Dry January

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gtyellowjacket

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Anyone doing it? Did it about 4 or 5 years back for the first time and I do think it is one of the things that contributed to my dramatically lower alcohol consumption and subsequent better sleep and overall better health.
 
I really indulged with food and alcohol the last two weeks so I’m back to being more diligent about what I eat and am going at least a few weeks with no drinking as well.

Have a few trips planned for later in the month so I probably won’t do a full dry January. I usually do a full month or so of no drinking at some point every year though. It’s a nice mental reset if nothing else.
 
Some newlywed friends of ours who are pretty disciplined people (always doing or working to half and full triathalons) were dry Jan 1, Jan 2, then Saturday the 3rd we're all at a cidery and they say to each other "well let's at least be dry on week days".
 
Heelsandeers said:
Just posted in the health thread. I started last year with a dry January which was my first

Not sure I’ll go completely dry this year but cutting back significantly for a while
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Same.

I also need to add back in an ab workout once a week. Sometime last year I dropped it. My shoulder is hurt so maybe the planks will have to be replaced by something.
 
I've done Damp January the last couple of years and doing again this year. 2 glasses of wine on Wednesday nights with our dinner at home and 2 glasses of wine on our Saturday night "date nights" at restaurants.
 
uncsig said:
I've done Damp January the last couple of years and doing again this year. 2 glasses of wine on Wednesday nights with our dinner at home and 2 glasses of wine on our Saturday night "date nights" at restaurants.
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I like that idea. I've not heard of "damp" January.
 
I've done dry January the past seven years but admittedly have only been successful three times. The hardest part is reshaping routines that involve alcohol. I used to always do happy hour with friends Thursday after work and watch games at a bar on Saturdays. Now I purposefully plan other activities during those times and once you shake the old habits it gets easier as the month goes on.
 
I like the idea of damp January, February, March, etc vs a strict dry month then back to business as usual

At least for me there is too much pickup in activity during summer and around the holidays

April was my second driest month last year after January for some reason
 
I did dry November. Plan to do mostly dry Jan, only making exceptions for social events with friends on weekends. Though I generally try to keep dry Sun-Thurs for the whole year. Since turning 40 (and then 50 last year), I just can't do it on work nights.
 
beautiful weather often leads me to want to sip a nice drink outside, thus the months with lesser weather (jan/feb/march) after the holidays are ideal for some degree of alcohol break.

and it's a great time to get fit for bathing suits and summer clothes.
 
CharmCityTiger said:
I've done dry January the past seven years but admittedly have only been successful three times. The hardest part is reshaping routines that involve alcohol. I used to always do happy hour with friends Thursday after work and watch games at a bar on Saturdays. Now I purposefully plan other activities during those times and once you shake the old habits it gets easier as the month goes on.
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I don’t really have a problem going extended periods of time with no alcohol but I hate going out to bars if I’m not going to be drinking. Some people have no problem just hanging out and sipping a club soda, I just can’t stand being around a bunch of drunk people for hours on end while sober lol.
 
I did a Dry Jan last year, after basically being a functioning alcoholic since Covid. It went fine. My wife was shocked—she thought I'd drop out after the first week, but I made it all the way through. It was much easier than I expected actually. Totally mind over matter. I just told myself: Nope, don't even think about it. You're not drinking a damn drop of alcohol for 31 days. Fucking deal with it.

That's really the best way to go about it, mentally. My $0.02.

I thought I'd slide back into the nightly routine in February, but apparently I "graduated." For the rest of 2025, I only drank minimally during the week—a beer or glass of wine on occasion. Most weekdays, nothing at all. On weekends, I'd enjoy my evening G&Ts again without shame.

I suppose I wasn't really an "alcoholic" afterall, since I was able to handle a Dry Jan with ease. It was instead just a "bad habit" I formed during the Covid year, which I clearly needed to break. (And yes, I consider myself fortunate to have been able to do so.)

In hindsight, that Dry January was the best thing I could have done for myself. It got me headed back to the best overall health I've been in for years.

This year, I'm just gonna stick to my weekends-only regimen. Onward...
 
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