by If you’ve been a part of my world for a while, you may remember back in 2017 when I took a year off from drinking. It was an experiment to see how much my life might change by abstaining from alcohol while trying to get in the best shape of my life. And it worked–maybe even a little too well, as people constantly asked me if I was okay since I got too lean in the face.
Anyway–the 2017 experiment showed me that eliminating alcohol was totally doable and had many benefits. So, to map out my “booze trajectory” after that for you–my intake in 2018 was very low. Almost zero, but I did enjoy a few glasses of fancy red wine and had one beer on New Year’s Day.
In 2019, I increased my intake because there’s a dive bar at the end of my street with karaoke a couple of nights a week, where we practiced our singing chops. So, I bought drinks to support the bar. But it was the karaoke that I was there for, not the booze.
Then came Covid. Can I get an amen? We closed at lunch every day for the first several months of that vile plague. So I’d go home, work out, walk the dogs, go for a swim, and it would be, like, three o’clock.
And three o’clock during prime time Covid was about an hour past many people’s happy hour. So, we started making cocktails and watching the doom n’ gloom daily news reports, which, upon looking back, wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.
And that trend continued (minus the news reports) through 2021. And you know what goes great with a cocktail? A snack, that’s what. Although I was working out, maybe even more than usual, all the extra crackers and cheese calories were catching up to me. The adage, “You can’t outrun a bad diet,” held true. And I wasn’t even running.
So–as 2022 approached, I decided to jump on the wagon again. And, for now, I’m still on it. Just over 600 days dry as of this writing.
But let me tell you the most significant advantage that came with complete abstinence: the conversation in my head got way more productive.
Let me explain. When the Covid consumption happened, I noticed that my entire drive home (it’s only eight minutes, but still) was me talking to myself about not starting too soon, drinking too much, taking a day off, setting rules around it, and more.
And then, I’d walk in the door, go into “habit mode,” and do it all over again regardless of whatever plan I had made on the drive. And every morning, I’d beat myself up about it again and start the conversation anew every afternoon.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
So, by simply not doing it, I freed up some of the ol’ CPU to plan, think about improving some other aspects of my life, or even daydream. As a result, many good things began to happen as I removed all the guilt from my routine and started focusing on pretty much anything else.
Then, the year came to an end. But I wasn’t ready to try again. But at least it was “dry January,” so I was joined by thousands of others who were trying to start the new year off right.
And now, 20 months dry, I have no intentions of returning to drinking. The benefits far outweigh the occasional pang of “missing out” on a moment when a drink would seem nice. And I’m always happier the next day for having skipped the beverage.
Also, alcohol was classified as carcinogenic in 1988, and its ability to damage one’s liver is no secret. Now that I’m on the backside of 50, I’ve been thinking a lot more about enhancing my health span in every way possible. Dropping alcohol has so many positive health effects that I can’t justify doing it anymore.
I’m still having fun and being productive. I’ve been working on new music and setting personal bests working out. And I’ve discovered the world of NA beers, some containing nootropics such as ashwagandha to help with relaxation. But at this point, it would feel like I was taking a huge step backward to drink again.
Of course, your mileage may vary. But I hope my experience may be helpful when it comes to thinking about your own drinking.
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