I Stopped Drinking Alcohol For A Month, Here’s What Happened

Without a doubt I would recommend a break from alcohol to almost anyone, but it is always nice to get an idea of what to expect. This is what happened when I stopped drinking alcohol for a month.

Last year, I got the wild idea to do a sober month. I am not sure how the idea got into my head, although I am guessing social media had something to do with it, but regardless of why, I emptied the wine bottles, took the beer from the fridge, and set out on my sober mission. There are a lot of things I learned in those 30 days, some of them bad and some of them good. Without a doubt I would recommend a break from alcohol to almost anyone, but it is always nice to get an idea of what to expect. This is what happened when I stopped drinking alcohol for a month.

Weight loss

If you have read up on any of the benefits of going sober, you have probably heard you will lose weight, and you will, but it may not be as drastic as you hope. I am not sure why I thought I would lose 5 or more pounds from cutting alcohol, but that wasn’t the case. My honest opinion is that you will lose weight according to how much you drink. If you only have a few beers on the weekend, don’t expect to drop more than a couple pounds, but if you have wine every night after work, you may slim down quite a bit.

Peer pressure

I am not sure what it is about alcohol, but people who are drinking can’t seem to fathom why someone else is not. It isn’t like smoking where you can say “I’m quitting” and people encourage you, in fact it’s the opposite usually. I felt more peer pressure during that month than I had since high school, so be prepared. My advice is to not defend yourself, or explain yourself, it just wastes your time and energy. Just say no and move on. If you’ve stopped drinking alcohol, don’t let your friends discourage you.

Time

Time was the biggest advantage of going sober. Without the morning-after hangover, I never lost time to laying in bed with a killer headache or queasy tummy. I also woke up with more energy every day, so I was more motivated to get things done. Not to mention I was more likely to call it a night at 12:30 rather than 4 A.M.

Clear head

Imagine waking up every morning and never having to think, “Man I wish I didn’t do that last night” or “how did I get home?”… I hate nothing more than having to listen to someone tell me what I did last night, and there’s no chance of that if you are partying sober. There is also a smaller chance of you going through the Taco Bell drive way at 3 in the morning, texting your ex in a moment of weakness, dancing on the bar after tequila shots, or losing your purse with your phone in it… you get the picture.

Self-Discovery

I know this sounds a bit cheesy but it is true. Taking some time to be sober, allows you to figure out more about yourself. You realize if you actually like going to the club, or if you are more of a homebody. You find out if you enjoy drinking in large groups or if you just want a glass of wine with dinner. I realized that I enjoy hanging with friends, dancing at weddings, and going to concerts, more when I am sober than intoxicated, but I also learned I like the taste of red wine at a nice dinner and I like having a good beer with a slice of pizza every once in a while. You will find out more about yourself in one sober month than the other 11 intoxicated ones.

If you’ve stopped drinking alcohol but it didn’t last long, maybe try it out for a week, two weeks, and work up to a month. Or just skip right to a month. Either way, you’ll learn a lot about yourself.