Barf. Literally.

I drank a bottle of wine last night.WTF?!After all the progress I've made?! WHY would I do that to myself?! I promised myself I would never drink a bottle of wine in one night again. I committed to not drinking wine at home for the month of March. And yet I did! I drank an entire bottle of wine at home last night. UGH!!!... This is not actually my inner monologue. For once, I am not beating myself up about drinking too much. Instead of surrendering to my usual guilt spiral, and perhaps because I have not been drunk since December, I am reflecting on my behavior in a much more objective - and less damning, and less damaging - way.This is fairly remarkable for me, as I am a frequent passenger on the guilt train. One of the reasons I so desperately signed up for Dry January is that I was in a heinous cycle of waking every morning if not fully hungover, at least puffy, groggy and stale; committing to not drinking that day; then feeling frayed by the time the witching hour rolled around and pouring myself a glass of wine anyway, which would inevitably become three or four glasses (if not more) by the time I went to bed in a haze; and start all over again the next morning. I knew I needed a clean break from this cycle and that is what I achieved.I conquered Dry January and felt on top of the world. Yet I was not ready to say goodbye to wine forever. So over the last five weeks I have been attempting moderation: drinking when I am out at night or on vacation, and not drinking at home.The freedom I felt during Dry January has evaporated. To drink or not to drink is now a choice again. And making this choice takes energy. Willpower. And willpower is a finite resource.So last night, when our power finally came back on after four long days, I was out of willpower. I wanted tortilla chips and wine and I didn't even try to fight these unhealthy urges - despite simultaneously composing yesterday's post about how empowering my first year on Weight Watchers had been.I copped to the chips and chocolate in yesterday's post, but I left out the wine. Why did I do that? I'll be totally honest: I didn't want my Connect friends to think less of me. Because opening that bottle made ME think a little less of me.And at the same time, I was curious to revisit my old ways. So I allowed myself to surrender to old habits, slugging back the Sauvignon Blanc while feeding my kids dinner, and finishing the bottle a couple of hours later. My husband and I had a delightfully normal night of eating dinner on the couch while watching "Fixer Upper." I didn't get sloppy. But I didn't necessarily enjoy my buzz either.We went to bed. And a few hours later, half-asleep, I made my way to the bathroom and I threw up.I FREAKING THREW UP.I threw up from drinking an amount of wine which, by the time I reached the end of 2017, was what I'd imbibe on any given evening. Yikes.I woke up feeling predictably gross this morning, and perversely grateful that I got sick overnight because at least I was able to purge some of the junk from my system. I have felt nasty and eaten tons of crap all day as my family and I weather cabin fever during yet another snow storm.But you know what? Ain't got time or energy to beat myself up. Instead, I am choosing to reflect and learn from my experience. And here's what I learned:Dry January helped my body reset its tolerance for alcohol and break from habitual drinking. And it made me feel like a million bucks. Drinking in front of my kids makes me feel like a loser. And consuming an entire bottle of wine now makes me sick. Good to know!I really, really wish I hadn't wanted to open that bottle last night. The last four days of not being able to stay in our house, coming on the heels of three routine-less weeks of travel, snow days, and illnesses, were the whipped cream and cherry on top of a big ol' cortisol sundae. I was vibrating with stress by the time the power came back on last night. And the only thing I could think of to help me chillax was wine.These were exceptional circumstances, and I'm disappointed that I resorted to old habits. Throwing up last night and feeling like crap today have been effective reminders of why I broke those habits in the first place. All I can hope is to continue this process of self-reflection, to continue to evolve, with grace and without judgement. Perhaps next time I'll be strong enough to not open that bottle.