Why you should never take an alcohol-free month in the summer

Dry January has become a concept for many. Every year it seems more people are participating. I also hesitated this year, but my backbone turned out to be absent. The simple reason that a girlfriend of mine had her birthday at the beginning of January was enough for me not to participate. As I said: no backbone. But well, after surviving the last King's Day and the festive week that was held around the same time in my village, I was done with it for a while. Yes, I was going for it, the alcohol-free month. Well, I can tell you: Worst. Idea. Ever. At least I now understand why people have chosen that January month. It's cold, grim, and stupid outside. So if you're still hesitating about an alcohol-free month, I'm going to tell you with these 5 reasons why you really shouldn't do it. At least not when the sun is shining.

1. The sun really calls for alcohol. Yes, sounds weak, but for me it really feels that way. With a little sun on the terrace and a white beer or a rosé, that makes me quite happy. Terrace hopping and ordering a diet cola every round doesn't make me that happy. I survived a sunny day on the terrace once with round after round of alcohol-free beer, but that didn't really make me happy either. And you get so full from it. So I advocate for more good alcohol-free options. Maybe I should start experimenting with this myself. A nice alcohol-free Moscow Mule is on my wish list.

2. It's not sustainable in the long term. Okay, a month alcohol-free is of course really better, for your health, but what after that month? I was so looking forward to it being over so I could enjoy my well-deserved drink. For me, it had the opposite effect: drinking above average again after that month. The first week after was soaked, drenched in alcohol. And yes, that's obviously not healthy again. It's better to consistently have one drink less (something I'm trying to do now, with varying success).

3. The summer vacation without alcohol, can you imagine? On a Spanish terrace, a tropical island, a white beach in Asia... Yes, I immediately think of cocktails, Bintang, and sangria. So if such an alcohol-free month is your thing: please do it in winter. Because that month seems to last so much longer. Festivals that you attend alcohol-free, beach days, weekend getaways... No, not for me. An alcohol-free month, if I ever start again, I'll just do it in February. Nice and short.

4. Apparently, it's not that much healthier for you. Maybe a bit naive, but I expected worlds of difference with a month alcohol-free. Well, that went a bit differently. No kilos lost (I clearly eat more with less alcohol), no nights where sleeping suddenly goes so much smoother (that was one of the reasons for me to go alcohol-free). The Royal College of Physicians also advises not to do an alcohol-free month, but to maintain three alcohol-free days per week. Look, that's manageable. If you want to protect your liver a little extra, eat a bit more fruit and less sugar. Again: perfectly manageable.

5. This might sound a bit alcoholic, but I really enjoy closing my laptop on Friday and toasting to the weekend. With a drink. Correction: with an alcoholic drink. Here too, the weekend doesn't really feel like it has ‘started’ when you toast with a diet cola. After a week of work, I always feel like I've ‘earned’ it. Ah man, now that I read that back, it sounds a bit sad, but I just really love my Friday afternoon drinks. Then just an extra trip to the gym to burn those calories. And some extra fruit and coffee without sugar. Problem solved. Well, problem almost solved.

My mission next year will be to give it a second try. Because to be honest: I didn't finish it. After three and a half weeks, it became too heavy for me. The mission is to work on that backbone this year and then give the alcohol-free month another chance. When it's dark and cold and I'd rather be in a deep winter sleep.