credit http://www.champagnechateaudebligny.com/en/wines/index.php#1

As one of my bucket list items I decided I wanted to take one month (at least) off from drinking any alcohol. Now, in the U.K. apparently, they do Dry January to start the new year off cleaner. I like this idea, however, I’m starting a little late. I will be starting on the 8th and going until February 8th, again at the very least we’ll see how it goes maybe I’ll go longer.

The reason that I’m starting later is that my birthday is today and I would be kidding myself to think that I would not have a single drink over my birthday weekend. I thought about it but I knew that I would not be set up for success.

I’m curious to see how this will affect my body, my wallet, and my social relationships. I’m still down to go to happy hour, I’ll just be drinking water or tea instead. I’ve stocked my fridge with sparkling water so that if my boyfriend wants to have a drink he can and I can sip on some sparkling water and feel like I’m enjoying a cocktail with him.

There were multiple reasons I decided to do this. The first was  that I have always talked about doing this with my friends and we can come up with excuses all day long “oh but we can’t do it over the break that’s not possible….” “oh we can’t do it this month because it’s X’s birthday.” Ok, it is possible so I’m just going to go it alone on this one. The second reason is that I’ve gained about 10 pounds over the holiday season. Thanks, holiday parties and Christmas cookies. I also spend a lot of money on happy hours…like A LOT I added them up in December. It was bad, like $130 bad. And December was a short month for work so I’m sure other months have been worse. And after adopting a special needs dog a couple of weeks ago, I need to watch where my money goes and keep some set aside for her.

The last reason was just added recently. I watched the documentary “Alcohol” on Netflix. First, the extremely attractive British doctor that created the documentary, makes it relatable as he does enjoy drinking. Did I mention he’s really pretty? He learns a lot through his own personal experiments about the effects of alcohol on a person. It’s pretty compelling. He’s also pretty compelling…ok I’ll stop. It’s short and informative and I highly recommend it. Not that any of us really thought drinking was good for us, the evidence makes you really think about your own consumption.

Have any of you successfully completed a “dry” month? What helped you achieve success? What are some tips/tricks/advice that helped you?