21 Jan Where my Dry January Friends At?
While we’re already 3 weeks into this new year, if you are still sticking to Dry January, give me a holla!! We’ve been tested so many times this month, with January 6th being one of them. Watching the chaos at the Capital not pouring a tall glass of wine was quite the accomplishment. If you are still in the not drinking zone, let’s look at all of the positives of not drinking for a month to coast us to the 31st.
Clearly the most obvious one is your health. Liver relief, heart health, brain power!! My anxiety has been at an all time low lately – most likely because I’ve been getting a lot better sleep.
Turns out I’m a much nicer Julie when I’m not hungover and feeling stressed out of my mind. I’m noticing a lot more patience with my kids remote learning from home. Has Dry January been much easier because we aren’t out socializing with friends and around the temptation of alcohol? Of course. But while in the pandemic, it’s been great connecting with friends whether it’s a simple text to check in and say hi.
As someone whose 2 children are way too old for me to still trying to lose baby weight, I’m down 8 lbs from January 1st (most of it I’m guessing was holiday bloat) but I think a lot of it is from not having all the extra calories from drinking. It’s been much easier to make better decisions about what to eat when alcohol isn’t a factor.
There has definitely been a lot more motivation when it comes to self care. At night I actually wash my face for more than 30 seconds and remember to use toner and moisturizer. I’ve also gained quite a few hours on the weekends when I go for a walk instead of staying in bed nursing a slight hangover. I have been MUCH NICER TO MYSELF since removing alcohol from the equation.
I bought one of those crazy water bottles from Amazon telling you how much water you should drink during the day (oz = half your weight). While it was (and still feels like) a job to drink that much water, a couple weeks in I’m starting to feel a lot better. But carrying around that huge water bottle in my house will never not look ridiculous. Adding lemon slices, cucumber, mint leaves and a little bit of ginger makes it much easier to chug water during the day.
If all of this sounds exciting, but you didn’t do Dry January, let me know if you want to try Dry February! I’d be down for the challenge.
Cheers to 2021!
Julie
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