October 9, 2025 • 28 mins
Struggling with both overeating and overdrinking and not sure where to start? This episode explains how alcohol rapidly enters the brain, lowers executive control, spikes dopamine, and disrupts sleep and blood sugar, which can make food choices harder.
You’ll learn why sweets often surge for a couple of weeks after removing alcohol (totally normal), how to run a simple 72-hour alcohol-free test, and a gentle 7-day plan to build momentum (protein + fiber early, a short-term after-dinner sweet swap, a quick “dopamine menu,” sleep guardrails, and Scripture + accountability).
We also point you to my conversation with Denise Jelinek on Weight Loss with the Holy Spirit for a faith-first, practical companion to this topic: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alcohol/id1708433539?i=1000722465416
Note: if you may be physically dependent on alcohol, please consult a medical professional before changing your intake.
If you have ever...
- Struggled with the social pressures associated with alcohol use.
- Felt isolated, alone, and unsure of how to break the cycle.
- Experienced shame and frustration after drinking.
- Told yourself, “I’ll never get this. It’s no use.”
Then this 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start is for you!
Each day, you’ll receive a short video with simple tasks to help you analyze your drinking habits with clarity.
I'm here for you. I'm praying for you. You are NOT alone!
Please subscribe to this podcast so you won't miss a thing!
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, the
go-to resource for women seekingto have a deeper understanding
of the role alcohol plays intheir lives.
Women who are looking to drinkless or not at all for any
reason.
I am your host, Christy Walker.
I'm a wife, mom, and ajoy-filled Catholic, and I am
(00:22):
the Catholic sobriety coach.
And I am so glad you're here.
Hello friends.
Today we are asking thequestion: should you start with
food or alcohol?
Because let's be honest, bothcan feel like they're running
the show sometimes.
Sugar, I've been there.
(00:43):
Scrolling Instagram at 10:30p.m.
when I promised myself I'd be inbed by 10.
Yeah, I've been there too.
We all have our little comfortbuttons.
But here's what I want you tohear.
For a long time, I didn't feelwell.
I was tired.
I had stomach cramps in theevenings.
(01:04):
My brain was foggy.
My sleep was restless.
And I thought that was just lifeor my age, or maybe I just
wasn't disciplined enough.
But when I finally did aninflammation diet, which is
basically an anti-inflammatoryreset, I discovered that some of
the foods I loved, foods Ithought weren't affecting me at
(01:28):
all, were actually the verythings blocking me from feeling
better.
And once I identified andremoved those, my whole health
started to shift.
So that experience taught mesomething very important that
sometimes what we think is theproblem isn't really the root.
(01:52):
And that's exactly what I wantto unpack with you today.
So by the end of this episode,you're gonna know exactly where
to start (02:00):
food or alcohol.
And you'll walk away with somesmall concrete steps that you
can put into practice right now.
Little wins that are going tosnowball into greater freedom.
Now, before we get technical,let's name why this question, do
(02:21):
I start with food or alcohol,matters so much.
Most of us struggle bothovereating and over drinking.
They light up the same rewardpathway in the brain, dopamine.
So both can become quick comfortbuttons when we're stressed,
lonely, or bored.
Different behaviors, the samewiring.
(02:42):
That's why it can feel likewhack-a-mole.
You push one down and the otherpops up.
The risk is starting in thewrong place.
It's like shoveling snow in ablizzard.
You can spend a lot of effort,but the minute you turn around,
the snow is right back on thedriveway.
Before my elimination diet, Iwas doing things mostly right.
(03:05):
I was taking supplements, eatingfoods I thought were healthy,
and getting to bed at areasonable time.
But nothing changed until Itested and removed the actual
triggers.
Now, here's a simple way to seewhy order matters.
First, night A, no drink.
(03:27):
You finish dinner, a sweet snackthat sounds nice, but it's
optional.
You can take it or leave it.
You tidy the kitchen, maybe readand pray, and your sleep is
okay.
Night B, with one drink, youhave the same dinner, but now
alcohol is in your system.
And two things tend to happen.
(03:49):
The first is that in the brain,alcohol reduces activity in the
prefrontal cortex.
That's the area that supportsplanning, judgment, and impulse
control.
So when a system is turned down,it's harder to stick with just
one of anything.
And then in the body, alcoholbegins to disrupt normal glucose
(04:11):
regulation.
And that nudges sleep towardlighter, more fragmented cycles
later that night.
So now you put those twotogether and you get a very
predictable chain.
Stronger snack urges after thedrink, more scrolling, later
bedtime, lighter sleep, and thatleads to a rougher morning.
(04:33):
Same you, same values, and sameintentions, but a different
sequence of inputs on your brainand body.
So this isn't about willpower orworth.
It's about sequence andphysiology.
Pick the right starting placeand you'll feel traction
(04:54):
quickly.
Pick the wrong one and it'sspinning wheels.
Lots of effort and littlemovement.
So here's a little self-checkyou can do.
Ask yourself these questions.
On the nights you drink, do foodboundaries get looser?
Are your next mornings morefoggy, even when you ate clean?
(05:19):
Do you keep changing food rulesbut nights with alcohol undo
them?
If those resonate with you, ifyou are nodding your head yes,
first I want you to know thatthere's nothing wrong with you.
You're just gathering honestdata.
And honest data is a giftbecause it points to the most
(05:40):
effective first step.
I invite you to pray somethinglike this Lord, bring light to
what is really driving this andgive me the grace to respond.
That's why this matters.
Choosing the right startingplace is how we stop chasing
symptoms and begin healingcauses.
(06:04):
Now, in the next section, I'mgoing to explain in simple terms
what alcohol does in the brainand body that makes moderation
of anything much tougher.
And why, if alcohol is in thepicture, addressing it first
often makes food choicesdramatically easier.
Okay, so let's talk aboutalcohol versus food in the
(06:26):
brain.
First, it's important for you toknow that alcohol enters the
brain quickly.
Alcohol is a small fat-solublemolecule, and that matters
because the brain has thisprotective filter called the
blood brain barrier, and thatblocks out many substances and
bacteria.
(06:46):
So when alcohol or ethanolcrosses that barrier, it does so
rapidly.
So brain levels rise withinminutes, and that is why you
feel the effects so fast.
Now, what changes once it's inthe brain?
Alcohol is going to reduceactivity in the prefrontal
(07:09):
cortex, and that's the part ofyour brain responsible for
planning, judgment, impulsecontrol.
And when that prefrontal cortexactivity drops, it's simply
harder to inhibit impulses.
This is physiology, not acharacter flaw.
It explains why just one oftenprecedes extra snacking, late
(07:35):
scrolling, or skipping yourplan.
Alcohol reaches the brainquickly and it lowers executive
control.
That combination makes othermoderation much, much tougher.
Now both food or sugar andalcohol trigger dopamine.
Dopamine is the brain'smotivation, that feel-good
(07:57):
signal, but alcohol generates amuch, much larger dopamine
response, a dopamine spike wayhigher than typical foods.
With repetition, the brainadapts by lowering the baseline
reward activity.
And that means that everydaypleasures feel muted or blunt
(08:21):
for a little bit.
Many women describe feeling flatwithout wine.
That's because the reward systemis recalibrating.
It's not a moral failure.
Now, if you've tried to removealcohol for any length of time,
you may have noticed that yourfood control gets harder.
And there's three main reasonsfor that.
(08:43):
First, alcohol is sedating, itdisrupts sleep architecture.
So you get less deep sleep andREM and more fragmented sleep.
And so poor sleep equals anincrease in cravings and reduced
regulation for the next day.
And then second, your stress andmove rebound.
(09:05):
So as alcohol clears, stresssystems can rebound, producing
edginess, low mood,irritability.
The brain is seeking quickrelief, and often sugar or
refined carbs is what it goesfor.
And then the third is glucoseregulation.
(09:27):
Alcohol interferes with normalglucose balance, which can
increase hunger and that drivescravings later in the evening.
So 1 Peter 5.8 calls us to besober-minded and watchful.
Now, fragmented sleep andfoggier cognition make that
vigilance harder physically andspiritually.
(09:52):
So I want to show you how it'sall interconnected mind, body,
and spirit.
Another thing you might noticeat first when alcohol is removed
is that sweets can spike.
This is totally normal andtemporary.
And the first reason is becauseof that dopamine dip.
So when you stop a high dopaminebehavior, like alcohol, the
(10:17):
system briefly dips below itsusual limit.
And your brain is begging for aquick hit.
Sweets are nearby, they're easy,and they're socially acceptable.
So that's oftentimes what we'llreach for time and time again.
And then the second thing isthat habit slot, that neural
(10:41):
pathway, that evening treatmoment still exists.
So even though you remove thewine, you still have that
pathway.
And if wine leaves, then sugaris just gonna slide in until the
brain resets.
Now, the good news is that asyour sleep stabilizes and the
(11:04):
baseline reward sensitivitiesnormalize, which often take like
one to three weeks, those urgentsweet cravings will usually
fade.
Now, you can ride out a two tothree week window with some
really practical and good swaps.
The first is to make sure thatyou're getting protein and fiber
(11:27):
earlier in the day.
So aim for like palm-sizedprotein, eggs, Greek yogurt,
chicken, legumes, those types ofthings.
And then add that with afist-size fiber portion, like
berries, veggies, and thingslike that.
The reason this helps is becausea stable blood sugar equals less
(11:50):
of those late-nightquote-unquote emergencies or
cravings.
The other thing is to do atime-boxed sweet swap for 10 to
14 days.
So what you're going to do isjust choose a small planned
sweet after dinner, whetherthat's fruit, Greek yogurt, and
(12:11):
honey, or a square of darkchocolate, have that and then
brush your teeth, and then justput a clear end date on when
you're going to remove that.
You know, if you want to.
If it's just a little sweet,it's probably fine.
But if that sweet leads to moreand it makes it so it's you have
(12:34):
that craving to deal with.
(13:27):
The next thing is to have sleepguardrails.
We want to make sure you'regetting really good sleep.
That means no phone in bed.
I'm preaching to myself here, bythe way.
Cool dark room, realistic lightsout time that you can actually
hit.
And that is going to help in somany ways, but just better sleep
(13:50):
in general is going to helpreduce the cravings.
And then the last thing is toname your wins, no matter how
big or how small.
If you didn't drink, say Ididn't drink tonight, and that
single choice helps executivecontrol rebound and makes your
food or alcohol changes mucheasier the next time.
(14:14):
So, how do you know if alcoholis the place to start?
Ask yourself these fourquestions.
First, do you eat more afterdrinking even one drink?
Do your good food choicescollapse on nights you drink?
Are sleep, energy, and mood offdespite otherwise solid
(14:37):
nutrition?
Do you keep hoping that foodchanges will fix it, but they
don't stick?
If you're nodding yes to most ofthose questions, then start with
alcohol.
Another thing you can do is a72-hour experiment.
It's simple, but it will helpgive you the awareness that you
(15:01):
need.
So go three days alcohol-freeand jot down a 0 to 10 rating
for each of these things.
Sleep quality, evening foodpressure, next morning energy
and mood, sweet cravings, andyour prayer focus.
(15:23):
So if sleep energy and foodpressure improve even 10 to 20%
by day three or four, that ismeaningful biology talking.
So a couple months ago, I wasable to sit down with my friend
Denise Jelinick.
I've had her on the podcastseveral times.
So you can look her up andlisten to her episodes here.
(15:46):
But this time I got to be on herpodcast, which is Weight Loss
with the Holy Spirit, to talkabout the question that she gets
asked a lot as a food freedomcoach, which is is food really
the issue or is alcohol thehidden driver?
Denise brought to theconversation a compassionate
(16:07):
food freedom lens, and I broughtthe alcohol freedom lens.
And together we were able tooffer a faith-first practical
approach.
We covered how alcohol's quickentry into the brain affects
impulse control, why cravingscan intensify after just one,
how to stabilize meals withoutall or nothing rules, how to
(16:30):
pray into this with hope ratherthan shame.
We talked about those dualaddictions and a bunch of other
stuff.
So I will go ahead and link tothat podcast episode in my notes
as well.
So when you remove alcohol, youmay wonder what benefits am I
going to see?
What is actually going to startto improve?
(16:54):
And a lot of things improve, butI'll break it down into four
categories.
So the first one is sleepquality.
So you may have trouble fallingasleep, especially if you use
alcohol to fall asleep, but itdoes get better and it and you
will start to notice, especiallyif you have a sleep tracker,
(17:16):
that your quality of sleep isgoing to start improving.
The other thing is, and wetalked about this before, is
your glucose will stabilize.
It improves.
So that means fewer urgentcravings and calmer evenings.
Your executive control willstart to rebound.
(17:37):
So that prefrontal functionhelps you to follow your plan
without white knuckling it.
And then you're just going toexperience spiritual clarity.
It just will deepen for you.
Your prayer, your discernment,accessibility to the Lord will
just get much, much better anddeeper as you remove alcohol.
(18:03):
So when I removed the foods thatwere affecting me, I finally
realized how poorly I'd beenfeeling.
Sometimes we don't know how badwe feel until we start feeling
good.
And many women say the samething when alcohol is out that
they have clarity, they havesteadiness, they have peace,
they love their mornings again.
(18:24):
And it's so great to hear.
And I always tell them like,write that down so that you can
look back on it and remember,because there are so many
benefits.
And sometimes they're very smalland very subtle, but they are
there.
And the more distanced you getaway from alcohol or the greater
(18:46):
you can reduce alcohol, thebetter you're going to feel.
And once it's removed or greatlyreduced, you're going to start
experiencing some of thesethings and realize how much
alcohol was actually taking fromyou.
Now, some of the little thingsyou can look for are do you hit
the snooze button less?
(19:06):
Or maybe you're finding you evenwake up before the alarm.
And I'm not talking about 3 a.m.
wakings.
I'm talking about like naturallygetting a good amount of sleep
and waking up.
You might notice that yoursnacking pressure is down.
Like you don't have thoseintense cravings.
They might go down one or twonotches by week two.
(19:27):
Your prayer time might feel lessscattered, and you may find
yourself making better decisionsin the evening when it comes to
snacking or not snacking.
Okay, before we go, I'm going togive you just a framework for a
seven-day starter plan.
So this is just a seven-daypause.
(19:49):
You're just gathering data.
There, you don't need to havedrama about it.
It's just like a seven-daypause.
Take a deep breath.
It's good.
You're good.
You can do this.
Okay.
It's just seven days.
I've already talked about a fewof these things before, but as
my mom likes to say, it bearsrepeating.
The first thing you're going todo is start tracking a few
(20:11):
things, and you're going to ratethem from zero to 10.
Zero is going to be very, verypoor, and 10 is going to be the
best ever.
And you're going to be trackingyour sleep, evening food
pressure, your sweet, your sweetcravings, and your next morning
(20:32):
energy and food.
So track that for seven days.
You can start on day one, youcan start on day zero.
So if you're listening to thiswith wine in your hand, you can
still start tracking your sleepand all of those things, sleep
and food pressure and all ofthat today and then or tomorrow
morning.
And then you can, you know, goforward for the next seven days.
(20:55):
The second thing to do with theseven-day starter plan is you're
going to want to plan for ashort sweet surge.
So just go ahead and allowyourself a planned sweet.
Try to do it just after dinner.
And it could be somethinghealthy like fruit, Greek
yogurt, and honey, or one squareof chocolate.
(21:17):
I mean, if you have somethingelse, you have something else.
But one thing that can be super,super helpful is to have
whatever sweets you're havingand then brush your teeth.
That, I mean, for me, that willkeep me from wanting to have
more.
I don't know if it will helpyou, but try it out.
It might, it might work.
The other thing is to stabilizeearly in the day.
(21:41):
So stabilize those blood sugarsearly in the day.
And you're going to do that byfront loading with protein and
fiber.
So eggs and berries, Greekyogurt and oats, chicken and
salad.
That's going to stabilize yourglucose during the day.
And that is going to help youhave calmer nights and less
(22:03):
cravings.
The next thing is to have a listof five to 10 resets that you
actually like that you want todo.
So that could be things likejournaling or walking or
stretching, playing a game.
Just think of things that youlike to do.
Make a list, maybe write downhow long it takes to do it.
(22:28):
And when a craving comes up,then you can look at that list
instead of trying to like thinkof something in the moment.
Look at that list, picksomething that is good for the
the time that you have and alsolooks like something that you
know you would want to do.
The next thing is just to setsome sleep boundaries, guard it
(22:52):
like it's precious because itis.
So that means no phone in bed.
I'm talking to myself here.
No phone in bed, cool dark room,and a lights out time that you
can actually realistically hit.
Then the last thing is scriptureplus accountability.
Take 1 Corinthians 6.12somewhere where you can see it.
(23:16):
You can shorten it if you wantto, but go and read that verse
and then post it wherever youwill look.
And then make sure that you havesomeone who you're accountable
to, whether that's a friend oryour spouse or your sister or
whatever, you can have anotherlayer of accountability just so
(23:38):
you can say, hey, I'm checkingin at five o'clock, I'm doing
good, I'm having my mock tail,you know, whatever.
And that can be really, reallybeneficial.
Now, if you slip up and end upwith a glass of wine in one hand
and your phone in the otherwhile watching refrigerator
restock videos, I don't want youto spiral.
It's not failure.
(23:59):
This is just feedback, it's justdata.
Note it, adjust, and keep movingforward.
My elimination process wasn'tperfect.
I tested it, I failed, Iadjusted, and that's how I found
what worked.
The rhythm is the same here: awareness, remove, receive, (24:15):
undefined
relief, and repeat.
So you need to start wherebiology says you'll get the
biggest lift.
If alcohol is in the mix andthose questions lit up for you,
begin there.
Give your brain a week to reset.
(24:37):
Expect a short, manageable risein sweet cravings.
It's not drama.
Just expect it.
Just plan for it.
And then I want you to noticehow sleep, reward sensitivity,
and executive control starts tonormalize, and your food choices
(24:59):
start to get easier.
With grace and good information,you can heal your mind, body,
and soul.
You can reduce or eliminatealcohol.
And if you want support, join mein the Sacred Sobriety Lab.
We bring together brain science,Catholic faith, and practical
tools so that you can move fromchaos to peace one small holy
(25:24):
step at a time.
Get curious and trust the HolySpirit.
And I will talk to you againnext time.
Well, that does it for thisepisode of the Catholic Sobriety
Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand I would invite you to share
it with a friend who might alsoget value from it as well.
(25:45):
And make sure you subscribe soyou don't miss a thing.
I am the Catholic SobrietyCoach, and if you would like to
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching
that I offer, visit my website,the Catholic Sobriety Coach.
Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, the
go-to resource for women seekingto have a deeper understanding
of the role alcohol plays intheir lives.
Women who are looking to drinkless or not at all for any
reason.
I am your host, Christy Walker.
I'm a wife, mom, and ajoy-filled Catholic, and I am
(00:22):
the Catholic sobriety coach.
And I am so glad you're here.
Hello friends.
Today we are asking thequestion: should you start with
food or alcohol?
Because let's be honest, bothcan feel like they're running
the show sometimes.
Sugar, I've been there.
(00:43):
Scrolling Instagram at 10:30p.m.
when I promised myself I'd be inbed by 10.
Yeah, I've been there too.
We all have our little comfortbuttons.
But here's what I want you tohear.
For a long time, I didn't feelwell.
I was tired.
I had stomach cramps in theevenings.
(01:04):
My brain was foggy.
My sleep was restless.
And I thought that was just lifeor my age, or maybe I just
wasn't disciplined enough.
But when I finally did aninflammation diet, which is
basically an anti-inflammatoryreset, I discovered that some of
the foods I loved, foods Ithought weren't affecting me at
(01:28):
all, were actually the verythings blocking me from feeling
better.
And once I identified andremoved those, my whole health
started to shift.
So that experience taught mesomething very important that
sometimes what we think is theproblem isn't really the root.
(01:52):
And that's exactly what I wantto unpack with you today.
So by the end of this episode,you're gonna know exactly where
to start (02:00):
food or alcohol.
And you'll walk away with somesmall concrete steps that you
can put into practice right now.
Little wins that are going tosnowball into greater freedom.
Now, before we get technical,let's name why this question, do
(02:21):
I start with food or alcohol,matters so much.
Most of us struggle bothovereating and over drinking.
They light up the same rewardpathway in the brain, dopamine.
So both can become quick comfortbuttons when we're stressed,
lonely, or bored.
Different behaviors, the samewiring.
(02:42):
That's why it can feel likewhack-a-mole.
You push one down and the otherpops up.
The risk is starting in thewrong place.
It's like shoveling snow in ablizzard.
You can spend a lot of effort,but the minute you turn around,
the snow is right back on thedriveway.
Before my elimination diet, Iwas doing things mostly right.
(03:05):
I was taking supplements, eatingfoods I thought were healthy,
and getting to bed at areasonable time.
But nothing changed until Itested and removed the actual
triggers.
Now, here's a simple way to seewhy order matters.
First, night A, no drink.
(03:27):
You finish dinner, a sweet snackthat sounds nice, but it's
optional.
You can take it or leave it.
You tidy the kitchen, maybe readand pray, and your sleep is
okay.
Night B, with one drink, youhave the same dinner, but now
alcohol is in your system.
And two things tend to happen.
(03:49):
The first is that in the brain,alcohol reduces activity in the
prefrontal cortex.
That's the area that supportsplanning, judgment, and impulse
control.
So when a system is turned down,it's harder to stick with just
one of anything.
And then in the body, alcoholbegins to disrupt normal glucose
(04:11):
regulation.
And that nudges sleep towardlighter, more fragmented cycles
later that night.
So now you put those twotogether and you get a very
predictable chain.
Stronger snack urges after thedrink, more scrolling, later
bedtime, lighter sleep, and thatleads to a rougher morning.
(04:33):
Same you, same values, and sameintentions, but a different
sequence of inputs on your brainand body.
So this isn't about willpower orworth.
It's about sequence andphysiology.
Pick the right starting placeand you'll feel traction
(04:54):
quickly.
Pick the wrong one and it'sspinning wheels.
Lots of effort and littlemovement.
So here's a little self-checkyou can do.
Ask yourself these questions.
On the nights you drink, do foodboundaries get looser?
Are your next mornings morefoggy, even when you ate clean?
(05:19):
Do you keep changing food rulesbut nights with alcohol undo
them?
If those resonate with you, ifyou are nodding your head yes,
first I want you to know thatthere's nothing wrong with you.
You're just gathering honestdata.
And honest data is a giftbecause it points to the most
(05:40):
effective first step.
I invite you to pray somethinglike this Lord, bring light to
what is really driving this andgive me the grace to respond.
That's why this matters.
Choosing the right startingplace is how we stop chasing
symptoms and begin healingcauses.
(06:04):
Now, in the next section, I'mgoing to explain in simple terms
what alcohol does in the brainand body that makes moderation
of anything much tougher.
And why, if alcohol is in thepicture, addressing it first
often makes food choicesdramatically easier.
Okay, so let's talk aboutalcohol versus food in the
(06:26):
brain.
First, it's important for you toknow that alcohol enters the
brain quickly.
Alcohol is a small fat-solublemolecule, and that matters
because the brain has thisprotective filter called the
blood brain barrier, and thatblocks out many substances and
bacteria.
(06:46):
So when alcohol or ethanolcrosses that barrier, it does so
rapidly.
So brain levels rise withinminutes, and that is why you
feel the effects so fast.
Now, what changes once it's inthe brain?
Alcohol is going to reduceactivity in the prefrontal
(07:09):
cortex, and that's the part ofyour brain responsible for
planning, judgment, impulsecontrol.
And when that prefrontal cortexactivity drops, it's simply
harder to inhibit impulses.
This is physiology, not acharacter flaw.
It explains why just one oftenprecedes extra snacking, late
(07:35):
scrolling, or skipping yourplan.
Alcohol reaches the brainquickly and it lowers executive
control.
That combination makes othermoderation much, much tougher.
Now both food or sugar andalcohol trigger dopamine.
Dopamine is the brain'smotivation, that feel-good
(07:57):
signal, but alcohol generates amuch, much larger dopamine
response, a dopamine spike wayhigher than typical foods.
With repetition, the brainadapts by lowering the baseline
reward activity.
And that means that everydaypleasures feel muted or blunt
(08:21):
for a little bit.
Many women describe feeling flatwithout wine.
That's because the reward systemis recalibrating.
It's not a moral failure.
Now, if you've tried to removealcohol for any length of time,
you may have noticed that yourfood control gets harder.
And there's three main reasonsfor that.
(08:43):
First, alcohol is sedating, itdisrupts sleep architecture.
So you get less deep sleep andREM and more fragmented sleep.
And so poor sleep equals anincrease in cravings and reduced
regulation for the next day.
And then second, your stress andmove rebound.
(09:05):
So as alcohol clears, stresssystems can rebound, producing
edginess, low mood,irritability.
The brain is seeking quickrelief, and often sugar or
refined carbs is what it goesfor.
And then the third is glucoseregulation.
(09:27):
Alcohol interferes with normalglucose balance, which can
increase hunger and that drivescravings later in the evening.
So 1 Peter 5.8 calls us to besober-minded and watchful.
Now, fragmented sleep andfoggier cognition make that
vigilance harder physically andspiritually.
(09:52):
So I want to show you how it'sall interconnected mind, body,
and spirit.
Another thing you might noticeat first when alcohol is removed
is that sweets can spike.
This is totally normal andtemporary.
And the first reason is becauseof that dopamine dip.
So when you stop a high dopaminebehavior, like alcohol, the
(10:17):
system briefly dips below itsusual limit.
And your brain is begging for aquick hit.
Sweets are nearby, they're easy,and they're socially acceptable.
So that's oftentimes what we'llreach for time and time again.
And then the second thing isthat habit slot, that neural
(10:41):
pathway, that evening treatmoment still exists.
So even though you remove thewine, you still have that
pathway.
And if wine leaves, then sugaris just gonna slide in until the
brain resets.
Now, the good news is that asyour sleep stabilizes and the
(11:04):
baseline reward sensitivitiesnormalize, which often take like
one to three weeks, those urgentsweet cravings will usually
fade.
Now, you can ride out a two tothree week window with some
really practical and good swaps.
The first is to make sure thatyou're getting protein and fiber
(11:27):
earlier in the day.
So aim for like palm-sizedprotein, eggs, Greek yogurt,
chicken, legumes, those types ofthings.
And then add that with afist-size fiber portion, like
berries, veggies, and thingslike that.
The reason this helps is becausea stable blood sugar equals less
(11:50):
of those late-nightquote-unquote emergencies or
cravings.
The other thing is to do atime-boxed sweet swap for 10 to
14 days.
So what you're going to do isjust choose a small planned
sweet after dinner, whetherthat's fruit, Greek yogurt, and
(12:11):
honey, or a square of darkchocolate, have that and then
brush your teeth, and then justput a clear end date on when
you're going to remove that.
You know, if you want to.
If it's just a little sweet,it's probably fine.
But if that sweet leads to moreand it makes it so it's you have
(12:34):
that craving to deal with.
(13:27):
The next thing is to have sleepguardrails.
We want to make sure you'regetting really good sleep.
That means no phone in bed.
I'm preaching to myself here, bythe way.
Cool dark room, realistic lightsout time that you can actually
hit.
And that is going to help in somany ways, but just better sleep
(13:50):
in general is going to helpreduce the cravings.
And then the last thing is toname your wins, no matter how
big or how small.
If you didn't drink, say Ididn't drink tonight, and that
single choice helps executivecontrol rebound and makes your
food or alcohol changes mucheasier the next time.
(14:14):
So, how do you know if alcoholis the place to start?
Ask yourself these fourquestions.
First, do you eat more afterdrinking even one drink?
Do your good food choicescollapse on nights you drink?
Are sleep, energy, and mood offdespite otherwise solid
(14:37):
nutrition?
Do you keep hoping that foodchanges will fix it, but they
don't stick?
If you're nodding yes to most ofthose questions, then start with
alcohol.
Another thing you can do is a72-hour experiment.
It's simple, but it will helpgive you the awareness that you
(15:01):
need.
So go three days alcohol-freeand jot down a 0 to 10 rating
for each of these things.
Sleep quality, evening foodpressure, next morning energy
and mood, sweet cravings, andyour prayer focus.
(15:23):
So if sleep energy and foodpressure improve even 10 to 20%
by day three or four, that ismeaningful biology talking.
So a couple months ago, I wasable to sit down with my friend
Denise Jelinick.
I've had her on the podcastseveral times.
So you can look her up andlisten to her episodes here.
(15:46):
But this time I got to be on herpodcast, which is Weight Loss
with the Holy Spirit, to talkabout the question that she gets
asked a lot as a food freedomcoach, which is is food really
the issue or is alcohol thehidden driver?
Denise brought to theconversation a compassionate
(16:07):
food freedom lens, and I broughtthe alcohol freedom lens.
And together we were able tooffer a faith-first practical
approach.
We covered how alcohol's quickentry into the brain affects
impulse control, why cravingscan intensify after just one,
how to stabilize meals withoutall or nothing rules, how to
(16:30):
pray into this with hope ratherthan shame.
We talked about those dualaddictions and a bunch of other
stuff.
So I will go ahead and link tothat podcast episode in my notes
as well.
So when you remove alcohol, youmay wonder what benefits am I
going to see?
What is actually going to startto improve?
(16:54):
And a lot of things improve, butI'll break it down into four
categories.
So the first one is sleepquality.
So you may have trouble fallingasleep, especially if you use
alcohol to fall asleep, but itdoes get better and it and you
will start to notice, especiallyif you have a sleep tracker,
(17:16):
that your quality of sleep isgoing to start improving.
The other thing is, and wetalked about this before, is
your glucose will stabilize.
It improves.
So that means fewer urgentcravings and calmer evenings.
Your executive control willstart to rebound.
(17:37):
So that prefrontal functionhelps you to follow your plan
without white knuckling it.
And then you're just going toexperience spiritual clarity.
It just will deepen for you.
Your prayer, your discernment,accessibility to the Lord will
just get much, much better anddeeper as you remove alcohol.
(18:03):
So when I removed the foods thatwere affecting me, I finally
realized how poorly I'd beenfeeling.
Sometimes we don't know how badwe feel until we start feeling
good.
And many women say the samething when alcohol is out that
they have clarity, they havesteadiness, they have peace,
they love their mornings again.
(18:24):
And it's so great to hear.
And I always tell them like,write that down so that you can
look back on it and remember,because there are so many
benefits.
And sometimes they're very smalland very subtle, but they are
there.
And the more distanced you getaway from alcohol or the greater
(18:46):
you can reduce alcohol, thebetter you're going to feel.
And once it's removed or greatlyreduced, you're going to start
experiencing some of thesethings and realize how much
alcohol was actually taking fromyou.
Now, some of the little thingsyou can look for are do you hit
the snooze button less?
(19:06):
Or maybe you're finding you evenwake up before the alarm.
And I'm not talking about 3 a.m.
wakings.
I'm talking about like naturallygetting a good amount of sleep
and waking up.
You might notice that yoursnacking pressure is down.
Like you don't have thoseintense cravings.
They might go down one or twonotches by week two.
(19:27):
Your prayer time might feel lessscattered, and you may find
yourself making better decisionsin the evening when it comes to
snacking or not snacking.
Okay, before we go, I'm going togive you just a framework for a
seven-day starter plan.
So this is just a seven-daypause.
(19:49):
You're just gathering data.
There, you don't need to havedrama about it.
It's just like a seven-daypause.
Take a deep breath.
It's good.
You're good.
You can do this.
Okay.
It's just seven days.
I've already talked about a fewof these things before, but as
my mom likes to say, it bearsrepeating.
The first thing you're going todo is start tracking a few
(20:11):
things, and you're going to ratethem from zero to 10.
Zero is going to be very, verypoor, and 10 is going to be the
best ever.
And you're going to be trackingyour sleep, evening food
pressure, your sweet, your sweetcravings, and your next morning
(20:32):
energy and food.
So track that for seven days.
You can start on day one, youcan start on day zero.
So if you're listening to thiswith wine in your hand, you can
still start tracking your sleepand all of those things, sleep
and food pressure and all ofthat today and then or tomorrow
morning.
And then you can, you know, goforward for the next seven days.
(20:55):
The second thing to do with theseven-day starter plan is you're
going to want to plan for ashort sweet surge.
So just go ahead and allowyourself a planned sweet.
Try to do it just after dinner.
And it could be somethinghealthy like fruit, Greek
yogurt, and honey, or one squareof chocolate.
(21:17):
I mean, if you have somethingelse, you have something else.
But one thing that can be super,super helpful is to have
whatever sweets you're havingand then brush your teeth.
That, I mean, for me, that willkeep me from wanting to have
more.
I don't know if it will helpyou, but try it out.
It might, it might work.
The other thing is to stabilizeearly in the day.
(21:41):
So stabilize those blood sugarsearly in the day.
And you're going to do that byfront loading with protein and
fiber.
So eggs and berries, Greekyogurt and oats, chicken and
salad.
That's going to stabilize yourglucose during the day.
And that is going to help youhave calmer nights and less
(22:03):
cravings.
The next thing is to have a listof five to 10 resets that you
actually like that you want todo.
So that could be things likejournaling or walking or
stretching, playing a game.
Just think of things that youlike to do.
Make a list, maybe write downhow long it takes to do it.
(22:28):
And when a craving comes up,then you can look at that list
instead of trying to like thinkof something in the moment.
Look at that list, picksomething that is good for the
the time that you have and alsolooks like something that you
know you would want to do.
The next thing is just to setsome sleep boundaries, guard it
(22:52):
like it's precious because itis.
So that means no phone in bed.
I'm talking to myself here.
No phone in bed, cool dark room,and a lights out time that you
can actually realistically hit.
Then the last thing is scriptureplus accountability.
Take 1 Corinthians 6.12somewhere where you can see it.
(23:16):
You can shorten it if you wantto, but go and read that verse
and then post it wherever youwill look.
And then make sure that you havesomeone who you're accountable
to, whether that's a friend oryour spouse or your sister or
whatever, you can have anotherlayer of accountability just so
(23:38):
you can say, hey, I'm checkingin at five o'clock, I'm doing
good, I'm having my mock tail,you know, whatever.
And that can be really, reallybeneficial.
Now, if you slip up and end upwith a glass of wine in one hand
and your phone in the otherwhile watching refrigerator
restock videos, I don't want youto spiral.
It's not failure.
(23:59):
This is just feedback, it's justdata.
Note it, adjust, and keep movingforward.
My elimination process wasn'tperfect.
I tested it, I failed, Iadjusted, and that's how I found
what worked.
The rhythm is the same here: awareness, remove, receive, (24:15):
undefined
relief, and repeat.
So you need to start wherebiology says you'll get the
biggest lift.
If alcohol is in the mix andthose questions lit up for you,
begin there.
Give your brain a week to reset.
(24:37):
Expect a short, manageable risein sweet cravings.
It's not drama.
Just expect it.
Just plan for it.
And then I want you to noticehow sleep, reward sensitivity,
and executive control starts tonormalize, and your food choices
(24:59):
start to get easier.
With grace and good information,you can heal your mind, body,
and soul.
You can reduce or eliminatealcohol.
And if you want support, join mein the Sacred Sobriety Lab.
We bring together brain science,Catholic faith, and practical
tools so that you can move fromchaos to peace one small holy
(25:24):
step at a time.
Get curious and trust the HolySpirit.
And I will talk to you againnext time.
Well, that does it for thisepisode of the Catholic Sobriety
Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand I would invite you to share
it with a friend who might alsoget value from it as well.
(25:45):
And make sure you subscribe soyou don't miss a thing.
I am the Catholic SobrietyCoach, and if you would like to
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching
that I offer, visit my website,the Catholic Sobriety Coach.
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