Unveiling the Secret to the Fountain of Youth / Ep. 029

 In this episode, “Fountain of Youth,” hosts Susan and Ruby explore the transformative effects of an alcohol-free lifestyle on skin health.

A listener shares that she's 48 days alcohol free, and a lovely woman in her yoga class just complimented her and commented on how well she was looking and how nice her skin was. And then she explained that she's 48 days alcohol free, and it looks like she's looking 10 years younger.

As experts in alcohol freedom coaching, the hosts examine the physical advantages of sobriety, such as youthful appearance, clearer skin, and diminished bloating. The discussion extends to the broader impacts of alcohol on one’s looks and concludes with a mindful breathing exercise.

Join us for an insightful session filled with encouragement and practical guidance to enhance your natural radiance and vitality. Tune in for an enriching experience that promises to illuminate your path to wellness.

Time stamp:
00:00 Quitting alcohol leads to noticeable beauty improvement.

04:39 Fifties were both best and worst for me.

07:07 Struggling with self-image and negative thoughts.

12:37 Overcoming alcohol and self-image struggles, morning reflection.

13:38 Enhanced eyes reflect inner well-being and confidence.

17:18 Alcohol detox process and its effects summarized.

22:54 Episode explores desire for improved appearance.

23:26 Reflect on money spent, advocate for sobriety.

27:51 Exploring a new breathing technique for managing anger.

31:41 Use breathing to calm and make better choices.

Keywords
alcohol-free, skincare struggles, tongue discoloration, teeth discoloration, self-image, alcohol freedom coaches, physical benefits, reduced puffiness, pore extractions, self-care, breathing exercise, nervous system, Carrie Fisher's book, beauty routine, makeup, freebie, natural beauty of aging, vibrancy, fountain of youth, carcinogen, hydration, wrinkles, confidence, food choices, water intake, hangover, energy, nonverbal energy, financial savings, before and after photos, anger management

We want to hear from you! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and ask us any questions you have about breaking free from wine or living an alcohol-free lifestyle. Your question could be the highlight of a future episode!

Grab your copy of our FREE WineFree Weekend Guide to help you on your alcohol free journey. https://feellitpodcast.com/Guide

Find community and connection on the Feel Lit Alcohol Free Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/feellitalcoholfreepodcast

Watch Episode on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/@FeelLitAlcoholFreePodcast/videos

Websites:
Susan Larkin Coaching https://www.susanlarkincoaching.com/
Ruby Williams at Freedom Renegade Coaching https://www.freedomrenegadecoaching.com/

Follow Susan: @drinklesswithsusan
Follow Ruby: @rubywilliamscoaching

It is strongly recommended that you seek professional advice regarding your health before attempting to take a break from alcohol. The creators, hosts, and producers of the The Feel Lit Alcohol Free podcast are not healthcare practitioners and therefore do not give medical, or psychologic...

Transcript

Sick and tired of your love-hate relationship with wine? Welcome to the feel it alcohol free podcast. Hi. I'm coach Ruby Williams. And I'm coach Susan Larkin. We are two former wine lovers turned alcohol freedom coaches exposing the lies about alcohol and giving you, our listeners, the tools to break free so you can feel lit. And when you're lit, you'll feel healthier, freer, and more in control of your life. So relax, kick back, and get ready to feel lit alcohol free. And don't forget, grab a copy of our wine free weekend guide after the show. 

Ruby [00:00:32]:
Welcome back. I'm just so excited. Hi, Susan. So guess what? We had a listener that mentioned she's 48 days alcohol free, and a lovely woman in her yoga class just complimented her and commented on how well she was looking and how nice her skin was. And then she explained that she's 48 days alcohol free, and it looks like she's looking 10 years younger.

Ruby [00:01:09]:
This is what we're going to talk about, you guys, today. What is it like? Is this a fountain of youth? 

Susan [00:01:29]:
Oh my gosh. That's so funny because I always say that, you know, going alcohol free is the beauty secret that nobody wants to hear, But it's, you know, too similar to this listener, it's so funny. My sister was like, I think I'm gonna stop drinking. Susan, your skin looks so good. And, yeah, people comment, people notice, because it does make a huge, huge difference in how you look, quitting alcohol. I mean, I don't know that we realize how much of a toll that alcohol takes on our beauty as ladies, you know? And I don't know about you Ruby, but I mean, yeah, I see, I feel like I look back at pictures of me literally from maybe even, like, 2010, which is 14 years ago. And I think, oh my gosh. I look better now than I did then.

Ruby [00:02:20]:
Yeah. That's shocking. Exactly the same. I look back at 10 years ago, and people, strangers, people will, like, try to guess my age. Like, I kid you not, they think I'm, like, 39 or, like, 10 to 15 years younger. And I'm like, it's just the alcohol free life. I'll say it every time. It's because I'm alcohol free.

Ruby [00:02:43]:
I love to, like, talk about it, especially when people notice how, like, the skin is glowing. So you know what I used to spend. I still do, actually, I'll admit, buy those expensive face creams, but I don't think you need it. I think that beauty comes from the inside and what you're eating, drinking, or not drinking. Right? And I and how much water you're drinking. Like, are you hydrated? I think that's so much more important than, like, what, creams. Like, we try to fix it. We're drinking alcohol, and then I'm going to buy all these expensive creams and all these things to, like, reduce my puffy eyes. And but, yeah, we could talk about all the ways that we are feeling better, but I love it when strangers notice it.

Ruby [00:03:31]:
They'll just, like, out of the blue, like, oh my gosh. You have really glowing skin, or you're glowing, or you have good energy. And it's just like, yeah. When you're alcohol free, we give off. I just feel like I do. I'm not just confident. Right? The confidence is huge, but just we're giving off the good, good vibes. Yeah.

Susan [00:03:51]:
Well, I would say that's what I would say about you, Ruby, is your youthfulness comes from, yes, your vibe, your youthful vibe, you know, and you have this such a pretty smile. I love your little gap between your teeth. You just look like you're such a little cutie. Yeah. So it's no wonder that people guess that you're much younger than you actually are. We're not really gonna say our age on the podcast. I'm joking. I'm okay with saying

Ruby [00:04:16]:
my age. I am embracing the fifties. In fact, I call it the 50 club. Yeah. Totally. Because I'm in my fifties and now I'm feeling better than I ever have. I'm looking better than I ever have. My weight is in control.

Ruby [00:04:33]:
And everything, I think, as I'm aging, I'm just getting better and better.

Susan [00:04:39]:
That's true. That's true. And a lot of people say that their fifties is the best. And I think it was the best and the worst for me because the beginning of my fifties, that was when my drinking was ramping up. And then in my mid fifties, I quit drinking. So, I think a lot of stuff that I thought was going on with me that I blamed on perimenopause or menopause was actually alcohol, which is really interesting too. Mhmm. You know, like the wine belly, I like to call it, because I think you can see this now, and I can spot it in other people.

Ruby [00:05:16]:
Mhmm.

Susan [00:05:16]:
I'm a fairly, I would say, naturally thin person. Right? But all of a sudden, I get this little poochy belly, which I'd never had before. And so I just think it's, oh, it must just be because I'm getting older, la la la la. And some of it could be from menopause. I know we tend to gain weight in different places through menopause. But, honestly, once I stopped drinking that my wine belly just completely disappeared. Yeah. So it didn't have anything to do with weight.

Susan [00:05:47]:
Like, I didn't necessarily lose weight. I just lost the pooch, the bloating. Yeah. The bloating. And

Ruby [00:05:53]:
Yeah. I definitely have bloating. Yeah. I wanna go back to skin, though, too, because it's not only, like, clearer skin when you're alcohol free. I was getting all these broken capillaries around my nose. They didn't completely go away alcohol free, but they're less noticeable because I was having red, red cheeks, red nose, and broken skin capillaries. I was having these weird rashes when I was drinking. I had adult acne that would show up on my face.

Ruby [00:06:25]:
It wasn't like it's different acne. It wasn't like teenage acne, like a lot, but it was like I had acne when I was drinking. It totally went away. Weird rashes, eczema. I've had clients that say they had skin eczema, and then when they stopped drinking because of inflammation, their eczema also either went way down or completely disappeared. So many physical things. What else can you think of, Susan?

Susan [00:06:52]:
Yeah. Well, for me, well, I always just say, you know, if you're buying all these expensive creams and you're still drinking, you may as well just throw them in the garbage because you're just repairing damage that you're continually doing even if you're if you're even repairing it at all. Like

Ruby [00:07:07]:
Mhmm.

Susan [00:07:07]:
I just feel like, yeah, I had weird little rashy places. Just, yeah, just the morning inventory is what I used to call it. I would wake up, have that hangxiety, feel like crap, stumble to the bathroom, look at my face in the mirror and be like, oh, my you know, like, now what do I need to do? Like, what's the damage? You know, it's like the dark circles and the big grooves. Like, I would call and they're like canyons under my eyes, you know? And, like, and, you know, washing my face and just so my initial like, this is just about beyond even beauty. It's like that inner glow that you were talking about because here's how I'm starting my day, hating myself in the mirror, first thing. Hating on myself. I relate

Ruby [00:07:53]:
to that 100%. So that's how we're starting the day. So, like, just the worst. So, oh, now

Susan [00:08:00]:
I look like I'm in the canyons.

Susan [00:08:02]:
I look terrible and, like, you know, washing my face and then doing all the stuff to try to bring my face back to life, to then go out and conquer my day. That's how we're starting the day off. Right? 

Ruby [00:08:08]:
I just completely relate, and I wanna even talk more about my teeth and my tongue. So I would wake up in the morning, and I would Well, first of all, I didn't have a nighttime routine because I was drinking and then passing out, and I wasn't washing my face. So, that's probably why I had acne too. I just wasn't washing my face regularly. And I would look at myself in the mirror just like you and, like, oh my gosh, dark circles, all the capillary like, I'd try to wash my face too, like, go, great. You know? But then I'd look at my tongue.

Ruby [00:08:50]:
I was a red wine drinker. And if you're a red wine drinker, you will relate to this, but I would look at my tongue and be like, and I would be and my teeth will be kind of purply, and I would be washing my teeth, brushing my teeth, brushing my teeth, and brushing my tongue, and it wouldn't go away sometimes. And I'd be like, oh my gosh, is someone going to notice? I would have those thoughts. If I go to work, it is my tongue and I would try to scrub it. And sometimes that didn't come off very easily. And I was really beating myself up, too. And just all of that, the swelling to, or, oh, I wanna talk about this thing. I don't know if you had this, where I was okay.

Ruby [00:09:32]:
This is a weird maybe a weird story, but I had my wine up in a cabinet above my I would keep it up there. But because I was drinking glass after glass every night, I would open up this cabinet, get the bottle out, pour another glass, put it back up there. So this is red wine. And I would bump my head on the cabinet. And this 1 pointing right here, it is still not healed. The injury that I got when I was drinking, it's taken I mean, it's healing. It's like healing and healing, but it was like that, so that's another thing. You just don't heal.

Ruby [00:10:07]:
It's obvious that your body isn't repairing itself. So, if it's not even repairing injuries, it's not repairing skin. It's not repairing your organs.

Susan [00:10:17]:
Yeah. So hard. Yeah. So, that's so funny, a little bump on your head. I mean, you know, we can talk about the mystery bruises. That's probably a whole another episode where you wake up and you're like, did I, I must have run into the coffee table, just, you know, crazy stuff. I always washed my face. So I knew if I woke up in the middle of the night and I hadn't washed my face, I knew that was a very particularly bad drinking night, which did not happen that often.

Susan [00:10:45]:
I mean, I think even if I was browned out, I still, like, I had this automatic, like, I always washed my face. So, yeah, that was a tell for me. Like, if I woke up and I still had mascara and I was like, oh, what happened tonight? Because I always wash my face. But, yeah, to your point about the, well, the glow in the skin. Yeah. Like, my aesthetician, the, like, I go I started getting facials, like, a year ago as just sort of a reward for myself for being alcohol free because it's kinda like all the money that you spend on alcohol. Like, I wanted to do something special. Plus, I was in my late fifties.

Susan [00:11:24]:
Hello. And I'm like, oh, maybe I should start getting facials. But, you know, there's a deep puffing, like, mask that they can do, and I have that my aesthetician also is alcohol free, and so we chit chat about that kind of stuff. But she's like, I don't need to do that on you because you don't you're not puffy. You're fine. You know? And it was like, oh, you know, like, she loves she loves that I'm alcohol free. She's like, you make my job so much easier.

Ruby [00:11:49]:
Like, can I tell a story about my aesthetician? I used to, when I got facials, when I was drinking, she would spend a lot of time doing the pore extractions.

Susan [00:12:00]:
Mhmm.

Ruby [00:12:02]:
Literally, I don't do facials as often as you, but maybe once every quarter. And I've had no poor extractions since I went alcohol free. So, that is pretty cool, you guys. So, that means the impurities. But, well, I'm also remembering to wash my face every night, which has to do with being alcohol free too. You know? So if you're in that boat where you just drink until you pass out, you are not alone. It happens.

Susan [00:12:29]:
Mhmm.

Ruby [00:12:29]:
But when you get alcohol free, you'll have this nighttime routine of brushing your teeth and washing your face, and it just feels good. Yeah. Yeah.

Susan [00:12:37]:
And then that morning inventory, like Mhmm. A couple I've had a stressful time, and I had a couple nights when I didn't sleep well, and I woke up and like, I looked tired than I normally do. And I had almost, like, a PTSD reaction of, like, the old days when I would use to do that inventory and hate on how I looked because I was, like, wow, what's going on? Because normally now being alcohol free and as an aging woman, I am able to look myself in the mirror first thing in the morning and actually like what I see. Like, I don't have that, like, oh my gosh. What do I need to do? Like, face the day feeling that I had when I was drinking. Now it's like, yeah. I mean, I wear makeup and sometimes I need to shower, etcetera. You know? But I don't have that immediately, oh my gosh.

Susan [00:13:27]:
I hate how I look. Right. You know, like, that I used to have, which is,

Susan [00:13:32]:
I don't know, that's everything to me. Like, that's my reason why. I don't wanna hate myself anymore. Yeah.

Ruby [00:13:38]:
And the trust, like, the white eyes, it's so true. When I see before and after pictures, which I love, I'll post mine on the Facebook group, but I love what I notice 100% is the eyes. The eyes are just wider, brighter. There's an inner glow. You can see the eyes are the window to the soul. Right? And if you, every morning, are waking up and beating yourself up and feeling horrible, that's gonna show through your eyes. But if you're waking up refreshed, feeling better, and then you look at yourself in the mirror and you you, yeah, you look, even without makeup, you're looking good, I give myself a high 5 in the mirror all the time. I'm like, Yes, Ruby.

Ruby [00:14:22]:
And I try to, like, you know, give myself a lot of the, like, you know, pep talks because it's so it it just feels so much better. And Yeah. Well, what a

Susan [00:14:31]:
better way to start your day than, like, like dragging your sorry ass out the door. That's what I used to feel like I was doing now. Like, my husband says, you got your sparkle back. Aw. That's everything. Right? Like Oh my gosh. Yeah. When you show up, you got that sparkle.

Ruby [00:14:49]:
You got your sparkle back. And I say that to myself. What should I say? Something like, I'm just radiating vibrancy. That sounds, but I feel like from within again, everything comes from within, this change. You know, we're an inside job here. And when you just are not giving your body poison, you are radiating this vibrancy, radiating aliveness. You feel alive. You look alive.

Ruby [00:15:18]:
You feel lit. How about I'll add that, Susan?

Susan [00:15:20]:
Oh, yeah. Sparkle, lit. 

Ruby [00:15:22]:
You got a thing going on here. You feel lit. Yeah. But let's just really quickly I mean, I wanna say this again. This is the best beauty secret on the planet. It is a fountain of youth. Like it literally is. People look 10 years younger by doing one thing, eliminating alcohol.

Ruby [00:15:43]:
I mean, how crazy? Yeah. And all these other stars do it. 

Susan [00:15:48]:
Why do you think so many movie stars don't drink? They know they're not going to be able to stay looking good if they're drinking all the time. And, yeah, the fountain of youth is not in a wine bottle. Absolutely not. And I've been seeing these ads about, what is it, dry wines, I think, which is like, oh, totally organic, a healthy wine. I'm like, I call BS on that. BS. Bull crap. If there's alcohol in it, there's still ethanol in it.

Susan [00:16:16]:
So, there's still a that may be a natural chemical, but it is a very damaging one. It's cancer causing, and no matter how healthy or organic your wine is, I'm using little air quotes, there's still a carcinogen in the bottle. Yes. So yeah.

Ruby [00:16:36]:
And it's not only the 1 thing. It's what you're gonna gain. Right? Like, you take away 1 thing, which is alcohol, and it's going to affect your confidence, which will affect how you look and how you show up in the world. And it's you'll make better food choices, which means you'll feel better. You'll be drinking more water, so you'll be more hydrated, which is helping your body, which is helping your skin. Right? Your skin needs hydration, and alcohol dehydrates you. It actually dehydrates and your whole level of hydration goes completely out of whack. You don't know when you're thirsty.

Ruby [00:17:18]:
There's so many areas. And then and then when I think back to detox in that first week of going alcohol free when you're withdrawing and detoxing, like, I remember sweating and it felt like I was sweating out toxins. And then I started to remember I was more sweaty when I was drinking and in the middle of the night. And I remember thinking I'm sweating out toxins. And that's probably why my skin didn't look very glowy either. It's just that there are a lot of toxins that your body can only process so much through your organs and liver, So it also is processing and getting rid of it through your skin. And I even remember it. Do you remember this? I remember smelling like I could smell alcohol or something on myself or others when I was, like, in yoga classes.

Ruby [00:18:07]:
And so I thought it was like, I bet I smelled really gross. 

Susan [00:18:13]:
Yeah. I smell it on people at the gym now or now. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, Ugh, wow.

Ruby [00:18:19]:
I know. I go, Was that me? Did I And sometimes I could smell myself, I think, but, yeah, that's really gross to think about, sweating it

Susan [00:18:27]:
all out. Yeah. And that's not even good, either. I used to work out hungover, and it's really actually dangerous to do that because I used to think, well, if I could get up and still go to my workout, then I'm okay. You know, you have all these, like, I'm still okay if I could do this. And forcing yourself to workout when you're dehydrated and hungover is actually super scary and damaging, could be damaging to your heart. So it's something to think about, You know? I know that because I know a lot of people do that. Well, if I can still go and run, if I can still go and do my workout, you know, then I'm not so bad.

Susan [00:19:01]:
I mean, that's just the mind tricks that we play on ourselves. But believe me, we get it because we did it.

Ruby [00:19:06]:
I'm gonna drink all night, and then it's gonna counteract it if I go jogging or workout the next day. I remember thinking, Oh, yeah. Well, I'm going to do yoga tomorrow, so I'm all good. That counteract. No. They're not 1 and the other. Exercise does not just take away all the damage the alcohol's done. Right.

Ruby [00:19:25]:
Right. I would love to say that even if you're drinking 1 glass or 1 week, even if you only drink on the weekends, for example, you're still damaging your skin and your organs, and this is affecting how you're going to look. We didn't even talk about wrinkles yet. Okay? So, yeah, we forgot about wrinkles. I was way more wrinkly because if you're dehydrated, what happens when you go alcohol free, you're hydrated, and your body puffs up, and those wrinkles literally disappear. Yeah. Did you find that too?

Susan [00:20:03]:
I mean, absolutely. Yeah. Like I said, the canyons under my eyes are gone. You know, I even have, like, these eye patch things, but I hardly ever use them. I don't need to use them anymore.

Ruby [00:20:15]:
You know? That's right. I used to have these eye thingies. They look like little squids or some I don't know. Little, like,

Susan [00:20:21]:
yeah, and I would put them on.

Ruby [00:20:23]:
Yeah. Yeah. They were Nike swoops under my eyes. And I I have that jar in my cupboard, and I I haven't used it in years and years because I don't need to. It's been a huge- No. I'm not saying I have a normal smile, which I actually am starting to embrace and love my smile lines. I don't call them wrinkles, but I think as we age naturally, I'm embracing these things because I think that's what I don't know. I don't know.

Ruby [00:20:52]:
I'm embracing how I'm aging. I'm not dreading it because I just feel better overall in my fifties.

Susan [00:20:59]:
Yeah. Yeah. You tell me, of course, of course, because it's our, we have smile lines from our eye. You know, you don't want to not have smile lines, right? Because you want to smile. Yeah. So if I have smile lines, that's okay because I love smiling. Smiling's my favorite. So, yeah, I think that that's important. I think it's just like you said, confidence.

Susan [00:21:17]:
Like, I feel like I feel like I can age more confidently knowing I'm doing all that I can to look as good as I can, but also that this is a natural process, but I'm not making it worse by drinking. You know what I mean? And getting enough sleep because also sleep is huge, huge for your body to replenish and repair. And we just don't get good sleep when we're drinking.

Ruby [00:21:46]:
We just don’t.

Susan [00:21:46]:
Yeah. You know? So getting better sleep is huge. And And then

Ruby [00:21:51]:
you start wanting to exercise more because you have more energy in the morning. I do my little spirals. It just keeps getting better and better and better. And then if we even talk about feelings, because this is Feel It Alcohol Free Podcast, the feelings, you just start feeling that kind of vibrancy or you give off a nonverbal energy. And I like to call it, like, vibes. Like, I'm like, they're high vibes. They're good vibes. They are people who just notice.

Ruby [00:22:22]:
It's crazy how many people notice. I mean, I think I've shared this before, but, like, rent like, the Starbucks barista is, like, hey. You are, like, so positive, like or whatever she said. And I was just, like, Yeah. I don't drink alcohol. I tell you about it all the time because I'm proud of it. But

Susan [00:22:39]:
Me too. Me too.

Ruby [00:22:41]:
I'm like, Well, try it.

Susan [00:22:41]:
You know? Try it. Definitely. I know. And then people, sometimes when I say that, you know, people like they shrink down like, oh, like that's the thing they're not willing to do. You know what I mean? Like, oh, okay. Well, uh-huh.

Ruby [00:22:54]:
So this whole episode is about, even if you think it's vain or whatever, but, like, looking better, we want to look better. We want to feel better and look better. And this truly is a fountain of youth. It truly is the best kept beauty secret. If you could drink alcohol and you order all of those expensive eye creams and face creams, and it's just, like you said, Susan, you might as well just throw them in the garbage. It's really not helping that much at all, if at all. Maybe not.

Susan [00:23:26]:
Yeah. Yeah. And so think about it. So think about the money you spent on alcohol, plus the money you're spending on all the face stuff to try to repair all the damage you're doing from alcohol. Like when you think about all that money that adds up because I know people have apps where, like, oh, I saved all this money by not drinking, but look at what there is, what do you call it? The just the ripple effects that are just beyond when you start to think about it. You're like, yeah, that's affected by this and that's affected by this and this and this and it's just these dominoes that and like you said, spiraling up instead of spiraling down. And it's just so worth it. And I, yeah, I sing it from the rooftops as much as I possibly can as well just because I want people to try it even, you know, just, like, see what happens.

Susan [00:24:14]:
And I wanna encourage you if you're early days and you're not feeling the sparkle yet, it does take time for that full detox. It can take up to a year to, you know, but you do. But we do see people though, like, in the 30 day experiment or a 90 day program, definitely you see benefits within 30 to 60 to 90 days. And it just keeps getting better if you think about it.

Ruby [00:24:40]:
Yes. And an important tactic here around noticing is to really take a selfie. Before so, say, you are just thinking about starting, like, a 30 day kind of you're gonna try 30 days, for example, maybe a dry July or something, you know, or a sober October. There's all these fun things to try, but just take a before picture. And you can maybe find 1 in your phone from before and after. And even in 30 days or this listener was 48 days AF. But, like, even in even a couple weeks, you can notice. But you could take pictures and start to. I love it when people are like, this is day 1 and then this is day 14 and then this is day 30 and this is day 90.

Ruby [00:25:21]:
You just can see mainly in the eyes. I love to see the eyes and skin. And then, everything just looks brighter and you smile better. It's like, I think the drinking photos, it's like the eyes are vacant. At least that's how I felt. It felt very like vacant eyes. Yeah. Not only bloodshot, but vacant.

Susan [00:25:45]:
Well, it's because the shit came down. You know when I talked about that? It's like when I recognize that with my husband, we're, like, sitting across from each other and he was drinking. I wasn't. And all of a sudden, I could just see the shades come down or there was, like, this film or just, like, I call it, like, the blinds, and then there was this barrier, the alcohol shades between me and him. So sad. You can see that in people's glassy eyed photos. I'll look for something because I didn't do a 30, I didn't take a photo before and after, but I certainly could find some. You can just tell in people's faces and their eyes and Mhmm.

Susan [00:26:19]:
It's like I don't know. I feel like it's sort of, yeah, like you said, sort of blurry, sort of not, sort of vacant. Yeah. That sort of vacant party girl look, which most of my drinking wasn't social. Over drinking wasn't social. It was mostly at home, so I don't have a whole lot of pictures because I wasn't snapping pictures of myself sitting on the couch drinking wine. So I don't have a lot of that evidence, but I'd love this idea that you know, what's the evidence? What do I see in my eyes? What do I see in my skin? What do I see in you know, what's the evidence? What do I see in my eyes? What do I see in my skin? What do I see in my body? What do I see and feel in my body is vibrancy and just list the evidence and just weigh it out yourself. You know? Yeah.

Ruby [00:27:10]:
And we would love for you to join our Facebook group, and this is where we can post pictures like this. And we'd love to see your pictures if you have a before and after. I have 1 that's when I was drinking heavily to when I like, a year later, like, when I lost weight, like, a year. I can also probably find, like, a day 1 and a day 30. I'll try to find some for our group.

Susan [00:27:32]:
Yeah.

Ruby [00:27:33]:
That'd be awesome. Maybe you can too.

Susan [00:27:35]:
I will look. Yeah.

Ruby [00:27:36]:
Yeah. Wow. So this is my favorite part of the episode where I ask Susan. Hey, Susan. What do you do these days to feel lit alcohol free?

Susan [00:27:51]:
Well, you know, I've always been exploring different things. I wouldn't say I do this 1 on a regular basis, but I have it in my back pocket. But I learned it from yoga with Adriene, and I just wanted to click on it because I was like, what is this? Because it's called “taco breath”. I think it's like a Sanskrit name. No. It's so yeah. And I'm like, what is taco breath? And so it was really funny because I did see a huge difference, so I thought it would be fun to share it. And this is breathing you can use if you're angry.

Susan [00:28:26]:
Okay. And I know a lot of people drink when they're angry or drink at something because they're angry or not we're not comfortable a lot of times as women with our anger, anger and resentment, and then we go drink because we're mad at somebody. And of course, who does that help? We're poisoning ourselves as punishment through somebody else. Like, well, fine. I'm gonna go in my room and drink because I'm mad at you. Right. It's like, okay. That doesn't make any sense.

Susan [00:28:53]:
But anyway, the taco breath is you take your tongue and you make it like a taco, like that. And you breathe in.

Ruby [00:29:02]:
Some people can't do that, by the way.

Susan [00:29:04]:
Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, can you not?

Ruby [00:29:08]:
Oh, I can. I've heard that some people can't, like, can't do it or something. Yeah. 

Susan [00:29:12]:
Yeah. Okay. I think she said it's even better, I'd have to click on it again. So we'll just try it. So Yeah. Breathe in, and then you shut your mouth, and you breathe out. You exhale through your nose.

Susan [00:29:26]:
It was sort of the opposite of a lot of breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. And this is the opposite, breathing in through your mouth and then shutting your mouth and breathing out through your nose. But also, when you breathe in now do it one more time.

Susan [00:29:41]:
But also, when you breathe in now do it one more time. Do you feel the cool air going down your throat? And then now shut your mouth and breathe out.

Ruby [00:29:49]:
Oh, I'm going to remember this. I love it.

Susan [00:29:50]:
And what is the temperature of the air coming out of your nose? It's hot. I'm not sure.

Ruby [00:29:54]:
Yeah. Yeah. It's warm. It's warm.

Susan [00:29:56]:
It's warm. It's almost like you're breathing in this cool air to cool yourself, your anger down, and breathing out the angry air, the hot, the heat. Okay. And it's a cool way of cooling. I did it, you know, when I tried it, I was like, woah. I can really sense this. Breathe in the cool air to cool down that hot air. Let the anger go ahead and let the anger and let the the hot air flow out of your, like, a fire breathing dragon out of your nose.

Ruby [00:30:25]:
And how many times would you do it? Does she recommend doing, like, 5 5 repetitions in a row?

Susan [00:30:33]:
As many as you want to feel calmer. Yeah. Okay. And like you said, just 1 even helped you feel calmer. Mhmm. And plus it's just out of I mean, if you're angry too, it's just said, look in the mirror. It's sort of funny looking, just kinda crack yourself up. So it can help you just lighten the mood.

Susan [00:30:51]:
She was like, okay, I'm doing taco breath, you know? So sometimes when I do these nutty things, I just crack myself up like, oh, wow. You're nuts, Susan.

Ruby [00:30:59]:
And I just cracked you up.

Ruby [00:31:00]:
Yeah. I'm going to crack up. I'm gonna think of taco breath. Next time I'm angry, I'm gonna try this, and I'm gonna crack up because I think it is funny to curl your tongue.

Susan [00:31:12]:
Well, I look kinda funny.

Ruby [00:31:14]:
Oh my gosh. Just one second.

Susan [00:31:15]:
You really feel the cool air going down. Right? Just cooling everything down, girlfriend. Cooling it down. Right?

Ruby [00:31:23]:
I think it also creates that you know how in yoga classes, it's that Ujjayi breathing. It kind of has that feeling on my brain, which is a little like a little bit of a tingle. I don't know. Like, a vibe vibration in my brain, which feels good. Like, a good vibration.

Susan [00:31:41]:
Well, and this helps you calm your nervous system. So then you can do, like, in the moment when your lid is flipped, that's when you reach for the drink, not thinking. Right? But if you can take a moment and do some breathing, like this taco breathing, then you cool yourself down. You're soothing your nervous system. Your prefrontal cortex goes back online, and then you can make a better choice where you're like, wait a minute, why would I drink poison when I'm mad at you? You know? Yeah. And go, no, I'm not gonna do that. You know?

Ruby [00:32:11]:
Yeah. Like the quote, I think it's from Carrie, let's say, Carrie Fisher's book, Wishful Drinking. It's like, when you drink the poison, you're expecting the other person to, like, get hurt, to suffer. But that you're the one suffering. 

Susan [00:32:32]:
Yeah. It's that kinda It's cutting off your nose despite your face. Speaking of beauty. So yeah.

Ruby [00:32:36]:
I've been reading Carrie Fisher's book again. I just love her so much, Wishful Drinking. And we could talk about what “quit lit” books we're reading too. I mean, I have so many, and I'll just, like, read 1 again, you know, or or read, you know, whatever book. I just love them all. So

Susan [00:32:53]:
Yeah. I loved the movie Postcards from the Edge, which I think was based on her and her mother's relationship. Yes. Yep. That's a great movie. So I haven't read that book, so I'll have to put a link to the show notes if anyone's interested. Because, yeah, I'm always looking for a different new book to inspire. Sometimes, you know, you get a little overloaded on Quit Lit, and then you take a little break and then come back to it.

Susan [00:33:17]:
And Mhmm. And that's always, it's always good to just keep, you know, we do there is, and we've done an episode on fading affect bias, and it's it's always good to remember and always, you know, good to revisit and bolster our foundations. Our why, our foundations. Yeah. And quitlets a great way to do that. So, if you try taco breath, send us a message. Let us know.

Ruby [00:33:44]:
I loved it. Thank you for teaching me that, Susan. I always learn from you. Yeah. And you look so youthful and beautiful. So do you. And I just want you to know that. And, again, this is our fountain of youth, our beauty secret.

Susan [00:33:58]:
Yeah. And you know what? Before even recording this, we came up with the topic. We didn't even prepare, like, our faces for this episode. So this is, like, how I normally like, I didn't even do anything special. Like, I should look good. We're doing the fountain of youth episode. It's, like, no.

Ruby [00:34:11]:
Yeah. This is my regular makeup. Me too. I do wear makeup though because, yeah, well, I'm doing a lot of, like, calls and stuff.

Susan [00:34:18]:
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, this is so fun.

Ruby [00:34:21]:
So fun. Alright. Okay. Well, see you all. I hope you'll join our Facebook group, and we have our freebie, which is if you wanna dip your toe in, try a wine free weekend.

Susan [00:34:33]:
Let's see how you feel on Monday. Yeah. Yeah. It's just one weekend. Okay. Okay.

Ruby [00:34:38]:
Alright. Bye. Bye bye. 

Thanks so much for listening to the Feel Lit Alcohol Free Podcast. Do you have a question you'd like us to answer on the show? All you need to do is head over to Apple Podcasts and do 2 simple things. Leave a rating and review telling us what you think of the show. And in that review, ask us any questions you have about breaking free from wine or living an alcohol free lifestyle. That's it. Then tune in to hear your question answered live. Don't forget to grab your copy of a wine free weekend at www.feellitpodcast.com 
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