James Swanwick still remembers the moment when he decided to quit alcohol forever, and this was after a certain photo was taken with Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston.
The 45-year-old Australian founder of Alcohol-Free Lifestyle got the injection in 2009 while drinking one to three drinks a night and remembers having to suck on her stomach before the injection to keep Aniston from seeing her fat belly.
“In this photo, I am almost 18 pounds heavier than I am now. I am barely recognizable,” FEMAIL said.
“Having a few drinks in the night made me feel tired and lethargic, unmotivated, irritable, woke up in the middle of the night, not studying well.
The 45-year-old founder of the Alcohol-Free Lifestyle took the photo in 2009, having one to three drinks a night (pictured with Jennifer Aniston)
“I felt average in every area of my life. But then I stopped drinking.
“With that puffy face and a few rolls of fat around my waist, I went from slow, mediocre and mediocre to losing 18lbs feeling fit, lean, healthy, happy and energetic.
“Today I feel like I am what nature intended me to be. I sleep like a baby. I have great friends and family, I started two businesses and I feel great.
And it all started with the elimination of alcohol. It changed my life. ‘
Mr. Swanwick lost six pounds in the first 30 days after quitting drinking and noticed how smoothly he fell asleep within 10 days.
In 90 days, my dream job was hosting a TV show in the US – SportsCenter on ESPN – and in two years, he started a company that made $1 million in revenue.
James Swanwick (pictured), founder of the Alcohol-Free Lifestyle, describes alcohol as a “silent killer” that is destroying health and relationships across Australia.
HOW TO MAKE MORE QUALITY SLEEP?
1. Get the morning sun within ten minutes of waking up: I expose myself to natural morning sunlight by going outside for five minutes or standing by a window and letting the sunlight hit my skin. Our skin contains receptors. And when the morning sun hits our skin, it tells our body’s internal clock, our circadian rhythm, that the day has come. Our bodies are flooded with hormones throughout the day, and we are alert and energetic. Since our biological clocks know when we’re exposed to morning sunlight after 14-16 hours, our bodies will naturally start flooding with nighttime hormones, including melatonin. Our bodies begin to relax, we go into resting mode… we are getting sleepy. And in the end, we fall asleep faster, sleep more soundly, and wake up refreshed. Therefore, early morning sunlight is incredibly important to ensure we get a good night’s sleep.
2. Stop drinking coffee eight hours after bedtime: Coffee is a stimulant that can stay in our body for eight hours after consumption. Studies show that any stimulus left in our system before bedtime impairs our sleep quality. Although many people swear that they can have a cup of coffee after dinner and have a good night’s sleep, their sleep quality will be seriously impaired. Our body naturally wants to fall into a deep sleep and relieve the tiredness of the day. But while there is still a stimulus in the system, the body continues to work.
3. Stop eating three hours after sleep: If you eat the last two hours before bedtime, you’re setting yourself up for a restless sleep. This is because when we consume food, our body goes into working mode. Digestion takes place. Our body warms up. It’s the last thing we want for a good night’s sleep. We want our bodies to be as relaxed as possible. I tend to go to sleep around 9:30pm and I have an alarm that goes off at 6:00pm saying, “You have 30 minutes to finish dinner.” This is a great reminder to make and eat dinner in the three hours before bed.
4. Cut down or quit alcohol: Even a seemingly harmless drink at night is enough to jeopardize our sleep. It can take up to 12 hours for your body to process the toxins from alcohol. It’s the 12 hours your body needs to work at a time when it wants to stop working and rest. So if you have a drink an hour before bed, your body will be busy processing these toxins all night. Yes, nighttime alcohol can make you fall asleep faster. But the bad news is that alcohol in your system greatly disturbs REM sleep. You will not be able to fall into deeper levels of sleep, and your brain and body will not be able to fully regenerate. You don’t feel well after waking up from an alcohol-induced slumber, do you? Shocking as it may sound, drinking alcohol for breakfast is better than in the evening as your body will have at least 12 hours to process toxins and prepare to rest.
5. Block out as much artificial light as possible at night with blue light blocking glasses: Wearing blue-light-blocking glasses with orange lenses in the last hour before bed is key to a good night’s sleep AND slows down an angry mind. According to a study published by the University of Washington and Harvard University, 14% of people who wore Swanwick Sleeping Glasses with Blue Light Blocking reported that they slept better. Swanwick glasses are currently worn by professional athletes and teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and Manchester United. Artificial blue light is everywhere. And it’s not just your cell phone screen, computer screen or TV. It is bathroom lamp, kitchen lamp, reading lamp, microwave lamp, alarm clock lamp, refrigerator lamp. When we look at this light, we are actually looking at a small sun. Light stimulates our pineal gland and pituitary gland, causing our body and brain to think it’s daytime so our bodies don’t produce the same amount of melatonin. Wearing glasses that block blue light in the last hour before going to bed can help us slow down our minds, calm and relax, and fall asleep. I make sure to turn off all the lights before I take off my glasses. Only then do I turn around and fall asleep.
One of Mr Swanwick’s clients reportedly earned $250,000 for his business in the first 90 days of sobriety.
The health guru believes Australians lose millions of dollars in potential income each year because of alcohol.
“You don’t have to be an alcoholic to ruin your life,” he said.
But Mr Swanwick said that if you’re counting down the days to get drunk again, fasting doesn’t do much.
“I think if you go out and party with alcohol, you miss the point,” he said. “I encourage people to take a break for at least a month and then reevaluate.”
But Mr Swanwick said that if you’re counting down the days to get drunk again, fasting doesn’t do much.
The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia recommends that no more than two standard drinks be consumed per day and, in any event, no more than four standard drinks.
One of the best results of quitting alcohol was Mr Swanwick’s best night’s sleep, made even better by the orange glasses he wore while watching late night television.
“An orange-only lens can sufficiently block the blue light that is responsible for disrupting your sleep,” he said.
“A clear lens can certainly filter out or reduce blue light. But in the universe we live in, there’s no way a clear lens can help you sleep better because it doesn’t block enough blue light, which is so bad for our sleep.
“I have my Swanwick Sleep blue light blockers turned on for 45 minutes to an hour before I want to sleep. I wear them while watching TV, browsing the phone, brushing my teeth and reading in bed.
“I won’t take them off until I’ve turned off all the lights. In the dark, I take off my glasses, put them on the nightstand, turn around and fall asleep.”
He also includes a number of sleep-enhancing nutrients in his diet, such as fish, chamomile, banana, and spinach.
He also includes sleep-enhancing foods such as fish, chamomile, banana and spinach in his diet.
Revealed: Long-term effects of regular alcohol consumption
Brain: Drinking too much can affect concentration, judgment, mood, and memory. It increases the risk of developing stroke and dementia.
Heart: Heavy drinking raises blood pressure and can cause heart damage and heart attacks.
Liver: Drinking three to four standard drinks a day increases the risk of developing liver cancer. Drinking too much for a long time also increases the risk of liver cirrhosis (scarring) and death.
Your wife: Drinking one to two standard drinks a day also increases the risk of stomach and colon cancer and ulcers.
Fertility: Regular alcohol consumption reduces testosterone levels, sperm count and fertility in men. For women, drinking too much can affect the cycle.
Source: direct health
The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia recommends no more than two standard drinks per day and no more than four standard drinks at a time.
In this way, they say, the lifetime risk of death from alcohol-related illness or injury is less than one in 100.
But Dr. Deb Cohen-Jones told Daily Mail Australia there is no such thing as “safe drinking”.
Men and women who drink two alcoholic drinks in one night are more likely to develop cancer and other chronic diseases that could save 10 years of their life, says family doctor in Perth, WA.
For support with alcohol problems and addiction, you can contact Breakthrough Services or one of the following. many other services availabletalk to your GP, local health service, or call a toll-free number.
Qualified telephone consultants are available in all Australian states and territories.
