451: The Identity Shift That Comes Before Drinking Less [Listener Q&A]
Take a Break from Drinking
Rachel Hart
4.9 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 13 January 2026
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Do you have a strong desire to change your drinking and yet, you're not where you want to be?
In this episode, I'm answering a question from a listener named Chris who's frustrated that he's still drinking more than he wants to, despite trying to make healthier choices. He's switched from hard liquor to premixed cans and is concerned about what his daily drinking is doing to his health.
Tune in this week to hear how Chris's question speaks to so many things people are thinking about in the new year: the identity shift that comes with trying to drink less, the anxiety about how drinking may be impacting your health, and the frustration that despite so much effort, you're not where you want to be.
Break the cycle of temporary challenges and learn how to make alcohol feel truly optional during my three-day Reset Your Drinking workshop starting January 21st, 2026. Click here to secure your ticket and discover how to find your "off switch" for lasting change: https://rachelhart.com/january/
Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/
Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/
Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/451
Transcript
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| 0:00.5 | Do you have a strong desire to change your drinking, and yet you're not where you want to be? |
| 0:06.0 | Today, I'm answering a question from a listener who's frustrated that he's still drinking more than he wants to, despite trying to make healthier choices. |
| 0:13.8 | This is episode 451, and I'm talking about why habit change is often slow to catch up with shifts in your identity, how the |
| 0:21.7 | premixed can cocktail market can make it surprisingly hard to understand what you're actually |
| 0:27.3 | consuming and what to do when the thought, I'm not where I want to be, start straining your |
| 0:32.3 | momentum. |
| 0:34.3 | Whether you want to drink less or stop drinking, this podcast will help you change the habit from the inside out. |
| 0:41.5 | We're challenging conventional wisdom about why people drink and why it can be hard to resist temptation. |
| 0:48.0 | No labels, no judgment, just practical tools to take control of your desire and stop worrying about your drinking. |
| 0:55.8 | Now, here's your host, Rachel Hart. |
| 1:02.8 | Before we dive into today's question from a listener, I'm teaching a three-day workshop starting |
| 1:08.3 | January 21st called Reset Your Drinking. |
| 1:12.1 | This is not a dry January challenge. It's a reset of the patterns that make dry January so hard to sustain and that |
| 1:18.0 | pull you right back into old habits once it's over. You'll learn about finding your off switch, |
| 1:23.2 | making the drink feel truly optional, and how to sustain momentum even when you stumble. |
| 1:28.9 | You can get your ticket by going to rachelhart.com slash January. |
| 1:34.1 | Okay, so today I am answering a question that was sent in from a listener named Chris. |
| 1:39.7 | So he wrote, hi, Rachel, I'm 47 now and I have a huge desire to be healthier. I feel like alcohol |
| 1:46.7 | doesn't align with who I am anymore, but I still continue to drink daily. I was able to cut |
| 1:52.9 | out hard liquor this year and replaced it with 12.5% pre-mixed cans and have about four to five of |
| 2:00.5 | them daily. I'm concerned and confused about |
| 2:03.5 | what this might be doing to my health. I have digestive issues on a regular basis, and I'm |
... |
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