Dry January Challenge – Week #1

In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, and in water there is bacteria.

Benjamin Franklin (or someone trying to be Ben Franklin).

Alcohol does indeed play a major role in society, and it seems to have been this way for a very long period of time. It’s no stranger to religion, art, and entertainment of all sorts. Some say that the Egyptians have been noted as being the first humans to discover and use it (c. 3100 BC). Just imagine them all getting lit and dancing to “Walk Like an Egyptian,” or packing the cooler for fishing & chillin along the Nile River.

For those that missed my first post here yesterday, I’ve taken on the “Dry January Challenge,” abstaining from alcohol for the entire month of January. So as of January 1st (approximately 2 a.m.) this girl’s been on the wagon. I’m curious about what this ride will be like, and I’ve decided to share my journey with y’all!

I love big beers & I cannot lie.

Yes, especially the crafty kind. I enjoy many colors and styles. But I also enjoy wine – a soothing pinot noir or cab in the winter time takes the chill off. Oh, and then there’s well-salted coronitas margaritas whenever I go to my favorite Mexican restaurants! So I kinda figured the struggle may get real with this challenge since my husband Dave & I love to go out on the town, mostly on the weekends. But so far it’s day #9 & I’m doing fine, and I’d like to share how my first week went down.

Day 1: I didn’t even talk about it. In fact, I hadn’t mentioned to anyone that I was planning to do this at all. I spent the morning in bed recovering from a long night of NYE partying. Then, feeling a bit disgusted with myself, I asked Dave to go for a nature hike with me and get some fresh air. I felt dehydrated from the night before, and still anxious about telling anyone about my decision to “try dry.”

Day 2: Googled an article about the Dry January Challenge while sipping my morning coffee and sent it to Dave as I left for work. It was time to verbalize my new goal. Whenever you have a goal or change you want to make in your life, try to be sure to tell others (spoken or written) as soon as possible. It’s a great way to motivate you to actually act on it. When you speak it, you “own it.” Works in a lot of situations. So just make sure you think about all the “why’s” beforehand. Don’t worry about the “how’s” because that comes to you gradually at a later time. And there’s a good chance that whomever you first share your goal with will be your best supporter(s) and help you in some way. That’s exactly what happened to me, because Dave decided to join me in this challenge! That day I also shared my goal with some clients who I’ve found are always an inspiration to me and would also be supportive. I had some trouble sleeping that night – tossing & turning….

Day 3: I think I met my first “resistance” from a friend today, but I didn’t take it personally. They said this would happen – not everyone will fully support you. It’s ok, we all have our own struggles. So now it was Friday night; I was really happy to stay home! I snuggled up on my couch & watched a great documentary on Linda Ronstandt (“Sound of My Voice” – I highly recommend!). Wow, I really underappreciated her talents back in the day! Talk about a woman with goals! Later, when I hit the hay, I had some trouble sleeping again.

Day 4 (Saturday): This was the most challenging day so far, because Dave & I went out to meet some friends… at a BAR. I felt tired, probably due to lack of sleep the past few days. There was a fun band playing though, and I had a good time watching others get lit and act stupid! It’s amazing the awareness you have when you’re the sober one at the bar! One thing I have to note is that most white people really do not dance well, especially when intoxicated! What the hell are they pointing at all the time? Just curious. Hey, there’s “Elaine”! (Seinfeld) Dave and I both felt weird about not having a drink in our hands – talk about habits! So he ordered a fake beer (nonalcohol Coors) and I opted for a Club Soda with a splash of cranberry & a lime, which was actually very refreshing! We stayed out until almost midnight.

Day 5: Sunday Funday! It was a really gorgeous day out today in “Da Region”, especially for January! I woke up feeling really good. Dave & I decided to go hiking at the Indiana Dunes. The first few miles were kind of quiet. Then we went on another trail and began to have great conversation about things. We talked about how we each felt so far in this non-drinking challenge, which was pretty much the same. We also went further in depth about the stigma, social pressures, & habits we humans all encounter and live with. One thing that came up is the fact that it’s much harder for a guy to tell people about how he isn’t drinking at this time than it is for a girl. I guess men are expected to drink a lot more, but it’s more acceptable (& sometimes expected) that the women don’t drink alcohol. One of the many stereotypical phenomenons I guess. But I also believe that we all have our own issues, and perhaps sometimes we aren’t ready to face them head on, which makes it unlikely to support someone else who’s trying to make positive changes. Anyhow, we had an awesome day. Ended up at a relaxing and delightful Asian restaurant on the way home and enjoyed a great meal and hot tea! My fortune cookie offered me this:

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Days ,##6-9: Over the the next few days I woke up each morning feeling refreshed, energized and much more focused than usual. I felt more on the top of my game at work, more fully engaged, creative, & motivating to my personal training clients. My own personal workouts have been much more productive as well. My stress level has plummeted (except for maybe some moments trying to figure out how to blog, lol!).

As I mentioned in my 1st post, I generally eat healthy and am very active. I haven’t changed my eating habits since I started this challenge, but as part of this “experiment” I decided to weigh myself last week to see what effect eliminating alcohol would have on my body weight. I lost about 4 lbs in 1 week! I think the combo of less calories from alcohol mixed with much more productive workouts from all the energy I’ve gained are definitely factors. So far I’m liking this, and I’m excited about the weeks ahead!

Next week I’ll tell you all about my weekend, which will include a rockin concert in Chicago and some other fun things I have planned! I hope you have an awesome weekend too!

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