If changing the way you drink was a thinking problem, then you, my wise friend, would be bossing this life level like you had all the cheat codes and infinite lives.

It’s not. It’s a doing problem.

But knowing what to do and putting it into action are two very different things.

The Vault is here to bridge that gap and take you from thinking to doing via the most direct route possible.

Introducing: The Vault

The Vault is where all the theory comes together and becomes practical, no-pressure, actionable tools you can use every day to make real and lasting change to the way you allow alcohol to show up in your life.

It’s for the times that really matter, like nights out with heavy-drinking friends, breaking habits you’ve spent decades building, and understanding your personal tipping point across different drinking occasions.

”You are SO good at explaining what absolutely is on people's minds. 😊" - Erika Lafata

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What is it?

When you sign up to The Vault, you’ll get instant access to my growing library of mindful drinking tools, trackers and other resources designed to help you live a life less intoxicated on your own terms.

Each post shares the initial theory behind one of the mindful drinking concepts I teach in my writing, on the podcast, or in the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset.

But moving beyond the theory, The Vault is filled to the rafters with actionable downloads you can use immediately to start and sustain meaningful change in your drinking habits and build the life you actually want.

What’s currently inside the Vault?

With new mindful drinking & moderation tools added regularly.

What else do you get when you upgrade to a paid subscription?

• Personal email mentoring from me. Send me your real-life mindful drinking questions to thoughtfully explore & help you make the next best move—without rules, labels, or pressure to “go sober”.

• Request specific tools and guides tailored to your exact personal moderation dilemmas to be added to the Vault.

• Plus, when you’re ready to go deeper, get access to the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset so that you can put everything you learn inside the Vault into action and commit to lasting change for a life less intoxicated.

“I’d get in from work, feet up glass - bottle of wine every night. I hated it, but it was habit […] Since then I’ll maybe have the odd glass or two if out for a meal. I’m now able to take it or leave it, I’m in control.”
- Carlie Sings

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Hey, I’m Denise, your mindful drinking mentor. Welcome to me in a nutshell:

• Low, no & light alcohol drinks evangelist

• Podcast host

• Writer

• Public speaker

• Mother to two (currently 6 & 8 years old)

• Wife to my one and only (even when he annoys the crap outta me)

• 46 years grateful to be alive.

• Lapsed fitness fanatic (I’m working my way back once the HRT kicks in!)

• Loves: sushi, curry & crisps

• Hates: tonic, liquorice and the word ‘irregardless’

• 24-year ex-hospitality professional

• 80s action movie fan-girl

• Favourite word: ‘hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia’ (the fear of very long words 😆)

"Thanks for everything you do, your podcasts have really made a difference, you don't lecture, you don't say you can't, we all have a choice and you are our voice, which guides us, if we choose to follow that path."
- Helen Smilth

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Got a question for me about The Vault or anything midlife moderation? Drop it in the comments, DM me or email me at denise@lownodrinkermagazine.com

TLDR: Scroll to the bottom of this post or subscribe to The Vault to download your Drinking Impact Calculator

Your Data, Your Call

In When Stepping Away Is Part of Moving Forward, and Sometimes it Takes a Year, we talked about how sometimes the moment isn’t quite right.

Maybe you’re not quite ready to make that leap into a different way of drinking, but you still know that something needs to change.

That’s OK, we’re all on our own path. But while you’re taking the time you need, there’s untapped value that you’re ignoring if you don’t start to take notice of how your drinking is really affecting you.

Your Vault Tool

The Drinking Impact Calculator (£20 if bought separately) is one of the most powerful tools inside The Vault.

It lets you see your personal tipping point on light, medium and heavy drinking occasions by measuring both how you felt in the moment and the impact on your next day.

Use the DIC regularly for a few days, and you’ll walk away with your actual performance numbers so you can see where the real difference lies in the way you choose to drink.

Why Become a Member?

Join us today to get access to this and all the other tools in The Vault.

Join our community of over 1,500 midlife mindful drinkers looking to take back the power of choice from alcohol.

For just £7 a month (cheaper than a cocktail at your local), you’ll get access to all the Vault has to offer, including:

• The Habit Breaker

• Surf the Urge

• The Mindful Night Out Game Planner

• And more tools added frequently…

As a paid member, you can also request tools and resources tailored to your specific mindful drinking dilemma.

➕ Plus: Upgrade, and you’ll also get access to the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset so that you can put everything you learn inside the Vault into action and commit to lasting change for a life less intoxicated.

Upgrade to The Vault today

p.s. Get in early: As The Vault grows, so will the price. Lock in today’s price for the best value!

Read more

TLDR: Scroll to the bottom of this post or upgrade to The Vault to download your Habit Breaker

It’s Not About Willpower

Willpower alone will never work.

We are habitual creatures for a reason, and to be honest, it serves us well in most parts of life.

But when you want to make changes that last, like drinking differently on your own terms, you need more than willpower to make them stick.

I wrote about this for you in Breaking Decades of Drinking Habits: Why Willpower Alone Won’t Work, and in ep#111. Drinking on Autopilot: How Daily Stress Fuels Your Evening Habits, and now the Habit Breaker will help you put it all into practice.

Your Vault Tool

It breaks down the three stages of a habit, including which one is working against you and which one is in your control.

Then two trackers help you to put your personal observations to work and implement new strategies that give you what you want without taking anything away.

Why Become A Member?

Join today to get access to this and all the other tools in The Vault.

Join our community of over 1,500 midlife mindful drinkers looking to take back the power of choice from alcohol.

For just £7 a month (cheaper than a cocktail at your local), you’ll get access to all the Vault has to offer, including:

• The Drinking Impact Calculator (normally £20)

• Surf the Urge

• The Mindful Night Out Game Planner

• And more tools added frequently…

As a paid member, you can also request tools and resources tailored to your specific mindful drinking dilemma.

➕ Plus, upgrade, and you’ll also get access to the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset so that you can put everything you learn inside the Vault into action and commit to lasting change for a life less intoxicated.

Subscribe to The Vault

p.s. Get in early: As The Vault grows, so will the price. Lock in today’s price for the best value!

Read more

TLDR: Scroll to the bottom of this post or upgrade to The Vault to download your Mindful Drinking Night Out guide.

Night’s Out Your Way

Just because you’re drinking differently, it doesn’t mean you don’t still want amazing nights out, great stories and genuine human connection.

Sure, that might look a bit different now, but different isn’t a bad thing.

In A Grown-Up’s Guide to Mindful Drinking Nights Out, I break down the before, during and after of a night out with less booze.

It’s not rocket science, but because they're easy to do, these tips can often get overlooked.

Your Vault Tool

The Mindful Drinking Night Out guide takes you through all stages of the evening and prompts you to really think about and then plan exactly what you want for your night.

And if things start to go a little awry? There’s even a section on how to get out gracefully.

The morning after the night before is where you put it all together and come up with a forward-looking plan for how each social event can get better — no matter what role you decide to let alcohol play in the evening.

Join us today to get access to this and all the other tools in The Vault.

Join our community of over 1,500 midlife mindful drinkers looking to take back the power of choice from alcohol.

For just £7 a month (cheaper than a cocktail at your local), you’ll get access to all the Vault has to offer, including:

· The Drinking Impact Calculator (normally £20)

· The Habit Breaker

· Surf the Urge

· And more tools added frequently…

As a paid member, you can also request tools and resources tailored to your specific mindful drinking dilemma.

➕ Plus, upgrade and you’ll also get access to the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset so that you can put everything you learn inside the Vault into action and commit to lasting change for a life less intoxicated.

Upgrade to access all tools

p.s. Get in early and lock in today’s price now; as The Vault grows, so will the price.

Read more

TLDR: Scroll to the bottom of the post, or upgrade to The Vault, to download your Surf the Urge tool.

Is this normal?

In Reduce, Replace... and Then What? we look at the three R’s of mindful drinking, and in ep#169. 20 Small Shifts That Changed How I Drink (5 Years In) I share 20 tips that have helped me change my drinking habits for good.

Topics like these matter because no matter how well-intentioned we are with our drinking choices, cravings (and nostalgia) will always poke their beaky noses in where they are not wanted.

It’s important that you know that that is normal, and definitely not something to beat yourself up over.

Your Vault Tool

When you need a little help in managing those moments, Surf the Urge helps you to:

• Recognise it for what it really is (hint: it’s not actually about the alcohol)

• Ride it out until it naturally passes

• Replace it with something else

You’ll get a printable chart to help you keep track of what actually works for YOU when different cravings strike.

Join us today to get access to this and all the other tools in The Vault.

Join our community of over 1,500 midlife mindful drinkers looking to take back the power of choice from alcohol.

For just £7 a month (cheaper than a cocktail at your local), you’ll get access to all the Vault has to offer, including:

· The Drinking Impact Calculator (normally £20)

· The Habit Breaker

· The Mindful Night Out Game Planner

· And more tools added frequently…

As a paid member, you can also request tools and resources tailored to your specific mindful drinking dilemma.

➕ Plus, you’ll also get access to the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset so that you can put everything you learn inside the Vault into action and commit to lasting change for a life less intoxicated.

UPGRADE TO THE VAULT

p.s. Lock in your membership early; as The Vault grows, so will the price.

Read more

TLDR: Scroll to the bottom of the post or upgrade to The Vault to download your Moderation Menu & Tracker.

You Can Drink Your Own Way

Episode #163. 5 Questions to Ask Yourself About the Pros & Cons of Different Moderation Techniques, is one of the most downloaded episodes of the podcast of all time.

Why?

Because, quite honestly, I think we’re all fed up with being told what to do, what we should drink, what’s good for us or bad for us, and that life would be a bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries if we just followed this guru’s instructions for how [not] to drink.

We want to make up our own minds and find a way to bring a balance to our lives that feels natural, not forced.

Your Vault Tool

The Moderation Menu is exactly that.

First, you’ll understand the different types of moderation techniques – which ones are passive and which ones are active.

You’ll go through the five questions to help you decide which techniques could be a good fit, then download and print the moderation tracker to get real feedback on which approaches work best for you in different situations.

Use it to build your own personal moderation guide.

Join us today to get access to this and all the other tools in The Vault.

Vault tools are available to paid subscribers. Join our community of over 1,500 midlife mindful drinkers looking to take back the power of choice from alcohol.

For just £7 a month (cheaper than a cocktail at your local), you’ll get access to all the Vault has to offer, including:

• The Drinking Impact Calculator (normally £20)

• The Habit Breaker

• Surf the Urge

• The Mindful Night Out Game Planner

• And more tools added frequently…

As a paid member, you can also request tools and resources tailored to your specific mindful drinking dilemma.

➕ Plus, upgrade to founding, and you’ll also get access to the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset so that you can put everything you learn inside the Vault into action and commit to lasting change for a life less intoxicated.

UPGRADE TO THE VAULT

p.s. Get in early: As The Vault grows, so will the price.

Read more

TLDR: Scroll to the bottom of the post, or upgrade to The Vault, to download your Usual Suspects tool.

Friendly Fire

In ep#161. The Real Reason Your Friends Can’t Take ‘No’ for an Answer, we took a really honest look at the reasons why some of the people you love only seem to love you when you’re drinking.

Not out of malice, but from a lack of understanding of what’s driving their own wants and habits and where that all fits into your new way of drinking.

How your friends and the people around you might react is a big stumbling block for a lot of midlifers who are new to drinking differently - nobody wants to go from being a Party-Pete to Billy-No-Mates just because they want to look after themselves a bit better.

Your Vault Tool

The Usual Suspects helps you to read the room before you even get there.

- Who’s likely to be at the event?

- What are they likely to say?

- And how can you respond and still stand in the power of your choices?

It helps you identify if a night is even worth your time – too many suspect characters and you might be better off on the sofa with a bit of Netflix and chill 😎

Join us today to get access to this and all the other tools in The Vault.

Vault tools are only available to paying subscribers.

Join our community of over 1,500 midlife mindful drinkers looking to take back the power of choice from alcohol.

For just £7 a month (cheaper than a cocktail at your local), you’ll get access to all the Vault has to offer, including:

· The Drinking Impact Calculator (normally £20)

· The Habit Breaker

· Surf the Urge

· The Mindful Night Out Game Planner

· And more tools are added frequently…

As a paid member, you can also request tools and resources tailored to your specific mindful drinking dilemma.

➕ Plus, upgrade to yearly, and you’ll also get access to the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset so that you can put everything you learn inside the Vault into action and commit to lasting change for a life less intoxicated.

UPGRADE TO THE VAULT

p.s. Get in early: As The Vault grows, so will the price. Lock in today’s price for the best value!

Read more

TLDR: Scroll to the bottom of the post, or upgrade to The Vault, to download your 30 Day Booze Break Timeline.

Thinking of Taking A Booze Break?

In When’s the Right Time to Take a Break From Alcohol? and in episode #113: Thinking of Doing Sober October? There’s a Better Way, we explored if and when there’s a right time for you to take a break from alcohol.

You might be thinking of doing a Dry January, Sober October, or even a longer break like Sober Spring.

Or maybe you’ve just decided on a random Tuesday afternoon that you’d like to lay off the sauce for a few weeks.

But what can you expect, and when will you actually start to feel the benefits of going booze free?

Your Vault Tool

This ‘30 Day Booze Break Timeline’ shows you exactly what to expect, week by week.

On the last page, you’ll find a printable tracker that you can use at home to rate your sleep, mood, energy and cravings.

Use it to spot the patterns that signal personal progress, rather than guessing and comparing your journey to everyone else’s.

Join us today to get access to this and all the other tools in The Vault.

Join our community of over 1,500 midlife mindful drinkers looking to take back the power of choice from alcohol.

For just £7 a month (cheaper than a cocktail at your local), you’ll get access to all the Vault has to offer, including:

• The Drinking Impact Calculator (normally £20)

• The Habit Breaker

• Surf the Urge

• The Mindful Night Out Game Planner

• And more tools are added frequently…

As a paid member, you can also request tools and resources tailored to your specific mindful drinking dilemma.

Plus, upgrade to yearly, and you’ll also get access to the 4-Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset so that you can put everything you learn inside the Vault into action and commit to lasting change for a life less intoxicated.

UPGRADE TO THE VAULT

p.s. Get in early: As The Vault grows, so will the price. Lock in today’s price for the best value!

Read more