Soberistas

25/10/2025

🎄 Your Sober Christmas - and Actually Enjoying It

Whether you’ve been sober for two weeks or ten years, Christmas has a way of testing us. The invitations start to pile up, the fizz flows freely, and everywhere you look, people seem to be clinking glasses and having “the best time ever.”

But what if you’re not feeling it? What if your idea of joy looks less like sequins and champagne, and more like fairy lights, pyjamas and a sense of calm?

For many of us, the festive season brings up complicated emotions. Loneliness. Pressure to join in. Family friction. Or that nagging whisper of “maybe just one…” Even those of us who’ve been alcohol-free for years can feel the wobble creeping in.

Tomorrow night, I’m hosting a special Women’s Sober Circle session called
👉 Your Sober Christmas - and Actually Enjoying It

It’s a gentle, practical and uplifting hour on Zoom where we’ll talk about how to:
✨ Navigate parties and family gatherings without losing your peace
✨ Handle loneliness or social fatigue with self-kindness
✨ Find the joy of missing out (JOMO!) if your diary’s quiet this year
✨ Create new festive rituals that actually make you feel good
✨ Celebrate how far you’ve come, wherever you are on your journey

You don’t need to be a member of the Circle to join - you can buy a single ticket just for this event.
Tickets are £25 and available here:
👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1877092958569?aff=oddtdtcreator

If you’d like to make this December calmer, kinder and completely hangover-free, come along. You’ll meet like-minded women, share a few laughs, and leave feeling grounded and quietly proud of yourself - exactly how a sober Christmas should feel.

Love,
Lucy x

A Women’s Sober Circle with Lucy Rocca - How to Love the Festivities Without Booze (and Embrace a Little JOMO)

22/10/2025

Over the years I’ve seen so many women swap one comfort for another - alcohol for food. The cycle feels painfully familiar: guilt, loss of control, self-criticism.

My new coaching programme, The French Plan, grew out of that reality - a gentle, four-week reset for women who want to rebuild confidence, balance and self-respect, one mindful choice at a time. Last places available - book here:
👉 https://lucyrocca.com/the-french-plan-landing

22/10/2025

Share Your Voice: Help Shape a New Alcohol Support Tool for Mid-Life Women.

The SPACES project (Storytelling Promoting Alcohol Choice, Empowerment, and Sharing) is exploring new ways to support women aged 40–65 who want to reduce their alcohol consumption.

Around one in five mid-life women drink at levels that may increase health risks. Yet many hesitate to seek support due to stigma or difficulty accessing services that feel relevant and welcoming.

To address this, researchers at Oxford Brookes University and Liverpool John Moores University, in collaboration with partner organisations such as Soberistas, and an advisory group of mid-life women with lived experience, have developed a new alcohol support tool tailored specifically for this group.

This tool is grounded in real-life stories from women who have made changes to their drinking, and incorporates evidence-based strategies they have found helpful.

We are inviting mid-life women (aged 40-65) to share their views with us, help us make improvements to the new tool, and support those who want to make positive changes to their drinking practices.

Who can take part?

We’re looking for women who:

● are aged between 40 and 65 and live in the UK

● currently drink alcohol and have considered cutting down - either recently or in the past

● OR have reduced their alcohol intake in the last two years

We especially welcome participants who identify as Black, Asian, or from other non-white backgrounds, as these perspectives are currently under-represented in alcohol research.

What’s involved?

Participants will be invited to share their views in a one-to-one confidential interview, either:

● online via Zoom, or

● in-person (for those in or near Oxfordshire)

Before the interview, we’ll ask you to spend 15–20 minutes reviewing parts of a website. The interview itself will last around 45–50 minutes. In-person interviews may also include a short leaflet review.

What’s the project about?

This study is part of the SPACES research project, which has developed a new resource to support mid-life women in making changes to their alcohol use.

The resource features real-life stories from women who’ve made changes to their drinking, paired with evidence-based behaviour change tools that have worked for them.

What are the benefits of taking part?

By taking part, you’ll help us better understand how to support women in making positive changes to their drinking habits - if and when they choose to - and a token of thanks for taking part.

How do I find out more?

Please click here for more information https://sites.google.com/brookes.ac.uk/spaces/take-part or email: spacesproject@brookes.ac.uk.

Recruitment is open throughout October and November 2025.

Join our research project and help develop a new alcohol support tool for mid-life women. One in five mid-life women drink alcohol at levels that may increase health harms, but existing research about the influences on drinking for mid-life women is limited. Researchers at Oxford Brookes University

20/10/2025

When Food Becomes The New Wine 😩 | The French Plan 🇫🇷

So many women tell me that once they stop drinking, food quietly sneaks in to take its place.

You give up wine expecting to feel healthier and more in control but instead, you find yourself standing in the kitchen at 10pm, spoon in hand, eating peanut butter straight from the jar. Or mindlessly working your way through a bag of crisps before bed. You wake up feeling ashamed, cross with yourself, and wonder how on earth you ended up here again. Throw in midlife metabolism slowdown, and you've got a major struggle on your hands.

That’s exactly where The French Plan was born.

After years of being alcohol-free, I realised that food had become my new coping mechanism. I was forever “starting again on Monday,” promising myself I’d be good - and then failing. The truth was, it wasn’t really about food. It was about comfort. About having lost the buzz that alcohol once gave me and not knowing how else to soothe myself. The knock-on effect of being a stone heavier than I wanted to be was that I stopped buying and wearing nice clothes, slobbing around instead in trackies and leggings that only further added to my reduced self-esteem.

The French Plan is my four-week reset for women who feel stuck in that cycle. It’s not a diet or a list of rules. It’s about getting back in charge - of what you eat, how you feel in your skin, and how you show up for yourself. It’s about self-respect, pleasure, and feeling like you again.

When I trialled it myself, everything changed. The weight came off naturally, but more importantly, I stopped obsessing about food. I started wearing nice clothes again, and my confidence came back. I am excited about this coaching programme because it made such a difference to me personally, so I know it works!

The next round begins November 1st - it's a group experience that brings a massive mindset shift for real results.

If that speaks to you, you can read more about The French Plan here https://lucyrocca.com/the-french-plan-landing, or email me at support@lucyrocca.com if you have any questions. There are limited places available (10) and when they're gone, they're gone! I'm knocking 20% off the price for this first cohort so if you join the November intake, you will save £100!

Let’s make November the month we stop fighting food - and start feeling in charge again.

Lucy x

15/10/2025

Yesterday I turned 50🫣 (which still sounds completely bonkers!) and I genuinely felt really good about it! Not because of the milestone itself, but because I finally feel like me again.

A few months ago, following a tough couple of years with lots of stress, breast cancer, and a horrible relationship break up to contend with, I’d quietly slipped into a rut. Trackies or leggings every day. A stubborn 10 lbs I couldn’t shift. That general “meh” feeling when I looked in the mirror.

I was doing all the “right” things - not drinking, eating healthily, going to the gym - but I still didn’t feel confident or stylish or alive. I really missed that feeling I had when I was younger, when I used to enjoy clothes and felt a sense of confidence in what I looked like. I was sick of constantly dieting and still not losing weight. I had completely fallen out of love with every single piece of clothing in my wardrobe.

So I decided to test out something I’d been developing behind the scenes: The French Plan.

Four weeks later, everything changed.
✨ I lost 6lbs
✨ My confidence shot up
✨ I rediscovered my sense of style
✨ And I felt happy in my own skin again

It wasn’t just a physical change - it was like finding a version of myself I’d lost somewhere along the way.

Now I’m opening the doors to the very first French Plan cohort, starting November 1st - and I’m looking for 10 women who want to join me.

If you’re ready to:
💫 Feel good in your body again
💫 Reconnect with your confidence and sense of identity
💫 Find balance, pleasure and simplicity in how you live - the French way 🇫🇷

Then come and be part of this powerful four-week journey.

✨ Introductory offer: £399 (20% off) for this first group only.
Spaces are limited - I expect them to go quickly.

👉 https://lucyrocca.com/the-french-plan-landing

Let’s make November the month you feel you again.

Discover how The French Plan helps women embrace stylish, alcohol-free living through coaching, community, and lifestyle transformation.

11/10/2025

When I stopped drinking back in 2011, I thought I’d finally meet the real me.
But instead, I felt completely lost.

So much of my identity had been built around alcohol - the social one, the confident one, the fun one. When it was gone, I didn’t know who I was anymore.

Over time, I rebuilt. I found new routines, new confidence, new calm.
And then, years later, breast cancer followed by peri-menopause came along - and I lost myself all over again.

It taught me something huge:
we don’t find ourselves once.
We find ourselves over and over again, through every chapter, every change, every comeback.

That’s what this week’s Women’s Sober Circle is about -
🌿 rediscovering who you are without alcohol
🌿 exploring how to rebuild confidence and belonging
🌿 finding your way back to yourself - again and again

🕯️ Sunday 6 pm BST (online)
It’s a cosy, honest space for women walking the same path - no judgement, no pressure, just real talk and support.

✨ You’ll also save £60 when you choose the annual membership - which gives you access to:
🌸 every Circle for a full year (all recorded so you'll never miss one)
🌸 our Resources Folder full of worksheets + tools
🌸 our WhatsApp community for daily connection
🌸 and new bonus features coming soon 🎁

So grab a cuppa, get your PJs on, and come join us this Sunday - we’ll find ourselves, together. 🤍 SIGN UP HERE 👉 https://lucyrocca.com/womens-sober-circle

09/10/2025

✨ One space open: 3-Month Authentically Sober Program
(+ 3 months of free follow-up coaching)

If you’ve been thinking “I can’t start another year feeling like this” - this is your sign.

The Authently Sober Program is my most in-depth 1:1 coaching journey for women who are ready to stop drinking for good, rebuild their self-worth, and start living with confidence, calm, and purpose again.

It runs for three months, with weekly private sessions, powerful tools, and full accountability including round-the-clock WhatsApp support - and you’ll also receive three months of free follow-up coaching, so you’ll be supported right through to spring 2026.

This is the final space I’m opening for 2025, and I want it to go to someone who’s truly ready to make big, lasting change by Christmas.

If that might be you, please send me a quick message (just a couple of sentences) telling me where you’re at right now and what you’d most love to change.
I’ll reply personally to see if it’s the right fit 💜

💌 Learn more: https://lucyrocca.com/authentically-sober-program

Feel free to share this if you know someone who might need it.

Lucy Rocca xx

05/10/2025

💬 Question for you…
When you quit drinking, do you see yourself as "in recovery" - or simply as a person who doesn’t drink?

There’s no right or wrong answer here - it’s just a personal choice of language and identity. I’d love to hear how you describe yourself, and why.

👇 Drop your thoughts in the comments - let’s open up the conversation.

03/10/2025

🌟 When I stopped drinking in 2011, I had no idea what lay ahead - but writing about my journey became one of the things that helped me most.

That’s how Glass Half Full came about: a book I wrote to share the ups and downs of moving from wine o’clock despair to life without alcohol.

📖 I’d love to share a free chapter of Glass Half Full with you.
✨ Plus, you’ll also get my Next Chapter Playbook - a simple tool to help you map out what comes next in your alcohol-free life.

Both are completely free to download when you follow this link 👇
👉 https://lucyrocca.com/landing

You’re not alone in this - and these resources are here to remind you of that. 💜

28/09/2025

⭕️ Last call for the Women’s Sober Circle this weekend - starts in 30 minutes (6pm BST)

In honour of our win at the Recovery Street Film Festival 🎉 tonight’s Circle is all about The Light Side - the uplifting, joyful parts of sobriety that remind us why we chose this path.

Here’s how it works if you’ve not joined before:

You buy 2 sessions and can use the second one whenever you like. Or buy an annual membership and get access to every single session

If you can’t make it live, you’ll get the recording

You also get access to our Google Shared Drive full of resources + a friendly WhatsApp group for in-between support

It’s a small, welcoming group - all women, all on the same path

Come and join us here 👉 https://lucyrocca.com/womens-sober-circle

Would love to see you there 💛

Join the Women’s Sober Circle for twice-monthly Zoom sessions, sober resources, and real support. No labels, no pressure — just connection that heals.

28/09/2025

So, David McCollom and me made this film, with the help of some amazing Soberistas members, and yesterday we came first in the Recovery Street Film Festival
🙏
I'm feeling so grateful today, and immensely proud of the bravery of each and every Soberista who has stood up and proudly said "I am a Soberista", with no apology, no shame, no secrecy. That's what our film, The Light Side, was all about. How there is no place for shame when people begin to speak openly.
Thanks to Maddie of the RSFF for an amazing experience - we are so proud and happy with our award!! xx
https://youtu.be/7a8kSn4rjgg?feature=shared

A story of grey area drinking and how one woman over came her addiction to alcohol and turned her life around, wrote 5 books and started Soberistas. A collab...

19/09/2025