Dry January

[Hereford Wolf]

I know some people think this is just a silly gimmick but I have always felt better for doing it every year. However, this year I would like to do 6 dry months.
I'll choose the months carefully where there are no birthday/anniversary's or holidays.

People ask me why not give it up? Well, I don't want to - I just want to cut down my yearly intake!

 

[Jack Regan]

I'm considering doing it as I've been drinking a little bit too much the last few months.

I had the whole of April off the booze last year though and didn't really notice any massive benefits from it.

 

[BillyDee]

For "reasons" (medication playing up...) I had a dry December, and will have at least a dry January and February...

 

[Hereford Wolf]

This is the thinking:-

After 30 days of not drinking alcohol, your liver may start to repair itself, your risk of cancer and heart disease decrease, and your sleep could improve.

Thankfully, if your liver is only showing the early stages of liver scarring this can be reversed. The liver is an "active organ" with a strong healing ability, and even after a sustained period of drinking (like, say a festival or Christmas) a month off alcohol can reverse some damage.

 

[The Bear]

I only drink the equivalent of 5-10 pints of alcohol per month max, so don't have any problems stopping it entirely if I wanted to.

 

[Templeton Peck]

Birthday in January so never bothered with it.

 

[Tredman]

Was off the beer for 6 weeks after summer. Didn’t really notice any health benefits.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Did it few years back and it was miserable and will never do it again.

Out all day in Manchester for the United game with no alcohol - miserable (at least we won). Going to home games with no drink wasn’t a big issue.

Going out for a meal and not having a couple of beers - very miserable. This was probably the worst bit. A pint of coke will be gone in minutes (also probably just as bad/worse for you), alcohol free beers were gone quick too (also taste rubbish and still cost almost as much as real beer). Water was probably the best bet…

So doesn’t really achieve anything from my perepective, just makes life more dull. If you’re a big drinker then stopping for a month only to start again is pretty pointless. You’d be better off just trying to change your lifestyle to modify consumption long term

 

[The Bear]

Out all day in Manchester for the United game with no alcohol - miserable

Going out for a meal and not having a couple of beers - very miserable.

So doesn’t really achieve anything from my perepective, just makes life more dull.

I'll never understand this point of view. I don't know why people need to drink to enjoy themselves, and if they can't/don't then they're miserable. Makes no sense. Just enjoy your day out, what you're drinking shouldn't make any difference to that.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Of course it makes a difference. Where do you think I'm meeting people on Saturday, the Hogshead or Costa Coffee? In fact lads let's go to Costa instead, won't be as busy and a latte is cheaper than a pint of beer.

 

[Lycan]

 

[The Bear]

Of course it makes a difference. Where do you think I'm meeting people on Saturday, the Hogshead or Costa Coffee? In fact lads let's go to Costa instead, won't be as busy and a latte is cheaper than a pint of beer.

It wouldn't bother me either way. Pubs are just easier because they are more of a social hub and easier to hang around in.

 

[Kenny]

6 or 7 coffees pre-match and I would be fookin hyper at kick off...few post match flat whites and espresso chasers I would be awake until the next home game.

Bring it on!

 

[Lycan]

It wouldn't bother me either way. Pubs are just easier because they are more of a social hub and easier to hang around in.

How is a Café not a social hub? How can you have grown up in Western Europe and think this?

 

[PuntsWolf]

I'll never understand this point of view. I don't know why people need to drink to enjoy themselves, and if they can't/don't then they're miserable. Makes no sense. Just enjoy your day out, what you're drinking shouldn't make any difference to that.

What DW said. And I did enjoy the football, I didn’t enjoy going into various great establishments in Manchester and paying £5 for an alcohol free beer which tasted of shite.

And as I said, the worst bit was not having two pints with my fillet steak. Zero benefit from the “alcohol” element of two pints… I just don’t “drink it like pop” and it tastes nice…

 

[EpsomWolf]

A months abstinence would bring too much misery missing social events and the lack of a spontaneous pint or a glass of wine with a short-notice meal out would be no fun either. I think knowing your body is benefiting would be a great feeling though.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Don't know why Peep Show tried to make this a joke, surely it's the same as a normal stag do.

 

[leedswolf]

I did Dry January a few years ago. I lost some weight, slept better and felt better for those 31 days and also raised a couple of hundred quid for Cancer Research.

 

[Tom Hark]

I'll never understand this point of view. I don't know why people need to drink to enjoy themselves, and if they can't/don't then they're miserable. Makes no sense. Just enjoy your day out, what you're drinking shouldn't make any difference to that.

I think it depends on how much you enjoy the effects and how much you dislike the consequences. I usually feel sick before I feel drunk and then suffer for it the next day, so drinking more than a couple is the opposite of enjoyable for me. A drink can enhance a nice experience, and there's nothing wrong with that; it's when the experience is used as an excuse to have a drink that someone might have a problem. Alcohol free seems to be the way things are going: I saw an ad for 0:0 Guinness yesterday

 

[Tredman]

Guinness 0.0 is pretty much the best of the bunch