I’m planning to do Dry January again this year: no drinks for the month. Last year was the first year I did it and I found it really helpful.
The main thing I learned last year is I could drink less. It’s the longest I’d gone without alcohol in a long time and I wasn’t sure at first I could. It helps that the goal was simple and short term.
I felt better pretty much immediately, more energy. And the calorie reduction was welcome, although I did end up eating more instead. Sometimes I felt like I was missing out on some fun. But mostly I found I could socialize, including a weekly happy hour at a bar. It also gave me new perspective on how much alcohol changes social interactions.
One thing that helped in the evenings was having fa…
I’m planning to do Dry January again this year: no drinks for the month. Last year was the first year I did it and I found it really helpful.
The main thing I learned last year is I could drink less. It’s the longest I’d gone without alcohol in a long time and I wasn’t sure at first I could. It helps that the goal was simple and short term.
I felt better pretty much immediately, more energy. And the calorie reduction was welcome, although I did end up eating more instead. Sometimes I felt like I was missing out on some fun. But mostly I found I could socialize, including a weekly happy hour at a bar. It also gave me new perspective on how much alcohol changes social interactions.
One thing that helped in the evenings was having fancy non-alcoholic aperitifs on hand for the ritual. I quite like Ghia, a bitter soda. NYT has a lemon tonic I like making. Non-alcoholic beer has also gotten very good, it tastes just like regular beer.
I find myself looking forward to doing it again this year.