Columnist says she lost 21 pounds after cutting alcohol, then regained half a stone during a booze-fuelled summer

A British lifestyle columnist said she lost 21 pounds by cutting down on alcohol earlier this year, but regained roughly half a stone after several holidays and a summer of regular drinking and cocktails.

The writer said she reduced her alcohol intake from about two to three bottles of wine a week to roughly one, and experimented with low- and no-alcohol alternatives while stopping drinking from Monday to Thursday. By March she said those changes, alongside walking and dietary adjustments, brought her weight below 10 stone for the first time in years and helped relieve some perimenopause symptoms, including anxiety and insomnia, despite being on hormone replacement therapy.

She said the mood of early July set the tone for the rest of the summer. A trip to Provence included regular glasses of rosé, and an all-inclusive stay in Turks & Caicos featured cocktails at the swim-up bar, where she described patrons ordering banana daiquiris at 11 a.m. Other drinking occasions included gin on a short break in Cornwall and cider at a festival in Kent. At home, the columnist said she slipped back into a routine of a 6 p.m. gin and tonic in her garden followed by wine with dinner, describing the drinks as a reward after family and household responsibilities.

The writer added that she was rarely drunk and often spaced drinks or took naps after lunch while on holiday, but that the increased intake nonetheless led to a regain of about half a stone concentrated around her midsection. She said she found a previously comfortable pair of jeans too tight and saw the change on the scales.

The columnist described other steps she took earlier in the year to reduce alcohol, naming botanical alternatives such as Pentire and non-alcoholic mixers like Mother Root, a ginger switchel, served with tonic or soda. She also said she continues regular walks with her dogs, aims to eat fruit and vegetables and takes supplements, and identified alcohol as the key factor affecting her waistline.

In response to the regain, she said she has begun reintroducing dry nights during the week and plans to abstain completely during Sober October to test whether cutting out alcohol will return her weight to its March level. She said she will report back on the results.

The account frames personal experience of weight fluctuation in connection with changes in drinking patterns across a defined timeline: substantial reduction last autumn through March, relaxation of limits over the summer and a planned period of abstinence in October to reassess health and weight outcomes.