My alcohol-free journey started in 2023, after I tried many different things to lose weight. I was exercising regularly, lifting weights and eating healthy — nothing was working.
After a lot of research, I realized I was in perimenopause and weight gain was one of the more common symptoms. I was frustrated; I wasn't happy; and I just wanted to feel good in my clothes again.
I realized that my daily wine could be the culprit, so I started to learn about how it was affecting my body. It was eye-opening!
I just thought that alcohol equalled calories. I had no idea what it was doing to my body. Once I learned these things, I looked at alcohol differently.
In May of 2023, I gave up alochol and after 6 weeks and I lost 7 inches! I felt so good! I was sleeping like a baby and I had energy to get up before 6:00a.m. and workout — the only time I could fit it in.
But, shortly after I started drinking again to celebrate my birthday and, well, because it was the summer! Moderation just didn't work for me.
I needed a better reason than losing weight to give up alcohol. I needed to connect to "my why" for quitting.
Once I did that, I've never looked back!
Hi, I'm Mel Stephens
Quitting drinking just to lose weight wasn’t a good enough reason for me.
That’s why diets don't work.
They are just short term solutions for temporary results.
What I really needed was a lifestyle change.
So, I created the MENO Lifestyle Roadmap.
Working on our mindset is important for building new habits and reducing stress.
I've tried many different types of workout programs but in perimenopause, there are specific things we need to do.
If you want to change your body composition in perimenopause, you must prioritize protein and ditch the alcohol!
MENO Lifestyle Roadmap
Life is busy! This step is about being intentional, scheduling and organizing everything that needs to get done each week.
These four categories are what I believe to be foundational lifestyle habits for women over 40, to set us up for success in the next half of our lives because we still have a whole other half, the best half, I think, to live!
Watching my mom live with cancer and then say goodbye to her in 2019 was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. It forever changed me.
She lived a healthy lifestyle, but she believed that it was stress that led her to her cancer diagnosis. She felt stress because of her job and from caring for her aging parents (and I’m sure worrying about her kids made the list as well).
She coped with her stress by having a glass or two of wine in the evening on a regular basis.
After she was diagnosed, she quit drinking and she cut out sugar. She did this because she wanted to give herself the best chance of beating cancer and getting healthy again.
This made me think: why should I wait until I get sick to cut out the things in my life that I know can lead to cancer or chronic disease?
This was a major driver for me to give up alcohol.
The other was managing stress. I love my job, I love that my kids are so involved in sports and activities, but there’s very little downtime. Once I learned that the stress I feel is completely within my control, I was able to manage it.
My Why
"It’s not the things in our life that give us stress — it’s how we think about all the things."
Our thoughts and mindset are so important!
My mom inspires me every day to live my best life because we don’t know how much time we have.
I hope you’ll consider living an alcohol-free lifestyle. You have no idea how amazing it will feel! And we've got a lot of living left to do!
