Reasons to Quit Drinking #5: Your Mojo

Have you lost your mojo?

I bet you think it's an inevitable function of getting older? That mojos are the preserve of the young?

Balderdash. It's still there. Somewhere. You've just drowned it in alcohol.

I misplaced my mojo for a decade.

I was fat and puffy. I had chins and jowls. I slept badly and had little energy. The last adjective in the world I would use to describe myself was 'sexy.'

I would avoid mirrors and photographs like the plague. Our family album for that decade gives the impression that Mr SM is nobly bringing up three children alone.

When you're a teenager, or in your early twenties, drinkers look like sexy, uninhibited hedonists (at least I thought so), but - I discovered after I quit - when you get to middle age, big drinkers look pretty terrible. You can spot them a mile off (see my post: Spot the Lush).

But, do not despair, because quite soon after you quit drinking you see little signs of your mojo reappearing, like daffodil shoots in Spring.

The first thing you'll notice is the puffiness receding. Cheek and jawbones! Who knew?

You'll also find your skin (now you're less dehydrated) starts to glow, and looks less red and patchy.

Even your hair gets thicker and glossier! (See my post: Sober Hair)

Because you'll be sleeping better (See my post: Sleep, Glorious Sleep), and you'll be healthier, you get your energy back. With no hangovers to deal with, you can bounce out of bed in the morning.

Then, after an initial period of adjustment and bingeing on sugar (usually about 100 days), you'll find the weight will start to shift (see Reason #1: Weight Loss)

Six months in, you'll be slimmer, look 5 years younger and be bombarded with compliments. You'll find your confidence returning and you'll be able to walk into a room with a swagger, rather than sidling in apologetically. (See my post: Invisibility)

So, if you you've just quit this New Year, and are on Day 10 - or thereabouts - KEEP GOING, and get ready to say:

"Hello, Mojo. Welcome back!"

Happy, sober Sunday to you all,

SM x

Livers and Mojos

It's just struck me, looking at that headline, that it sounds like the sort of healthy eating meal plan that Gwyneth Paltrow would post on Goop: Pan fried organic liver of guinea fowl with Peruvian mojo berries. But no. As you will be aware by now, I am no Gwynnie.

Talking of menus, this is a quick one as my mother - The Matriarch - known in the family as 'She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed' -  is coming for lunch, which I have to do without a couple of glasses of vino 'to take the edge off'. The edge will most definitely remain on.

So, livers. I thought that having totally ignored mine for decades, I should do a bit of research and get to know it a bit better. Here's the basic scoop: livers are big and important, and alcohol screws them up.

A bit more detail: The liver is the largest and most complex organ in the body. It does all sorts of really important stuff like fighting disease, aiding digestion, getting rid of toxins and regulating sugar and cholesterol. Drinking 'heavily' (over government guidelines) can lead to liver disease.

There are 3 stages of 'alcoholic' liver disease: (1) Alcoholic fatty liver disease, (2) alcoholic hepatitis and (3) alcoholic cirrhosis. The bad news is that it's estimated that over 90% of heavy drinkers will have fatty liver disease. This disease does what it says on the tin: your liver gets fatty (and yellow - yuk), which is not good. The good news is that it is totally reversible. It turns out that the liver is pretty damn efficient at healing itself, and within 2 weeks of not drinking any alcohol it can get totally back to normal. Woo hoo!

Now, stage 1 is virtually symptomless, so most people are not diagnosed with liver disease until they get to stages 2 and 3 which are much more dangerous and difficult to treat. Cirrhosis is irreversible, and 50% of people diagnosed with it die within 5 years (if they don't stop drinking). Also, bear in mind that women are far more prone to alcoholic liver disease than men, especially if they're overweight.

In case you're worried, the symptoms of stage 2 liver disease are: weight loss, feeling sick, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, yellowing of the skin/eyes and pain in the top right of your abdomen. Here's a link to the NHS website.

Given that I have none of the above symptoms, I'm hoping that I've dodged the bullet and only reached stage 1. This means that after 22 days of not drinking I - hopefully - have a gorgeous, pink, healthy liver. Yay!

I was thinking about this yesterday (I am SO fed up with not being able to think about anything other than not drinking. How long is it going to take my head to shut up about it???) as I walked to school to pick up #2.

A car drove past slowly with two cool looking black guys in the front. They were young (and by that I mean under 35), and one was hanging out of the passenger side window. He whistled. I looked round to spot the hot blonde following me (bear in mind that I have walked past building sites untroubled for at least a decade). No-one there. He whistled again. I'm presuming he's lost his dog, but no dog in sight.

Eventually it hits me. Sod the healthy liver! Mama has her mojo back! Oh yeah, baby.