What I learned from my dry (and quiet) January

As I mentioned last month, I participated in Dry January, and thought I'd share my insights with you.   I also participated in our community 14-day liver detox that I lead through The Art of Living Well Podcast ® that I co-host. While I have taken a 2-3 week break from drinking alcohol in January the past 5+ years, I had not completely gone the full month and was much more dialed into my physical and my mental health this year. 

Before I dive into my learnings I want to share that if you would have told me even three years ago that I would willingly and excitedly go "dry" for an entire month I would have said 'no way.'  Aside from my pregnancies, I had not completely abstained from alcohol for more than a couple of weeks since my formative high school years.  I share this with you because this post is not meant to come across as a brag of this accomplishment or make anyone feel less worthy about themselves.  You are exactly where you need to be on your wellness journey.  We all need to practice more self-love and compassion for ourselves and others. 

"When the student is ready the teacher will appear."
-Buddha Siddhartha Guatama Shakyamuni

Here is are my experiences, insights and learnings from my Dry January:

❤️  Amazing sleep!  I felt more energized in the morning.  Thanks to my Oura ring I validated this feeling with the personalized metrics I receive each morning.  My biggest aha was how much better my sleep was on the weekends, when I typically drink wine and sometimes eat later at night. I also noticed that my Heart Rate Variability was much higher than my average (the intervals in between beats of your heart, so you want it to be high).  Eating and drinking close to bedtime in addition to stress drives this number down.
🧡 More time for self-care and doing what makes me happy. I intentionally didn't make many (if any) social plans and shockingly didn't experience any FOMO (fear of missing out).  I was quite content with spending more than one Saturday night using the new portable infrared sauna that we purchased and watching NetFlix.  Not only does this ancient tradition remove toxins, but it helps with sleep, reduces stress and can reduce muscle and joint pain.  I also cooked a lot of yummy and nourishing meals and spent more time with my family.
💛 Improved mood. This was one of the surprising realizations that came to me toward the end of the month.  Overall, I felt more content, calm and less anxious (well aside from the stressful "conversations" with my son about his college applications 😫).
💚 Desire to try new experiences. I felt good about my choice and didn't feel like I was missing out nor was I persuaded to have a drink all month long.  I visited the local shop Marigold where I purchased an NA Tequila and a locally made shrub, which was surprisingly really good.  My husband and I also went out one night to a NA happy hour hosted by Zero Proof Collective, an organization co-founded by my friend Jen Gilhoi.    It was really great to connect with Jen and talk about this movement, where more people are becoming sober curious and how the demand from consumers is creating an opportunity for individuals and businesses to develop products and events.  Regardless of whether you choose to drink alcohol, I do believe that taking a break is a great way to see the impact that alcohol has on your physical, mental and emotional health.
💙 Less desire to share on social media.   This change is something that has been growing over the past 6-9 months.  Some days/weeks I genuinely feel like sharing, but overall my desire to share snippets about what I'm doing or information about health and wellness has greatly diminished.  For me, I think this steams from looking inward and spending more time on connecting with my true self and spending less time scrolling about what others are doing or telling me what I need. 
💜 Reduced cravings/mindless snacking.  I don't know about you but give me a couple glasses of wine without enough protein and I start snacking on nuts or anything salty and crunchy in sight.   When I prioritize my nutrition, especially getting enough fiber and protein at dinner, I am much less likely to do this. It also helps when I eat earlier and avoid food and drinks within a couple hours of going to bed, something I consistently did in January.

💖 Post January thoughts: So what have I noticed in the past two weeks? Well, I didn't have any desire to have a drink on February 1st and waited until we had social plans with friends before I had my first drink. As of now, I am less inclined to open up a bottle of wine on a Friday night when I'm hanging out at home and rather look forward to enjoying clean wine with a nice meal or when I'm out with friends.

I will share that the first night I went out and had a couple of glasses of wine, including with dinner at a local restaurant, I felt quite crappy the next day.  Was it the number of glasses I had or the type of wine I drank? Was it the pizza I ate? I don't know for sure but I do know that my sleep was crappy and I had such low energy and brain fog the next day.  The reasons for how I felt was likely multi-faceted:  the type of wine I drank, the late (light on protein) dinner out and staying up too late.  That aside, it was a very fun night re-connecting with a few groups of friends.  I do believe that being in community is extremely important to your health and well-being and can often be more important than the food on your plate.  It's often the awareness, acceptance and ability to move on with self-love and compassion that can be the challenge.

Last weekend I enjoyed my favorite clean-crafted wine for a little Galentine's Day dinner with a couple of girl friends and felt pretty good the next morning.  While I can't make any health claims, for me, I notice a big difference in how I feel when I drink organic clean wine that is grown without ingredients not found in nature. This is why I continue to be part of the innovative women owned business Scout & Cellar.  Message me if you're interested in placing an order for my favorite wines that are currently available. 

I'd love to hear from you and whether you took a break from alcohol in January or are interested in becoming sober curious.  What did you learn? What did you experience?  Drop me a note. 

Feeling confused, frustrated and at a loss about your unwanted symptoms? Looking to experience more joy and balance around your health and well-being?   Schedule your FREE 15-minute consultation and discover how you can get in the driver's seat of your own health and happiness.

XoXo