I SURVIVED DRY JANUARY.
AND HOW.
The month of January is almost over and I have just not drunk alcohol for a WHOLE month. I have gone ten days without drinking as part of a detox and once I managed three weeks, but a whole month is absolutely new for me. I will reveal the conclusion right away: I feel really good. The ‘downside’: I have an awful lot of desire to go out and party. It's even so bad that I made an Excel sheet with a similarly ‘dry’ friend of all the festivals we want to go to this summer (yes, I know this is going too far. But that energy, where else do you put it?).
Okay, let me summarize my conclusions in bullet points. Since I've been dry, I've liked bullet points more than ever.
Brainpower
After about two weeks, I felt my mind clearing up. As if there had been a fog all this time that I wasn't aware of that suddenly lifted. I feel sharp as a knife, have the energy of a sixteen-year-old, and my Lumosity scores have doubled (Lumosity is a fun app to train your brain, highly recommended!). I am funny (I think so myself), talk even more than usual (sorry, Kiki, Elke, Lilian, and Simone), and have never written so effortlessly as I do now. One new idea after another pops into my mind. Soon I'll come up with the solution to the refugee crisis.
My skin
Not only is my energy level that of a sixteen-year-old, but my skin is also that of a... Okay, not a sixteen-year-old, that would be going too far, but my skin looks amazing. Much less dry than usual in the cold winter months and it shines. I hardly ever wore makeup anyway, also because I was too lazy for it, but now it would really make no sense. Also nice: I hardly have dark circles anymore. Because I sleep so well. But that's the next point.
I sleep like a baby
It's very strange. I have so much energy all day long. By the time I go to bed, I still have energy. So much energy that I wonder how I will ever fall asleep. But then I lie down and I'm out like a light. And I sleep like a log all night. According to my husband, I snore more than I used to and loudly too (!). But that could also be because I have a slight cold. I consistently wake up five minutes before the alarm goes off in the morning. And I feel, I know this is starting to get annoying, rested.
Warm feet
I have always suffered from cold feet. Really so bad that sometimes I lie awake for hours because you just can't sleep when your feet are half frozen. My husband complained about his cold feet and suddenly I realized that I no longer have that problem. It is known that alcohol dilates your blood vessels and that you lose more heat because of it. So that must be it.
A little weight loss
I think that in an average week I quietly consume about 15 alcoholic units. That puts me on the brink of alcoholism AND I consume 1500 calories on the counter. And I haven't even mentioned the lack of self-control that arises from alcohol, which makes you always order that dessert or finish off that Tony's bar. Now I have been smart enough not to compensate for the lack of alcohol with all kinds of fruit drinks and cola, but have dutifully drunk water and green tea. And you can definitely see that on your waist. According to Simone, you can easily lose half a kilo a week this way. And even though I don't have a scale myself, when I stand naked in front of the mirror in the morning, I believe that my waist has become a lot tighter.
Cheaper
I couldn't have imagined this beforehand, but not drinking saves a lot of money. You especially notice this when you go out to eat. Often those cocktails beforehand and that bottle during dinner are just as expensive as the food itself. I think that in an average month I quietly spend about 200 euros on drinks. By the way, I was surprised at how difficult it is to not drink wine when you go out to eat. You last longer and stay fresh in the conversation. It's just a matter of mindset. And for the idea, I sometimes order a mocktail in advance.
Conclusion
Dry January is amazing. So amazing that I really want to celebrate these fantastic results with a few Mojitos. I don't think I'm going to become a teetotaler now, but I do plan to drink significantly less often and regularly take drinking breaks. My partner and I have agreed that we won't open a bottle of wine at home during the week anymore. And if I've had a few parties in a row, I'll also detox for two weeks again.
