I'm joining this conversation a little late, but I agree with a lot of this conversation. My alcohol usage has been too high to be healthy for a while, and it was even worse over the holidays. I decided to do "Dry January" for the first time. The month is almost done, and it's actually been much easier than I thought it would be. I genuinely haven't missed it much...I miss a margarita when we eat Mexican food or a good beer when we go out for burgers, but those cravings pass. I feel better. My quality of sleep is much better and I have a lot more energy during the day. I'm definitely more productive. And, although I haven't stepped on a scale this month, my clothes are fitting better. It has been a very positive experience.
So much so that I'm probably going to keep going for a while longer. I don't plan on quitting for life, but I've got a good thing going right now. Drinking had becomes such a normal part of my life that I had kind of forgotten what life is like without it. I hope that whenever I decide to have a drink, I can avoid falling back into bad habits (staying up too late, eating too much, etc.).
I think I'll start doing this every year. It's been a great experience.
