Since becoming completely tee-total, my drinking habits have completely changed.

Many Moons Ago

For those of you who haven’t followed me that long, 23 months ago I was classed as an alcoholic. A high functioning alcoholic who wouldn’t need a drink as soon as I got up in the morning, but would drink every evening to excess.

Three quarters of a litre of Vodka every night. At least.

Pornstar

Of course, that was both costly and dangerous but was ‘helping’ manage a long standing pain issue. By drinking that much every night, it allowed me to get some sleep, usually less pain filled.

The other issue was that the more I drank, the less effective it became, so I drank more.

Chin-Chin

Intervention from my daughters really gave me a wake-up call and the following morning I went straight to the doctors and got a referral to an alcohol abuse service.

This February I will have been tee-total for two years. This has flown by so quickly and I can honestly say that I haven’t missed drinking one little bit

More Alcohol

The only time I have wanted an alcoholic drink has been at the height of Summer when everyone else was indulging in a large glass of Pimm’s on a hot day. Even then, I wasn’t desperate for one, and the quick thought soon came and went.

Seeing as I haven’t had an alcoholic drink in that long, why am I now saying that my drinking habits have changed? Well in the last six months, I have stopped drinking other things too.

Champagne!

After giving up Vodka, I gravitated towards my favourite soft drink which is Dr Pepper.

In essence I moved from swigging Vodka and Coke, to gallons of fizzy pop.

This was having a multiple effect on me; too much sugar was causing sleep issues and contributing to water infections. It was also causing bloating and of course, the big one being weight gain.

Making an Occasion of it!

After over a year and a half of doing that, I was starting to feel the effects. On average I was drinking 6 or 7 cans a day which anyone will tell you is not a good thing at all.

Now I know that the experts recommend you drink 2.7 – 3 litres a day. This is an issue if you don’t particularly like water and don’t tend to have a lot of other kinds of liquid every day.

I know that cups of tea, squash and flavoured waters all count, but I probably only have one cup of tea a day and flavoured waters always seem to have an after-taste due to the sugars and sweeteners added into them.

NoZeco for the Win!

However I absolutely love plain sparkling water and it was to this that I turned. I basically swapped my 6 cans of Dr Pepper a day for around 4 to 6 litres of sparkling water.

I buy the multipacks of 2 litre bottles of water and can go through 3 or 4 a day. The most I have been through is 6 bottles and even I think that 12L is probably a bit excessive. However when you consider that this replaces all my previous drink choices, and is over a 16 hour day, then it is not that bad.

Sparkling Water and Robinsons!

The main problem I find is that I lose track of just how much I am drinking.

This was solved for me recently when I had an email from HydrateM8 asking if I would like to test out their tracker bottles.

Tracker

I popped onto the website to see what was on offer and was very impressed with their items. In fact, I never knew that there were so many varieties available.

In the end I chose the baby blue gradient hydration tracker water bottle in the active style.

Pretty Yet Practical

This meant that the bottle comes with a wide mouth spout and capped lid, rather than a straw or sipper variation. The lid features a push button opening with a locking ‘loop’ which stops the bottle from being opened accidentally.

The best part to the bottle is the tracking system printed on the outside of the bottle. This consists of 6 printed measurements, timed at hourly intervals and includes words of encouragement.

Basically you take drinks from the bottle throughout each hour until it gets to just before 2pm. By this time, the bottle should be empty and will need refilling. Once refilled, you again take sips throughout the afternoon until 7pm rolls around.

Monitor Your Water

By having this handy tracker I am able to monitor how much I am drinking each hour. I can also track just how many litres I am consuming by the amount of times I fill up the bottle.

Given that the bottle holds 900ml, by refilling the bottle three times, I have consumed the recommended 2.7 litres.

The Whole Shebang

Perfect.

One of the great things about this bottle is the lockable push button closure. The lid has a large rubber piece inside which fits around the spout creating a strong seal.

Push Button and Locking Loop

This means I can fill the bottle with sparkling water and in the first six hours of tracking, the water does not lose its fizz at all. This is absolutely brilliant as I can carry this bottle around a lot easier than a 2 litre multipack bottle.

It is even easier to tote around as it has a solid carrying loop.

Loop for Carrying or Attaching to your bag

The bottle retails at £20, which given that it is very robust, has a leakproof lid and holds a large amount of water, is exceptional value.

As mentioned previously, they do other items too; dog water bottles, coffee cups, straws and electric protein mixers. There really is something for everyone.

Wide Spout (Which I Love)

Talking of everyone, all of my readers can get a 10% discount by clicking on the link here and using my code Tanya10

I have literally used the bottle every single day since receiving it, taking it out on my travels. The bottle has been to the swimming pool, on the train and I know it will be used travelling abroad.

Litre no2

One of the best things about this bottle?

Well it has to be the colour of this specific one. Girly yet adult too. There are many colours to choose from but this was my absolute favourite.

Have you spotted your favourite yet?

Till next time,

SPSG xxx