I mentioned on Snapchat (@StephanieOQ) the other week that I don’t drink alcohol. The comment was in conversation, but the messages I received struck a chord in me. I understood so many of you also are either a) trying to quit or b) wondering why I don’t drink. The endless messages and overall intrigue over my choice to give up led me to this blog post.

3 years ago, I lost almost half of my body weight. You can imagine how conscious I was of everything that went into my mouth. I wanted to protect what I had achieved. The decision was simple, I would rather ‘cheat’ with a burger and chips than with a night out downing multiple vodkas & Redbull and experiencing an unrelenting misery of a headache for the following 24 hours.

I was never, ever a big drinker. It just didn’t interest me too much. I cut down little by little until I started to not desire it anymore. The occasional time, I would have some vodkas and sparkling water (when I was trying to be “good”)  but it became uninteresting and ultimately, I gave up for good.

I haven’t looked back since. I eat pretty clean however, I definitely do still crave chocolate and cheese fries but never a drink.

I guess the what has helped me sustain a comfortable lifestyle without alcohol is the fact that I don’t stay out late often; my lifestyle is not the regular 25-year-old party kind and I couldn’t be more content. I don’t want to go to a bar, I don’t want to go to a nightclub, I don’t want to come in at 4 am and stay in bed til 1 pm the next day. I want to get sh*t done, even if that means being alone or ‘unsocial’. I have all the friends I want, thanks very much.

So that’s just my story. I don’t have anything against drinking whatsoever, each to their own.  Despite the additional spare time I have at the weekend, the hundreds of dollars I save and the more I get done when I’m not out til 4 am, there is also huge health benefits to not drinking.

Will I ever drink again? Possibly. Maybe next weekend or maybe in 10 years time. Have I sipped Champagne or a colourful cocktail? Sure. But at 25 years old, the feeling of being drunk is a distant memory.