EP 49: What Alcohol Coaching Is Really Like (From Someone Who Did It)

Ep 55: Alcohol and Mental Health: The Conversation Nobody Is Having

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but honestly, this conversation should be happening all the time. There's something that's still missing from too many mental health conversations, and I'm just going to say it: alcohol. We've come a long way in talking openly about depression, anxiety, therapy, and medication. But the thing nobody wants to name? How much alcohol might be quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) working against every single thing you're trying to do for your mental health. This is a solo episode, and it's personal. I've struggled with depression for most of my life. I tried therapy, medication, journaling, exercise, prayer, supplements, and I was doing all of it while still drinking. And here's what I know now that I wish I'd known then: you cannot out-supplement, out-exercise, or out-therapy a drinking habit that's actively pulling your brain chemistry in the wrong direction. In this episode, I walk through exactly how alcohol interferes with the most common mental health tools people are using right now — and then I share my 4R method for what to do instead. Some topics I cover are: * Why alcohol is still the missing piece in most mental health conversations, from patients to doctors to therapists * How alcohol actively interferes with therapy, antidepressants, sleep aids, journaling, exercise, and supplements * The shame spiral and fading effect bias, which is the cycle that keeps so many of us stuck * Brain shrinkage, rebound anxiety, and what expert brain imaging research actually shows If this episode hit home, I want to hear from you. Email me at maureen@soberfitchick.com [maureen@soberfitchick.com] I read and respond to every single one. And if you're ready to dig in, head to my website to learn more about working together. 💬 WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TOOLS I OFFER? 👇 Am I Drinking Too Much Quiz [https://www.soberfitchick.com/amiquiz]   Six-Week Alcohol Reset [https://www.soberfitchick.com/alcohol-reset-waitlist] Drink Less By Monday  [https://www.soberfitchick.com/afw-optin] Book a FREE Discovery Call [https://calendly.com/soberfitchick/30min?month=2025-07] Follow me on Instagram  [https://www.instagram.com/soberfitchickllc/]

EP 54: Why Yoga Is Better Than Wine with Tina Lanzoni

Okay, I have to be honest, this episode started because Tina Lanzoni sent out an email with the subject line Why Yoga is Better Than Wine after returning from a retreat in Costa Rica. And I immediately had to get her on the podcast. Tina is a yoga therapist, meditation teacher, somatic instructor, and indoor cycling coach with over 10,000 hours of teaching experience. She's a certified yoga therapist in the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy, a graduate of the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, and a Level 2 iRest Yoga Nidra teacher. She's trained over 100 teachers in the Annapolis area, and if you've ever been in one of her classes, you already know she has a gift for making hard things feel doable. She's also the person who quietly kicks my butt every week in SoulCycle at Evolutions. So yeah, she's the real deal. This conversation goes deep into something I talk about a lot  (why willpower isn't the problem) but, Tina brings a completely different lens to it through the world of somatics and embodiment. When we keep reaching for something outside ourselves (wine, scrolling, binge-watching, you name it), we're actually teaching our nervous system that discomfort is a threat. And the more we do that, the more disconnected we get from ourselves, and the harder it becomes to trust ourselves. Tina also did a live somatic practice with me on the episode. Honestly, just listen to it. You'll feel it. Here's what we get into: * What "being embodied" actually means and why most of us aren't * Why discomfort is not the enemy, and what happens when you stop escaping it * Why alcohol makes embodiment almost impossible (and what opened up for me personally once I stopped drinking) * The difference between outsourcing your feelings vs. insourcing, and why it matters for self-trust * A live titration practice you can actually try right now * Yoga Nidra, breathwork, and how to start a somatic practice even if you think you can't sit still * Tina's upcoming retreat to the Azores,  these fill up fast CONNECT WITH TINA Tina Lanzoni - Yoga Classes, Yoga Therapy, Meditation - Annapolis, MD [https://tinalanzoni.com/] 💬 WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TOOLS I OFFER? 👇 Am I Drinking Too Much Quiz [https://www.soberfitchick.com/amiquiz]   Six-Week Alcohol Reset [https://www.soberfitchick.com/alcohol-reset-waitlist] Drink Less By Monday  [https://www.soberfitchick.com/afw-optin] Book a FREE Discovery Call [https://calendly.com/soberfitchick/30min?month=2025-07] Follow me on Instagram  [https://www.instagram.com/soberfitchickllc/] Want to explore what changing your relationship with alcohol could look like for you? Email me at maureen@soberfitchick.com [maureen@soberfitchick.com] or visit my website [https://www.soberfitchick.com/].

EP 53: My Binge Drinking Diaries

In this episode of Sober Fit Life, I'm doing something I've been wanting to do for a long time — I'm reading you my actual journal entries from the month leading up to my last drink on September 14th, 2021. The shame. The bargaining. The waking up at 2am asking what is wrong with me? The promises I made to myself that I broke over and over again. I wrote all of it down, and I want you to hear it — because if you've ever kept that inner struggle completely to yourself, I want you to know you are not alone and there is nothing wrong with you. These aren't someone else's words. They're mine. And I'm sharing them because when clients work with me now, I never want them to think I don't remember what this felt like. I do. Every bit of it. In this episode, I share:  * Real journal entries from the month before I ditched booze for good, the shame, the rationalizing, the hiding * What finally happened on September 14th, 2021, my last day drinking, and what shifted the morning after * Why trying to moderate keeps so many of us stuck, and what true moderators actually look like * The one big domino and why alcohol is the first thing that has to change before everything else can fall into place * How I navigated my first alcohol-free wedding just 11 days in and what I wrote in my journal the next morning * Why this is less about willpower and everything about brain chemistry and neural pathways * What it looks like to build confidence win by win, situation by situation * A peek inside my recent six-week group, including a 78-year-old client who went 12 days alcohol-free for the first time in her adult life I also want to invite you to take my free quiz — Am I Drinking Too Much? — at www.soberfitchick.com/amiquiz [http://www.soberfitchick.com/amiquiz]. No labels, no shame, just honest questions and real answers. You'll also get my guide to gray area drinking and three science-backed strategies for stopping cravings in the moment. And if this episode speaks to you, I'm already taking names for my next six-week Alcohol Reset, kicking off at the end of September. I would love to have you. Ready to take the next step? Email me at maureen@soberfitchick.com [maureen@soberfitchick.com] or visit my website to learn more about working together. No obligation, just science-backed techniques that actually work. 💬 Want to learn more about the tools I offer? 👇 Six-Week Alcohol Reset [https://www.soberfitchick.com/alcohol-reset-waitlist] Drink Less By Monday  [https://www.soberfitchick.com/afw-optin] Book a FREE Discovery Call [https://calendly.com/soberfitchick/30min?month=2025-07] Follow me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/soberfitchickllc/]

EP 52: Your Gut, Your Hormones, Your Pelvic Floor with Dr. Betsy Greenleaf

Dr. Betsy Greenleaf is renowned as a premier expert in menopause and andropause, a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and innovative specialist in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery with over two decades of experience. She was the first female in the United States to achieve board certification in urogynecology — which she had to explain to us because her own mom thought it sounded like "Euro Disney." We had a moment with that. She's also the founder of the International PAUSE Institute (perimenopause, menopause, and andropause support), CEO of the Pelvic Floor Store, and founder of Femversity, a women's empowerment platform focused on body, mind, and spirit. And she has a podcast called 40s Forward. Because of course she does. Here's what we covered: What even is urogynecology? It's not fancy European gynecology. it's the specialty that deals with everything inside the pelvis at a deeper level than a regular OB-GYN. The bladder, the vagina, the uterus, the rectum, all of it. And yes, Dr. Greenleaf really did say "my vagina has fallen and it can't get up." And I love her for it. The pelvic floor matters more than you think. Like every muscle in the body, pelvic floor muscles weaken over time. We lose about 8% of our muscle mass every decade after age 30 and nobody ever thinks about exercising those muscles until there's a problem. Weakness can lead to leaking, difficulty controlling gas (she used the executive farting mid-presentation scenario and I was here for it), and reduced sexual function. The fix? Kegel exercises, adequate protein, and strength training. It all works together. Andropause is real — and men don't escape it. While menopause is having its moment on social media, andropause is still flying under the radar. After 40, testosterone starts declining in both men and women. For men, that shows up as the dad bod creeping in, brain fog, lower motivation, mood changes, and reduced sex drive. Sound familiar? It's not just aging, it's hormonal, and there's a lot that can be done about it. Alcohol and your hormones are not friends. This is where things got really specific in a way I hadn't heard before. Here's what Dr. Greenleaf broke down: * Hormones are metabolized in the liver. Alcohol messes with the liver. So even if you're on hormone replacement therapy, alcohol can prevent you from metabolizing those hormones properly. * Alcohol tanks testosterone and raises estrogen in both men and women. For men, heavy drinking can literally lead to the development of breast tissue. She said it, and I'm just repeating it. * The body's hormone pathway can go one of two directions: it can make testosterone and estrogen, or it can make cortisol in response to stress. Alcohol is a stressor. So when you drink to de-stress, your body actually makes more cortisol and less of the good hormones. It's doing the exact opposite of what you think it's doing. The gut-brain-vagina connection. I had never heard this framing before and it stopped me in my tracks. Dr. Greenleaf explained that when the gut microbiome is off, it triggers a cascade that affects everything — including vaginal health and libido. Because of the anatomy (the anus, vagina, and urethra are very close together), bad bacteria from a disrupted gut can easily migrate and overpopulate the vaginal microbiome. This leads to recurrent UTIs, vaginal infections, and the body essentially deciding to shut down reproduction and libido because it senses inflammation. So when people say "I need a drink to get in the mood" — yeah, it's actually working against you long-term. 90% of serotonin is made in the gut. Read that again. Your happy hormone? Made in your gut. And alcohol kills off the bacteria responsible for producing it. Dr. Greenleaf also talked about GABA, another neurotransmitter made by gut bacteria that's critical for brain health, focus, and preventing brain fog. A lot of gray area drinkers drink specifically because they're chasing that GABA effect. But alcohol actually trains your body to make less of its own GABA over time. It's borrowing against your future. The cortisol curve. This was one of those explanations that made me go "oh, THAT'S why." Normally, cortisol rises in the morning (helping you wake up) and decreases throughout the day. When you're chronically stressed, that curve flips — you can't get out of bed in the morning and you can't shut your brain off at night. Alcohol and caffeine both make this worse. If you're using coffee to get going and wine to wind down, you're in a loop that's actually reinforcing the problem. Bladder health and yes, Botox. We have an epidemic of overactive bladder, and alcohol is a direct contributor. It dehydrates you, concentrates your urine, and is an irritant to the bladder lining. But here's the part that genuinely surprised me: there are more people walking around in their 70s with overactive bladder at any given time than have the common cold. Dr. Greenleaf does Botox injections into the bladder to calm spasming muscles — and she got into aesthetics because patients started asking her to use the leftovers on their faces. Her words. I love this woman. Wearable tech changed her perspective. Dr. Greenleaf already knew intellectually that alcohol was bad for you — she's a doctor. But it wasn't until she started wearing a health tracker and actually saw what one glass of wine did to her sleep quality, heart rate variability, and oxygen levels that it really hit. She showed me her data during our conversation. The red dot was not subtle. She said one glass can throw off her microbiome for up to a week. After seeing that in real time? It's just not worth it anymore. Non-alcoholic options she actually likes. Hop water, non-alcoholic beer, seltzer with bitters. She's a bitters fan because bitter foods have a GLP-1-like effect on appetite and gut health — something American diets are seriously lacking. And she made the point that nobody at a party is paying attention to what's in your glass. Nobody cares. The PAUSE App. It's still in beta and she wants us to try it! Go to pauselabs.health [https://pauselabs.health] and use code SOBERFIT for three months free. It tracks your hormones, symptoms, food, and stressors because hormone levels alone don't tell the whole story.  This is a must-listen. Go find her. 🎧 CONNECT WITH DR. BETSY GREENLEAF: * pauselabs.health [https://pauselabs.health] — use code SOBERFIT for 3 months free * CEO, Pelvic Floor Store [https://pelvicfloorstore.com/pages/about-us] * Founder, Femversity [https://femversity.com/femversity-about] * 40s Forward Podcast [https://open.spotify.com/show/59M3gp0FAIdk9GEMqO1lCc?si=7a9942159e60453f] * Follow Betsy on Instagram  [https://www.instagram.com/drbetsygreenleaf/] 💬 WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TOOLS I OFFER? 👇 Am I Drinking Too Much Quiz [https://www.soberfitchick.com/ami]  Six-Week Alcohol Reset [https://www.soberfitchick.com/alcohol-reset] Drink Less By Monday  [https://www.soberfitchick.com/drinklessbymonday] Book a FREE Discovery Call [https://calendly.com/soberfitchick/30min?month=2025-07] Follow me on Instagram  [https://www.instagram.com/soberfitchickllc/]

EP 51: Why You Feel Worse Before You Feel Better When You Quit Drinking

I'm busting the myth of the overnight transformation and getting into the real reason why you might not feel amazing right away: it's not a moral failing, it's chemistry. When we drink regularly over time, alcohol takes over jobs our brain used to handle on its own — dopamine production, GABA regulation, stress response, relaxation. Our brain, always trying to conserve energy, stops producing those chemicals itself and relies on alcohol to do it instead. So when we remove alcohol, the brain doesn't just snap back into full production mode. It waits. It recalibrates. And that takes time. In this episode, I cover: * Why you might feel worse before you feel better (and what's actually happening in your brain) * The dopamine and GABA chemistry that explains how habits form and why alcohol is so hard to put down * What neuroplasticity means for your recovery and why you have more agency than you think * The difference between a deprivation mindset and a healing mindset  * How alcohol interferes with sleep, gut health, muscle building, and nutrient absorption * Why comparison is a trap! Everyone's recalibration timeline is different * What it looks like to build a personalized toolkit that actually supports your brain and body I also share what helped me personally (including going through a gut detox after years of damage)  💬 WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TOOLS I OFFER? 👇 Am I Drinking Too Much Quiz [https://www.soberfitchick.com/ami]   Six-Week Alcohol Reset [https://www.soberfitchick.com/alcohol-reset-waitlist] Drink Less By Monday  [https://www.soberfitchick.com/afw-optin] Book a FREE Discovery Call [https://calendly.com/soberfitchick/30min?month=2025-07] Follow me on Instagram  [https://www.instagram.com/soberfitchickllc/]