The Kitchener-Waterloo-based wellness expert talks about the impact of cutting out alcohol on her fitness journey.
Tell us a bit about your background and how you came to found Get Lean with Celine?
I’ve been into fitness on and off in the past. I had a personal Instagram but I didn't want to bombard people with fitness content so I started a brand new page at the end of last year. I originally just dedicated it to fitness, but I've made it into a lifestyle and a healthy active life page.
What initially inspired you to reduce your alcohol consumption?
When I started my new page, I decided I was going to challenge myself not to drink for three months and just see how it affects my body and my mind. I used to drink all the time – almost every weekend – so I thought: Let's just see what it does.
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in yourself since cutting back on alcohol?
After the three months, I felt so much better. I don't like being hungover. I find that if I do drink, then the next day when I'm hungover, I just waste the whole day. To me, it's not worth wasting a whole day of feeling disgusting and gross.
I feel like I was using alcohol as something to cope. I could forget about my problems and just drink them away. When I decided not to drink, it made me have to actually focus on myself and find a different way to do it. My outlet has been the gym.
What do you like about Sobrii?
I don't know if I’d had something non-alcoholic before I tried that [Sobrii 0-Tequila]. I decided to try it and I was making drinks with it and I was like: this tastes good. If I'm craving something, I can just make a mocktail.
If I drink Sobrii, there are zero calories as well. I found Sobrii made it easier when I was craving a drink but I didn't want the alcohol or the hangover. I don't want to be consuming alcohol all the time because of the calories and how it makes me feel so I decided to use Sobrii instead.
What’s your favourite cocktail to make with Sobrii?
At first, I tried making it with the Grapefruit Fever-Tree. I really liked that one, but recently I did one with lemonade, the gin [Sobrii 0-Gin], and I put in a little bit of pineapple juice and soda water and then topped it with strawberries and I thought it was such a good mix.
Lately, I've just been finding things I have in my fridge and making concoctions and seeing how they turn out!
What advice would you give to someone who is considering a life with less alcohol?
I thought it was going to be challenging, but it honestly wasn't hard at all. I would go for it but expect that there will be people who don't understand and question it.
For me, it's hard being in social situations and being the person that's not drinking. It’s hard to explain you're doing it for health reasons. People don't really understand.
I recommend Sobrii all the time. I just genuinely like it. It lets you make drinks without having to have alcohol.