The Results of Not Drinking for (Close) to a Month

For the third year in a row, I embraced "Dry January". For those that might not be aware, this is a campaign that originated in the United Kingdom with the intent to encourage people to abstain from alcohol for the entire month of January. As this was my third time doing this, I didn't think I would have any difficulties. But this time it was a different experience - with a different result. I documented my experience over the course of the month and here's how it went;

Week 1

Well, it's been a week since I started "Dry January" and this year I seem to be having more physical reactions than the last two years. I'm not sure if it's because this past holiday season was much more busy with parties and festivities than the past two years or if it's because I'm also trying to alter my eating patterns at the same time but I seem to be a little more agitated and easily irritated than before I started.

But what I also find extremely interesting is that my sleep patterns seems to be shifting. In the first couple of days, I found I was see-sawing between fatigue and insomnia. Whereas the past couple of nights I have been sleeping amazing. A full seven to eight hours with very little wake time. Again, not sure if I'm in recovery from a very busy time or if this is a result of eliminating alcohol. It will be interesting to see.

On to week 2!

Week 2

I just finished my second week of "Dry January" and so far so good. I even went out for some social occasions. I figured that part of this challenge is not just to stop drinking for a month and then return to my old habits. It's an opportunity to assess my relationship with alcohol and decide how I would like to manage this in the long term.

With that in mind, this time I am trying to embrace social events rather than avoid them. For example, at a dinner this past week with family in a restaurant, I would normally have ordered a cocktail or wine. But this time I actually ordered a "mocktail" - a Gin Fizz to be exact. This tasted just like the real thing but without the alcohol.

I also went to a friend's house for dinner. Again, normally wine would have been on the menu for me but instead seltzer was my drink of choice. It amazingly still felt festive but without the alcohol buzz.

In the past two years I did this, I sort of avoided socializing for fear I might slip up. This time I'm trying to embrace them (and the challenge) to learn how to better navigate these situations without any drinking.

The other thing I have discovered this week through my Apple Watch is that my resting heart rate has been dropping. Now, this could be related to the fact that I'm not running at neck speed like I did over the holidays but still there is evidence that drinking can raise both your blood pressure and heart rate. I'll keep an eye on this over the next couple of weeks and let you know if it continues.

Now moving on to week 3!

Week 3

Well, week 3 of my Dry January initiative is as they say done and dusted! My resting heart rate still seems to be slightly down and I've added checking my blood pressure into the mix and discovered that it is also a little lower. I'll keep and eye on both these measures until the end of the month to see if this is just a blip or something that continues.

I must admit, I did have my first craving this week. After an extremely busy day, I did feel like having a glass of wine to unwind. Instead of giving into this temptation however, I went outside for a breath of fresh air. I discovered that this distraction did manage to take my mind off of having a drink so that was a good thing.

From what I was hoping to happen this month and what hasn't, is I'm not experiencing the weight loss that so many others do when they stop drinking. I think in fact my appetite has increased and as a result I'm holding steady in my weight and even possibly going up a bit. I just have to make sure that I think I'll have to keep an eye out to make sure that I'm now not substituting food for drinking!

This next week will be a real test. We're going to be travelling, visiting friends and family and going out quite a bit so there will be lots of opportunity to test my resolve. Will let you know how it goes!

Week 4

I wish I could say that I had a storybook ending and successfully crossed the dry January finish line with great success. Unfortunately, this isn't how my dry January story ended this year.

I ended up having a "damp January" instead.

I did manage to make it until January 27th without having any drinks but then spending time away from home socializing with other people turned out to be too much of a challenge for me and I gave in and drank some wine. It was suggested by a couple of people that I didn't need to let anyone know of my slip up and could keep quiet about this but I think in sharing my experience and result, there is another lesson to be learned.

Normally, I would get down on myself for having done this and feel bad but I'm taking a different approach this time. I am celebrating the fact that I did make it to the 27th and am also noticing that I'm much more aware of how much I do drink which was part of the intention of doing this.

From an overall health perspective, my sleep has improved and both my heartrate and blood pressure declined so that is a good thing. Unlike many people who participate in dry January, I didn't end up losing any weight so my diet and eating habits are what I'll be looking at in February - and that includes drinking. Hey - maybe this could be a new thing - Food Focused February!

Anyways, to close this segment out this year, I did run across a couple of video clips over the course of the month that I thought were quite humouous as they poked fun of Dry January.

Here's to a great year ahead - and carrying some of the lessons I learned this month into the rest of the year. Cheers!