Halfway through my alcohol free year and how my life’s changed.
At the end of last year I looked at my bank balance and my scales in despair. The pounds had shifted from my bank and onto my body and it was clear from my daily habit checker that drinking was the reason. So in a drunken declaration I announced I was not only going to do dry January it would be a dry 2017. This is informal summary of different aspect of my life and how the absence of alcohol has effected them.
At some point in December I still wasn’t 100% sure if I was going to do this. Yes I made the declaration but I hadn’t signed anything and it was really just an idea. Until I got in the elevator with our CEO James. “I hear you’re going a year without drinking?”, Who did I tell!? I really didn’t have a clue who was there when I made announcement. The very fact I don’t remember is probably a good indicator that I was drinking too much. 12 months before this I installed an app which asks me every evening if I had drunk any alcohol that day. So I was in a good position to know if I had been drinking too much and it just so happened that December I hit a new streak. At one point I managed to consume alcohol for 26 days in a row! I wanted to prove to myself that I didn’t need drink and that my life was suffering from this habit that is embedded into our society.
January was fairly easy to get through. The company was encouraging an alcohol free month and instead of our usual craft beers on a Friday we got smoothies in the morning. Our office is situated above a Wetherspoons too so it was always easy to have a quick pint after work. I swear they must have seen a drop in their figures that month. Board games are a very popular activity at work and it was easy to socialize that month without the need for an alcoholic crutch.
Here are some key areas in my life that have changed so far due to not drinking:
Weight:
I hit an all time high in January. I’ve always been around the 85kg mark and at the end of 2016 I was 94kg’s, I thought there was something wrong with my scales. After 2 months alcohol free I was back down to 85kg’s. Now I sit at 78kg’s and feel fantastic. My abs are visible and my jeans are loose. In fact I’ve gone from a 34 inch waist down to a 30.
Health:
I‘ve always exercised regularly but after a big night it was always easy to skip a gym day here and there or not go for a cycle/run. Now it seemed easy to wake up at 6am get a 30 minute HIIT session in and still go to the gym at lunch. My mothers health has also improved. We sort of got into a habit of having a bottle of wine when I came down to visit every week. Now I’m no longer drinking she doesn’t really drink and she’s had similar weight loss to me. Seeing someone else’s health improve as a result of my not drinking really hits home how our actions can directly effect other people and visa versa. I also haven’t been ill this year, I’d usually come down with some kind of sickness every quarter.
Finances:
I used to live my life always touching my overdraft. No matter how much a pay rise I would get it was easy to spend the money in my bank account. I estimate weekly I was drinking about 15–20 alcoholic drinks. It’s safe to say I was spending £450 a month easily and I have bank statements to prove it. I was now eating out a lot less, after a couple of drinks after work it’s easy to go out for dinner instead of going home and cooking. Now I probably eat out 3 times a month. I cycle to work every day now without exception whereas before it was common to get the train home on Fridays leaving my bike at work meaning I had to get the train in on Monday, these £5 train rides add up. Getting an uber is now a rare occurrence and I don’t remember the last time I did this. Having this extra money has put me in a position to buy a second property which I would never have been able to do before.
Career:
Being a developer means you have to do a lot of reading outside of work and in recent years this has taken a bit of a back-foot. Using my habit’s app on my phone I now set a reminded to read at least 20 pages of a technical book each night. Not socialising 3–4 nights a week means I can be far more consistent with my reading. I’m also able to get to work earlier each day which is when my brain works best.
Socialising:
This is the biggest negative to not drinking. Drinking is engrained into so much of our social bonding it’s been near enough impossible for me to have a good time when I go out. Our company ski trip was probably one of the hardest temptations of the year. Although I was up early enough to make the first powder in the morning I felt I was really missing out socially when everyone would go off for the evening to a club and I was too tired to join. I’ve also had friends flat out refuse to meet with me until I start drinking again. People think you become more boring but the truth is I just can’t stand drunk conversations in pubs. After 2 or 3 drinks people seem to start shouting and repeating themselves. That being said there’s something missing in my life that I honestly don’t know how to fill. I hope before the years end I will be able to replace this void with something but as it stands this is a big reason to go back to social drinking.
Conclusion:
Going forward I’m optimistic I’ll be able to get through the year. The Christmas party will be hard to resist but by then I’ll be so close to the end I can’t not finish. Aside from the social issues It’s probably one of the most positive things I’ve done in my life. It really feels like I’ve given myself the most amazing gift in the world, control of my life. Will I drink next year? I think so but I have genuine fear of getting myself in the same position I was in at the end of last year. Everything’s fine in moderation, moderation itself is a fragile thing.
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