This is the No More Wasted Days Podcast. I'm your host - Sara Kaufman-Bradstreet.
Grab your favorite NA drink, and listen as we share vulnerable stories so you never feel alone on your alcohol free journey, and gain insights from us as we breakdown our most used tips and strategies that have kept us alcohol free. It’s time to break free from wasting any more of your days to the drinking/blackout/hangover cycle.
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Données mises à jour le 14/07/2026
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Ep. 154: What Happens to Your Body in the First 10 Days Without Alcohol
Épisode 158
mardi 6 janvier 2026 • Durée 17:50
Sara breaks down what really happens in the first 10 days of an alcohol-free journey (beyond the highlight reels and feel-good memes).
Most people don’t talk about the not-so-glamorous physical and emotional shifts that come up when you stop drinking. But Sara’s here to get real—and to empower you with science-backed insights and simple strategies so you can make it through the early days with confidence.
She covers:
🍷 What’s happening physiologically when alcohol leaves your system
🧠 How the dopamine crash messes with your motivation and mood
💤 Why sleep can get worse before it gets better
🍭 The truth about sugar cravings (and why they’re not just “bad habits”)
🧰 Six practical tools to survive and thrive in the first 10 days
Whether you're just getting started or preparing for a new AF season, this episode will help you normalize the messy middle—and stick with it.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
✅ Alcohol affects way more than just your bloodstream—it impacts your dopamine, sleep cycles, and blood sugar
✅ You’re not “doing it wrong” if the first 10 days feel flat, foggy, or hard
✅ Healing happens in layers—physical, emotional, and spiritual
✅ Nourishing your body with protein + complex carbs = fewer cravings and crashes
✅ Morning routines and natural dopamine boosts can jumpstart your day
✅ Planning your witching hour (and finding community) is essential to staying the course
👯♀️ Want deeper support for your journey?
Join the PUSH to 100 waitlist to be the first to apply for the next round (spots open January 28th!). You’ll get structure, coaching, community, and tools that go far beyond “just don’t drink.”
✨ nomorewasteddays.co/100waitinglist
🎧 If this episode helped you feel seen, leave a quick review! Your words help this message reach more people on the path to freedom.
Resources Mentioned:
* Daymakers Community: Weekly coaching calls, private messaging threads, and a supportive community. CLICK HERE to learn more here.
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Looking for support on your alcohol free journey? Consider joining us in the Day Makers Community. CLICK HERE for all the details
If something in your life feels off, if you know you’re capable of more but keep feeling held back, Dry January might be the reset you’ve been looking for.
The Dry January Experience is a guided, supportive 30-day alcohol-free challenge designed to help you:
Build confidence without relying on willpower
Understand what’s actually happening in your body and brain
Create momentum, clarity, and self-trust
Experience what life feels like without alcohol in the way
You’ll get daily support videos, a printable journal, a workbook, and live coaching calls with me, plus a community that’s doing this alongside you.
As we close out the year, this episode invites you to imagine a different version of yourself. Not a version created by doing more, pushing harder, or fixing yourself, but a version revealed when you remove the one thing that’s been quietly draining your energy, confidence, and clarity.
In this deeply personal episode, Sara shares:
Why 2025 was one of her hardest years emotionally and mentally
How anxiety resurfaced in a way that reminded her of her drinking days, and what she did instead of numbing out
The story of her last New Year’s Eve as a drinker, and how it set the stage for real change
Why trying to “drink better” kept her stuck, and why removing alcohol closed the gap between who she was and who she wanted to be
This episode introduces the idea of YOU 2.0, the version of yourself that emerges when the noise is gone.
Alcohol doesn’t create confidence, energy, or freedom. It blocks access to them.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
A Question to Sit With
Join the Dry January Experience
Ep. 152: Your First Sober Christmas: What No One Tells You
Épisode 156
mardi 23 décembre 2025 • Durée 25:02
Enrollment is officially open for The Dry January Experience, a guided 30-day alcohol-free reset designed to help you step away from drinking with confidence, clarity, and structure.
If you’ve ever wished alcohol could become something you could “take or leave,” this experience is for you. You’ll receive daily emails, short supportive videos, and group coaching calls with Sara to help you navigate cravings, mindset shifts, and real-life triggers without white-knuckling it.
Christmas is supposed to feel magical, but for many people it’s one of the most emotionally intense and alcohol-heavy times of the year. In this episode of No More Wasted Days, Sara speaks directly to anyone navigating their first alcohol-free Christmas, or quietly questioning whether drinking is making the holidays harder than they need to be.
Sara shares honest stories from her own past Christmases, days filled with drinking, waking up hungover, emotional meltdowns, and the familiar December 26th shame spiral. She breaks down the truth many of us avoid: alcohol never actually made the holidays calmer, happier, or more meaningful. It only delayed the stress and magnified the aftermath.
This episode offers seven practical, compassionate strategies to help you move through Christmas without alcohol, while protecting your peace, your nervous system, and your self-respect.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why holiday pressure is largely artificial, and how alcohol marketing intensifies it
How alcohol increases stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion during the holidays
Why you are not boring without a drink, you are more present and more connected
How nostalgia distorts memories of drinking, and how to remember past holidays accurately
Tools for navigating triggering family dynamics without using alcohol as a coping mechanism
Continue your alcohol-free momentum into the new year
Ep. 151: Quit Drinking Without Calling Yourself an Alcoholic (ft. Suzanne Warye)
Épisode 155
mardi 16 décembre 2025 • Durée 53:43
Thinking about starting the new year alcohol-free, but don’t want to do it alone?
You can still join the Dry January Experience waiting list and be first in line when early enrollment opens on December 19th. Waiting list members receive early access and an exclusive discount.
This is an honest, grounded conversation about motherhood, identity, shame, and the moment many women quietly realize that alcohol is taking more than it’s giving. Suzanne shares her powerful story of becoming “spontaneously sober,” why moderation is a trap for so many women, and how alcohol culture has deliberately targeted exhausted, overwhelmed moms.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you “qualify” for sobriety, or felt like you should be able to make drinking work even though it never really does, this episode will land deeply.
In this episode, we talk about:
Suzanne’s last night drinking and the moment she knew she was done
What “spontaneous sobriety” really means and why relapse isn’t inevitable
The hidden shame cycle so many women live in, even when they look “fine” on the outside
Why moderation fails, and why the drink is the problem, not you
How alcohol marketing targets women and moms under the guise of self-care and empowerment
About Suzanne Warye
Ep. 150: How to Know If Alcohol Is a Problem, Even If You Don’t Drink Every Day
Épisode 154
mardi 9 décembre 2025 • Durée 24:49
Get on the Dry January 2026 waiting list if you know you’re ready for a reset. You’ll receive early enrollment access plus a discounted rate.Sign up at nomorewasteddays.co/waitinglist.
Episode Summary
Most women who struggle with alcohol never fit the stereotype of the “daily drinker.” They function well, they hold everything together, and from the outside, everything looks fine. Yet inside, alcohol is shaping far more than they realize.
In this episode, Sara breaks down how to recognize when drinking is running your life, even if you don’t drink every day. She explores the subtle signs of low grade dependency, how mental energy becomes entangled with alcohol, and why frequency does not equal severity.
Whether you are still drinking or already alcohol free, this episode will help you see your relationship with alcohol with more honesty, clarity, and compassion.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
1. Why frequency isn’t the real issue
Sara dismantles the old belief that “a real problem” only exists when someone drinks every day. She explains why modern drinking struggles show up through mental preoccupation, not just quantity.
2. The four signs alcohol may be running your life
Sara walks through four categories where alcohol leaves fingerprints, even for gray area drinkers:
Mental and emotional signs such as rule setting, constant planning, thinking about alcohol like clockwork, or needing it to regulate emotions.
Physical and sleep signs like middle-of-the-night wakeups, sluggish mornings, anxiety spikes, cravings, and inflammation.
Behavioral signs including, sneaking sips, avoiding events without alcohol, or planning commitments around hangovers.
Identity signs such as struggling to imagine yourself without alcohol or leaning heavily on your “drinking persona.”
3. The brain chemistry behind “needing a drink”
Key Takeaways
Ep. 149: Why Women are Drinking More, and Who Benefits ft. Celeste Yvonne
Épisode 153
mardi 2 décembre 2025 • Durée 49:12
In today’s episode, Sara sits down with author and advocate Celeste Yvonne, whose book It’s Not About the Wine cuts straight through the noise of mommy wine culture and exposes what’s really going on behind the scenes.
This conversation digs into the political and psychological systems that encourage women to drink, profit from their burnout, and quietly benefit when mothers are overwhelmed, numb, and too exhausted to challenge the status quo.
Sara and Celeste unpack how alcohol became the “acceptable” coping mechanism for modern motherhood, why women are drinking more than ever, and how targeted marketing turned female exhaustion into a trillion-dollar opportunity for Big Alcohol. If you’ve ever wondered why drinking feels so normalized for moms or why quitting sometimes feels rebellious, this episode will connect the dots.
They also explore what happens when women finally step out of that fog. Spoiler, clarity changes everything. From relationships to emotional patterns to political awareness, sobriety becomes a form of awakening, and that awakening has a ripple effect.
If you’ve felt the spark of something waking up inside you, this episode will fan that flame.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
Why mommy wine culture exploded on social media and who benefitted from it
How Big Alcohol used burnout, overwhelm, and emotional labor as a marketing strategy
Why numbing out keeps women small, quiet, and disconnected from their own power
The cultural expectations that trap women into drinking more than they realize
How marketing shifted from cigarettes to wine, and why women became the primary target
The connection between sobriety and political clarity
What real self care looks like when alcohol is no longer the default
How sobriety gives women their voice back, and why that voice matters
The emotional patterns alcohol keeps hidden and what rises to the surface when you stop
About Celeste
Ready for a powerful reset?
Books Mentioned
Dry January Waiting List
Ep. 148: Staying Alcohol Free on Thanksgiving: 6 Strategies That Actually Work
Épisode 152
mardi 25 novembre 2025 • Durée 28:32
Time is running out to join the Day Makers Community for two weeks for $1. Join today for coaching, connection, and support. www.nomorewasteddays.co/daymakers.
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Thanksgiving used to be one of my biggest drinking holidays. It was chaotic, wine-soaked, and every year followed the same pattern, exhaustion, resentment, chasing a buzz, and then waking up the next morning wishing I could take parts of it back.
In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on all of it, the wine-day traditions, the resentment of cooking, the Black Friday hangovers, my first sober Thanksgiving while pregnant with the twins, and the moment I finally learned what a peaceful, present holiday could feel like without alcohol.
Today, I’m walking you through six powerful strategies to help you step into an alcohol-free Thanksgiving with clarity, confidence, and a sense of rebellion against the belief that alcohol is required to survive the holidays.
These are the deeper strategies, not the basic “bring a mocktail” tips you’ve heard a million times. You’ll learn how to find the exact moment your cravings spike, how to pre-decide your identity before the day begins, how to use sensory anchors to stay grounded, and how to design micro escape routes that keep you steady and empowered.
You’ll also get a grounded gratitude practice that avoids the toxic positivity trap and helps you stay connected to the moments you genuinely want to remember.
This episode is your permission slip to reclaim the holiday as something peaceful, joyful, and fully yours.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
The truth about why Thanksgiving may be one of your biggest “drinking holidays”
How alcohol turns the day into chaos rather than connection
What my first sober Thanksgiving really felt like
Six deeper strategies to keep you steady, present, and proud
How to create an identity that makes staying alcohol free easier than willpower
Ep. 147: Winter Blues and Sobriety - 5 Strategies that Actually Help
Épisode 151
mardi 18 novembre 2025 • Durée 24:27
If the darker months tend to stir up cravings, low motivation, or the urge to numb out, this is your sign to plug into real support. For November only, you can try the Day Makers Community for two weeks for just $1. Get coaching, connection, and stability during the hardest season of the year. Join at www.nomorewasteddays.co/daymakers.
Episode Summary
Winter can be one of the most challenging seasons to stay alcohol free. Shorter days, less sunlight, gray skies, and changes in routine can mess with your mood and energy. In the Pacific Northwest, Sara calls it the Big Dark for a reason. In this episode, she breaks down why the winter blues happen, why they hit harder when you are alcohol free, and the practical strategies that help you stay grounded instead of slipping backward.
Sara shares the story of her first winter living in a camper trailer on the land while building her house. The lack of natural light, heavy rain, and isolation hit stronger than expected, and it became the first time she truly understood how intense the winter blues can feel, even deep into sobriety. She now approaches every winter with intention and has built a winter-specific sober toolkit to stay emotionally steady.
Through personal experience and research, this episode teaches you how to recognize winter blues, how to distinguish them from seasonal affective disorder, and how to protect your alcohol free identity during the months when cravings or old coping mechanisms may begin whispering again.
You will leave with five winter-proof strategies that help you stay energized, connected, and proud of your choices, even when the season feels heavy.
What You Will Learn
1. Why the Winter Blues Happen
How reduced sunlight lowers serotonin.
How longer darkness disrupts circadian rhythm, leading to fatigue, fog, and increased melatonin.
Why people in northern latitudes are more susceptible.
How environmental factors like rain, darkness, and isolation intensify the emotional dip.
2. How Winter Impacts Your Alcohol Free Journey
Lower mood plus lower energy can increase cravings and relapse risk.
3. How to Know Whether It Is the Winter Blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder
4. Five Strategies to Protect Your Sobriety This Winter
Key Takeaway
Resources Mentioned
Join the Day Makers Community
Ep. 146: Staying Motivated in Your Alcohol Free Journey
Épisode 150
mardi 11 novembre 2025 • Durée 31:41
This November, you can join the Day Makers Community for just $1 for your first two weeks. Connect with like-minded people, rebuild your confidence, and start creating a life you love alcohol-free. Join now at nomorewasteddays.co/daymakers
When you first quit drinking, your biggest goal might simply be to make it through each day alcohol-free and that’s huge. But what happens when you start to feel ready for more?
In this inspiring episode, Sara explores the power of goal setting in sobriety and how it shifts your focus from just not drinking to thriving. She shares her own evolution from early sobriety to taking on life-changing goals like building a house, launching a business, and planning a 93-mile backpacking trip with her family around Mount Rainier.
You’ll learn why alcohol keeps us stuck in short-term thinking, how sobriety rebuilds self-trust, and how to start dreaming again, one intentional goal at a time. Whether you’re just starting your alcohol-free journey or ready to push toward your next chapter, this episode will remind you what’s truly possible when you stop numbing and start creating.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why goal setting is essential for long-term fulfillment in sobriety
How breaking promises while drinking damages self-trust, and how to rebuild it
The difference between surviving sobriety and thriving in it
How to set aligned goals that reflect who you want to become, not who you “should” be
Practical ways to start small, stay consistent, and build momentum
The mindset shifts that make growth sustainable (progress over perfection)
Key takeaways:
Your first goal, staying alcohol-free, is not small; it’s foundational.
Once you build trust in yourself, your confidence expands naturally.
Sobriety opens space for new dreams, from creative projects to fitness goals.
Ep. 145: From Chaos to Calm - Rediscovering Yourself After Alcohol
Épisode 149
mardi 4 novembre 2025 • Durée 39:17
Sara sits down with her friend Chelsea Bohnstedt, a yoga instructor and certified sound healer, to talk about her powerful alcohol-free journey. At the time of recording, Chelsea is 562 days sober, but her path to get here was far from linear.
Chelsea opens up about:
Hitting rock bottom after repeated starts and stops, and how a medical crisis finally became her turning point.
The kindling effect. A dangerous neurological response that makes withdrawal symptoms worse each time you quit and start drinking again.
Finding recovery through SMART Recovery and Y12SR (Yoga for 12-Step Recovery) after struggling to connect with traditional AA.
Healing anxiety, rediscovering peace, and embracing the beauty of a “boring life.”
How yoga, meditation, and sound baths helped her reconnect with her body and spirit, and why spirituality doesn’t have to look “religious.”
Sara and Chelsea also share stories from their time together at the Sober Tahoe Adventure Retreat and reflect on how sound healing and self-care practices can unlock powerful emotional healing.
🧘♀️ Key Takeaways
Kindling is real. If you've started and stopped many times, it can make withdrawals more severe and even life-threatening. Always consult a doctor for support when quitting.
Peace is the new thrill. Sobriety gives you back your time, energy, and clarity.
Spirituality can be simple. Connection, mindfulness, and presence count just as much as prayer or religion.
Self-care is rebellion. Taking care of yourself and living with intention isn’t boring, it’s revolutionary.
How to set boundaries, rehearse responses, and give yourself permission to disappoint others
Why choosing yourself may feel uncomfortable at first, but builds lasting self-trust
How to create one intentional ritual to anchor you through the holiday
Why December 26th is the real victory, and how waking up clear-headed changes everything
Sara also shares simple scripts for handling pressure to drink, ideas for taking micro-breaks during family gatherings, and a powerful reminder: your healing journey is not something other people get to vote on.
If you’ve been afraid that an alcohol-free Christmas will feel dull, isolating, or joyless, this episode offers a different truth. Alcohol-free holidays can be steadier, calmer, and far more peaceful than anything alcohol ever delivered.
If this episode resonated, The Dry January Experience is your next step. This is not about willpower or deprivation. It’s about support, education, and creating a solid foundation for an alcohol-free life.
What abundance actually looks like in an alcohol-free life (hint: it’s quieter, steadier, and more joyful)
Why community is essential for women in sobriety, especially mothers
How quitting drinking allows women to come home to themselves and trust their inner voice again
Suzanne also shares why she wrote The Sober Shift, and how it’s designed for women who don’t relate to rock-bottom stories but still know something feels off.
Suzanne Warye is the author of The Sober Shift, host of the Sober Mom Life podcast, and creator of the Sober Mom Life Café, a supportive community for mothers exploring alcohol-free living. Her work focuses on dismantling shame, questioning drinking culture, and helping women reclaim their time, energy, and identity.
If this conversation sparked something in you and you’re craving a fresh start with real support, now is the perfect time to get on the Dry January Experience waiting list. Early enrollment opens December 19th, and waiting list members receive a special discounted rate.
And if you haven’t already, please consider leaving a review or comment on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. Sara reads every one, and your feedback helps this message reach the women who need it most.
Sara breaks down dopamine spikes, cortisol crashes, and why anxiety lingers for days after drinking. She highlights why even inconsistent drinking still keeps the reinforcement loop alive.
4. What gray area drinking actually is
Most women who feel stuck in the start-and-stop cycle aren’t “alcoholics.” They’re gray area drinkers living in quiet chaos, often rewarded by society for coping silently.
5. Why a meaningful break changes everything
Taking 30 days off alcohol stabilizes the nervous system, exposes what alcohol has been costing you, and gives you a first glimpse of the peace and clarity you’ve been chasing.
6. The questions that matter more than ‘How much do I drink?’
Sara offers reflection questions to help you evaluate whether alcohol is supporting your life or slowing it down.
Alcohol doesn’t have to completely derail your life to be running it.
If you’re thinking about it daily, planning around it, or dreading life without it, that is enough information.
A meaningful break is often the turning point where everything becomes clear.
Alcohol is a socially accepted poison that disconnects you from your power, but stepping back reconnects you to who you really are.
Get on the Dry January Waiting List
If this episode hit home, consider joining Sara for Dry January 2026. You’ll receive early enrollment access and a discounted rate when doors open.
Why women often feel angrier in early sobriety, and why anger is actually a sign of waking up
Celeste Yvonne is a writer, speaker, and author of It’s Not About the Wine: The Loaded Truth Behind Mommy Wine Culture. Her work has been featured in the Washington Post, Today Show, and Good Morning America. You can follow her on social media @theultimatemomchallenge (on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok) or on Substack.
Dry January is coming, and I’m hosting my biggest 30-day alcohol-free experience starting January 1. You’ll get daily support, coaching, and a community that actually understands what you’re working toward. Join the waiting list for first access and an exclusive discount.
If something in this conversation stirred something in you, don’t ignore it. Dry January is right around the corner, and this is your chance to start the year clear, grounded, and fully back in your power. My 30 Day Alcohol Free Experience begins January 1, and the women who join this challenge always walk out with more confidence, more energy, and a level of clarity they didn’t know they were missing.
Get on the waiting list today so you’re the first to know when enrollment opens and you’ll unlock an exclusive discount only available to waitlist members. If you’re craving a reset or a real change, this is your moment to take it.
A gratitude practice that supports your journey without feeling forced
Why an alcohol-free Thanksgiving is not a downgrade, but a radical upgrade in presence and joy
The Six Strategies I Walk You Through:
Identify your breaking-point moment
Pre-decide your identity
Create a sensory anchor
Build a micro escape route
Give yourself a purposeful role
Visualize tomorrow morning
A Final Reminder - This is the last episode where you can join the Day Makers for just $1 for two weeks. If you feel that tug in your gut pulling you toward something more, don’t ignore it. Step in now and surround yourself with people who understand your journey.
Lack of motivation can sabotage routines that usually protect your sobriety.
Social withdrawal and loneliness can make old patterns feel nostalgic or tempting.
Winter can become a unique season in your recovery, requiring specialized tools and preparation.
Winter blues tend to be mild and temporary.
SAD is more persistent, more intense, and repeats each winter.
Sara stresses the importance of not minimizing clinical depression and reaching out for professional support when needed.
Light exposure and environment
Use a light therapy lamp.
Increase brightness in your indoor spaces or embrace warm lighting if it brings comfort.
Explore vitamin D supplementation.
Get your face outside for whatever sunlight exists that day.
Routine and structure
Keep consistent wake times.
Resist the urge to retreat into isolation.
Anchor habits that reinforce your non-drinker identity.
Maintain community engagement even when motivation dips.
Movement, connection, and purpose
Move daily even when it is dark or rainy.
Bundle up, put on the rain gear, and get outside.
Plan intentional social touchpoints.
Reaffirm your personal why and your identity as a non-drinker.
Ask for support when things feel off
Speak up early.
Share your experience with a partner or community.
Build a winter strategy before you are struggling.
Seek professional care if symptoms feel intense or prolonged.
Mindset reframing
See winter as a season of reinvention rather than defeat.
Lean into coziness, warmth, and slow living.
Remember that you no longer use alcohol to numb through winter.
Identify at least one win each day that happens because you did not drink.
The winter blues are real, and they are rooted in biology and environment. But with preparation and intentional practice, you can navigate this season with confidence instead of slipping into old patterns. Winter can become a powerful part of your alcohol free story, a season of inner strengthening, and a time to build the resilient version of yourself who will step boldly into spring.
If you want support through the darker months, this is the perfect time. For November only, you can try the Day Makers for two weeks for just $1. Join the coaching calls, connect inside the community, and learn the tools that make winter feel lighter. Start your trial at nomorewasteddays.co/daymakers.
If this episode inspired you, please follow, rate, and review No More Wasted Days. Every share helps more people discover a life beyond alcohol—one that’s purposeful, grounded, and full of possibility.
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🌟 Want deeper support on your alcohol-free journey?
Come join us inside the Day Makers Community — my private coaching space where you’ll find weekly group calls, book clubs, reflection prompts, and real connection with people who get it. Whether you’re just starting out or years into your sobriety, this is where you’ll find the tools, strategies, and support to keep moving forward.
“Taking care of yourself is the most rebellious thing you can do. Especially as a woman.” – Chelsea Bohnstedt
If you loved this episode, please rate and review the show!
Your support helps the No More Wasted Days Podcast reach more people who are ready to live free, present, and fully alive.
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🌟 Want deeper support on your alcohol-free journey?
Come join us inside the Day Makers Community — my private coaching space where you’ll find weekly group calls, book clubs, reflection prompts, and real connection with people who get it. Whether you’re just starting out or years into your sobriety, this is where you’ll find the tools, strategies, and support to keep moving forward.
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