For some people, taking the month of January off from drinking alcohol can be a way to make up for the excesses of the holidays. It’s an enticing idea to start the new year fresh by giving up cocktails, wine and beer, which admittedly, aren’t as healthy as drinking a gallon of water that you tote around with you to show people just how much water you’re drinking. While the tradition may be useful for some, it’s one I won’t be participating in, and here’s why.
Despite the fact that I write about spirits, I’m a person who drinks in moderation and I’m very invested in getting and staying healthy. While it might seem virtuous to give up drinking, in my experience I’ve found that completely eliminating something from my diet, whether it’s sweets or booze, only makes me want the thing that I can’t have even more. For some people, cutting out drink in January can kick start a new healthy way of living, but in reality, most people who do it will either go back to drinking the same way they used to come February 1st, or worse, go totally overboard when they are finally able to have that forbidden fruit. I would argue that it’s better to enjoy a weekly drink in January than to be that girl at the bar yelling “let’s do shots!” and whose friends later have to dissuade her from getting up on the bar and delivering Jennifer Connelly’s monologue from Labyrinth (“You have no power over me!”).
While these incidents may or may not have actually happened to this author, heed my advice: If you really want to be healthier in January, don’t do Dry January or 75 Hard or cut out carbs or chocolate (though maybe do stop eating entire gourmet cheese advent calendars in one sitting). Instead, challenge yourself to enjoy the things you love in moderation. That can mean one drink a night, one a week or whatever works for you! Of course, if you actually have a serious drinking problem then by all means you should quit and seek help. But if you’re just looking for self-improvement, don’t go all or nothing. Instead, find a way to incorporate the foods and drinks you love into a healthy lifestyle (and despite whatever research people are posting on Instagram about any amount of alcohol leading you to an early grave, to me there is something very beneficial about enjoying the pleasures in life, and being happy leads to longevity!)
While no one will argue that a martini is as healthy as a green smoothie, if enjoying one at the end of the week gives you joy, I say go for it! Take a cue from Hugh Jackman who’s been chronicling his “cheat meals” which seem to include a vodka martini when he indulges. “Absolute heaven,” the actor wrote alongside a clip of himself sipping from a frosty glass. Here’s a new year’s resolution: Work hard, reward yourself and don’t go overboard. Now that’s a recipe for good physical and mental health in my book.
Or of course you can be a dry, abstinent person who reads 10 pages of a self-help book while taking endless mirror selfies and constantly peeing from the jumbo water jug you carry around — just please don’t call me to hang out.
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December 29, 2023 at 10:29PM
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The Surprising Reason Doing Dry January Is A Bad Idea - Forbes
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