Reflections on Dry January and Refresh for the New Year

The end of dry January is in sight and this girl is ready to celebrate…with a glass of wine! We have thought about doing Dry January (not drinking for the month of January) for a few years now, but I have dismissed it as I was pregnant and not drinking for two of the past five years. However, after a few months (thank you, pandemic) of overindulgence–we thought it was the perfect time to reboot.

Reflections on Dry January:

Health: Its the start of the New Year and health is almost everyone’s main focus. This past year in particular has highlighted the upmost importance of our health. We are very active and try to eat well…but we do drink, it is our guilty pleasure. By taking it away, it is a way to reboot our bodies and continue to focus on optimal health. We read that even if you only have one drink a week you can have “fatty liver” and that a break of 4 weeks combats that (who knew?!)–I know we both have more energy, Drew feels more clear minded and sharper at work and we both enjoyed not feeling “brain fog.”
Happiness: It is no secret that after a night of alcohol, you can be left foggy brained and have less patience. Even though I typically limit myself to two glasses of wine on the weekends, I admit that I can be more snappy and less engaged if I over do it. This month demonstrated that without alcohol we are able to focus more on playing and engaging with the boys. It wasn’t a drastic change, but enough to notice.
Weight Loss: I know most people go into dry January thinking about weight loss. I thought Drew would see a difference, but surprising (or not) neither one of us really saw a difference in weight. Maybe its because Drew had non-alcholoic beer or that I enjoyed hot chocolate at night as a substitute or that we really don’t drink enough to make a substantal difference; either way, if you think that it will make a big impact on your weight, sad to say it probably won’t.
Willpower: Wow, talk about willpower. This was the best take away from not drinking for a month for me: it tested my mental determination. Not going to lie, it was not smooth sailing the whole month. There were days that I wanted to pull my hair out and wanted to just enjoy a delicious glass of wine or nights we hung out with friends…but y’all I am happy to report that we never gave in and completed the whole month 🙂

Overall, we really enjoyed it and will probably do dry January again next year as a refresh and reboot after the holidays and a chance to focus more on health and family. That being said, dry January also reminds me a lot like child birth (stay with me on this)…you don’t get a gold star for having a baby “naturally”: while you get to say you did it and have that “so called satisfaction”; it doesn’t change the person you are, you aren’t better for it and ultimately you end up at the same result.