slip-ups? I wish I could make it more then 2wks!

[megmac]

The key for me was changing my nighttime routine. I usually drink wine around 9pm, when my daughter is in bed, lunches are packed, dishes are done. I had to find something to fill that time frame until my brain didn't just assume it was "wine time". I went with hot tub, book, lights out by 10. It was much easier than I anticipated, expecially when I realized that I like sleep a lot more than wine, and I can't have both.

But I'll admit, writing about wine makes me want wine.

[Aberrantatavia]

I don't know, I'm not sure I want to choose between wine and sleep. I mean, honestly, I don't want to have to make that decision. I'm thrilled to be sleeping, but if my body requires this type of eating in order to sleep, I don't know if I want to make that trade off. I could probably do without most dairy, I don't miss it as much as I thought. I haven't eaten grains in forever so that's no big deal. But wine and some kind of ice cream, I don't want to do without those. I'm hoping I can moderate these things and still sleep.... Or that my attitude changes if in fact I need to give up the fruit of the vine.

[DucatiGirl]

Wine has been my most missed item on my Whole30, I'm on day 27. I don't think there has been a day during my Whole30 where I didn't say to my husband "that would go good with a glass of wine!"

I like red wine most. My favorite trick has been to brew strong herbal berry tea, it's bright red, and chill it for iced tea. I pour it in a fancy wine glass and drink guiltlessly. It's delicious, quenching and feels like I'm having a treat. I use Choice Organic Teas, Organic Northwest Blackberry, I really like it and may continue using it to moderate my wine consumption after my Whole30 is over.

You can totally do it. It's not easy but it's doable. Good luck to you and give the iced tea a try.

-Megan

[Aberrantatavia]

I've been drinking kombucha from a wine glass too I actually love herbal teas and drink them on a regular basis.... And you are right, very quenching!

[Laura B]

Put some seltzer water in a wine glass with fruit at night!

[James the Greatest]

::takes notes:: I'm on Day Two, and I can't even imagine going that long without my nightly glass of wine. I'm playing it one day at a time right now.

but I do like the suggestions. thanks for sharing.

[James the Greatest]

a thought: adding apple cider vinegar to water. anyone thinks that's a terrible idea?

[Ann]

I made it through my first 30 a couple months ago drinking Pellegrino with a slice of cucumber in the earlier part of the evening, then warm herbal tea as I wind down for bed. I had several nights when I went to bed (with my book) crazy early to avoid strong urges (drinking wine in bed is unappealing to me, change of location made the craving disappear). I haven't had an easy time moderating the wine post-30, and thus begin "round 2" tomorrow. Looking forward to sleeping soundly again .

[Christine J Davinich]

Apple cider vinegar (not too much!) with some mineral water is excellent .. I live in Germany and all they drink is mineral water - I came up with this idea also. I love it - especially in the morning before I exercise

in regards to wine ... yum. Love it. Hard to do without it but will survive

[TheresaMary]

Hi Tillymonstar, you did so well to get to 2 weeks. Be proud of yourself! You can get even further next time because you have learnt so much already from those 2 weeks. I don't drink wine anymore (over 3 years now) because I developed a serious problem with it and had to give it up for good through AA. I completely understand where you are coming from as I loved it (all kinds) too (a bit TOO much!!). I never thought I could do 3 years so you can definately do 30 days! You have a toddler - you are STRONG!!! Just take it one day/hour at a time and remember it is only for 30 days. If you want to drink after, you can. Good luck!!!!

[Emily]

a thought: adding apple cider vinegar to water. anyone thinks that's a terrible idea?

I drink this when I think I'm getting sick (sore throat, sinuses, etc). It helps my throat get better. Originally I was told to make it with some honey in it, but I leave that out.

[Snappy Shark]

This is a different kind of "whining about wine," but I thought this thread might be the right place for this story:

I'm not on a Whole30 currently, but am doing a paleo challenge at my CrossFit gym, where we can deduct points for being non-compliant (which, I have to say, is a total breeze after the Whole30!). Anyway, I never cheat with food, but decided to treat myself with a couple of glasses of red wine at a bonfire party last night. I went to bed, slept soundly for a couple of hours...and then woke up with the spins and vomited. I was never a big drinker even before going paleo, but I've become quite the lightweight in my post-Whole 30 life.

Anyway, to those of you lamenting the loss of wine in your lives - you just might find that you're uber-sensitive to the stuff a few weeks or months from now. I'm not sure what my relationship with booze will be going forward, but this experience certainly gave me pause...

[TrayS]

I've found what Snappy Shark says to be true, I've become very sensitive to it as well.

Difference between me and Snappy Shark though, is that I have been somewhat of a drinker, and I'm finding that to be my one area of weakness. Most of the time I'm ok, I can have a glass or two (though it hits me a lot harder than it used to), but every so often I will fail to moderate. For example, this past Saturday, my husband and I threw a party at our house, and I found myself drinking throughout the night to deal with my social anxiety. In the past I would've woke up fuzzy and moved on with my life, but nowadays the effects drag on into tiredness and depression for several days.

So it doesn't feel worth it anymore and I've given thought to giving alcohol up for good (or at least an extended period to start), but being married to someone who belongs to a wine club, home brews beer, and has no desire whatsoever to stop drinking is going to make it really hard for me to do that. If I had his support it might be easier. Then again, maybe I shouldn't place any responsibility for my actions (or lack thereof) on anyone but myself.

Anyway.... what was the original topic?? Oh yeah.... you're not alone in your struggle with wine!

[BC_Granny]

I'm on Day 29 of my first Whole 30. I've found the no-wine element to be a roller coaster: seemingly easy for periods of time and then REALLY challenging at the most unexpected moments. In short: a learning experience!

What I've noticed about me:

- other forms of alcohol were easy to give up as I rarely have or desire those

- in my mid-50's now, I definitely viewed wine as a 'rite of passage', that the daily glass or two of red with dinner was something earned, almost a form of entitlement!

- (Is it a myth that the French drink table wine every day, like water, and are still lean and fabulous?)

- that I was probably using a glass of wine as a mood down-shifter at times, especially on Fridays to signal the arrival of the weekend

- that I no longer believe food actually tastes better with wine. Food tastes better with no beverage at all (if its good food, well prepared) and, according to any naturopath, all beverages are optimally (for digestion) consumed one hour before, or two hours after) a meal

All that said, on my first day post-30 I plan to have a glass of good, red wine with a wonderful compliant meal. And see how I feel!

My new thing to replace wine (I loved sipping some while cooking, pre-Whole 30) is a glass of cold sparkling water or Club Soda with a hefty squeeze of lime. Fizz is good. I plan to use this as my social drink, knowing I can always decide to have a glass of wine if I choose to at some point during an evening out, e.g. dinner.