GBBO star says everything has changed after going sober

When celebrity chef and presenter Briony May Williams had a health scare last year, she decided it was time to make a major change. The Great British Bake Off star from Bristol tells the BBC about her experience of going alcohol free.

I haven't had an alcoholic drink for over a year now and I am happier than ever.

Everything (and I mean everything) has improved dramatically.

I have genuinely found more joy in life over the last year than I thought possible.

So much of what I thought was my enjoyable downtime centred around having a glass of rosé in my hand.

Turns out there is an indeterminate amount of enchanting, alcohol-free activities which can bring endless delight.

My relationship with alcohol is quite a common one; I grew up as part of the binge-drinking generation.

We would go out to the pub or bar on a Friday night and drink excessively until we were hammered.

Then we would probably do it all again on the Saturday, only to fester in bed on Sunday, feeling rough, anxious and swearing you would never drink again.

I will openly admit, I love drinking.

I've always been a bit of a boozehound, what can I say, I really love a rosé.

Then just over a year ago, I had a health scare where I ended up in hospital after my alcohol-heavy 39th birthday and I decided I needed to make some changes… big ones.

I really didn't want to give up alcohol if I'm being completely honest, but I knew it was the one thing that could make a huge difference in my life and health.

So I stopped, I didn't have a plan or a clue, but I stopped.

I took it day by day, I told myself if I desperately wanted to have a drink, I could but as the weeks went on I started seeing the benefits.

I was sleeping better, my mood improved, my weekends seemed longer because I wasn't wallowing in a hangover, I was less bloated, eating healthier and generally feeling good.

I never ended up wanting to have a drink. I started to embrace the idea of not drinking, enjoying being sober - loving being sober in fact.

And here I am, over a year later and happier than ever.

If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would be living my best life without rosé, I would have laughed in your face.

But it turns out, sobriety can be glorious and I want to share that joy with as many people as possible so if you are sober, sober-curious, wanting to dip your toes into the dry pool or just someone who wants to find out more, come join us over on my Instagram page Gloriously Sober, everyone is welcome.

Binning off the booze can be incredibly daunting and overwhelming so having a supportive community to connect with can help ease the process.

The idea of sobriety, even amongst those who don't have an issue with addiction, social drinkers like myself, is becoming more and more popular so people are looking for places and groups where they can discuss the concept without fear of judgement or mockery.

Gloriously Sober is my way of spreading the word about how a life without alcohol can be so much more than people might realise; it can be liberating, satisfying and really blooming fun.

The Instagram page is going to be full of advice, support and general joyousness so come have a look.

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