Colleen Clifford's story from Binge drinker and Binge eater to Freedom!

Have you ever found yourself trapped in the cycle of binge drinking, wondering if there's a way out? Colleen Clifford, a health and alcohol recovery coach, joins us to share her harrowing yet hopeful journey from the depths of alcohol dependency to the freedom of sobriety. Her raw account delves into the social seduction of binge drinking, the denial that blankets it, and the pivotal moments that spurred her transformation. We also navigate the post-alcohol challenges of eating habits, offering a beacon of hope and actionable advice for those struggling with the intricacies of food and drink.

The murky waters of moderation and the mental tug-of-war with self-control are laid bare as we recount personal experiences that dismantle the myth of 'just one drink.' Through the lens of Colleen's story, we uncover the mental clarity and liberation awaiting on the other side of sobriety, and we unravel the 'why' that anchors a life free from alcohol's grasp. This episode is an inspiring guide for anyone seeking to understand the subtle shift from social drinking to problematic behavior and the self-reflective journey that can lead to reclaiming control.

Wrapping up, we turn the spotlight on the often-overlooked relationship between eating disorders, societal pressures, and the pursuit of sobriety. Strategies for curbing cravings, the timing of meals, and the role of nutrition in recovery are just a few gems we explore, teasing an upcoming book that delves deeper into these themes. As sobriety coaches, Colleen and I celebrate the joy of reconnection, the power of networking, and our shared commitment to guiding others through the maze of alcohol moderation. Join us for an episode that's not only a conversation but a lifeline for those ready to embark on a transformative journey toward health and happiness.

Colleen's website: https://purepotential.health/

MEG & BELLA

Megan Webb: https://glassfulfilled.com.au
Instagram: @glassfulfilled
Bookclub: https://www.alcoholfreedom.com.au/unwinedbookclub

Isabella Ferguson: https://isabellaferguson.com.au
Instagram: @alcoholandstresswithisabella
Instagram: @kidsandalcohol

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey Meg, here Are you having a break from alcohol and are doing really well with that, but can't seem to get your eating under control. Today's guest, colleen Clifford, is a professional chef and health coach, as well as an alcohol recovery coach. Colleen shares her journey to how she's become alcohol-free and also gives tips on how to stop that binge eating which can be a problem for many of us. It's also really frustrating, as we don't understand why we continued that habit. But we may have changed our drinking habit. Listen on to her colleagues' really interesting and insightful journey. I'm sure you'll get heaps out of it, like I did.

Speaker 2: 0:47

Are you trying to drink those alcohol but need some extra motivation? Maybe you've tried moderation, but you keep waking up disappointed and hung over.

Speaker 1: 0:57

Are you curious about sober life? Or maybe you're like us, have been alcohol-free for a while and are in it for the long haul. Well, you're in the right place.

Speaker 2: 1:05

I'm Meg and I'm Bella, and our Not Drinking Today podcast is an invaluable resource to keep you motivated and on track today and beyond.

Speaker 1: 1:15

We are this naked mind, certified coaches who live in Sydney and love our alcohol-free life.

Speaker 2: 1:20

And, last but not least, if you enjoy the content of our podcast, please rate, review, subscribe and share it. It really is integral to getting the podcast out to those that might meet it, so grab a cuppa and let's get started.

Speaker 1: 1:36

Hello and welcome to the podcast. Today I have Colleen Clifford, who is a friend of mine, a health coach and an alcohol-free coach, with an emphasis on binge eating and binge drinking. Welcome to the podcast, colleen.

Speaker 3: 1:51

Well, hi, megan, so happy to be here.

Speaker 1: 1:55

So happy to have you and Colleen and I met on our coaching course. I love reconnecting with my friends from the course and seeing how they're doing, so it's really exciting to have you here, colleen. Would you start by telling us a bit about your story, sure?

Speaker 3: 2:10

So I was a binge drinker. That's why I have such a fascination with the binge aspect to behavior. So I started drinking heavily in college, which is quite typical. Also, I'm kind of a quiet person, which is also typical for people to drink to help loosen them up at parties and just be more what you think is funny or conversational. So I used it quite often for social settings. But it really really escalated in my 20s, and so much that I did drop out of college and I really was unaware of how much I was drinking. I mean, at one point I'd fallen off a balcony at a party. I mean I punctured my kidney. I nearly died. If my friend hadn't come in the room I would have bled to death internally.

Speaker 3: 3:17

But, that didn't stop me. I would get out of the hospital and me and my friend were back out at the bar. It was Friday night when I was okay to go and, oh goodness, it was just like took a lot of. I don't know, I was just oblivious. I guess Part of it probably was all my friends were drinking just as much as me. So, and once again, when you're a binge drinker, you have a lot of period where I'm not drinking and so I could tell myself I was okay because it was just on the weekend or you know, and my friends would all, you know, they would all back me up on that like oh you don't have a problem.

Speaker 3: 3:59

You know, blah, blah, blah. So I went after I dropped out of college. I worked with my dad at my dad's office as a we back then it was called word processor which was the typist, and I was just super bored with the Monday through Friday job. And my girlfriend was a commercial fisherwoman and so she asked me if I would be interested in working with her and of course I was like heck, yeah, you know. I signed me up and so I got a job on a boat with her and that just kind of helped also mask my drinking problem, because we would go fishing for long periods of time and so we on the boat there's no alcohol or drugs and so we used to jokingly always call it the floating rehab, because, you know, at home we would party, party, party and then go back to work on a boat and be five, six months without any alcohol. So then you could tell yourself you were okay, you know, by that time, and the minute the boat hit the dock we'd hit the bar. It is just a cycle for years for me like that, and so I just, you know, often questioned my drinking, especially when I would do something really stupid, but I just was very lucky in that I never got a DUI, which I should have. Thank God, I never hurt anyone, just hurt myself. I did some really reckless things I'm surely not proud of. I've done some really stupid things jumped in a river once and thought I could swim through it, and just a lot of my guardian angels really worked over time for me. So finally, I quit once I'm 60, so when I was about 49, I had a situation where I saw myself in a video and it just really shook me like, oh my gosh, that's not the person I want to be. So I was able to quit drinking for a couple years, just on my own, and then my late husband passed away.

Speaker 3: 6:21

So then, a year after his death, I started drinking again for about 10 more years and then it crept up again, like you know, just situations where I hadn't planned to drink because as a binge drinker, you don't really plan those things and once again it was like, okay, I need to get my act together. And so then I had come across Annie Grace's book and this was like in 2018. And I'd read it and I was like, oh my gosh, this is like so for me, because I tried other methods of quitting and that didn't resonate with me. So, but I wasn't really willing to ask for help. I was like, okay, I'm going to try to do this on my own. So I tried the 30 day alcohol experiment, I think three times. And after the third time I was like, oh, I was really panicking that, oh, my God, I'm not, I'm not going to be able to quit Like, am I really? Am I ever going to be able to quit? And so I signed up for the path.

Speaker 3: 7:28

I decided to do that to invest in myself is the best money I've ever spent on myself, because I just needed that group, the coaching within the path, annie's coaching, annie's, you know all the whole program, the methodology within the snake in mind. And so I was able to switch my thinking fairly quickly because I'd already been sober and I already knew I could do it. It's just I had to get my head wrapped around it and and so then I asked if I could switch over into the coaching program about six months into the path. And so they, I was popped over to the coaching program. It's kind of a neat feeling because I felt like, you know, okay, I've got this and and I've been able to maintain that you know since, since that day, so pretty exciting. Thank you, coaches, on this naked mind and I want to help. You know, I want to be supportive to other people.

Speaker 1: 8:40

Absolutely yeah, I. The path is a year long course through this naked mind which I'm coaching on now, which is a total full circle.

Speaker 3: 8:48

Yeah, that's exciting. I'm so excited for you.

Speaker 1: 8:52

Thank you. It's so exciting and it's such an incredible thing to see people go through that journey that we've been through and, like you, I did. Well, I did the live alcohol experiment. I did it once, but it was four years into a journey of trying to stop drinking and it was there that I decided I want to be a coach. You know, seeing the coaches like you did so incredible and amazing Cause, yes, we are proof that you can be stuck in that cycle and not believe, like you said, three live alcohol experiment experiments, still not believing you could make that change.

Speaker 1: 9:28

But we did and we can and people can. And going back, you know, the difference is, as you said, we learn a lot about ourselves, our beliefs, our thoughts in this journey. But early days talked about nearly killing yourself, and I've been in those situations. And then binge drinking give it a week or two off the drink and you forget back to it. And it is such. I just recently we had a podcast on binging, bella and I did, and it's a really enabling type of drinking because people or I did think, because you can go those periods of time, like you did on the boat, you think you don't have an issue, cause we can go without alcohol, but then the binging is is a problem and it's so dangerous.

Speaker 3: 10:16

You're not prepared to drink too much, and then you're not prepared how you're going to get home, or you know just all kinds of situations you can be in. You're absolutely right. It really it kept me in my cycle for a long time and it's interesting that the people around me validated it too, because, you know, it's kind of I don't know for me. I would ask my French, no, like I'd wake up and think, oh, my God, I said something. So I, you know, call him or text them and say did I say anything, you know anything hurtful last night? Oh no, you were fine, and you know I did that so much.

Speaker 3: 10:58

And the thing that really was getting to me was I was spending so much of my energy and brain power on planning how I wasn't going to drink too much and then and then I wasn't trusting myself because because there were so many times when I would say, like the last day, that I quit. The second time I told myself it was an afternoon party on a Sunday and I was just going to have a few beers and I told my partner I'd be home at six. I didn't get home till after midnight and I was, you know, the next morning. The look on his face was like I knew I was. He didn't say anything to me.

Speaker 3: 11:38

I was extremely hungover and I knew that I was really pushing it, that it was time for me to quit again. Like I just, you know, for so long I've tried to talk myself into thinking I could moderate and it just not. You know, it was just too much brain power. It's so, so much freedom to not worry about if I'm going to over drink because I'm not going to drink at all, and so it's like all this freedom in my head and my space you know, just my space that I know I'm not going to. I don't have to try to count my drinks or worry if I'm going to embarrass myself or say something stupid or embarrass my partner or be too loud, as I can get really loud even you know, normally I'm can get really loud.

Speaker 1: 12:28

Exactly the same. So I totally, totally get that. But it is such a freedom to stop thinking about drinking, and I was the same. I tried moderation or I thought about it for so many years. But the thing with a binge drink is that you're drinking a lot quickly and the problem is, after one, two or three, your resolve goes out the window. There's no chance that you're going to go right, it's six o'clock, I'm going home. That just doesn't happen with a binge drink and it, you know. So it becomes this cycle and it's you can't moderate around binge drinking. You know, that's what I found, and for so many years, like you were saying. It reminded me, I went to Portugal with my cousin for three weeks and we said let's have a break from drinking.

Speaker 1: 13:18

It was easy. It was just easy because back then I could take it or leave it. But when I took it it was a binge. So we made the decision on this holiday and this was my early 20s, yeah, like when you were out on the boat like, oh well, we'll have a bit of a detox and that was fine. As it went on and tolerance grew, it wasn't so fine, you know. And then binge drinking yes, a lot of people think they're fine because they have their periods of abstinence in between, but it really does increase as you get older, if you're like me. So by the end of it I was at home binge drinking every night with my bottles of wine and I think people sometimes forget that that's binge drinking too, when you're home having, because I was having more than four I think three to four standard drinks is a binge here in Australia and I was having over that every night.

Speaker 3: 14:13

Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah, easy for it to creep into that type of behavior.

Speaker 1: 14:19

Absolutely, and so was that the last time you quit.

Speaker 3: 14:22

Yes, it was. That was the last time, mm-hmm. Yeah, it was almost three years ago. Yeah, I don't count my days. I mean I remember that date because it was my best friend's birthday party. So we always do, because she was kind of my partner in crime, but she supports me. You know she's still drinking. You know we're still good, very, very close friends.

Speaker 3: 14:47

Watching that video the first time, that was what helped me stay on my course. It was my why, because, you know, it seems like it's really helpful for all of us to figure out our why. And when I would start to think I was okay, I would look at that video again, because the interesting thing about it is when I was taking those videos for my so my late husband wasn't at the party, so I was video the party for him and sending them to him. And the next day I looked at him and I thought I was fine, yeah, and the next day I was like I was far from fine. So it's kind of interesting how, you know, we think we're okay but we're really not, and so when I would have a moment of oh, I can drink again, I would look at that and go, no, no, no, no, this is my. This is why I'm I really can't, so it was very helpful.

Speaker 1: 15:41

You know, you hit the nail on the head there with that. We think we're in control when we're drinking more often than not, and we think, even though we can wake up and know there was some stupid things, it's like at the time, like I can remember being drunk thinking I've got this all under control Now, one time I had a video as well, and it was me steal. This is in my 40s stealing the pizza delivery deliverer's bike from the pizza shop, riding at about two meters and falling off. I mean, your why is exactly right what you said? Our own why's For me, one of my why's and there were a few big ones, but one of them was this is not a good look for a woman heading to 50, and it was never a good look, let's face it.

Speaker 1: 16:29

I never looked good when I was drinking, but that was a huge thing for me. You couldn't get away with that younger, you know person going. Oh yeah, we had a big night, like I'm, like I'm coming up to 50, which I did turn last year and I thought this is not a good look. I don't want to be that older woman falling over in public or worse.

Speaker 3: 16:51

Right, yeah, you're right, and that was my thing too when I saw my video and my nephew was there. We had hired him for he was 12 years old for our waiter and I thought, oh my God, what is he thinking of? He's calling she's cuckoo? You know, I can't just like really call in, come on.

Speaker 1: 17:11

I know you think of me, zora, and oh my goodness, I just I'm so glad I'm on the other side because it was not getting better For me. It was not getting better and, like you were saying, like I had falls and I injured myself. I mean the last time, one of the last times, so probably the second last time I stopped drinking and I didn't officially stop many times, probably three. The second one before I did the live alcohol experiment I'm like, well, that calls for a binge the night before and I fell over in the shower and broke my rib, because you always have a shower when you're drunk. I mean, who does that? And that was quite important for me ultimately to stop. I did, after that October experiment, have a few drinking occasions until the news eve and then I stopped, and that's been two years now. But it was important because, like you said it was, you watched your video to remind you.

Speaker 1: 18:15

I just went back to that and thought that's pretty bad. I've done some bad things, but that's getting stupid. If I'd knocked my head, no one was home. I could have really died. That's not okay. So I held on to that and here I am. I think it's. We've been drinking. More often than not, we do have something. We do that we just think, geez, how did I get out of that?

Speaker 1: 18:40

Yeah, absolutely, and they do say the research shows it is very dangerous and you'd know this in my research for my binging episode and these are things that I did. A blackout is, you know, when you've drunk quickly and your blood alcohol concentration is too high or gone risen quickly, and the blackout is when you don't remember and you won't get that memory back. But in a blackout people can still be coherently talking, people can drive, people can do all these risky, risky behaviors, thinking they're in control, but they're in a blackout, which means they're never gonna remember that. I mean, how scary is it what we're doing? People are doing with that level of intoxication, thinking they're okay, but they're absolutely not.

Speaker 3: 19:37

Yeah, that's like waking up not knowing how you drove home your cars, and that you get up and look to see if your car's in the driveway. You're like, oh my God, did I drive?

Speaker 1: 19:49

That's often the only way you know you've done something. If you've had a blackout is by the evidence the cars here, or someone's in my bed, or whatever it might be. You wake up and you only know because of what's there and it's like oh my God, what did I do?

Speaker 3: 20:06

Yeah, that's pretty horrifying. I've had a few of those. Quite honestly.

Speaker 1: 20:10

Well, I have to.

Speaker 1: 20:13

If you have a few of those drinkers, if you're gonna be honest yeah, absolutely, and I don't know about where you are, but I was looking at the statistics and this starts young, the binge drinking often because as a teenager, they're like quick, we've got to do this while no one's around and you start not because you plan to have a binge, because it's the see, quick, quick, the parents might come home and that's how you socialise. I mean, I didn't drink as a teenager, I started at 18. And for me, I wanted to numb out from that first, from the word go, I wanted to stop this constant anxiety, and binge drinking did that and it became a very normal thing for me, very quickly, unfortunately. But I look back and I'm astounded that I made it through, and all my friends, because I certainly was not alone. Mm-hmm, certainly wasn't alone, but you specialize in binge eating as well as binge drinking.

Speaker 3: 21:17

Yeah, I was all around binger. Yeah, oh, oh, hello, so was I. Hi my am I feeling good?

Speaker 1: 21:25

Oh, me too, Binge eating is my thing and and I'm, with the work we've done, I'm, I'm learning, you know, but I still, I still can be prone to a binge eat. So can you tell us what you, what, what makes people binge drink and binge eat?

Speaker 3: 21:40

Yeah, well, everyone's different. So that's, you know, we're not all the same, our behaviors are caused from different things. But generally speaking, and I know for myself, it was just a lack of awareness for my feelings and it was my way of I didn't know how to express myself verbally. I didn't even know what my feelings were for for years, and so it just was. I started binge eating in high school, so it was a way to control I don't. You know, in high school I never got counseling for it because for one back then, you know, once again, I'm 60. So you're talking the 80s, late 70s, you know, and I, and you know I didn't go to my mom saying I don't know what's wrong with me. You know it's something you do in secret, and so and I come to find now, later in life, that a lot of my friends had the same problem no one talked about it because everyone was ashamed, you kind of ashamed of it, because you're like, well, I'm out of control. And then sometimes it can morph into bulimia because, you know, us girls have such the stigma where, you know, just the pressure of looking a certain way, if you binge eat, then you're going to throw it up because you don't want to gain weight, and so that cycle is very common for a lot of people. There are some guys too, but mostly girls. So, yeah, it was just the way of. So. It's just, you know, getting awareness of your feelings and a different way of coping with anxiety, with whatever. First you have to get to the heart of why you want to participate in that behavior, especially the eating, the drinking. That can be a lot of different things too, but but it's basically the same. The same thing is just gather awareness around it, and then you know it's a behavior that we've, that people who are bingers have created for themselves, sometimes over a long period of time, and so you can't expect yourself to change overnight. And that's why I love, you know, annie Grace's data points that she uses and I use the same thing with my clients is to allow yourself grace if you do fall back on your behavior. It's not the end of the world. What did we learn from it? What did you learn from it? Let's move forward and it's progress right, and each step, each step back is you know, you gain, you learn from it and you move forward, and so that's just kind of it in the nutshell.

Speaker 3: 24:37

And the other thing that's really become fascinating for me is cravings. So I'm really diving into cravings as well, because that's a big part of binging and for me cravings you know food and alcohol. Food is what help my cravings with alcohol. So I finally put together that around three o'clock I was a three o'clock drinker. Usually if I was going to drink it usually started around then, and because I still commercially fish, on occasion I have long periods of time off and so you know I don't have kids, I don't have to do anything really easy for me to just start drinking if I want to. But I finally put together that if I ate something really solid around three, I would not get a craving to drink, and so it's just fascinating.

Speaker 3: 25:34

I just found this book. Actually, our coach, terry, suggested this book and so I got it and I'm so excited to read it. It's from Dr Brooks Scheller how to Eat to Change how you Drink, and I can't wait to read it. Someone's finally I mean I'm sure other people have written nutrition books on diet and how to help with your alcohol journey but so I'm super, super excited to read that. So now I'm diving into cravings and learning how to teach people about recognizing their cravings, techniques to overcome them and things like that.

Speaker 3: 26:20

Because actually, megan, I just had two huge cravings in December which shocked the pants off of me because I've been like but alcohol, yeah, yeah, fortunately my binge eating I've managed that years ago, so I'm pretty steady with a healthy vibe around that for myself. But the drinking so yeah, it was kind of but the cool thing was that I didn't freak out about it. I was just like whoa, where is this craving coming from? And I just kind of picked it apart. And the cool thing is that we now know, once you just know the cravings are only going to last so long. You just need to feel it and you can go for a walk. For me, I just felt it because I was okay with that. I knew I wasn't going to drink. So I've come this far. I'm a coach. I mean I'm not going to drink, you're like well, but I would rather not have this craving, but it's interesting that it helps.

Speaker 3: 27:35

And even after such a long period of time it just must be in our psyche, some of our Like, because it was Christmas time, maybe something happened that just kind of sparked.

Speaker 1: 27:46

When you said about the eating, I give advice or tips. I'll call it to my clients and people who I coach in groups. And my biggest tip is when you used to start drinking, to eat. So I suggest having dinner early. So I actually started out having dinner at 4.30 because that was my time and being full changed my cravings, like you just said, and I was also a binge eater.

Speaker 1: 28:16

But I didn't eat when I drank because the amount of people I've met on this journey with alcohol who have eating issues is huge. So I wouldn't eat when I drank. It was eating cheating, so I just wanted to drink. But also I was conscious that I didn't want to put on weight. That was still important to me. But then when I wanted to stop drinking, the eating was the best thing and I've always been quite health conscious, so I would eat a nutritious dinner or whatever, but as long as it's filling.

Speaker 1: 28:53

The craving went away and now you've just reminded me because I think I still can be known to binge eat. Why is that? But you've just said what I've learned and I love looking at the gains. I now can have a bit of a blowout with sugar and I can stop, so the next day similar to my drinking habits the next day. In the past, I would have gone stuff it, I'll have more sugar. Now I can stop that, and so that's something I've learned through this naked mind and everything we've learned around drinking. I can use that for the sugar and go, like you said. It's a data point. I learned from it and then I get back onto being healthy again and that's a huge change for me.

Speaker 3: 29:39

Well, we're so hard on ourselves, right? We expect perfection everywhere around us, like everything we do. I don't know, maybe I'm just speaking for myself, but it seems like a lot of women do and so it's OK to not be perfect, and it doesn't mean you have to throw it all out the window and just gobble down the gallon of ice cream because you had a couple bowls. It's just stop and go. Ok, tomorrow's another day, yeah.

Speaker 1: 30:10

And that's a massive thing to do when you're stuck in that cycle. And it's the same with alcohol. For me definitely, when I was on this journey that started about five or six years ago, if I did take some time off and I drank, that binge would go on for months. Whereas we've learned or I teach to people, my clients, that you use that as your data point. I recently had a client who did have a period of alcohol free time and then around Christmas, new year, like you said, it can be a very triggering time. She actually had four days drinking and then she stopped. And that stopping and getting back to where she was and learning from it and realizing that she still has come so far is such a difference to when she would have just kept drinking for the next month or so. So you know we help as coaches, we help our clients to get to that point.

Speaker 3: 31:13

And remember how much you did accomplish in the month up to those four days, right, especially if you're a drinker. So you know, and that's things we learned in our coaching program. It's and things we learned when we were in it ourselves right, learning. But I'm so excited you're on the path as a coach. I think you're gonna do great, thank you.

Speaker 1: 31:39

You know what I'm absolutely loving. Thank you for that. I'm doing all the course material with them and even now, every single lesson that I go over, I get something new out of. You can never learn enough on this journey. I don't think, and because we're always moving forward, different things all resonate at different times, but it's been incredible. Yeah, and what are you doing, colleen?

Speaker 3: 32:05

So I still commercially fish. That's like my health insurance, bread and butter, like my job. But I also love coaching, so I'm fortunately I only work a few months out at sea, so I have a lot of time to coach, and so what I'm working on, I really enjoy teaching because I cook, I'm a culinary, I'm a chef, that's what I do on the boat, and so I've been incorporating. You know, I'm still evolving what I'm offering, but I love to teach. I've taught a lot of cooking classes in the past, but what I'm really enjoying.

Speaker 3: 32:40

I did teach a mindful eating workshop locally, which was really successful, and I want to this year. My goals are to carry that mindful eating workshop to a lot of different venues, to offer it throughout the year, and each time, you know, my plan is to improve it, make it more valuable for my participants. And then I'm also offering a crave what are you craving? Workshop, and that's going to be an online workshop starting March 2nd, and so it's going to be designed on all about cravings and so, and then I'm going to piggyback the mindful eating on top of that. Like you know, come to the craving workshop and then, if you want to come to the mindful eating. You know I'll be offering that like kind of back to back. So those are the things I'm focusing on.

Speaker 3: 33:37

And then I do love one-on-one coaching. So, you know, if I get that opportunity as that comes to me, I'm super grateful and I love that experience. But I also do really love the workshop. So so, yeah, that's what my plans Just enjoying the journey and having this experience with you and just. You know, there's so much collaboration going on. It seems like in the coaching world. I mean, it seems like coaches are really supportive of each other and when helping each other succeed and I love that you know, it's not like competitive, it's like, hey, let's get together and because there's so many people who can benefit from from you know what we do, right, it's just together instead of. So I love that.

Speaker 1: 34:28

Oh yeah, me too. Yeah, and I love, I love what you're doing, and so is that in person. Or do you offer that online as well, or?

Speaker 3: 34:38

Well, the mindful eating I'm going to do both, but the Crave workshop is going to be online and so that will be, and I work with women, so I should. I should clarify that. So I'm going to be offering that March 2nd and via Zoom. So, yeah, that's what I have so far. I mean, I take off fishing tomorrow till February 14th, so I kind of have to like put on my fishing hat and, although when I am on the boat, I constantly like thinking of how to make my coaching business better, and when I'm on balls and I blog on my website a lot, so I'm always writing stuff, so that's, I have a lot of time to do that on the boat, so that's fun, yeah, fantastic.

Speaker 1: 35:27

Well, I'll put. I'll put where we can contact you in the show notes so people can find you. And can I just ask is your boat anything like blow deck?

Speaker 3: 35:40

Thank God no.

Speaker 1: 35:41

No, I was going to say, I've just finished watching a season and I wanted to ask, tongue in cheek, tongue in cheek.

Speaker 3: 35:49

Yeah, no, absolutely no. No, we're a commercial fishing boat, so it's it's not pleasure cruising, it's work when you said chef, I just sort of been the chef of below deck. Oh, I like him. I did see that my nephew he's, you know, into that trendy like stuff. I never would have seen it if he hadn't come over and showed it to me, but so of course I got stuck on it, but I did. I do like that, chef, he's, he's, he's cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh that's funny.

Speaker 1: 36:22

Oh well, it sounds amazing what you're offering. I just I love it and you know I think it'll appeal to a lot of people. But it's just been so lovely to talk to you, colleen, and reconnect it's. It's a blessing to have met so many amazing people and I hope to continue the journey with you. But thank you for coming on today.

Speaker 3: 36:42

Megan, thank you so much. I'm just so grateful for you and I appreciate it was really a lot of fun today. So, and and you're going to do great I'm going to check back in with you on what's going on.

Speaker 1: 36:55

I'll say with you Same with you, Colleen. Oh, thank you so much.

Speaker 2: 37:07

If you don't already know, in addition to our podcasting work, we are each sobriety coaches with our own separate businesses helping people to drink less.

Speaker 1: 37:15

If you are a loved one, want to take a break from alcohol. We invite you to have a look at our individual websites. Megs is glassfulfilledcomau.

Speaker 2: 37:26

And Bella's is Isabella Fergusoncomau. So take the next step that feels right for you.