One of my favorite yearly traditions is coming up!
I’m not sure how many years it’s been since the first time I participated in Dry January but it’s become one of my favorite yearly traditions. Often I’ll extend it into February and March, sometimes carving out one cheat day in those months, sometimes keeping it strict, usually adding other smaller challenges around exercise and nutrition, water intake, skincare, general wellness activities.
When I ran my first half marathon in 2013 I didn't train. I didn’t even quit smoking let alone quit drinking before the race. After the race, however, I felt a new drive to improve my health. I stopped smoking that day cold turkey without any effort (for about a year… then I picked it up and put it back down a few times before quitting for good. Progress is rarely linear and that’s okay.) I registered for another half marathon a year out and ran more and more 5k races in between. I threw away the cookies — then bought new cookies — and then threw them away again.
Over the years, I’ve done six half marathons, one full marathon, and countless 5 and 10k’s and obstacle races, and what I’ve learned over the years is that there is nothing you can cut out that will have a bigger impact on how you look and feel than alcohol and smoking. I still like wine and cocktails with friends, a nice beer after a race or a hard day's work, a hot toddy, or rummy hot chocolate on a cold winter night by the fire. Cigarettes on the other hand are a distant memory that I don’t fully understand how I ever enjoyed.
If you have an addiction to alcohol you should seek treatment. No judgment here, but this advice is more for the casual drinker. If you can’t stop without experiencing withdrawal or extreme distress then stopping cold turkey can be dangerous and even deadly. Please talk to a doctor about how to stop safely and with support if this is the case.
Giving up the sauce for a month (or more if you like!) is a great way to refresh your diet and give your guts a break. I’m skeptical of products or diets that throw around promises to ‘detox’ your body; your body detoxifies it’s own self if your organs are in good working order. That said, you can sort of ‘detox’ by just NOT ‘toxing’ yourself in the first place and giving your insides a break from all the extra work of processing alcohol and all the extra sugars that come along with mixed drinks and wines and beers.
If you’re like me you may find it easier to eat things that are good for you and avoid less nutritious options while you’re not indulging in alcohol too. Aside from no hangover cravings and not having my judgment impaired around the dinner hour, I find more motivation to eat healthily and move more when I don’t feel like I’m undoing my healthy choices with beverages that don’t serve my goals.
You might lose weight and see your skin improve; you might think more clearly; you might sleep better (or worse at first depending on your current level of use… again, talk to your doctor if you think you may be physically dependent on alcohol). You might even reevaluate your relationship to alcohol or certain foods, your body, and even your health overall. Some of these changes may be permanent and others might not be. That’s allowed. As always, progress is not linear and that is just fine.
Regardless, taking a month or more off from drinking will always be time well spent. There is no scarcity of alcohol. They won’t run out while you’re abstaining. Give it a go. What do you have to lose?
