This isn’t the first time that I have mentioned that I am terrible at keeping New Year’s Resolutions. I’m not unmotivated, just forgetful. Instead of making a goal for the year that will likely be forgotten by the time the snow melts, my husband and I have decided to set monthly goals in 2021.
A few years ago, our friends participated in “Dry January”. In case you are not familiar with the concept, this means that they did not drink alcoholic beverages for the first month of the year. At the time, I was still on maternity leave with our son so I was not particularly excited to extend my sobriety. I was sick of being the designated driver, I had passed on enough brunch mimosas, and had given away plenty of after-race beer tickets. I had served my sentence. No thank you.
However, now four years later, I have a different mindset. This year, Dry January felt like a great challenge. Although I have never felt that I had a problem with alcohol, I knew that it wouldn’t hurt to cut back a little. I have had two kids so I have had about 18 dry months in the last few years. I really didn’t think that this would be much of a challenge for me. I was more interested to see if my husband could do it.
I had underestimated how much the power of love for my unborn babies played a part in my willpower for sobriety while I was pregnant. This challenge was harder than I had expected. There were times that I said “ Okay, maybe we just won’t drink during the work week.” or “2 weeks without a drink is pretty good”, Or, “Are we REALLY not going to toast on Inauguration Day?. I was amazed how easily I was able to come up with excuses to have a sip. However, I didn’t give in and I am proud of myself for making it through the entire month without cheating, even without the promise of a cuddly infant at the end.
We went 31 days without a sip of alcohol and although I decided not to extend the fun into February, I do think that I am better for doing it. This is what happened.
I lost 4 pounds
While weight loss was not the primary goal of this challenge, I am not going to spend too much time complaining about it. Obviously, if I drink water instead of wine and don’t change any other dietary habits, my total number of daily calories will be reduced. That part isn’t complicated, it is just math.
However, I found that when I was actively deciding to stay away from alcohol that I also gravitated toward other healthy habits. I felt better, so I exercised more and focused on making healthier meals in the kitchen. Not drinking didn’t reverse all of my bad habits, but it was motivated me to make some other little tweaks to my routine.
I found other ways to celebrate
I really enjoy running road races. They are fun, they keep me moving, and a great way for me to see my friends in a socially distanced and safe way. Typically, I also enjoy redeeming the free beer ticket that is attached to my race bib. However, in January I found that I had just as much fun celebrating with my friends when I donated my beer ticket to a friend.
This is not to say that I will never redeem my free beer ticket after a race again. I just know that there are other ways I can celebrate without consuming all of the calories that I burned during the run.
I practiced alternative ways to manage stress
There was a lot happening on the news in January. It would be a lie if I wrote that Dry January didn’t almost come to an abrupt end on January 6th as I watched the footage of our Capital being attacked.
Before I removed wine from the routine, I didn’t realize how frequently I was using it to manage stress and tension. Way too regularly, I would have a stressful day at work and declare that I needed a glass of wine with dinner. However, I was also finding that If I didn’t have a stressful day, my kids would make a huge mess as they tried to feed the cats, I would be sad that I couldn’t see my parents because of the virus, the capital would be under attack, or it was Friday. Life is full of big and small stressors and a glass of wine is going to solve exactly 0 of them.
I am a school counselor and I spend a great part of my day helping students come up with effective and healthy ways to manage their stress and anxiety. I have the tools, I teach the tools, I just wasn’t using the tools. I will write another blog about how to manage stress without alcohol, but hanging out with people who make me happy, fresh air, and exercise were all really great ways to help me cope when I was feeling worked up.
I didn’t miss it that much
This was only true for the 2nd half of the month. There were several times in the first few weeks that I almost gave up and had a drink. Although I did decide to have a drink on February 1st, that was the only drink I had the first week of February. I learned that there is nothing wrong with having a drink. There isn’t even anything wrong with having a drink regularly. However, this challenge forced me to evaluate why I was having a drink almost nightly. If this challenge has taught me anything, it is that I can have a drink if I want one, but I know that I don’t need one.
In February, I am going to try at least one new recipe a week! Stay tuned for new dinner ideas!