The Ultimate Post-Summer Challenge: Putting Down the Rosé*

[*I say rosé because it was SUCH a theme this summer, rosé was seemingly everywhere. But drinking might not be your thing. So treat “rosé” as a metaphor for whatever summer treat you may have chosen to thoroughly enjoy that you may, for whatever reason, want to step away from… Hope this helps!]
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I am writing this ON Labor Day, at the Soho House rooftop, sipping on my almond milk late and water while 80% of the other people up here are drinking rosé like it’s going out of style (at 11:30AM). And I mean, good grief, rosé was all the rage this summer, it was everywhere! And now, everyone’s saying goodbye in ritualistic ways as the fall settles in.

Image from RoseAllDay.com

So of course I’m using rosé as my one example but I could just as easily use ice cream or hot dogs or whatever other summer goodies we embrace when the warm weather finally comes. But as the leaves change color, in come the Pinot Noir and Pumpkin Spice Everything and Halloween candy. And when the trees go bare we get excited for Cabernet and potatoes and bread and pasta. We replace one thing with another.

If you follow or have worked with me before, you know I’m not an elimination girl. Total elimination of a food or drink usually completely backfires (obviously we’re not talking about addiction here)! That being said, though, we do need to be honest with ourselves: We often might *think* we’re only enjoying seasonal goodies here and there because they’re “special” and “unavailable” the rest of the year. But we completely lose sight that the “here-ing and there-ing” of treats year-round can actually add to the waistline over time.

If you’re ready to move forward with fall with a bit less of the “rosé”, here are 5 ways to start easing out the habit you’ve created:

1. Create a new routine: First, identify WHEN you get that urge to pour yourself a glass. What time of day is it? Where are you? What usually happens right before you pour/order that glass? What day of the week is it? What time? Then, figure out how you can disrupt your trigger(s). Does it mean taking a few minutes some time during the day to do something nice for yourself so you don't get to the point of "needing" whatever it is you're craving? Does it mean taking a different route home from work? Or meeting friends at a coffee shop instead of the bar? Or eating dinner in the dining room instead of the living room? Or taking a walk in the middle of the day to take your mind off of whatever it is you’re craving? 
2. Hit the snooze. Think you want that 1st/2nd/3rd glass of wine? Set a timer to quietly go off in 10 minutes and see if you still want it (I’m suggesting quietly so that if you don’t hear it, you may have already forgotten you wanted a drink!). Or commit to drinking a full glass of water before you make the pour and see if you still want it. Or take yourself out of the offending room and take care of a chore and see if you still remember that you even wanted it.
3. Keep track. Use a notebook or app any time you grab a glass (AS you grab the glass, not after; you might forget after).
4. Decrease little by little. Let’s say you've been drinking 10 glasses every week. Can you cut that down to 9 this week? And down to 7 the next? Can you find a quantity of rosé that both helps you not feel completely deprived AND that still helps you get closer to your health goals?
5. Don’t keep it in your house. Take the treat OUT. OF. YOUR. HOUSE. It’s not an elimination since you can choose to enjoy a glass when you’re out and about. But it does take out the temptation in the place you may be spending the most time in.

The above tips are just a handful to get you started. There are so many other ways to start cutting back on those beverages and foods that are getting you further away from your health and fitness goals. Hopefully these 5 tips above help spark some ideas of your own! If you've successfully cut back/quit some bad habits, how did YOU do it? Feel free to share in the comments!

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