I did Dry January and after a month my liver can bring back my beloved

I announced it to you at the beginning of the year: this year I decided to participate in the Dry January, a whole month without alcohol, without happy hours on the terrace and without hangovers. I was curious about the consequences this decision could have on my life, what would change, the effects I would perceive on my physical and mental health… And above all, if I was capable of it.

In advance let me tell you I was not disappointed!

What I expected from Dry January

Before starting it, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this alcohol-free month. On the Internet we boast of better sleep, better skin, savings of money… Of course, it makes you dream. But I think that’s mostly the idea more weighted alcohol consumption which made me want to: get out of the structure of the “alcohol bar” after work, from the automatic “seeing friends = having a drink”…

So in January my schedule was as follows: go for snacks, sip tea in bars after 9pm and ask myself — almost not for fun — if my social life he would have survived.

Week 1 of Dry January: a hermit’s life

In anticipation of this journey to sobriety, I spent the last few weeks of December avoiding alcohol as much as possible. A good wine at Christmas, a good beer at New Year’s, and with no hangover I entered the year thinking it was rather pleasant, a sign of the thirties approaching.

But when you invite like “ Appointment at the usual bar Thursday at 19:00. it started to rain, I immediately knew it was going to be difficult resist the call of happy hour once there. It doesn’t matter: I would stay at home.

So I spent my first week of January in the heat, with a pile of books I hadn’t touched in months. Shock: if I don’t go out, I can read four novels in a week. My childhood is explained.

Nothing to declare on the physical side: I am always a light sleeper, my skin is not adorned with a incandescence of course they are just the same person as usual (More cultured since I’ve read books, but also more lonely since I haven’t seen my friends in six days).

Week 2 of Dry January: A lot of tea

From the second week, I started wanting to test my willpower against the outside world. To go gradually, I swapped the evenings at cocktail hour with meeting in the afternoon at snack time. Luckily for me, Paris is full of good places to eat pastries and other delicious things between 4-7pm.

My daily life changes a bit: I discover new places in neighborhoods where I go less often, and I walk a little more. I find that without alcohol I find sitting for hours over drinks a lot less fun, so I force my friends to walk aimlessly with me.

Dry January and my fragile little body

After ten days, the effects of Dry January on my fitness are starting to be felt. I wake up much better in the morning, a sign that I sleep better; I fall asleep more easily; above all, I get to introduce sport much easier in my schedule.

In the morning before work, on your lunch break, it doesn’t matter: the idea of ​​going for a run or going to the gym once a day no longer seems insurmountable like it used to, when I struggled to do it once a week.

Week 3 of Dry January: oops

From the third week, I realize that I do not feel no particular lack, and that the urge to down a gin and tonic doesn’t bother me. I start going to bars with friends again, and I only drink tea: it’s not unpleasant, it’s also quite easy since I’m not the only one who has done this month without alcohol. Have I replaced one habit with another?

That’s what I tell myself almost haloed in glory, until I remember the existence of my birthday.

Because January 2022 isn’t just the month of sobriety, it’s also the month of my turn to thirty. I had reserved an exceptional evening for myself at the end of the month, to be able to celebrate it while enjoying my loved ones without worrying about what I would or would not like to drink.

Again, I was curious as to what would happen that night. Would my body forget how to handle alcohol and would I end up with a tipsy rosette at 8:30pm? Would I overcompensate by emptying the bar?

None of this: I was incredibly reasonable. During this very long birthday evening, I downed three or four glasses, slathered from the end of the day to the end of the night, all without a single thought.

I woke up with no hangover, quite proud of my performance, and ready to hit the road again for a few alcohol-free days.

Week 4 of Dry January: Water is alcohol

I ended this month with a lot of peace of mind.

How January started full of stressful questions like: “ But how am I going to get conversations in the evening if I don’t drink? ” Where is it “ What if my Dry January friends realize that being sober they can’t blame me? ends with a simple answer: I am exactly the same person with 1 liter of tea or 1 liter of beer in the bladder.

This information may seem obvious, but it really isn’t when you’ve integrated alcohol as social proof since your majority age.

Physically, they created the positive effects of more restful sleep chain reactions. Not only do I play more sports, which has increased my general well-being, but I also have more time and energy to take care of myself: I went to the osteopath, my neck has unblocked itself and the strange back pain is gone. i want to eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day, my liver is so strong that it can bring back my loved one. At least.

A more than positive assessment of Dry January

So I got a lot more out of this alcohol-free month than I anticipated. I imagined a difficult challenge to face, and thirty days under the sign of constraint; the reality was rather that of a slight but constant change of habit!

Of course, my complexion hasn’t become smooth or luminous (due to pollution and the absence of the sun), but there is something very pleasant about discovering a new ability: that of listening to each other better and understanding each other better, including faced with things we take for granted.

In a month I felt my overall shape improve, I enjoyed waking up in the morning without looking completely glowing and I also gained some confidence in myself. I haven’t saved a centas the tea is the same price as the beer, but I guess you can’t have everything.

In absolute terms, this January challenge really made me want to always cut back on my alcohol consumption and continue at this cruising speed. Next year I will tell you if these effects have been lasting or not!

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