Dry January

I'm doing 'Dry January' this year.  I didn't last year and my reasoning was that as my birthday is in January and that it was a BIG one in 2016 (50!) that I wanted to be able to celebrate during that month.

I had friends that did 'do' it last year.  A whole month without alcohol?  Hmmmm, my life's philosophy (based only on my own experience) is that life is too short not to live every day trying to enjoy it.   I enjoy having drink to celebrate and relax so why on earth would I want to have no alcohol for a whole month?

However, this year I feel that I am actually going to participate in Dry January for a very good reason, and that reason is ME!  I have gone for almost 3 years in my adulthood without drinking in the past due to 3 pregnancies and 3 babies to nurse so I know that I can do it, but on those occasions I was abstaining for the health of my babies (which of course is a very good reason).  But this time I am not drinking alcohol for the whole month for my health.

And here are the benefits - a chance to detox, better sleep, more energy and hopefully some weight will magically drop off too!  A chance to give my body the love and care it deserves?  After all I cook and eat healthy food, we grow as much organic fruit and veg as we can (see my Garden Cuppa blog!), I keep my own chickens for organic eggs, I don't use yucky chemicals on my body or in my house (as much as I can help it), I choose cruelty free products and if I can't afford or source organic meat we don't eat it and stick to a mostly veggie/fish diet.

All good, but then I undo a lot of that when I drink alcohol, and yes we always try to not drink mid-week (ahem!), always 2 nights without alcohol, however, come Wednesday night I'm thinking it's almost the weekend and a bottle of red gets opened to be drunk with dinner, and then of course its all downhill, from finishing that bottle (or another one!) on the Thursday, Fizz Friday, Saturday nights Rioja and finally my Sunday night G&Ts!

So, for all the health benefits that I know happen when you skip alcohol for a few nights a week, now I am skipping it for a whole month.  And those friends that did Dry January last year?  I really noticed a difference in them, and when I have spoken to them they said they did feel much better, well, as an observer I can honestly say that they looked better too!  Now whilst I realise that aged 50 (almost 51) nothing is going to make me look like I'm 5 or even 10 years younger, perhaps getting better sleep and more energy will help me feel it.

Looking forwards to a healthy and happy year ahead, with less trips to the bottle bank as a bonus too!

Cheers

Ali
x

Here is a link to what I'll mostly be drinking this month instead!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/healthy-eating/best-non-alcoholic-drinks-dry-january/