Transformative Wellness: How Quitting Alcohol Helped Ash Meredith Heal Her Body, Quiet Food Noise, and Build Sustainable Habits

Episode Transcript
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the-sober-butterfly_5_12 (00:00):
Hello, butterflies.
Welcome back to The SoberButterfly, the podcast that
reminds you that you don't needalcohol to live a big,
beautiful, abundant life.
I'm your host, Nadine, andtoday's episode is all about
transformation.
The quiet, internal kind that noone sees until suddenly

(00:20):
everything makes sense.
My guest, Ash Meredith, spentyears feeling trapped in her own
head.
Food, noise, body obsession,diet cycles the pressure to look
a certain way, especiallygrowing up in Australia's
drinking culture, beach culture,and of course, alcohol was
always there to tightening thegrip.

(00:44):
But the moment Ash quitdrinking, everything shifted,
not just her body.
Her mind, her routines, herhabits, her confidence, her
relationship with food, herenergy as a mother, her entire
self-concept.
And today on the soberbutterfly, she's opening up
about it, all the realstruggles, the wake up calls,

(01:05):
the science backed habits thatchanged her life, and the
wellness tips.
She now teaches to thousands ofwomen online and butterflies, we
are so lucky to have Ash.
This is her first podcastinterview, so we have an
exclusive over here.
This conversation is honest,uplifting, and packed with
practical tools that you canstart using today.

(01:29):
Let's get into it.

Nadine Mulvina (01:33):
Let's welcome Ash to the Sober Butterfly.
Hi Ash.

Ash Meredith (01:38):
Hi.

you for being here

Thank you so much for having me.
I'm so excited.

I'm so excited to have you and Ash.
People can detect a littleaccent there.
Can you just share with peopleat home where you're

Yeah.

or where you're based?

Yeah.
I'm from Australia based on theSunshine Coast, so it is up
north.
Very sunny and beautiful here.
If you've never been,

I see it in your,

yeah.

on Instagram.
I'm just like, wherever you areis paradise.
It looks like paradise I'mliving vicariously through you
in many ways.
You're not watching this fromhome, jazz is.
I'm sorry.
I have to tell people, you areknockout gorgeous, right?
And I don't mean to objectifyyou or embarrass you.
I'm so sorry.
But I have to say, you're juststunning.

(02:24):
that was the first thing I saidguys, when she joined the call,
I was just like, oh wow.
Like I knew from online, butlike it's even, it's even more
stunning on this call guys.
You cannot imagine.
Okay, I'm gonna stop gushing,Let's stick to the script here.
I would love to learn from you,Ash, tell us about, your journey
growing up.
Were you always really connectedto wellness and

No.

or was that something that came with

Yeah, it's, I mean, I really got into wellness
later on in life.
I would say, growing up Iprobably had a very similar,
teenage girl experience that alot of us had where.
Quite young, I was very bodyconscious.
I was always trying to diet.
And that really stuck with methrough my twenties.

(03:07):
But I was in a really bad cycle.
I would restrict food and then Iwould end up binging.
And this went on for, you know,15 years of my life, probably
since the age of 14.
It was something I was alwaysreally conscious of and just
felt like I was just in thisconstant battle.
I started to really get intoexercise in my early twenties,

(03:28):
and I just found that a reallygood outlet.
It's something that I'd neverreally done growing up.
And so it became a real passionfor me, and then really got into
wellness in my late twenties.
You know, I went through thewhole, you know, you're in your
twenties, you're single, you'regoing out, drinking all the
time, not taking care ofyourself.
And then I'd always sort of had,I guess, you know, long-term

(03:50):
boyfriends.
In my twenties as well, and itwasn't until I went through a
period of being single where Irealized what I actually
enjoyed.
And what I wanted to do, and Ireally started to focus on my
diet and wellness.
Mostly I was interested in it somuch because I wanted to, I
guess, cure the, I, yeah, youwould call it disordered eating

(04:14):
that I had been through for solong in my life.
And so I was reading all of thebooks.
I was, you know, listening toall the self-help, doing all of
the things, and that's where itreally started, and it's just
grown from there.

Thank you for sharing that, and I relate very
much to parts of your story thatyou shared, the disordered
eating.
I also will throw in, I had.
dysmorphia.
I didn't feel very connected tomy, my

Mm-hmm.

and no matter what my weight would like,
yo-yo, whether I was like on thethinner end because I was so
obsessed with the number, thescale presentation, I didn't
care to the extent that I put mybody in these really unhealthy
positions just to like, chasethis number or

Yes.

yeah, the size and.
Ultimately what ended uphappening is I still couldn't
connect the idea that I wasbecause I wasn't healthy.
Like I didn't see myself asbeautiful, even though I was
like achieving whatever ideal

Yeah.

I was

Mm-hmm.

So it was it that like psychological piece I
think is hard to rewire or reccircuit.
So I loved hearing from you thatyou did the work, you were
reading literature and you weretrying to kind of like excavate,
like what is going on.
So from your experiences, Iguess like my question for you
is like how do people start tobreak that cycle and understand

(05:41):
how important it is to reallyprioritize their health over
maybe just.
A physical

Yeah.

size or like whatever that arbitrary number
is for them.

Well, I think about times, in my life where I
have felt the most confident,and it's never been.
When I've, had the lowest numberon the scale, even though in
your mind you think it is at thetime, it's actually the times
where I've stuck to the habitsthat I wanted to stick to, or,
it's never been the time whereanyone would say I looked the

(06:12):
best, but I felt the best.
And it's funny that we don't, wedon't often think about that.
We think, oh, when I look acertain way or when I'm a
certain size, then I'll behappy.
But.
You get to that point and it'snot the case at all.
And the true happiness comesfrom looking after yourself,
from within.
And when you start to focus onwhat makes you feel good rather

(06:33):
than what makes you look good, Ifeel like the physical
transformation just naturallyhappens and you get that glow of
about you and instead of justfocusing on calories in,
calories out, or, you know whata lot of people say, it's.
Okay.
I am gonna focus on eating foodsthat nourish my body, that make
me feel good, so that I do haveenergy to do the things I wanna
do.

(06:53):
And I just feel like that, thatnatural glow, it just happens
when you take care of yourself.

When you mentioned the most beautiful you
felt or the healthiest you feltis not based off of, external
validation, other people tellingyou how you feel, but like how
you intrinsically felt insidebecause were taking care of

Yeah.

and prioritizing your health.
I love that.
would be curious to learn fromyou.
So like in your later twentiesyou sort of went through this

Mm-hmm.

You decided to prioritize

Yes.

And you went on that

Mm-hmm.

where you had time and you were singledom to
like figure that part out.
And I, I love that you wentthrough that because in
relationships, sometimes we canlose ourselves or default to
just like what the other partnerwants in that partnership.
So it's nice to sometimes havethat like space to figure
yourself

Mm-hmm.

At what point though, in your journey did you
realize that alcohol no longerserved or wasn't serving

Yeah.

what you were actually working

Yeah, well my relationship with alcohol had
changed quite a bit over theyears.
In my twenties, I never was adrinker during the week.
It was only ever with friends ona weekend if we were going out.
But again, when I did drink, Iwould go over the top.
And, I'd always be the last onestanding.
When I got into my wellnessjourney, which was later in my
twenties, it shifted where Iwasn't going out and partying

(08:20):
anymore or doing those things,but I would, have wine with
dinner or, you know, it feltmuch more grown up to me.
Back then, you know, I thoughtI'm being an adult now.
I'm just, I'm having a couple ofwines with dinner and I'm taking
care of myself.
And back then I was thinking,I'm doing so much better now.
But then very quickly, it, itstarted to progress into, almost

(08:43):
needing that wine to wind down.
And I was a red wine drinker.
That was like my drink ofchoice.

Same.

and yes, and I could not.
Yeah, it did.
It felt sophisticated, going towineries and all of that.
I never saw it as a problem backthen, but it wasn't until really
after I had my son, which he'sthree now.
So that was three years ago,during postpartum, I was at home
all the time, and then when Idid start working, which was a

(09:11):
year later, it was working fromhome for my husband's company.
And there were some days where Iwould only speak to my husband,
his business partner, and my sonwho couldn't talk at the time.
And so it became a veryisolating time for me

right.
Yeah.

and I really, I think I started to rely on wine
at the end of the day to switchoff from the day.
And it started to really creepinto my daily life.
And so it got to a point, again,I would never have more than
say, two wines a night, maybethree or four on a weekend, but

(09:47):
it got to a point where I wasalmost looking.
For an excuse to have a bad day,to have an excuse, to have a
wine, if you know the feelinglike

Yeah,

something will happen and you're just like, oh,
well, I've had a bad day, so Imay as well have one.
And I was looking for thosereasons.
And it started to just get to apoint where I, I knew it wasn't
good for me and I knew it was,you know, ruining my sleep.
And it also for me, tied hand inhand with.
The eating, because when I wasdrinking, my diet would go out

(10:18):
the window.
I would restrict the day, andthen I would drink wine and I
would end up binge eating, goingto sleep, feeling really full,
really bad about myself, wakingup the next morning thinking why
did I do that?
And then just the whole cyclecontinuing.
So it became quite a toxicrelationship.

I've definitely been there.
And then even restricting myselfbecause of shame I felt from
overeating the night

Yes.

because I was a binge drinker and binge

Mm-hmm.

like the two coincided.
I also struggled with like drunkauryxia, so like not.
Basically eating is more so inmy early twenties, but not
eating so that I could basicallyfeel the impact of alcohol

Mm-hmm.

and also feel skinny while I was, getting
drunker faster.
That was like my two prioritiesat the time.
so like that cycle is reallytoxic, obviously, but like hard
to break at times as well.
And it's really easy to likeslide.
It's like that's the insidiousnature of any like

Mm-hmm.

at first.
It feels like it's not

Mm-hmm.

And then to your point, we start to trick
ourselves into believing that weare deserving of said substance
or that Yeah.
It's like, oh, it's not me, it'sout of my

Mm-hmm.

And then those are the lies that we tell
ourselves and and feed

Yes.

really quickly can spiral from

Yeah.

So I love that you've reached a point where you
were like, I can recognize thisand so I'm gonna make another
choice because.
many people, myself included,not make that choice.
I went even

Hmm.

the rabbit Yeah.
But many stories from manydifferent days.
I would love to circle back,back to you what sorts of
transformation or what sorts ofimpact did you.
Feel from making that choice tocut alcohol from your life?
And was it difficult totransition because I

Hmm.

can feel so ingrained into our daily
schedule, like so, yeah.
What was that process like

Yeah, well actually I had, so after I had
made the decision, okay, I'm,I'm done with drinking.
It was, it wasn't until maybe acouple of years later that I
made the final decision that waslike, okay, enough's enough.
I'm never drinking again beforeI'd.

Gotcha.

would get to a point and I would say, okay,
maybe I just need to do a fewmonths, or six months and just
commit to six months.
And every time I would do that,I might manage to get through
say, 30 days or something likethat, and I'd have an event.
And then I realized very quicklythat the habit comes back so
fast, you think I'll just, haveone on an occasion and then all

(13:05):
of a sudden it's a Wednesday at5:00 PM and you're pouring wine
again.
And it's like, how did I gethere so quickly?

Quickly.

it was actually not until it was this year.
At the start of the year, myhusband and I and our son, we'd
gone away for Easter and I wason a holiday and I'd just gotten
to that point by the end of theholiday where, I just felt so
tired and exhausted.
I could not wait to get home andget back into routine.
We had been drinking everysingle night hadn't exercised at

(13:37):
all.
I'd been binge eating the wholetime and.
I thought, I would love to knowwhat it feels like to go on a
holiday and not have thisfeeling like, could I just
holiday an unlimited amount oftime because I feel great, and
what would that be like?
And it was that weekend that itactually popped up on my phone
that someone was doing like acall out for, women in your

(14:01):
thirties.
Are you reflecting on yourrelationship with alcohol kind
of thing?

Yes.

And

Serendipitous.
It was a

And it was a

universe.

And it was a bootcamp and it was being run by
a guy called Jordan, who I,still talk to now he's a mentor
of mine.
And when I joined that bootcamp,I, I remember at the start
thinking, oh, maybe I.
Don't need to be here.
I'm not as far into drinking as,some of the other women, but I
realized very quickly that I wasa lot further than I thought I

(14:35):
was.
And

Mm.

the community really helped because for the
first time I actually realizedthat no, this isn't something
that I want to ever do again.
And yeah, that's how it allhappened for me.
And I still talk to Jordanweekly.

That's so beautiful.
Yeah, I would call that like adivine sign, like it's almost
like a divine

Yes,

because.
think with like what it soundslike to me is like more that
gray area drinking where it'slike, are you sick enough to be
sick enough?
Like a

yes.

people, sometimes if it's not extreme,
it just doesn't feel as urgent,so it's like, I'm so glad that
you.
somehow, found that in a periodor space of time where you were
sick of just doing it.
Like that's how I felt towardsthe end of my drinking as well.
Like, I didn't quite want togive it

Mm-hmm.

but I was also kind of like, I don't feel good.
This doesn't

Mm-hmm.

I'm now in my thirties.
The, the bounce back is even

Yeah.

And also.
I just didn't even like thefeeling to your point, I take
lots of trips and like when Igo, would go on these trips and
go on these like benders or likebinge drinking

Mm-hmm.

or consecutive days, I would come back from my
vacation feeling like I neededanother

Mm-hmm.

Just like completely bent outta

Yes.

and so

Yeah.
You need

very relatable.

vacation from the vacation.

Yeah, I'm

Yeah.

I need to like take a break

Yeah,

Like I need to sleep

exactly.

That's not

Yeah.

and I don't know why.
I thought that was fun.

Yeah.

So I love that it just sounds like everything
happened at the perfect time foryou to like realize that like,
this is worth exploring at

because I think a lot of the time we think, and
especially in Australia, there'ssuch a big drinking culture
here.
It's really considered.

Aussie's love to drink.
I'm sorry to cut you off.
I, I, every Aussie I've metloves to

Yes,

a good

yes.

just say it

It's

I'll just put it that way.

just so ingrained in our society here that yeah,
you are, seem like, you seemreally odd if you don't drink.
And so, even with friends andfamily.
Because they would see how muchI would drink, and I would often
talk about, I'm, I would show upto an event and I'm not drinking
this time.
And it'd sort of make me feel alittle bit silly about it.
Like, oh, why, but I think ifyou're doing something that you

(16:58):
feel like you don't wanna do yetyou continue to do it despite
wanting to stop, then it's anissue.
It doesn't matter how little orhow much it is.

Because why would you just not

Yeah, exactly.

If it doesn't make sense for your

Mm-hmm.

Blindly following the herd

Yeah.

and not questioning like, why maybe I
should just do this for myselfbecause it makes sense.
yeah, alcohol specifically, Ithink amongst like.
All of the different drugsbecause I do think alcohol

Mm-hmm.

I think it's the most insidious or dangerous
because it is so normalized insociety that you are ostracized
or you are isolated if you don'tpartake in this elixir of life,
which is really draining thelife out of you

Yeah.

So many people I think are just drinking
mindlessly or they feel thepressure to drink simply because
they don't realize that they canmake another choice for
themselves.
And I think partlyrepresentation is a, a factor in
that.
Like if you don't know otherpeople.
Like you who are, leading,shepherding, this different

(18:08):
route for people, then you don'teven know.
You don't even realize, like, Ididn't think before getting
sober.
Like I knew I had an issue.
I knew something had to give.
thought the issue was just thequantity.
I was like, I just

Yeah.
Mm-hmm.

I didn't even factor in that.
Like you could just not drink

Yes.

because no one that I knew at that time

Yeah.
Yeah.
And it's actually so much easierI find to just not drink at all
rather than to try and moderate,like when I made the decision to
stop, it felt like it was just athousand times easier than the
other times I had tried to,adjust at events.
It was like it, all of thedecision fatigue was gone.

(18:51):
And I didn't have to think aboutit anymore.

Yeah, I, I, I agree with

Mm-hmm.

just think the way it works, whether you have a
drinking problem or

Mm-hmm.

once you take that first sip, it, it leads to
the potential that you're gonnadrink more

Yes.

anticipate, because other people now are
encouraging you to drink, ormaybe now you feel socially
anxious or like once it hitsyour bloodstream, it's

Mm-hmm.

literally the, the course of the evening.
So I agree.
Like I just think it's easier.

Yeah.

abstain altogether.
Once you make a choice foryourself, like go fully in.

Yeah.

So regards to, okay, you made that

Mm-hmm.

this year.
Talk to us about some of thebenefits, if

Yeah.

that you've experienced.

Well, I feel like, my life has changed
significantly in that time, insuch a short time.
It feels, but I mean, physicallyI noticed.
The differences almostimmediately after about a month,
my whole face had changed.
My skin was glowing, I hadenergy again.
It felt like I, it was like thisfog had lifted where I had so

(19:59):
much more mental space to focuson other things, because not
only when I, you know, when Istopped drinking, it was like.
I, I also got rid of the foodnoise basically at the same
time, so you can imagine howmuch more time that had for me.
Yeah, more free time I had in mylife.
There was a lot, you know, thatwent around getting rid of the

(20:21):
food noise as well.
It wasn't just the alcohol.
At the same time I really had tostop dieting for one stop trying
to restrict calories.
And reintroduce carbs back in.
So a lot of things happened atthe same time.
That really, helped shape, whathappened after that, physically
and mentally.
But yeah, I can't even explainhow different my life is in so

(20:46):
many ways.

I mean, you did, you, you told us like, I, I,
that's beautiful.
That is beautiful to hear.
Was it easy for you once youmade that decision to quit
drinking, to stick to it?
Because some people

Hmm.

find it easy, others

Hmm.

Like it was a

Yeah.

them.
So what was your experienceaside, because you mentioned
some of like the that you wouldreceive publicly or in the
early, maybe earlier

Mm-hmm.

So any other like drawbacks or like any other
difficulties for you in that

Mm-hmm.

'cause I think this is really

Yes.

Like, I've been sober for four

Mm-hmm.

and while I remember it, like I feel like
it's always really refreshing tohear.
What the journey is like aspeople are like through

Definitely.

my first year of sobriety was like up and

Mm-hmm.

up and down there were like amazing highs.
And then there were days where

Yeah.
Mm-hmm.

but our drinking patterns were different.
Like I was definitely more inthe, in the

Yeah.
Yeah.

But at the same time, like it felt like I was
mourning alcohol,

Mm.

a

Mm-hmm.

to grow into something

Yes.
You definitely agree.
I, I found at the start one ofthe main things I was a little
worried about that was, myhusband and I, it almost became
a way that we were connecting,on the weekends or in the
evenings was having a drinktogether also, I thought at the
time.
And so I was really worried thatwhen I stopped drinking, we
wouldn't be able to find thatconnection.

(22:15):
But I started to really thinkabout it even in the times
leading up to when I decided tofinally quit.
And I realized that even as wewere sitting there connecting
and having a drink, like we wereboth sitting on, on the couch on
our phones anyway, and itactually wasn't the way that I
played it back in my head atall.
And.

you romanticize

Yeah, you romanticize it, and it's not
until you actually take a stepback and think, oh, hold on.
Like, how did I actually feel atthat time?
You really do start to, eventhinking about times where I'd
go out to dinner with myfriends, I would romanticize
having that glass of wine andthink, how could I go and
socialize and not have one?

(22:55):
But you know, I, I.
I realized, I guess because Iwas so on and off with it, that
the times that I would have adrink I would be thinking about
food the whole time.
Or I'd be thinking about, am Idrinking too quickly?
Is anyone gonna notice?
And it's like, I'm not actuallyenjoying it at all.

Or

yeah.
Or present.

present to have the or depth of relationships.

and

Yeah.

was quite hard.
I guess I felt a littleostracized at the start because
it is such a big thing in ourculture over here.
But, you know, most of myfriends that still drink now, my
husband still drinks.
It's, it's.
I mean, everyone just knows thatI don't drink now.
So it's kind of just become whateveryone realizes is normal.

(23:40):
It took a little bit of anadjustment period, but I've
never been a really socialperson anyway.
I don't go out a lot or go outto dinners a lot, so, I did
probably find a little easierthan someone you know who's
going to lots of parties or lotsof events.
Say another thing actually thatreally helped was very early on
in my sobriety this year when Idecided enough's enough, I

(24:02):
actually took myself on aholiday by myself to Bali, thank
you to my husband for lookingafter our son.
I went on,

Love.

I went on a surf.

Oh my.

It was.
Amazing.
I went on a surf yoga trip bymyself.
I didn't know anyone.
I made some friends over therethat I still talk to now, and
funnily enough, actually didn'tdrink as well.
So I had in my head, likeeveryone just drinks everywhere.
And I went over to Bali and Imade a friend who was in her
twenties and she just didn'tdrink either.

(24:32):
And I just had such a great timeand it was exactly the holiday
that I thought where I got tothe end and thought I could just
easily stay here and, and gohome.
Obviously I wanted to go homeand see my family, but

Yeah.

was,

Husband and kid.
No, I, I felt the same way Willdo that

yeah,

Okay.
Like it will suck you in it.
That place is just

it's amazing.

otherworldly.

Yeah.

I love that you, that you did that.

Hmm.

of all, like everyone loves to solo travel,
so I.
I do.
And I find that like when youtake those moments similar to
like what you shared earlieraround, like when you had that
in-between time in your lifewhere you were single and you
really found your passions andyour interest and like
prioritized and chased

Mm-hmm.

I think the same thing about taking moments to
explore the world.
So like getting outside of yourcomfort zone and pushing
yourself with, the aid of any

Yeah.

to.
really like, figure things out.
And I, I just feel like that'ssuch a beautiful thing.
And like I did the same thingearly in my sobriety.
I took a

Yeah.

I didn't go to Bali, I went to like Morocco and

Yeah.

and Portugal and it was, I.
Exactly what my soul needed.
Like it fed my soul because Iwasn't

Mm-hmm.

like have fun or

Yes.

or do these things without

Yeah.

but it was just so beautiful to be somewhere

Mm-hmm.

of my like daily routine

Yes.

to really rediscover parts of who I am

Mm-hmm.

So I resonate

I love,

much with what you

yeah.

shared.

Yeah.

I also think you're a pioneer.
You may not realize it rightnow.
Oh, actually, let me ask youhave any of your, like people in
your circle, in your like outercircle reached out to you about
what it's like to not drink orbe sober in this time?
Has anyone been like, oh, Ash,like I'm thinking about maybe
doing this as

Yeah, I have I've had quite a few people,
especially since I startedposting on Instagram about it,
people that followed me, that Iknew from beforehand,

Mm-hmm.

know, just from circles that have reached out
since and said, oh, how did youdo it?
What have you found?
That it's like, so even if youknow they're not quite ready
now, I think it's important totalk about it because some
people never get there, buteveryone needs to take their own
time with this kind of journey,and I think as long as you know,
you're there to, to talk topeople about it, then it's a

(27:04):
great thing that you can do forpeople is just share your
journey and then hopefully itresonates with somebody and
helps them as well.

I agree.
I think most people, to yourpoint, it's like incremental
progress.
Like people hear signs or likereceive things.
When they're meant to receivethem and then make the choice,
like you mentioned, like twoyears prior, you had

Yeah.

okay, I wanna cut back on

Mm-hmm.

but it took two years for you to actually cut,
like decide I don't wanna drinkanymore.
Myself included.
There were many moments in lifewhere I was like, I probably
should stop drinking, but it, Iwasn't ready.
So you have to be

Yes.

and you can be a part of that process simply by,
to your point, having a

Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

Honestly what it's been like.
But I think sometimes whenpeople know people, like they
see you

Hmm

your story out loud, it gives them courage to
also admit to themselves thatmaybe just maybe I could do the
same

Yes.

Maybe just maybe they've asked if they see
similar like

Hmm

parts of their story and

hmm.

or your patterns and yours.
Like, you know what

Yes.
It's

needs to like feel like there's some sort of
representation that.
Gives them

Yeah,

to like take that leap of

I agree.
And I think there's a, there'salmost a stigma attached around
sobriety that, if you admit thatyou are sober, then you were an
alcoholic.
And it's like,

Yeah.

not necessarily, one, you never need to label
yourself as anything.
You don't wanna label yourselfas.

right.

But I think, you know, you don't need to feel
like you have a problem in otherpeople's eyes to wanna stop
something that's just notserving you.
You know, especially withsomebody like me who it really
impacted the way I was feelingabout myself and it really
impacted my eating habits.
Then sobriety just makes so muchsense.

(28:55):
Because it's, it was almost likethe core habit that undid all of
my other good habits.
And when I got rid of that, thecore of the problem, it was like
everything else started to fallinto place.

Let's talk a little bit more about that,
because you mentioned the

Mm-hmm.

before.
For folks who may not know whatthat

Mm-hmm.

talk to us a little bit about the food noise.
I think I

Yeah.

about, but I wanna make sure

Yeah.
Yeah.

speaking the same

So when I talk about food noise, I feel like
it's quite common for a lot ofwomen and, and we don't really
talk about it, but especiallywhen you've been through a
period where you are chronicallydieting, you are always thinking
about food.
Like from the minute you wake upto the minute you go to sleep,
you are thinking about food.
If you're not currently eatingit, you're thinking about what
you are gonna have for your nextmeal.

(29:42):
And it is just.
Nonstop.
I had to let go of a lot of theguilt that I felt around that
because I used to think I wasbroken and.
I started to realize this is avery natural thing that happens
when you are chronicallyundereating, is your brain is
wired to be seeking out andthinking about food because
you're not giving yourselfenough.

(30:03):
And it's like, you know when youhold your breath for long
enough, eventually you're gonnahave this big gulp of air.
And the exact same thing happenswith food.
So when you aren't fueling yourbody.
You've got the food noise whereit's just constant and it feels
like it doesn't stop.
And for me, the alcohol reallyfueled, not so, so much the food
noise, but the acting on thefood noise.

(30:24):
And I think I realized twothings at the same time as one,
I'm not eating enough, and two,the alcohol is making.
Then binge eat.
I took that away and I startedjust to eat regularly, like
normal meals three times a day,with a snack that I had never
done in my life because I wouldalways, not eat anything until

(30:45):
lunchtime.
I would maybe live off a coffee,I would get to the afternoon,
have a very small meal, thendrink wine, and then just eat
until I went to sleep.
And

Yeah.

yeah, taking away the alcohol and really fixing
the daily habits that I hadaround food really just made
such a big difference.

Yeah, alcohol can be the root issue that is a
catalyst to creating more chaos

Yes.

And I didn't realize as well how much of my
drinking was tethered to mydisordered eating as well
because.
As mentioned before, just likethe drunk

Yeah.

then the overcompensating restricting, it
was just a perpetual cycle thatwas exhausting to be in, but the
food noise is the mentalgymnastics of you consistently
wearing

Mm-hmm.

to your point.
Thinking, obsessing about food,whether you're eating it or

yes, yes.

it's just like, yeah, I, that's a very visceral
memory I have, or memories I

Mm-hmm.

waking up literally like I can't wait to

Mm-hmm.

but delaying the

Yes.
Mm-hmm.

A reward system

Mm-hmm.

Food.

Yeah.

Food I'm

Yeah.
Yeah.

Like, oh, I can't wait to eat in seven hours
at 1:00 PM It,

It's crazy.
Yeah.

that's how I

Yeah.

And then, yeah, to your point now I'm completely
like, I get wasted faster.
Or like, no, you didn't saythat.
That's my

Yes.

I would drink.

Mm-hmm.

feel it immediately, and then like,
yeah.
Now I'm, I'm famished, I'm, Iwanna avish, everything

Yes.

I have no

Mm-hmm.

And then, yeah, it impacts your self-esteem the
next day and the next

Yeah.
Yeah.

then you're just constantly in this loop.

Mm-hmm.

It's so freeing to like not be.
That cycle anymore.
And it's so beautiful that youmen, like you recognize, because
sometimes people

Mm-hmm.

what the root cause is, and it's not always
alcohol, but like the

Yeah.

you were able to like, like pinpoint

Hmm.

is major.
I would love to learn from youtoo, Ash, like.
So for people who are maybe notin that like same cycle that we
described, like they're notnecessarily experiencing food
noise or disordered eating orbody dysmorphia like I did, if

(33:11):
they just are on a wellnessjourney and they truly want to
optimize and become the

Mm-hmm.

of themselves.
But they like to drink.
They like to have,

yeah.

a couple of glasses of wine a

Yeah

what a, what a dilemma.
What, what do we do here?
Like,

I know.

recommend,

is hard.

In that, in that situation?

Oh, that is a hard one.
I think.
I guess my question to thosepeople would be one, even if you
enjoy having a drink to have athink about, when you are
drinking, like the thoughts thatyou're having around it or the
next morning.
Because even if you do have avery normal relationship with
food you know, alcohol and theysay even one drink will still

(33:53):
impact your sleep.
It can still make you feel worsethe next day, and I think it's
just something to be mindful ofis.
Like, what is the reason thatyou are drinking for if, and
it's totally fine if you wannado it, in a social occasion or
like you feel like that's notsomething you wanna give up.
Because I think, some peoplejust do enjoy drink and I'm not

(34:14):
here to, push my beliefs aboutit onto anybody else by any
means.
But

Of course

what I, what I think is.
If you are having that thoughtof like, maybe what could my
life look like without it, justtry it for 30 days or just try
it for 60 days and just see howyou feel.
Because you might get to the endand think, you know what, I feel
so much better.
I don't even miss it.
But if you don't give yourselfthat opportunity, like you can

(34:41):
always go back to drinkingafter.
If you decide, you know what?
It was good, but I don't feelthat much better.
Then you can only go back to it.
But I think just giving yourselfa period of time where, or a
holiday or just something, someperiod of time where you just
don't have it and see how youfeel.
Then you've got nothing to losereally.

That is the perfect answer.
I was thinking treat it like asocial

Yeah.
Yes.

I think it can be overwhelming or daunting to
be like, I am never gonna drink

Hmm.

Like for, especially for people who feel
like they have a healthy.
Healthier relationship withalcohol.
I have my own opinions aboutwhat

Yeah.

mean because I don't know how you can have a

Yeah.

with a toxic sub

I.

but that's just me.
But like, that's not what I'mnot judging guys.
I'm not judging, I'm just sayingthat I think I would then add a
little, like, seasoning on topof that and say like, what are
your priorities?
Where do they lie?
Because if you are telling me,you guys, if you're coming to

Hmm.

as.
A person as a

Mm-hmm.

because she has completely transformed her body
from the inside out and herrelationship with food and just
like all of the things thatshe's done, if you are going to
an expert to ask them for theiradvice because you want to
quote, prioritize your health, Iwould just imagine that like the
truth of the matter is if youcan't give

Hmm.

alcohol for a period of

Yeah.

Then you are not serious.
It's not that much of a priority

Yes.

like it's just a question of where your
priorities

Yeah.

in my

You hit the nail on the head because there's
always, yes, you might wannahave, you might wanna look a
certain way or you might wanna,have a certain goal, but if you
can't give up alcohol or refuseto, then that is where your
priority lies.
And unfortunately, like there'sno two ways about it.
It's, it's yeah, people might.

It's like you are never gonna optimize to the
like the ma, you're never gonnaopt, optimize to

No

best,

you won't.

self.
So it's like, cool.
If you're cool with that, ifthat's what you want, then

Yes.
Yeah.

cool.
But if you're really like tryingto like become, I think, the
best version of

Yes,

yourself, like I just don't see

yes.
Yeah,

alcohol fits into that

it is a huge thing to consider because I get, so
many dms from people that arelike, oh, what's your exact
workout split?
Or, what exactly do you eat forbreakfast, lunch, and dinner?
And it's like, you can, you cannitpick at all of these little
things, but.
Unless you're willing to, to getrid of the major stresses in
your life, you're not gonna seethe big results that you wanna

(37:17):
see.
And it's, it's just a little bitof tough love there, but some
people do need to hear it.
I think.

You heard it here, guys.
This is a sign that you, this isthe message you had to hear.
Yes.
Don't kill the messengers, don'tkill the messenger.
You said the word stressors andso I, I don't wanna just pick on
alcohol.
Okay.

Yeah.

are

Yeah.

about their precious alcohol.
What other stressors do youthink people within the realm of
our control?
Because this is the

Mm-hmm.

and like there are, there's microplastics

Yeah.

especially in America.
have like the worst

Yes.

and like all the things.
but yeah.
What other stresses do you thinkthat are within our control that
we can minimize to maximize thequality of our lives Or

yeah, I mean, I think there are so many, and
this is why I love, biohackingand wellness and habits and all
of those things.
But you know, there's, there's,there are some very simple
things that we can do that a lotof people don't do that really
add up throughout the day.
Things like getting sunlightwithin the first hour of when
you wake up.
It sounds silly to some peopleand it sounds a bit wishy-washy,

(38:24):
but it really sets up yourcircadian rhythm for your sleep
for that night.
And most people don't do it.
Most people don't just stepoutside and get a little bit of
sunlight or things like puttingyour phone.
And I actually, I have beenguilty of recently.

not everyone, not everyone lives on the
Sunshine Coast outside.
It's miserable

There's no sun.
There's actually studies thatshow that even if there is no
sun, then still getting outsidein the miserable New York
weather, more beneficial foryou.

off.
Yes.

I know it's so easy for me to say, sitting here
on the Sunshine Coast at thebeach like.

Sunshine's problem.
Pale there.
What?

In get outside?

Yes.
I do understand though, likethere is something to be said
for like immediately, like not

Yes.

to like, let me

Yes.

my blue light

This

like the screen, like,

because I actually, I mean, before I
started on my Instagram journey,I guess, which started middle of
this year, I never really was onmy phone.
I wouldn't touch it in themornings, and I didn't touch it
in the evenings.
And I will admit that issomething I'm working on now
because since I've startedposting I'm, I'm very all or

(39:41):
nothing.
So I'm, I'm also a perfectionistwhere I'm like, I have to reply
to every comment, every DM likeI am.
Constantly thinking about tasksthat need to be done.
And so I've been reaching for myphone earlier in the mornings
and later at night, and I havenoticed a huge impact on my
sleep and just my general

Ah,

stress levels I feel are raised.
So I've actually got an app nowthat will lock me out.
Until a certain time of themorning

that's good.

and at a certain time of the evening, so that I'm
just putting it away, beingpresent with my family, and I've
definitely noticed animprovement almost immediately
in my sleep.
So yeah, blue light is such ahuge thing.

It is, it is.
I would love to pretend that Iam good about it, but I'm not
either.
I, I used to be better about it,but I think it's just become.
Unfortunately, a part of my

Yes.

and so now I'm mindlessly, it's not even like
I, I can't pretend that I'malways like being

Hmm.

I do work

Yeah.

but I'm more so just mindlessly like

Yes.

in the name of like doing

Yes.

or looking for inspiration.
But the fact of the matter islike you.
This time would better be spentin

Yes.

reading or journaling or just doing
something that doesn't involvebeing on my phone.
And I have noticed that like I,I don't know if you get your,
like weekly reports on yourphone where it's like you've
spent x amount

Oh God, I don't,

this app and that number has, like, it's
climbing, it's getting higherand higher.
So maybe.
Also you have ama your growthstrategy.
I need you to email it to meimmediately.
You are, you've blown off the

yeah.

fact that you just started your Instagram this

Yeah.

and in the middle of this year and you have
80,000 plus followers,

Yeah.

But you know what it is, it, you offer real

Hmm.

Like your posts they feel like they're
actionable things that peoplecan apply

Thank you.

to their, their lives.
It's not like, oh, a day in mylife, and it's all of these
things that are not within thenormal person's reach.
You know what I mean?
It's like, oh, I would love toget a lymphatic.
And,

yes.

three times a week or whatever, like, that's
not gonna happen.
I'd love to be in the sauna,

Yeah.

You

Yes.

for two hours every day.
But like you do things that Ithink most people can actually
like try to.
Implement in their lives ifthey're serious about it.
So yeah, talk to us.
So like getting sunlight.
Sorry, we got a little offtrack.
That's my fault.
I'm an ad.
Each one over here.
So, sunlight

Yeah.

to the sunlight, rust, blue light.
What are, like, what would yousay are like your top three tips
like that you would

Three tips would be, everything starts, I feel
like everything starts with yourmorning routine.
So if you can nail your morningroutine, like it is so much
easier to stay on track for therest of the day.
I try and get in.
I mean, you have to work thingsinto where they fit for you.
Like I'm a mom and I've alwaysworked during the day, so for

(42:44):
me.
And I know like people justthink it's crazy sometimes that
I go to bed at 7 30, 8 o'clockat nine and I wake up at 4:00 AM
and I train before my son getsup and you know, there's a lot
online about, no, you shouldn'ttrain fast and all of that.
And yes, I get that.
But like, I just know for me, ifI don't get out of bed and like
roll onto my Pilates mat, I,it's not gonna happen.

(43:05):
So me, it works first thing inthe morning, but I think, if you
can just get.
Some sort of morning routinethat doesn't make you feel so
frazzled, like whether it's 10minutes of movement.
Can you go for a walk with thedogs if you don't have kids, or
if you've got kids, can you putthem in the pram or take them
with you?
And really focus on a nourishingbreakfast that has protein,

(43:28):
fats, and carbs.
And fiber, then proteins, fats,carbs, and fiber, 30 grams of
protein.
I know that's like the magicnumber that everyone says, and
I, I really believe in it.
I think protein is, but if youcan nail your breakfast and your
morning routine, it will makeeverything so much easier.

Okay.
Dumb question.
Coming get ready.
Can you just quantify like 30grams means I don't count
macros.
That means nothing to me.
I do have a scale, but like,what, what does that look like?
Is that two bold, hard, boldeggs?
Is it like, what if you had tolike put that in like your

Yeah,

breakfast, give it to us.
Like what would you say is like

yeah,

the breakfast that is like the

yeah.

outta the

We'll see.
I say 30 grams of protein, butfunnily enough, I don't actually
count calories or track or weighmy food or track macros.
So it's like, an idea in myhead.

This don't

No, I don't, I'm not getting a scale out, like
it's just not happening.
But for me, breakfast most dayslooks like I will often, this is
like my go-to breakfast and it'sactually, I had posted this very
early on in my Instagram journeyand it kind of just went semi
viral at the time.
Like everyone was like, wow,this breakfast.

(44:42):
And I just remember thinkingthis video is so mediocre, like
it doesn't even look that great.

Like this is

It's so basic,

do this every day, like really?

but I'll have sauteed cabbage with

Okay.

potato.
Uh, I have

that.

like two eggs and then just a meat patty and
avocado, like a half avocado.
And I put, uh, that hot, what isit?
Hot honey, like chili, honey.

Yes.
Ooh, I

I

hot honey.
Yes, I do

have it on everything.

honey.
Yeah,

is so good.

I

I have it on every single meal, like pretty much
without fail.
So that's, that's a breakfastthat I generally will have most
days.
I might swap out the meats, butI know a lot of people prefer a
sweet breakfast.
You could always have,

But then the, the issue, I have a major sweet

Hmm,

but like when I start the day, which I don't,
gonna be

hmm.

I don't eat

Yeah.

very often.
I, I need

Mm-hmm.

But like.
So my, well, we all break fast.
I break fast around like

Yes.

o'clock.
But anyway,

Mm-hmm.

Or I think like if I do eat my first thing is

Yes.

then it sets the tone for the

Yes.

day.
So if I reach for like

Mm-hmm.

or like

Yeah.

I shouldn't be eating or even carbs.
I just feel like my diet for therest of the day is never going
to make up because I tell myselfin that moment, like, oh,
fallacies of

Yes.

tell ourselves like, oh, it's better to eat
this, like, not so great thing

Hmm.

in the morning because then they have hard time
to burn it off

Yeah.

But really what it does is it sets the tone

Yes,

'cause now I'm just going to be like, uh, I
already have that like sugar

yes.

my blood, or whatever

Yes, because it's actually a physiological
response when you start your daywith carbs and no protein, fats
or fiber that slow down therelease of those carbs.
Your insulin levels are justgoing up and down, and that's
why you get cravings later onbecause.
Your insulin is spiking anddropping and spiking and
dropping rather than stayingsteady when you include protein
and fats to slow down therelease of the carbs, which I

(46:47):
always used to love Sweetbreakfast too, and it took me a
little while to switch over tosavory.
But I guarantee if you're asweet breakfast person and
you're not having any protein orfats with it, just try it.
See how you go and you can see Iget sweets afterwards.
'cause I do that, like I lovesweets.
I have a sweet tooth, I havesomething sweet every single
day.
Without fail, I still eatchocolate.

(47:09):
Like I, I love it, but I'll haveit after I have my meal or in
the afternoon like before.

Okay.
Okay.
I'm gonna try that.
And so should I eat breakfasttoo

Yeah.
See, that's, that was gonna be,and my, my other number one
thing, aside from cutting outalcohol, if you're on your
wellness journey, is eatingbreakfast earlier and finishing
dinner earlier.
I, and by finishing dinnerearlier, I, I mean, people freak
out because I eat my dinner at4:00 PM but it's only because I

(47:41):
go to bed so early.
So I like to leave.
My general, I call it a rule,but it's not a rule.
Like if I'm with family andwe're eating dinner later, of
course I'm gonna eat later.
I'm not one of those peoplethat's like, no past 4:00 PM I
can't eat now.
But.

You watch everyone but me.

But if you can finish eating your meal and then
leave three hours before you goto sleep, your sleep will
dramatically improve.
It'll be easier to lose fat ifthat is one of your goals.
And it is just so much betterfor you.
So I know a lot of people liketo do intermittent fasting where
they start eating at lunchtimeand then eat till later.
But.

Yeah, that's

Science has showed that it is better to do it the
other way around.
It's just obviously moredifficult because it's less
social and it depends what timeyou go to bed.

Okay.
Okay.
That's good to know.

Hmm.

Speaking of bed sleep,

Hmm

I'm assuming the key that you mentioned is like a
three hour, I think I saw thison your

mm-hmm.

like, don't eat three hours before bed, ideally.

Ideally.

Okay, those are great tips You hear, you heard
it here first.
Ash is recommending one to, letme see, this is my test.
Okay, number one, sunlight.
If you can get outside orbetter, if you can fly to the
Sunshine Coast and just livethere.
No, but first morning, get themovement in basically.

(49:03):
Perfect.
Your morning

Yeah.
Mm-hmm.

Perfect.
Your morning routine to the bestof your ability.
Optimize.
End.
Get the harder things out the

Mm-hmm.

that you're not

Yes.

Then number two would be to make sure that you
eat high protein

Mm-hmm.

That spot is 30, but we're gonna steal your

Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

So that's rule number two.
And then rule number three wouldbe to make sure that you, I
forgot the third row ash.

That's okay.
Try and leave at least threehours between your last

Before

group and bed.

Okay, that makes sense.
Those are great.
And drink water,

the-sober-butterfly_2_01-08 (49:44):
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the-sober-butterfly_4_11-21- (51:06):
So welcome back.
We are winding down.
I've stolen a lot of ashe'stime, but she's shared so many
gems with us today.
So let's wind down with a quickglow up rapid fire game.
So I don't want you to overthink

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (51:20):
Okay.

the-sober-butterfly_4_11- (51:20):
Rapid fire, whatever comes to mind,
spit it out.
Are you down to play Ash?

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2025 (51:26):
I am, so let's do it.

Here's the rapid fire.
Okay.
What is your current go-toPost-workout snack.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2 (51:36):
Ooh.
D, do you know what?
I actually don't have apost-workout snack only because
I work out at like 4:00 AM and Idon't start eating my day at
eating until 7:00 AM

okay.
That makes sense.
So it's breakfast,

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2025 (51:50):
I feel like people are gonna,
yeah, people are gonna come atme, but that's, yeah, that's my
answer.

Thank you for being honest.
It works.
I think that's another thing.
There's no like ideal for

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (52:00):
No,

You

squadcaster-ddc3_3_1 (52:00):
everyone's different.

for

Yeah.
Hundred percent.

So yeah, breakfast is your post
workout

It's, yeah.

the-sober-butterfly_ (52:06):
delicious.

Yeah.

Next question.
What do you think the mostunderrated wellness hack is?
I feel like I know what you'regonna say, but the most
underrated wellness hack.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-202 (52:18):
Oh my gosh.
Do you know what I'm gonna say?
I'm interested to see what youthink I was gonna say

I, I thought I, okay.
Do you want me to say what Ithought you were gonna say?
I think the most underrated inyour opinion, would be a couple
of things.
Quitting alcohol like, and thenthe other thing, the bed thing,
the one that I, I really thinkthat the three

yes.

bed, because it helps your quality of
sleep, which also helps withdigestion and all the things,
and helps you then feel wellrested enough to set your day
with your set routine and like agood routine.

yes.

I'm speculating.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (52:54):
You definitely hit the nail on the
head, but I actually haveanother one that kind of goes
with the three hour one, butit's like this is something that
I do with my husband and sonevery night, and it is the best.
So after dinner, we go for likea 15, 20 minute walk.
Just around the block.
It is something, especially ifyou struggle with like nighttime

(53:15):
eating, it's like a way we Ibrush my teeth before, so as
soon as I have dinner, I brushmy teeth and then we put on our
shoes, we go for a walk.
It is amazing, again for yourcircadian rhythm, and it helps
your food digest.
And it's like a, you know,kitchen's closed.
Like it's also a nice way tobond because you're not sitting
there on your phones, you areactually chatting and talking

(53:36):
about your day.
So again, I know if you're in anarea like New York, this may not
be as easy.
Maybe you could get a walkingpath or something.

That's all we do here is we walk.
That's a good one.
No, that's really, I canimplement that.

Yeah.
Yes.

That's a really good one because I For
people who struggle withsnacking.
Too late or like mindlessness ofjust eating because

Yes.

the-sober-butterfly_4 (53:59):
something or like doing something.
resets the routine like It'slike, okay,

yeah.

get up and go outside.
You're moving

Yes.

sort of like you Distract yourself
Yourself, like from

yeah.
It's, I actually implemented itoriginally when I was quitting
alcohol because.
It replaced the wine, you know,it was my daily and it was like
my like relax time.
So definitely my.

brilliant.
Okay.
I love that one.
I'm gonna try it.
I'm gonna try it.
We'll see.
What would you say a couple morequestions for you, get glowing
up with Ash.
What would you say is at thistime your favorite alcohol free
drink?

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (54:44):
Oh, I love, okay, I've got a couple,
either coconut water with a bitof salt in it because it's so.

Ooh.

Yummy and it's good for electrolytes.
Or if it's like in the afternoonand I feel like something
special, I'll have soda waterwith a little bit of lime and
just a little bit of apple cidervinegar.
And it's just really good foryour gut health as well.
And it's like fizzy and it's gotlike a little bit of something

(55:13):
in there, so it makes you feellike you're having a tree, but
it's also really good for youand it's got no sugar.

The way you just elevate that you do
the because you said coconutwater.
I'm like, yeah, coconut water,like of course.
And then you said, oh, but thenI sprinkle a little salt in
there for electrolytes.
I was like, oh, sparkling water.
Been there, done that?
You said, no, I added a littleapple cider vinegar.
This is amazing ass.

(55:39):
Okay, I gotta try all of those

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-202 (55:41):
It makes it so much better.
Gotta have a little ritual.

try all of these things like
seriously,

Yeah.

like I'm over the phase where when I
first quit drinking, I had abunch of sugar cravings because,
no, my.
When you drink

Yes.

it, you know,

Yes.
Very normal.
Mm-hmm.

So yeah, I was having all these
cravings and like not so well.
And then I also found myselflike really getting into like
the non alk scene, like drinkingnon-alcoholic wines and like
basically things fueled the.
Full of sugar.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-2 (56:10):
Mm-hmm.

And so now I'm like, want this.
Like Why am I drinking this?
So I like that you gave likeoptions that are actually good
for you.
This is going to replenish somesomething.
It's Aid your body

yes.

Okay.
Trying all of those things.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (56:24):
And another

that

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (56:25):
one that is if you are having,

have another one.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-202 (56:27):
if you're having sugar cravings,
electrolytes will really helpwith that.
So if you feel like you areconstantly craving sugar, it's
often a mineral imbalance.
So maybe try some electrolytesor try some mineral water and
see how you go.

okay.
Coming in

I've got.

the hot tips.
Okay.
No seriously, like this issomething that so many people
like.
with, and like for me not tomake this about me, especially
as we're winding down, it'sgonna be another two hour
conversation, guys.
No, but like at the end mydrinking, beginning of my sober
journey, gained maybe like 15pounds I was.

Yeah.

tons of sugar and eating.
And it was so triggering for mebecause as mentioned, I've

yeah.

the-sober-butterfly_4 (57:07):
struggled with disordered eating and body
dysmorphia that it almost causeda relapse.
So this is real for people like

Yeah.
Very.

the, I think also people just assume
when you quit drinking you loseweight, which that also happens
and it balanced out once I likefigure it out

Mm-hmm.

For those who don't get that result,
it can be like, really,

Yes.

the-sober-butterf (57:28):
overwhelming.
This is a great way to likedeflect or like try to avoid
that pitfall of over consumingsugar

Yes.

compensate for the lack of alcohol or
whatever.
So I love that so much.
electrolytes noted.
Okay, one more question for you.
What's one thing that you aretransforming internally right
now?

squadcaster-ddc3_3_ (57:49):
Internally.
Well, I feel like I am quite asmuch as I, I get told a lot of
the time that I seem like a calmperson and I feel like I am most
of the time, but I can also gofrom zero to a hundred, like
stress wise.
And I can be really hard onmyself, and I'm a real

(58:10):
perfectionist, so likeeverything has to be perfect,
which I think a lot of women canrelate to.
So I am working on just likechilling out a little bit more
and being okay with things notbeing perfect and not being
okay.
So,

Do you have any Virgo in your
chart?

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2025 (58:28):
I dunno, I'm a Scorpio.

Your Scorpio?
Okay.
Is your birthday recent?

Yeah, 30th of October.

Happy belated.

Thank.

the-sober-butterfly_4_ (58:37):
birthday right before th I was gonna say
Thanksgiving.
I'm sorry, right beforeHalloween.
That's so fun.
Okay.
Happy belated birthday.
The perfectionist thing is realto your point, women, but like
every Virgo I know is like handsdown the most thorough.
Type a person that

Mm-hmm.

my life.
And when you said zero to ahundred, I thought for a second
I was like, she might be a firesign, like an Aries I'm an
Aries, so I'm like, we go zeroto a hundred very quickly, but
Like flame out very

yeah.

but it sounds like you are hard on
yourself, like you're

Yes,

of yourself

very yes.

that anxiety is

Yes.
Yes.
And I think, you know, that'ssomething that I've, it comes
from childhood really.
And, you know, I can recognizecertain things about my
childhood and relationship withmy parents and that sort of
thing that has instilled certainbeliefs and limiting beliefs.
So that is something, and Iactually had a coach help me
through this as well this yearis working on limiting beliefs

(59:36):
and the way that you speak toyourself.
So I think it's just soimportant because, you know,
some of the things that we sayto ourselves, we wouldn't say to
anyone else, they would beawful, but we can say it to
ourselves and you know, therelationship that we have with
ourself is the most importantone that we have.

the-sober-butterfly (59:53):
Absolutely.
thank you for saying that.
And I think sober helps withthat so much because a.
We do hard things.
It's hard to get sober whetheryou have a drinking problem or
not.
Like to make a different choicefor yourself, Against norms.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-2 (01:00:11):
Mm-hmm.

the-sober-butterfly_4_11-21-2 (01:00:11):
a big deal.
And then also you start tobelieve in yourself.
Well, if I'm capable of doingthis, look how much better I
feel

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2 (01:00:18):
Yes.

the-sober-butterfly_4_11- (01:00:19):
these areas of my

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:00:20):
Yeah, exactly.

the-sober-butterfly_4_1 (01:00:21):
natural progression I think helps build
the self-confidence.
But the way you speak toyourself Discerns between
someone who is able to actuallylike go after it and get it and
achieve their dreams and sustainthat as opposed to someone who
is doing it.
To disprove the negative talkthat they tell themselves.

(01:00:42):
then they may reach that levelof success, but they're actually
not able to enjoy it becausethey don't think they deserve
it.
They don't love themselves

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11- (01:00:49):
exactly.

the-sober-butterfly_4_11-2 (01:00:49):
give themselves the positive like
that they

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2 (01:00:53):
Yes.

support themselves through that process.
Because life is hard and it'snot easy.
And this is everyone's firsttime

Mm-hmm.

this journey of life.
So.
Be kind to yourself.
That's Try to tell myself isjust be

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:01:05):
yeah.
And it's

the-sober-butterfly_4_11-21- (01:01:06):
so hard to do

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-202 (01:01:07):
so much easier said than done.
Like you really have to catchyourself something you really
need to be aware of.

It's an unlearning process and it's
really hard, but with time andpractice it becomes possible.
I love everything you've sharedAsh

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:01:23):
Thank you.

I really want to thank you for
coming on the show

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:01:26):
Thank you.

I'm so inspired by you.
You've given me like real tips.
I'm so serious.
I'm adding salt to my coconut

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:01:32):
Good.

I'm doing the things.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:01:34):
Yeah.

not, I'm gonna try my best to eat
breakfast.
I know that's

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:01:37):
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.

I feel very much inspired about
learning about your journey andI'm so proud of you for doing
what's

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:01:45):
Thank you.

and making that choice.
And community is huge

Mm-hmm.

you've mentioned before, like you found
that through the program you didand that's great, but like I
know how hard it can be.
To feel like you're in anecosystem that is catered to
drinking and it takes astrong-willed person to go on
that journey.
So I commend you on yourstrength,

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:02:08):
Thank you.

the-sober-butterfly_ (01:02:08):
community.
Doesn't have to necessarily bein person.
So you know, keep telling yourstory, on Instagram and on
social platforms because so manypeople are similar to you in
places where they may feel likethere's no one out there who
understands or there's no oneout there that you know.

(01:02:29):
Is making a different choice forthemselves

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:02:31):
Yeah.

they'll hears something unique about
your story that lights a fireinside of them to say I'm not an
alcoholic.
I was kind of like how she said,

Mm-hmm.

was kind of just drinking wine
mindlessly,

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:02:41):
Yeah.

myself an excuse to have a glass of
wine extra

Mm-hmm.

a bad day.
So I think that plus you livingyour life out loud and showing
how your life can drasticallyimprove.
It's not always perfect, butlike

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (01:02:53):
No.

the transformation from within.

Mm-hmm.

It really will help someone.
So thank you for sharing.
It's helped me just even hearingparts of your story

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (01:03:01):
No, I,

hope that you continue telling it
because you have a voice and youknow people need to hear it.
They really do.
And it's not like we're indebtedto it, but I'm telling you like
community is real and I foundcommunity on Instagram and you
can be a part of my community.
I would love to be a part ofyour community.
Like, come to New York.
I'm coming to Australia one day,like, I'm so serious.

(01:03:23):
Like

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:03:23):
yeah, I love that.

the-sober-butterfly_4_ (01:03:25):
Sunshine Coast.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22 (01:03:26):
You'll love it here.
Thank you.

you so much Ash, for coming on.
How can people connect with you?
How can they find you

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (01:03:32):
I'm on Instagram, Ash Meredith 11 is
my handle.
And you know, if you wanna gothat step further, I do run a
glow up challenge that we'vejust done.
But it is ongoing and, it's afour week challenge and I will
have more throughout next year.
But it's not one of those.
You know, fitness challengeswhere it's like, okay, you know,

(01:03:53):
four weeks to lose this amountof weight because that's just
not sustainable.
So yes, it's a workout plan.
Got meals in there as well, butit's more centered around habits
and using the four weeks tobuild sustainable habits that
you can carry on afterwards, youknow, and just keep those.
Ongoing throughout your lifebecause you know there's no

(01:04:15):
point doing anything just forfour weeks.
You really wanna build a lifethat you can sustain and that
makes you feel good.
So, yeah.

I love that there's no specific
metric that's attached Itbecause I think either that can
motivate people to like go superhard and achieve whatever that
like arbitrary number is or thatgoal is,

Mm-hmm.

That's not sustainable because

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2 (01:04:38):
Yes.

try to like reach this one level.
Or you have people who are justlike, I can't do that.
Like this is just too hard.
And then they quit before theyeven really start.
So I love that you're likeindividually like allowing
people to just undergo changingthe habits because that's what's
really going to drive thesuccess long term.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-202 (01:04:58):
It is because, you think it's
motivation and it's willpower,but if you can set your day up
so that these things thesehealthy habits are just habits,
that it's almost on autopilot,it becomes so much easier to
focus on your wellness'causeyou're not thinking about it all
the time.

Well, habits shape us, right?
No.
Are they like, they seesomething like Habits becoming
your identity.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2 (01:05:20):
Yes.

gonna massacre this thing here.
Thank you so much Ash for comingon the Sober Butterfly.
I'm going to plug your Instagramand how folks can sign up
potentially for when's the nextchallenge.
When's your

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-20 (01:05:32):
The next one will start at the start
of January.

Perfect

Mm-hmm.

the-sober-butterfly_4_ (01:05:38):
Everyone wants to, you know, that's when
the

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2 (01:05:41):
Yes,

is high.
Everyone wants to

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22-2025 (01:05:43):
I know.

And it's dry January, so like that's
perfect.
I'll plug that.
Please sign up guys, if you dowant

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:05:50):
Thank you.

from the inside out, and it sounds
like not just changing yourselffrom the inside out, but
sustaining that because likethat.
needs to be lasting and itstarts with you.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:06:01):
Yeah.

thank you so much for.

squadcaster-ddc3_3_11-22- (01:06:04):
Thank you so much for having me.

And that pretty much wraps today's
episode of The Sober Butterfly.
A huge thank you to Ash forbringing her heart, her wisdom,
and her honesty to thisconversation.
I hope you're leaving thisepisode.
Feeling inspired to clean upyour habits, to protect your
energy and nourish yourself fromthe inside out.

(01:06:27):
Ash is a walking reminder thatwhen you stop drinking.
You don't just change yourweekends, you change your life.
If today's conversation gave youeven one little aha moment, make
sure to follow Ash.
Share this episode with a friendand tag us on Instagram.
I love seeing your takeaways.

(01:06:51):
Thank you so much for tuning in.
I appreciate you.
I'm rooting for you, and I'm soproud of the way you are
designing your alcohol freelife.
Until next time, stay glowing.
Stay grounded and stay sober.
Butterfly.
I love you.
Bye.
I.

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