It’s hard to believe it’s been this long since I had a sip of alcohol. 160 days, zero blips. I started this on June 4th 2019 by signing up to the OYNB 90 day alcohol free challenge. I enjoyed it so much that I am now going for the 365 challenge. A whole year with no beer, even now with 160 days under my belt, it still feels a bit surreal.

Why did I decide to give up alcohol? These are my why’s.

1. Lose the stubborn belly fat (always starts with vanity :-))
2. Get fitter
3. No more wasted days hungover, cranky and addicted to junk food
4. Follow through on my goals and stop getting derailed by alcohol and hangovers
5. Experience life without the fog of alcohol keeping me stuck in bad habits
6. Finally listen to that little nagging voice that has been there for a while: what about the booze? what about the booze?
7. Improve my relationships
8. Fulfil my potential

So far I have experienced:

1. 10x more energy on a daily basis
2. As a result my average fitness sessions per week have gone from 2 or 3 to between 5 and 8
3. I have lost 1 whole stone in weight, yes, that’s 14 lbs in body fat!
4. I have more motivation and appetite for life than ever before
5. I am expeiencing huge streaks of consistency in life – in exercise, mindfulness practice, study, wake up times, whatever my goals are: it seems far easier to apply focus and committment to them now and follow them through to completion
6. I am happier
7. I am less stressed and anxious about stuff
8. I feel I am more in control of my life
9. I can remember nights out
10. I am a fully qualified 100% better person all round without the alcohol

I drink alcohol free beer like Heineken 0.0 when I am out socially which makes it alot easier. I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything and I am gaining so much more (see top 10 above) by removing alcohol and hangovers from my lifestyle.

Dropping the alcohol has been a huge catalyst for postive change in my life so far. Even bigger than going vegan / vegetarian was at the time I did this. In fact, alcohol was a big part of the reason why I found it hard to stick to a vegan diet 100% of the time as it drives up your junk food cravings, promotes poor decisions and keeps you stuck in old bad habits.

If you want to see what you are truly and clearly capable of in this life, drop the booze and see where it takes you.

Yours in health and happiness,

JP