6 Months Of No Alcohol 🚱
How A ‘Dry January’ Continued For Half A Year (And Why I May Never Drink Again) 🤭
For various reasons (mostly health and focus-related) I decided to take a break from drinking to start this year. First a month (‘Dry January’), then 100 days, then I just kept it going. It became easier the longer I abstained — and I haven’t had a drink for 6 months now (with one small exception, on one night - see bottom*).
And I feel good, I (guess I kinda) knew that I would.
But even more than that, and without overstating things – I feel like a better version of myself.
The Results
1. A Lighter Version Of Myself (Weight Loss)
In my last post I talked about the health, and other, benefits I was getting as a result of not drinking, and they still hold true.
Just to briefly update on that — I reached my goal weight a few days ago. I’ve now lost 9.9kg over the past 6 months.
~10kg is significant, but I’m still not ‘skinny’ by any stretch. And despite being able to see a bit of muscle tone here and there, I’m pretty far from being ‘ripped’.
That just gives some idea of how plump I’d become towards the end of last year (great word that — ‘plump’ 😄). ‘Butterball Fennessy’ people had started calling me under their breath (not really).
I have to attribute most of the weight loss to not drinking alcohol (side note: beer was my main drink of choice), because I didn’t change that much else — I exercised a bit more (went to the Gym 1–2 times per week (up from 0) and occasionally played Basketball, Tennis, went Bouldering or did a longer bike ride every couple of weeks).
I stopped having sugar in my coffee, and only drank water mostly (or Ginger Beer if I was out) but I didn’t go on a diet.
And honestly I think I could have reached my goal weight faster, and lost even more, had I not discovered my before-hidden sweet tooth. I’ve never eaten (and enjoyed) so much chocolate, cookies and ice cream before in my life, as I did in the past 6 months! 🍫🍪🍦🤤
I feel a lot better without carrying that extra weight — I’m more energetic and more confident as a ‘non-plump’ version of myself. 💪
2. A More Active & Healthy Version Of Myself (Different Lifestyle)
I think my girlfriend Sarina summed it up best, during a full day out cycling around Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam forest), on the beautiful hot and sunny Sunday just passed:
Me: ‘Nice thing to do on a Sunday, right?’
Sarina: ‘You’ve changed so much.’
Me: ‘What do you mean? What did I used to do on weekends?’
Sarina: ‘Drink and sleep.’
It’s true. I’ve always liked to socialise, to party, and as an addition to those activities — I liked to drink. Quite a lot. And I did so almost every weekend, for years. A couple of decades even. 😬
When I stopped drinking it freed up a lot of extra time, especially on weekends. Now instead of sleeping in, waking up with a hangover, and being lazy all day, I do crazy things… like go outside. 😄
After a busy week, I now realise how tired I get. But instead of powering through, and blowing off steam by drinking 10 beers, instead I go home and rest. I properly recharge my batteries on weekends now. And I start new weeks with renewed energy and new ideas.
During the week I sleep better and I’ve even become a morning person (note: I’ve NEVER been a morning person, far from it).
I usually go to bed between 10:30–11pm now (instead of 1 or 2am), and I’m waking up around 6am, sometimes 5am — the sort of times I used to be getting home sometimes! 😂
I love early mornings, mostly because I can get a lot of focused work done without any distractions. I often get more work done in the first 2 hours, after waking up, than I do for the rest of the day. 🌇🤓
3. Clarity (sung to the tune of ‘Gravity’ by John Mayer, the sort of easy listening that I’ve started digging since being sober 😂)
Well, yeah. I was just sitting here, eating my muffin, drinking my coffee, when I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity. — Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction
Not drinking has given me some time and separation to think about — why did I drink alcohol (so often and so much) in the first place?
Despite always doing a lot of social things, and even starting a party app, I’ve realised I’m an introvert. For all my laid-back Aussie exterior, I’ve often felt uncomfortable or nervous when out with a (new) group of people.
Unless I was drinking. I felt like I needed to drink in order to relax and feel confident in social situations. And it definitely worked for that.
Going to social events was a bit uncomfortable at first when I stopped drinking. But I quickly got used to it. I feel more confident from the get-go now and and have better conversations than if I was drinking (that I can actually remember in full).
Waking up early the next day and doing work or going to the gym feels good too!
In general I think I have quite a lot of nervous energy that I need to get rid of. Drinking used to help with that. Now I go and do some exercise instead.
I also used alcohol for turning off my brain. I’m an entrepreneur and I often feel like I never switch off, which is pretty much the case. Whether it’s a new idea or a stressful obstacle at work, it’s very hard for me to stop thinking about stuff related to my work.
Alcohol dulled constant thinking and allowed my mind to finally switch off. But it came at the expense of switching off for much longer than I wanted it to (i.e. with a hangover and unproductive day after).
So I mostly just liked the feeling, and ability to switch off, that drinking gave me.
Still Me, But Better
I feel like I can get to that without drinking now. I can still socialise (and feel great the next day), and still relax by doing other things like exercise. Like I said at the start — I really feel like a better version of myself.
What I Miss About Drinking
I’ve had so many fun times out drinking.
I’ve gone drinking and been drunk all over the world — I’ve been inebriated in Amsterdam, had benders in Berlin, gotten lairy in Lisbon, battered in Budapest, shitfaced in San Francisco, wankered in Whistler and mangled in Melbourne, many-a-time.
I’ve also been plastered after quite a few PartyWith parties (I think I’m still feeling the effects of the 2016 Kings Day boat party where we way over-catered with booze, but it still all got drunk, as did everyone on the boat!).
I’ve met great people, and had many great experiences, that I’ll remember for the rest of my life (albeit blurrily).
I‘ve also had many ridiculous conversations whilst drunk, and made outrageous claims: in Melbourne once, when my girlfriend at the time was telling some friends how much she loved Cambodia, I declared myself ‘The Angkor Wat of Australia’. 🤪
What I Don’t Miss About Drinking
- Hangovers!
- Not being productive for a whole day after a night of drinking.
- Getting plump.
What’s Next?
With all the positive changes that not drinking has brought about for me, I’m facing the real possibility that I just don’t drink any more. 😮
Not even one glass of wine? (I hear people say). Now, yes I can really appreciate the taste of a good red wine with steak, or an ice cold beer on a hot day, or a champagne to celebrate something.
But as I’ve written before, I have a bit of trouble keeping it at one or two drinks. And honestly, I’m not sure I like the taste enough alone to want to drink. I do it for the feeling and effects it gives me, not the taste. Craft Beer or Wine vs Ginger Beer purely on taste? I have to go with my new little friend on that one…
Lastly, another reason why I think I’ll keep abstaining from alcohol — I’ve always felt a bit like I have unfulfilled potential, that I have good ideas but in executing and getting great results I always fall a bit short.
What I’m doing with work and a startup is not easy. I guess I’ve shown glimpses, but I haven’t been consistent, and I’m still a long way from where I want to be in business and in life.
Drinking too much might have been one barrier holding me back. And I want to remove any barriers to success. I also want to eliminate other non-essential things from my life, I already have an idea of what’ll be next.
But for now I’m just looking forward to keep enjoying my first sober summer in Amsterdam!
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*with one exception. I was at an opening party a couple of weeks ago. Someone offered me a Rémy Martin cocktail with Ginger Beer (my new go-to drink) and fresh mint, made by a professional barman, and served in a big luxurious glass. It had been both a productive and stressful week so I thought — why not? Then, after the speeches, someone handed me a champagne to cheers with. It was a really nice champagne, and I was having a good time, so I had a couple more.
The vibe at the party was good, with nice people, and I easily could have kept going. But I stopped and went home. The next day, whilst I didn’t have a hangover, I was slow. After days, weeks and months of being very productive, I got hardly anything done that day, didn’t feel like exercising, and honestly questioned again if I want to be drinking again at all.
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Have you ever taken a break from alcohol? What was your experience? Thinking of taking a break? Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have about my experiences and I can maybe give some tips: dan@join.company
