LAF Life Season 3 Finale

Season 3 Finale of the LAF Life Podcast is LIVE! 
In this episode, we dive into the most surprising benefit of getting sober and explore alternative ways to find and experience relief without alcohol. It's been an incredible journey, and we’re excited to share these insights with you! We also take a walk down memory lane, recapping the amazing guests we've had this season. From inspiring stories to practical tips, each guest brought something unique to our LAF community.
Thank you all for your continued support and for being part of this incredible journey. Tune in now to catch the season finale, and let's keep living alcohol-free together!

**Please remember to: Like, Subscribe and leave us a 5-star rating or review. If you enjoyed this episode SHARE it with a friend.
Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/laflife
Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/laflifepodcast
Website: https://www.laflifepodcast.com/
Be a guest on our show: https://forms.gle/GE9YJdq4J5Zb6NVC6
Email us: laflifepodcast@gmail.com

Connect with your podcasters. We'd love to hear from you!
Tracey: https://www.instagram.com/tnd1274/
Kelly: https://www.instagram.com/pamperedkel/
Lindsey: https://www.instagram.com/hariklindsey/

**Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this episode are not professional or medical opinions. If you are struggling with an addiction please contact a medical professional for help.

Music provided by Premium Beats: https://www.premiumbeat.com
Song: Rise and Thrive
Artist: Young Presidents

Resources:
Wellness Togethe...

Transcript

Kelly: 0:02

Welcome to the LAF life podcast, a lifestyle podcast based on living alcohol free and a booze soaked world. My name is Kelly Evans and together with my friends, Tracey Djordjevic, and Lindsey Harik. We share uncensored. Unscripted real conversations about what our lives have been like since we ditched alcohol and how we got here by sharing our individual stories. We'll show you that there isn't just one way to do this, no matter where you are on your journey from sober, curious to years in recovery and everyone in between, you are welcome here, no judgment and a ton of support. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the LAF life podcast. This is our season three finale. Hey, guys. Hey. Okay. How many episodes did we do this season?

Tracey: 0:53

28. This would technically be 29.

Kelly: 0:58

29 smokes. We've certainly had some interesting topics and amazing guests and Wow. It's been awesome. So tonight we're going to, chat about how the season went and one of the things that came up that I really thought could use a little more conversation was when we had Lindsay from She Walks Canada on and she talked about relief. Okay, great. We talked about all the benefits and, yeah, your skin's going to be better, you're going to save money, you're going to sleep better, all of these things. But what about the relief? This is something that we're turning to because we've got these chaotic lives and at the end of the day I know for me, I didn't know how to wind down. I was like maxing out all my, everything. And then I truly believed I needed it. To sleep and for my relief from that chaos of all of the things I was doing. So I thought it'd be a really good conversation to have.

Tracey: 1:58

Yeah, for sure. And I think like she spoke to that becomes a fear for people then, when they think about giving it up or quitting, where am I going to get my relief? Like she had mentioned, and I understand that even as someone who has not drank now for three years, there are times where I struggle with certain emotions and having a lack of relief. Per se, or a way to process them. That's not the quick fix of just having a drink and forgetting about it. So it's something that even though I'm very solid in my sobriety, I still struggle with that because it's more on the processing of emotions. Like you said, Kel, the winding down and, It's not always easy to find ways to do that that don't entail work and some of the ways that you do that still require effort. Alcohol always these seems like the easy way out or the easy way that doesn't require a lot of effort. Yeah, you can go to the gym, but. That requires effort. What about the days you don't feel like going to the gym, right? Then what's the alternative to that? So those scenarios I do run across and sometimes I still struggle, right? Yeah. And I find that was the hardest part for me was just sitting in the feelings. Instead of trying to find a relief, like what if we could just sit in them for a bit and just be angry or sad or, frustrated, whatever emotion that is. Bored. Yeah. Boredom. We don't know how to be bored anymore. Yeah. But why is that? We filled our lives and our minds and our senses with so much. It's like the boredom and the just sitting in it. Is foreign to us now, 100%.

Lindsey: 3:49

Fill it with food. I did it today. I came home. I had such a stressful was a long day at work. I had to rush right out of work. Traffic was insane. I barely made it to the appointment that I had to be at and then I was like, I don't even know if I can be on this recording tonight. And I came home and I'm like, I'm starving, but I'm like, okay, I know protein first, but I still grabbed a bag of chips and had 20 and then I'm like, what am I doing? I'm trying to like, unwind. in a quick way, and I used to do it with wine and food combined. But now that I don't drink, I still sometimes find myself doing the stuffing, the emotional eating. I'm gonna sit down in front of the TV and unwind, but I wanna be munching on something.

Kelly: 4:35

Yeah. I know. The goal isn't to be perfect. Of course we want healthier ways. And I remember in the beginning being like, same thing like. With the chips and stuff being like it's not booze. Yeah, that's the main thing. If we've had a really toxic relationship as I think I did, like I was definitely addicted in the beginning. It's you got to do what you got to do just to not pick up. I open a bottle of wine. Like I was like on the Skittles and bread and all kinds of stuff. But I just allowed myself to go through that.

Lindsey: 5:07

Yeah.

Kelly: 5:08

Now, like over six years later, my life is different. My life is very different. And that happened over time, like a long period of time, I've built a pretty calm life. I don't have a lot of stress in my life. And that was my decision to just, do things differently. Not everybody has that option. I understand that. But of course still things come up. But I think. Having a lifestyle or having practices and disciplines where you can manage stress. So all three of us moving our bodies, that's a very important thing to us. And that I think as far as stress management goes, that is like number one, move your body. And then we're learning so much now around all that we've learned on our podcast, about the somatic healing and that's, body as well. And so a lot to do with the body, and breath work just connecting to your breath taking some long, deep breaths instead of. Drinking, maybe the next thing is chips, one thing at a time,

Tracey: 6:08

it always does amaze me how. easy it is when you land on something, right? Like taking those deep breaths then you realize in the moment, Oh, that was so easy and refreshing. And it's same with exercise. I can't even tell you how much I feel like I push so much energy out physically when I exercise. Like all that negative energy, I really channel when I'm exercising and not even in an intense way, I could just be on the treadmill it's almost like a self affirmation of release that energy. I repeat that to myself as I'm just walking on the treadmill or strolling away on the elliptical. So it's just a very conscientious thought process of pushing out that negative energy and releasing it. So I think it's being, present really right in the present moment and being very aware of that's what you're feeling within your body and within your mind, and you want to release it or get rid of it.

Kelly: 7:14

Yeah, it's like in that moment, it's making a different choice. Yeah.

Lindsey: 7:18

I have this basic list and you know what I didn't do when I got home. I didn't have a big glass of water. It's are you dehydrated? Because I feel like a lot of the times I love coffee. I'm still drinking coffee, but it's do I need a nap? Do I need water? Am I dehydrated or do I need to move my body? Just go through that simple checklist and if you don't know which one it is, try them all

Kelly: 7:41

There's an acronym. I'm sure we've talked about this before, but there's an acronym in recovery halt, hungry, angry, lonely, tired. So sometimes if you feel like a drink or if you feel like numbing out, it could just be one of those things.

Tracey: 7:54

Yeah. Yeah. That's a good check in.

Kelly: 7:57

Even just like when we're talking about moving our bodies, it's not always a workout or a yoga class or a workout class, walk around the block, just get outside and walk around the block, five minutes, 10 minutes. Yeah, it changes you.

Tracey: 8:10

It is, I think that refreshing feeling of. outside air, the sun on your face at this time of year, that type of thing that yes, even a five minute walk can make a huge difference. It's like taking 10 deep breaths where it's pretty simple and easy and can be quick. It's just going to change the direction for you immediately, but it's hard sometimes in the moment to think of those things. And for me with going through menopause, one of the things I've been really challenged with is my energy level. So sometimes it is harder than normal on days. To push myself to go to the gym or motivate myself just because my energy level is not there and that's part of menopause too. We don't handle stress as well when we're in menopause. We don't process it as well either. So when I have a really stressful day and my job day to day is stressful and that's an environment that I've chose to put myself in. So sometimes just managing that on a day to day. Energetically, I'm drained some days, and so I think that's where I've really seen the challenge now from time to time, not doing the easy thing or the easy way out and trying to find other things that I know are better for me and make me feel better.

Kelly: 9:32

That's where we build the confidence and the self esteem is just like in that moment where we make a different choice, to choose not to numb out to, put some kombucha in the wine glass instead of the wine or, yeah.

Tracey: 9:43

Yeah. And at the end of the day, we all have been. alcohol free for long enough to realize all the benefits that we're reaping from doing that for ourselves. It's easy sometimes to get off track and you need to pull yourself back in and remind yourself of all those things. Because I might be complaining right now about how menopause is draining my energy. But let me tell you, if I was drinking, it'd be doing it 10 times. Worse. Yeah. Yeah. I have to, give myself that benefit of the doubt sometimes. And remind myself.

Kelly: 10:18

kind to ourselves. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of people would be like, okay, yeah, that's great. The other side is great, but yeah, what is my relief? What is my relief instead of the wine? I think Lynn's just said try different things. That's what I did. I just listened to the other people. I listened to podcasts. I went into Facebook groups and what are they doing?'cause I don't know what to do.

Lindsey: 10:39

That's a really, when podcasts.

Kelly: 10:42

Yeah,

Lindsey: 10:43

like just books and podcasts, keep your mind not busy all the time, but, you've got to do something productive with your mind too, because you can't just sit around and dwell or think about God I just want to drink. I just need a drink right now or drink would make this so much better.

Kelly: 10:59

Or talking to a friend, like calling a friend, or if you have a neighbor, or, ask somebody to meet you for a walk or something like that. I think that connection in those moments too especially if you had a really hard day or, calling your mom or whoever your person is that you can talk to. And those phone conversations are sometimes all we need for that relief, just get it off our chest and chat about it.

Lindsey: 11:23

I feel like that could be outside of somebody's comfort zone is picking up the phone and making a phone call or just connecting with somebody. Matthew Perry always I listened to the, his audible book. book is crazy. So good, but he makes such a good point. I've heard other people say this too, alcohol use disorder. It wants you alone. It wants to isolate you and make you feel bad about yourself and have such low self esteem and I feel like I used to be there. I used to love spending time alone. Because I could drink alone, nobody would realize how much I was actually drinking. If you find it uncomfortable to reach out to people or have phone conversations, it's going to take you a little bit of going outside of your comfort zone to engage in those things because once you hang up, once you disconnect from that person, you do feel a lot better. And it can be really scary, it can be really scary to pick up the phone if you're not used to doing that and connecting with somebody by voice, I think you have to start acting differently if you want different life.

Kelly: 12:28

Yeah, and I'm not talking about pick up the phone and say, Oh, I feel like drinking just pick up the phone and be like, Hey, how was your day? Yeah.

Tracey: 12:34

Like the art of distraction, but in a positive way, right?

Kelly: 12:38

Yeah, without numbing, connecting instead of numbing, because we can numb, we can scroll, we can eat, we can, binge watch, or we can connect. Connect with ourselves, connecting with ourselves. That's the doing the breath work and stuff like that or connecting with others, calling somebody that needs help. Not make it not about you make it somebody that's going through a hard time. Oh, you know what, on my way home, I'm going to call this person because I know she's going through a hard time. There's connection right there.

Lindsey: 13:07

I just listened to a podcast about this. When you are going through a hard time, especially when you are quitting drinking a guest on a podcast was telling the podcaster, he was talking to a woman and ended up giving her a suicide hotline phone number and everybody, when he was telling the story, thought that he did that because the woman was suicidal, but he was like, no. You need to go volunteer there. You need to do something to give back when you're going through a hard time and you want to have a drink. You're trying to make a better life or healthier choices for yourself. One of the things that you need to do is do something for other people. You need to volunteer. Humane society, like connect with animals help people, be there on hotlines, go and serve at a soup kitchen for a couple hours, do something that isn't Making you the center of attention and the priority put your efforts on helping another person Love that

Tracey: 14:03

yeah, that's good too. I just was thinking one of the benefits of stopping drinking is that our mind does become more active because we're not, damaging or blocking those channels. So that is a huge benefit, but it can also be a downfall in the sense that have that expectation that, that may happen, your mind's going to be more active. So you might feel the need to have an outlet for that. Also. Energetically, you're going to have more energy, so you might need an outlet for that, too. All those benefits that you see could increase this need for relief, too. I think it's important for people to be aware of that and we I just lost my train of thought there. Here comes the menopause kicking in. Brain fog? My brain channels aren't that clear yet.

Lindsey: 15:03

It sounds like every single drunk conversation I would have. I'd be like mid sentence. I'd be like, I don't know what I was gonna say.

Tracey: 15:11

What I was gonna say, I do recall, is that also, we're going to be more emotional and in tune with our emotions because we're not numbing them out. That is another thing that we may feel we need that relief from. Just reinforcing the importance of having those healthy. Things in place that make us feel relief.

Kelly: 15:32

That was a shocker for me. Just reminded me of that. When Lindsay was talking about listening to podcasts and stuff, I didn't know what to do with, like you said, Tracy, there's more space. My mind was going crazy. And then I was having all these emotions. I did not know what to do with myself. So I did constantly listen to podcasts because I couldn't be I did not know how to be with my own thoughts. So it was in between from when I first quit drinking to when I first saw my addictions therapist, which I can't remember how long that was, but maybe like a couple of weeks. But yeah, when I was awake, I was listening to podcasts. I didn't know how to process my emotions or anything. It was pretty messy. But I didn't drink

Tracey: 16:13

and another benefit is time, right? How many times we said you have more time because you're not so focused on drinking, right? So you also have the benefit of time that you need to then occupy. It's great to take this as a time to explore new things. Explore things that you're passionate about that you might not have made time for before. Or if you don't know what you're passionate about, try to figure it out, right? Going back to trying new things I think one of the other benefits is we've talked about this too, is it creates space for curiosity again and creativity. Really dive into that curiosity. And that's where you can discover new interests

Kelly: 16:55

yeah. I'm following. Yeah.

Lindsey: 16:56

I was so tired.

Kelly: 16:57

Yeah. I spent a lot of time in my bed.

Lindsey: 16:59

I was going to say I didn't have the crazy energy. I was fucking exhausted. I couldn't actually, I couldn't believe it. I would have a nap every single day. I would come home from work and literally and I was like, I can't wait to go to bed. I was so tired and I think it was just my body trying to repair internal. or something

Kelly: 17:20

I think so. Yeah, I had that too. I had that, like I was exhausted, but then also I didn't know what to do with myself because I didn't have any new hobbies or passions or anything yet. So I'm like I guess I'm just going to go to bed after the kids went to bed. Yeah. Can't open wine. Yeah. And I didn't want to watch TV. I think I told you the guys that before that was such a trigger, I guess you'd call it. Yeah. That went hand in hand TV and wine.

Tracey: 17:44

I wish I could nap, man. I know. That's like my goal.

Kelly: 17:49

I don't nap. I don't nap.

Lindsey: 17:51

I love it. I'm going to nap as long as I can.

Kelly: 17:55

Next stage in life. Lately, I've been having a coffee in the afternoon, but I think I'm just going to switch that to an nap.

Tracey: 18:01

I love coffee though, too.

Kelly: 18:04

And I've been making it with the pampered chef. Oh, you don't the foam maker thingy and all with my homemade cashew milk. Oh my god, you guys, it's so good. Amazing.

Tracey: 18:17

I think I told you girls that I bought myself a fancy for me. Yeah, that was my Mother's Day present to myself, but I was like, all that money I saved on not buying bottles of wine.

Kelly: 18:30

There you go. You deserve it.

Tracey: 18:32

I can justify, paying for this. Plus I'm not going to Tim Hortons as often, so I'm saving that. And that's garbage. Yeah. But I do have to say that is something I've become more passionate about and really began to enjoy. I always drank coffee, but I enjoy it at a different level now that I'm not drinking. Definitely. That's my indulgence.

Kelly: 18:54

Yeah. And that's a benefit that you can treat yourself to that. Yeah.

Tracey: 18:59

Yeah. Although I have to limit it now because I am caffeine sensitive in menopause. Damn menopause, it's getting the best of me in some ways, trying to beat it down.

Kelly: 19:12

What else you got on your list there, Trace, for benefits?

Tracey: 19:16

For benefits, we talked on about this and touched on this but Obviously, over time, the longer you're not drinking, the more confidence you gain. And it's a confidence booster. We've talked about this many times, just saying no, and making good, healthy choices for yourself. All those things right there, boost your confidence and also better sleep. Less anxiety, as we know there are physical benefits too, that I was reading about just within the first 30 days, if you're not drinking if you just talked about the physical benefits alone less visceral fat your belly more than likely will shrink, less inflammation. Less joint pain, mental alertness, more energy, less fatigue gut healing, your microbiome will be in much better shape. Better impulse control, right? So if you are someone who's trying to be healthy all around and change your eating habits at the same time giving up alcohol will definitely help because you're not going to have those late night binges with bad food and bad choices. And yeah, it helps with impulse control healthier liver and it can improve your libido. So those are just some of the physical things

Kelly: 20:35

within 30 days, you'd notice

Tracey: 20:36

within 30 days, there's some physical benefits you can notice. And that's only 30 days.

Kelly: 20:42

I noticed my skin right away, changed my eyes.

Lindsey: 20:47

My eyes for sure. Yeah We said to puffiness, right? Oh, we've said that so many times, like so much.

Kelly: 20:54

I can't stand seeing those pictures. I know I am like, Oh my God,

Tracey: 21:01

it's incredible to see your girl's transformation. I wish mine was that drastic. It wasn't. I don't think I have any pre pictures that would be.

Lindsey: 21:12

I just think that must have indicated the level of damage. To be that puffy, like your liver is not functioning properly or something. You're, Toxin removal system internally is messed up. It is not okay. And I feel like I can pinpoint it in other people too.

Kelly: 21:30

I was going to just say that. Yes, I can. I notice it too.

Lindsey: 21:34

And then I'm like, Oh boy, I was there,

Tracey: 21:37

and as we age, it gets worse. Talk about it ages you as well. Yeah, you guys probably saw my reel about what happened to Randy and I, you might not have saw it, Kel. So I had posted a reel and this would be an interesting conversation going on a little bit off track here, but I'll get your guys input and thoughts on this because I think it's something that in my alcohol free era for three years now, and I've gotten more comfortable with that decision in my life. I lean into kind of having those conversations with people. So Randy and I were out for his 50th birthday. We were in Collingwood for the night. We went to this great restaurant and we got seated very close to this other couple, like right next to each other. So they were very friendly, very nice people. Obviously they were there for dinner. They were just having a couple's weekend. They had seven kids. between the two of them. Like they were a second marriage to or a second union like Randy and I and between the two of them they had seven kids and all teenagers.

Kelly: 22:43

Oh, wow. They needed a weekend away.

Tracey: 22:45

Yeah. So they were away for the weekend and the waitress had come over and wished Randy a happy birthday. She knew we were there for a birthday celebration. We said, yeah, he's 50 and the people at the table beside us were like, Oh my God, 50. Seriously? You guys. Don't look 50. Are you 50 to? They say to me, and I said, I'm going to be in December. And they're like, Oh my gosh, you guys look great. And then as the night proceeded, they continued to chat with us and the waitress came over and asked us what we wanted to drink. And of course I ordered a soda and Randy ordered iced tea and then observantly, the girl says to me, Oh, you guys don't drink. And I said no, we don't. And she goes, Oh, that's why you look so young. It's a joke, right? Correct. Yeah, that is correct. Yeah. So then two things happen there. I know, we always say you don't need to explain yourself, you can just say no or no, thank you. And I could have left it at that. And I think early in your sobriety or in being alcohol free. It's important to know that you don't have to explain yourself. I 100 percent agree with that, because in those situations, and when you're new, you may not be as comfortable with it. But I find myself more and more now that I usually do respond with no, but I used to, and I made the choice three years ago not to, because I think two things happen then. One, You recognize it's a choice and you open people's eyes to the fact that it is a choice for them as well. I also think it helps in bringing awareness and creating less shame around not drinking. I did tell the girl, I said, yeah, I used to drink actually, but I gave it up three years ago. And then. I had, the Lindsay scenario that Lindsay speaks about very often, her whole explanation of why she drinks because she had seven children that are all teenagers.

Lindsey: 24:41

But see, here's a woman looking for relief, right? Yes.

Tracey: 24:45

Yeah, so we had that whole conversation and it was just really interesting. It's the first time that someone just out of observation Said to me, oh, you guys don't drink obviously I've had that question when somebody's offered me a drink or I've been in a social scenario where I'm saying no, thank you. But I hadn't had it just randomly like that. So I thought it was really interesting.

Kelly: 25:07

That's awesome. I love it. It's your truth, right? Yeah, when we're open with our truth, then we subconsciously liberate other people to.

Tracey: 25:17

But my point in that story is that it will make you look younger. Yes. Exactly. It does. I think it's not going to make

Kelly: 25:24

me look older and not be drinking. Yes, it ages. I was talking to somebody who is possibly getting back into the dating scene and we were talking about people our age, like 45 to 55 age group, or up to 60 or whatever. At this age, this is the age where you can see. Clearly, if somebody's taking care of themselves or not like it really shows because there's such a difference.

Tracey: 25:50

I was going to say, yeah, I feel like I notice it more now in people that are our age. You're saying you can See right off the hop, how the drinking is starting to affect

Kelly: 26:00

catches up, but you cannot treat your body like that forever. I learned that the hard way, but also your body is miraculous and can heal itself. I also learned

Tracey: 26:12

well, and don't get me wrong. I was puffy too. When I was drinking, I just wasn't as extreme as you to I don't have the extreme before and afters to prove it. Or I just didn't allow myself to get pictures when I was looking that way. I don't know, but I could probably drum up a few from when I lived in Calgary because I remember specifically when I lived in Calgary, I drank a lot of beer. And I was always. Inflamed.

Lindsey: 26:38

Yeah. I always felt bloated too, all of the time, even like I was a binge weekend drinker, just in the week I was super bloated all the time. And since quitting, it took a little while, I would say, all these benefits, I wasn't feeling them or seeing them immediately. It took about a year. I don't have issues with bloating anymore. I don't have that puffy face and I think, those things you can see. And that's the biggest reason that I continue not to drink is it's just part of my self care now. One of the ways that I take care of myself, just like working out or running or, trying to eat, balanced foods that agree with my body it's just my self care, but yeah man, I used to be so bloated.

Tracey: 27:27

That was hot on the list of physical benefits Linds was less bloating and that has to do somewhat with the visceral fat and the inflammation.

Lindsey: 27:36

The visceral fat, if people don't know what that is, that's the fat that's around your internal organs. So it's not the subcutaneous, like underneath the skin fat. This is the deep internal fat that's in between your liver and kidneys and it's just jammed in there. If you have a high visceral fat number, that is not a good thing.

Tracey: 27:56

Yeah, and alcohol doesn't help it.

Lindsey: 27:58

No, it makes it worse.

Kelly: 28:01

I was also because I was so hung over, I was waking up in the morning and I'm taking naproxen and chugging pepto. So imagine what that was doing to my body and my cells and God.

Tracey: 28:16

I think I have mentioned probably on my episode or around the beginning of us starting the podcast that another thing that was happening to me was I was getting heartburn all the time.

Kelly: 28:27

Yeah.

Tracey: 28:28

Yeah. Yeah. So same thing, I was popping Rolaids and all those. It is so bad. Antacid medication, right? Yeah. Yeah. It's terrible. And even Advil, I would take Advil a lot more often one because of hangover. If I had a headache, cause often I think I mentioned how when I was drinking red wine regularly then I was waking up all the time with this dull headache and then of course joint pain, like achiness, right? And Advil's. over time when you're taking it regularly isn't good for your liver either.

Kelly: 29:04

No.

Tracey: 29:04

Pile that on with the alcohol and you're really doing a number on your liver. Sheesh.

Lindsey: 29:13

I asked our last guest. I think Tracey you had mentioned to that was a good closing question, right? What the most surprising benefit of getting sober was and I think maybe to close us out. Do you think we should answer that question? Kelly's thinking.

Tracey: 29:30

Yeah, I know. I'm trying to think what would be

Lindsey: 29:33

the most surprising benefit, like maybe something that you didn't expect from.

Kelly: 29:37

Oh, my god. Creating a completely different life for myself. Like I thought I had my whole life figured out. And that's the way it was going to be forever. And nope, alcohol revealed that was not true. And I faced a lot of truths and created a life that I really love.

Lindsey: 29:58

Oh, I love that. It was a shocker plot twist. Yeah. Huge.

Tracey: 30:04

Yeah. Yeah, your whole life changed completely. I would have to say definitely the increase in motivation and I think mental clarity. Which in turn really boosted my confidence, because it just gave me this drive to really go after things that I hadn't and give myself that push to do the things. I wasn't holding myself back anymore. That was the big thing, I was confident enough in myself and my abilities to push forward to the things that I wanted to do. And out of that came creating this podcast with you guys. Mike used to joke, he was shocked that I actually went through with it. And then it came about so quickly. But that was part of it. I saw a vision for this and I wrote it down and I did it. And that was probably the first time I've done that in my life. But it wasn't the first time I had so many ideas or thoughts or desires and drive to do things. It's just like that part of me was living dormant inside of me for so long. So that breaking free was the biggest surprise benefit of quitting alcohol for me.

Kelly: 31:16

That's so awesome. Trace. Like I told the story about having a coach, the year before I quit, I didn't tell him about my drinking, but I knew after these coaching sessions, I knew that everything I wanted was on the other side of alcohol. My intuition was telling me that the year before I quit. Yeah. What about you, Ms. Lenz?

Lindsey: 31:37

Oh, man. Even as I asked the question, I was like, Oh, what is mine? And I was going to say the confidence and everything because I feel like in my 40s, I'm in my early 40s, I am the most confident I have ever been. Not only does that come with age, but I think for me that also came with ditching booze, but then this really just popped in my mind. It almost brought tears to my eyes. So one of my most surprising benefits of getting sober and staying that way is being able to look in the mirror. And look at myself and smile and feel like looking at the person staring back at me. I like this person. I love this person. And holy shit, like we're here. I feel good. And looking at pictures of myself, not wanting to look away or have this shock of holy shit, that's me. In a bad way where I look at a photo and I'm like, I just look horrible my eyes were so sad, I was so puffy, I was so overweight, and I just looked horrible. And I was like, who the hell is that? That can't be me, but now I see pictures of myself and I'm like, Oh hello there. Just have this the looking in the mirror and just being able to really look at myself, look into my own eyes and feel like I love myself. That was. So surprising. I didn't expect. I think I felt the opposite for so long, a self loathing, a shame and embarrassment. Maybe like I wasn't where I wanted to be in life where, I'm looking at other people around me and I'm like, wow, like they're so far ahead or how are they there? And I'm here I just feel the confidence now. I feel the self love and yeah, it's the looking in the mirror and seeing pictures of myself. Those two really surprised me.

Tracey: 33:22

I just want to say, Lins, that I feel like we've watched that transformation for you in the time that we've been on this podcast. Like I have seen you change into almost a totally different person than when I first met you, in season one and it's been amazing.

Kelly: 33:41

Yes, and

Tracey: 33:43

yeah, it's been incredible to watch. So good for you. To that point, and what I was saying too, I feel like we took our power back.

Kelly: 33:55

Yeah.

Lindsey: 33:56

Yeah. You go well like that. That's so well said.

Kelly: 34:00

So true trace that shit had such a hold on me.

Lindsey: 34:05

Look at us. Yeah. We took our power back. I love it. That is the quote of the season.

Tracey: 34:16

There you go. That's one to end on, yeah, I just want to say before we wrap it up, thank you to all our incredible guests this season. I always like to give a shout out to them because the show wouldn't be what it is without them. We had so many amazing contributors this year and we love it. Keep reaching out to us. Keep coming on and sharing your knowledge and everything you're doing in this space with us because it's incredible. It's an incredible gift. Everybody's giving when they come on and share their story. So yes, just a shout out to our amazing guests. Our guests are the best. As they say. They're awesome. It was an incredible year full of lots and lots of guests and incredible stories.

Kelly: 35:03

Yeah.

Lindsey: 35:04

Absolutely.

Tracey: 35:05

All right, girls. I think that's a wrap.

Lindsey: 35:07

Is that a wrap? Should I close us out?

Tracey: 35:10

Our closing queen, Lindsay.

Lindsey: 35:14

Hey. Everybody, that is a wrap on season three of the LAF Life podcast, but if you haven't listened to season one and two, don't go anywhere, go back anywhere. You get your podcast, listen to season one and two, replay your favorite episodes. We will be back in September with brand new episodes and guests. We're so excited to reconnect with you. We're also excited to have a little bit of a break. But, until we meet again, guys, you know what to do. Keep laughing.

Kelly: 35:45

Thank you for listening. Please give us a five star rating like and subscribe, share on social media and tell your friends. We love getting your feedback and ideas of what you'd like to hear on upcoming episodes of the LAF life podcast. If you yourself are living alcohol free and want to share your story here, please reach out.