Dry January: WTF Just Happened?

Part one: My smartwatch made a mockery of “drink responsibly.”

Source: Shutterstock (The author assumes responsibility for the copyright of this image.)

“We are the alchemist of our own body.” - Wim Hof

The first installment of a five-part series.

Smart Dry January

I’ve completed a “Dry January” for the last three years. That’s when you don’t consume alcohol in January to repent for holiday excess and set the tone for a healthy start to the new year. But this time, I tracked a swath of health metrics with my smartwatch to see if my sacrifice was worth it. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so let’s dive in! I’ll start with an easy one.

I lost weight

First, before my Dry January, I was a seven to fourteen-unit-a-week drinker. A unit could be a 12-ounce beer (one can), a 5-ounce glass of red wine (a small glass), or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (a shot). My drink of choice was 1 or 2 cold beers every night.

Alcohol units by drink. They add up fast! (source: Shutterstock) (The author assumes responsibility for the copyright of this image.)

I especially loved drinking a beer or two after running with my friends. I believed that I had a moderate, under-control drinking habit. In fact, I was an…