Dry January Recap
I recently did a month of no drinking in January or as many people like to call it, “Dry January”. This has become a very popular trend over the past few years as a way for people to start the new year strong, maybe kick off their “diet”, or detox for the holidays. I’m sure everyone has different reasons for it but I thought I would share my my reasoning, my experience, and my current relationship with alcohol/ plans for moving forward!
I want to preface this blog post by saying that when I refer to “drinking” I’m talking about moderate, social drinking, usually 2-3 drinks. Any of my thoughts or advice is coming from those experiences. I’m sure everyone knows this, but I’m not a professional and not claiming that this is advice for anyone who struggles with addiction, binge drinking, etc. Also, as I share my thoughts about alcohol, I’m not coming from an “I have it all figured out” place and I’m definitely not judging anyone who has different thoughts than I do! I just want to share my personal experience!
I didn’t really mean to do dry January….
I never shared on social media that I was doing “Dry January” because I didn’t necessarily plan on it lasting as long as it did! Although this is a very popular trend to do in January, I actually did not technically set out to do “Dry January”. Personally, I don’t like to put restrictions on myself or tell myself that I MUST or MUST NOT do something related to diet or exercise. I’ve talked a lot about this before but I find that having super strict boundaries or rules in place, just makes me want to do the opposite. If I’m told I can’t have gluten, all I’m going to think about is a loaf of bread. If I tell myself that I’m going to stop eating sugar, I’ll be dreaming about ice cream all day.
That said, I kind of told myself that it would be nice to stop drinking for a bit or at least drastically cut down on drinking and see where it leads me. Here we are halfway through February and I’ve only had two sips of Prosecco this year. Recently when we were in Chicago I ordered a Prosecco and had a couple sips and realized I just didn’t really want it… more on that later.
PS any drinks of mine that you’ve seen on social media this year have been mocktails. No alcohol in Miami or Mexico which shocked me. So yes, I did technically do Dry January even though I didn’t necessarily plan on it, but how did I get here…
Let’s Rewind A BIt
I’ve actually been evaluating my relationship with alcohol for about the past 8ish months. During that time, I’ve gone through multiple long stretches without drinking or just having very little to drink. As I approached 30, I noticed that I would feel a little hungover even after a few drinks. Sometimes even 2 drinks would leave me feeling lethargic, headachey, and groggy the next day. The problem is, I love drinking. I love the taste of a good cocktail, beer, wine, etc. I love the social aspect of it, I love the ritual of it, I love it all…. except for the health implications.
I’ve always known alcohol isn’t great for you but I didn’t think it was that bad as long as you weren’t drinking copious amounts everyday. Last spring, I started to notice a spike in my anxiety after drinking and I wanted to see how I would feel if I cut out alcohol for a bit. I decided to read a book called called Quit Like a Woman. If I’m being honest, I didn’t love the book as a whole BUT there was a part of the book where she breaks down the effect of alcohol on literally every function in your body and I found that absolutely fascinating. I decided to cut down on drinking and only drink if there was a special occasion or a social setting where I felt like I really wanted to drink.
I quickly noticed how much better I felt when I wouldn’t drink, both mentally and physically and I just felt so much healthier overall! I was drinking less, but definitely still drinking occasionally. I carried this through the summer until a podcast by Andrew Huberman came out at the end of August and it absolutely blew my mind. He takes a very scientific approach to break down all of the negative effects of alcohol and I’ve not been able to see alcohol the same since. I highly recommend listening if you’re at all interested in this topic! Tap here to listen!
TIMELINE:
30 and Thriving
I took more of an aggressive approach after listening to this podcast and decided I wanted to start my 30’s STRONG. My 30th birthday was approaching at the end of September and I was determined to not be hungover on my birthday. I decided to not drink at my 30th birthday party which was kind of crazy. I didn’t tell anyone that I wasn’t drinking and still had an amazing time! We hired two bartenders for my party and a custom drink menu that everyone enjoyed, but I just had them make me mocktails all night! I woke up on my 30th birthday and felt amazing and so happy that I didn’t drink!
Two days after my party, I went to Dallas for the LTK conference (which is a big conference with a ton of other bloggers/influencers). Every night there was a cocktail party and I made it the whole weekend without drinking! I was so proud of myself because in the past I would have felt like I “needed” a drink to feel more comfortable and confident but I just noticed that I had so much energy and confidence without alcohol! I continued to make it through different events and social gatherings throughout the fall without drinking (my sister’s wedding, my best friend’s birthday, Halloween, etc). This really opened my eyes to see that I don’t need to have alcohol to have a good time. I can probably count on one hand the number of drinks I had throughout the fall until the holidays approached….
A Boozy December..
I was really enjoying my relationship with alcohol (basically not drinking except an occasion here or there). Then December rolled around and it was holiday party after holiday party and the drinks were flowing at the parties I hosted and the parties I attended. Sometimes I actually wanted to drink and other times I was just drinking because I felt like I should or because everyone else was. Regardless, I drank more just in the month of December than I had in the few months leading up to it combined…. and I felt it. My anxiety was higher, my sleep was terrible, my workouts weren’t as good, I felt more bloated and just uncomfortable, my skin looked worse…. all the things! By the time New Years Eve rolled around, I was so sick of just being around alcohol and in settings where I felt like I “should drink”. I really wanted to make a change and just feel healthier.
Dry January Through Today..
Like I mentioned, I didn’t necessarily tell myself that I was “doing dry January”, but I just decided to drastically cut back on drinking and only drink if I absolutely wanted to (which never happened the whole month). I started January strong with working out more and having a consistent bedtime and wake time... and I knew that alcohol would just throw me off my routine. The month went by and I never even had the desire to drink. Sure there’s been a couple times where it sounded nice (by the pool in Miami or out to dinner in Mexico), but those thoughts were pretty short lived. I'd think about how much better I feel without it and the negative health implications of alcohol, and any desire that I had just went away.
The hard thing at this point is not even the desire to drink, but it’s the social settings where I feel uncomfortable being the only one who doesn’t order a drink. If I’m being honest, I don’t want people to think I’m boring for not drinking, I don’t want people to think I’m a crazy health nut for not drinking, and I don’t want people to think I have a problem with alcohol if I say I’m not drinking. All of those things run through my head when I’m the one person who doesn’t order a drink. When I’m around friends who know me well, I don’t really care because I can be myself around them, but it’s harder when I’m around new people or people I don’t know well. This past weekend I was in Chicago around some new people and I didn’t want to be the only one not drinking. I decided to order a Prosecco at dinner and after a couple sips I was like, I don’t even want this. I was just drinking because I was afraid what other people might think and I decided right then to just stick to water the rest of the night.
Moving Forward
Like I said, I don’t like to put restrictions on myself, and I’m not saying that I’m never going to drink again. But right now, I’m LOVING how I feel without alcohol in my life. I’m always striving to be a healthier person, so knowing what I know about alcohol, I don’t want alcohol to be a frequent guest in my life. My current mindset is that I only want to drink when I REALLY want to. I don’t ever want to drink just to make sure someone else feels comfortable or because I’m worried about what someone thinks about me. If I truly have a desire to have a drink and it’s something that I really want, then great. I’ll have the drink. But so far this year, I haven’t had that desire. That said, if you see me with a drink on my page, it’s probablyyyy a mocktail. But if I do decide to have an alcoholic drink in the future, don’t be surprised! I’m not setting any hard rules.
TIPS FOR NOT DRINKING:
Like I mentioned, I’ve kind of been on this journey for the past 8 ish months, so I thought I’d share some things that have helped me to avoid or limit alcohol if you too are looking to do the same!
KNOW YOUR WHY: If you want to stop drinking or drink less, I think it’s really helpful to ask WHY you feel like you need or want to drink. For example, do you drink to have fun? Okay, well what other things can you do for fun? If you drink because you like the taste, what are other things you can drink that taste good? If you drink to de-stress, what are other ways that you can relieve stress without alcohol? If you drink because you feel like you need to be holding something in your hand at a party, then what other non- alcoholic drink could you hold instead? If you drink because it’s routine or habitual, what other routines or habits can you build in your life? I noticed that for me personally, I was able to find something to replace every reason that I wanted or felt like I “needed” a drink. Along with asking yourself WHY you feel like you want or need to drink, also think of WHY you don’t want to drink! I have such a long list in my head that always trumps my desire for a drink.
MOCKTAILS, MOCKTAILS, MOCKTAILS: For me personally, one of the things I love about drinking is having something to hold and sip on in a social setting. It's a comfort thing Thankfully, most restaurants have mocktail options these days and if not, I just order a soda water and lime. I also like the ritual of making a fun drink while I’m cooking dinner or having something fun to sip on at the end of the day. Now, I just do this with a sparkling water or a mocktail. If I’m having friends over, I’ll make everyone margaritas or espresso martinis, but I’ll swap mine out for a non-alcoholic version. This allows me to still feel like I’m participating in the fun, without needing to drink! IDK if anyone feels the same way, but even putting a sparkling water in a cute glass just makes me so happy!
PEOPLE PLEASERS: Look, some people don’t care if they make anyone else feel uncomfortable. Some people couldn’t care LESS about what others think about them. If you are one of those people, just skip on over this part and give yourself a pat on the back. I however, am such a people pleaser and the idea of making someone else feel uncomfortable with me not drinking, makes ME feel uncomfortable. I’m working on it and getting better, but there have definitely been times in the past where I just panic order a drink out of not wanting to make things weird. Look, half the time the other person probably wouldn’t even care or notice but it’s totally in my head.
If you are like me, here’s a few things that have helped me and my people pleasing tendencies... . Address the elephant in the room right away. If someone asks you to grab drinks or dinner, you can always shoot them a text ahead of time and say, “just a heads up, I’m not really drinking much these days but I’m so excited to hang out!” This helps me not feel like I need to make a gametime decision. I’ve already told them, it’s already out there. Have a plan for your night... Maybe get to the bar/ restaurant early and order a soda water and lime and tell the server that you’ll be sticking to that all night. Maybe have an idea of what you’ll tell that person if they ask WHY. You can go in depth if you want or you can keep it light and say something like, I have an early morning, or I’ve been trying to only drink on the weekends, or just have something to say. Again, HOPEFULLY with your real friends, you can be honest and tell them you're not drinking without worrying about what they'll think or say. But sometimes if I’m in a setting where I maybe don’t know people well and I don’t feel like getting into it, having a plan of what to say just helps to keep things light and move on. At the end of the day, if you not drinking bothers someone else, it has absolutely nothing to do with you and it's not your job to make other people comfortable.
START SMALL: Lastly, if you’re someone who drinks regularly and you want to drink less or cut out drinking altogether… maybe don’t go cold turkey. Maybe start by cutting out drinking on weeknights. If you like to drink on weekends, maybe have a one drink limit and switch to mocktails after that. Maybe limit drinking to just special occasions. Maybe tell yourself that you won’t drink in the house but save it for if you’re going out. Again, everyone is different. Some people like boundaries and rules set into place and other people (like myself) don’t do well with that. I personally don’t think I would be able to cut cold turkey and just say “I’m never drinking again”. I’d rather start small, see how I feel, and build on that.
BENEFITS OF NOT DRINKING:
INCREDIBLE SLEEP: I’ve found it so much easier to fall asleep at night and wake up earlier. I have more energy when I wake up and I even feel like my quality of sleep is so much better! I sleep throughout the night instead of waking up and just overall feel like I’ve gotten into a really good sleep routine.
LESS ANXIETY: I definitely notice that my anxiety is so much lower when I’m not drinking. I feel like my mood is more stable and overall I feel happier.
BETTER SKIN: I swear drinking dries out my skin or something because my skin has been looking so much better without alcohol and it’s the dead of winter so that’s really saying something!
CONFIDENCE: Something about making through a situation without drinking (where I normally would have drank), just gives me so much confidence. I truly feel happier and like I don’t “need” alcohol. Whenever I do something good for my health in general, I feel like it gives me a little confidence boost and I think I’ve just felt that this whole month!
NO REGRETS: There’s literally no worse feeling than waking up and regretting how many drinks you had the night before. And unfortunately for me, that could even happen after my second or third drink. Waking up and feeling refreshed makes it so worth it!
