I did it! I finished Dry January! It is currently January 31st and I am so proud of myself. Honestly, this week wasn’t the easiest, I would call week 4 a soft win. Mostly due to the fact that I had both my period AND Covid. Quarantine has been lonely and extremely boring. I kept thinking that a drink would have been nice. I mean, c’mon, I’ve watched 5 seasons of KUWTK, downloaded and deleted 10 games on my phone, watched TikTok until my phone died, and took naps even when I wasn’t tired. A girl could have used I drink is all I’m saying. Nah I’m just joking (kinda). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although I didn’t foresee week 4 looking like this, it’s nice to know that even when things weren’t going my way, I didn’t need to rely on alcohol to make my time any better. And I know it wouldn’t have made my time any better or me any happier because I’m sitting here right now happy as shit that I completed my goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before I started Dry January, I had a list of things I wanted to see improve. Let’s talk about the results!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weight Loss<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Weight loss was probably the biggest motivating factor in getting me to do Dry January. I have been trying to lose weight for awhile and am currently on a journey to create a healthier more confident me so I thought cutting out alcohol is sure to help! And it did, but not in the way I thought it would. I didn’t drop pound after pound as soon as a cut out the alcohol. But I can literally feel that my body is healthier. I’ve been having way less digestion issues, I’m less bloated, I’m more active, my mental health is in a better place, etc. I can honestly say that as the days went on this month, losing weight was no longer my purpose or my goal. I was experiencing and appreciating other benefits that were giving me confidence in myself, and making me a healthier person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduced Anxiety<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I am an anxious person and I always have been. So I still had my moments because thats life and I have anxiety. Removing alcohol is not going to erase that. BUT as I said in week 3, I saw a major difference in the amount of anxiety I was having and the things I was doing to cope with it. I definitely appreciated the lack of worry\/sadness\/anxiety the day after a night out\/drinking can cause. I was in a happier and simpler place this month and that feels great. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep\/Motivation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I’ve known that people get worse sleep when drinking. I’ve had many experiences with either waking up at random times in the night and not being able to fall back asleep or just waking up feeling like I didn’t get any sleep at all. This month I had a months worth of good sleep. You can even ask my Fitbit. I have been more energized, and alert. Because I was more energized and alert, I was more motivated than normal to do things, such as working out. we all get into periods of time where it seems almost impossible to get the motivation to workout when watching a movie sounds so much better. But this month I was much more easily motivated which felt amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mo’ Money<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Oh god, I don’t even want to put a number to the amount of money I spend on alcohol. Its probably been a lot less ever since I stopped going out as much since the start of the pandemic. But it’s also probably more than I would like to admit. It was so nice being able to save money this month. Because of Dry January, I took the time to create a budget plan for myself. This month was a great segue into making smarter financial decisions in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skin<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My skin has been acting up the past two years. I’ve been breaking out where I wear my mask, and my face has been really dry. I was thinking alcohol could have been a contributing factor, but now that its the end of the month, I didn’t really notice a change. I guess I just have dry skin and maskne but that’s neither her nor there. Moving on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relationships<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The way alcohol can affect relationships isn’t something that I have thought about before, but wasn’t a motivating factor. However, after this month, I realized that my relationship with my boyfriend was something that benefited this month. It all makes sense though, the benefits above are going to translate into my relationship as well. There were much less silly arguments and unnecessary moodiness. I’m sure he appreciated that as well;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tomorrow is February 1st which means Dry January is officially over. The question is, am I going to have a drink? Yeah, probably. Am I going to go into the rest of the year mindful of all that I experienced this month? Hell yes, I am. This month I’ve learned that my body works so much better when I’m treating it better. Crazy how that works, huh. For real though. I like to drink, and there’s nothing wrong with having fun and drinking, to a certain extent. I’m going to go into the rest of the year making changes to the way I consume alcohol. I want to continue making progress in my journey to becoming a healthier, more confident woman, and this part of that effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peace, Love, Sweet Scented Wildflower<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cListen to me, your body is not a temple. Temples can be destroyed and desecrated. Your body is a forest\u2014thick canopies of maple trees and sweet scented wildflowers sprouting in the underwood. You will grow back, over and over, no matter how badly you are devastated.\u201d -Beau Taplin
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