ALCOHOL: 5 Reasons I’m Not Drinking For A Year

We don’t keep alcohol in the house or shop for it at all. I don’t have a trendy bar cart or a wine cellar. I only drink alcohol on social occasions. A couple of glasses of prosecco at a swanky restaurant on a Friday night. Champagne during brunch or at the opera. Cold beers at a Dodgers game. Wine at birthday parties. Pink moulin rouge martinis at Bottega Louie. Several cocktails at the Polo Lounge. Drinks at the Hollywood Bowl on a fun summer night.

Plus, the holidays, there’s so much drinking during the holidays.

Do you see where I’m going with this? Lately, it seems like there’s always an opportunity to imbibe or celebrate. And I don’t like that I’m engaging in this indulging perpetuating unhealthy pattern. So my husband and I are quitting booze for a year.

September 9, 2019 was the last time I drank alcohol, which means 9/9/2020 is the finish line. I want to use this time to reflect and better myself. And I’m sharing this journey with y’all in case anyone out there is on a similar path of self-improvement. Because you don’t have to wait for January to commit to your new year’s resolution, do what you gotta do now, commit to bettering yourself now.

Below are the 5 reasons I’m going to abstain from alcohol for an entire year:

1.

$$$ Expensive $$$

When my husband and I go out to eat at a swanky restaurant we anticipate that the bill is going to be high, that’s a given. However, our meals are usually not the most expensive items on our bill, the alcoholic beverages are the priciest. When we go to a Dodgers game, the beers (about $15 each) turn out to be more than our admission tickets. At restaurants cocktails can range anywhere from $15 to $23 or more.

It makes me sick to think how much money we’ve wasted on alcohol.

So for an entire year our money is not going to be spent on alcohol, not a single dollar. Which means more money in the bank account, y’all. Woot, woot, holla!!! Lol, can you tell I’m too excited.

2.

Unhealthy

I don’t even feel like I need to explain this reason too much, because we all know that alcohol is unhealthy. Right, like, it’s bad for the heart and liver and kidneys and our weight, etc.,

On a daily basis I’m pretty disciplined about what I eat. But when I’m drinking all bets are off. I don’t make healthy food choices when I’ve had a couple of cocktails, and I hate that. The day after I always feel sluggish, bloated, and crappy. It takes me days to recover from too much bad food and alcohol.

For example: We enjoy eating at Lawry’s, not all the time, but about three or four times a year. I like to have two martinis at the bar before our meal, and when I do, I eat too much bread, order appetizers, eat dessert and I devour all the prime rib on my plate.

Last example: If I have a couple of beers at a Dodgers game, then I usually eat some nachos or garlic fries and dessert. I never eat nachos, I don’t really eat dairy. But when I’m at a game, and I’ve got a nice buzz going on I eat like crap. Sometimes after a game we even stop at McDonald’s on our way home. I never eat Mickey D’s, never, except when I’ve been drinking.

3.

No More Hangovers

I have a confession to make, and I’m so embarrassed. This past summer we went to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl to watch HEART & Joan Jett & Elle King. I got drunk that night. I had a bunch of champagne before the concert, and, while we were there I drank a lot of prosecco.

The next day I had the most horrible hangover in the world. I threw up, the room was spinning, and I just felt like a filthy flea infested shaggy carpet for like six hours. I was so mad at myself. I haven’t been hungover in years.

So obviously that was the day that I made the resolution not to drink for an entire year. This coming November 10 will be two months that I’ve gone without drinking.

4.

Safety | Restrained | Clear-headed

Safety: If you watch the news it’s sadly obvious that there are a lot of unhinged and erratic individuals in our society. So when you’re at a public event you never know when you might have to run for safety, just like the concert-goers at the Las Vegas mass shooting.

Clear-headed: When I drank too much at the Hollywood Bowl I would not have been able to run for my life if anything horrible occurred, I would have jeopardized my husband’s safety as well because he would have been looking after me. I was not clear-headed enough to be aware of my environment or to anticipate or protect myself from danger.

Restrained: Remember that episode on FRIENDS where Rachel is upset that Ross is buying a cat with his girlfriend Julie, so Rachel gets drunk on a date and leaves him a drunken voicemail saying she is over him. And the next day when Rachel is nursing a hangover she’s frozen over with mortification when she realizes what she has done.

I can totally relate to that FRIENDS episode, because I know I’m not restrained or composed when I’ve been drinking too much. What did I do? What did I say? I did what?!? – The next day when I sober up I always end up asking my husband about my actions from the night before.

5.

2.0 Version Of Me

At the end of an entire year from abstaining from alcohol, I would love to never drink again in my life. Really, that’s what I’m shooting for, that’s my ultimate goal, to be alcohol-free forever. I just want to be the 2.0 version of what I already am. I really like who I am, but my social alcohol consumption has always been that monkey on back, because deep down I know I don’t need it.

I don’t smoke. I don’t really eat dairy at all. I rarely eat red meat. I exercise five days a week. I drink celery juice every morning on an empty stomach. I try really hard to stay away from fast food and desserts. Every day I try to improve myself, I try. I’m not claiming the way I look after my health is what you should do, not at all. Every day I try to be the 2.0 version of me, and I hope by eliminating alcohol I can get closer to that super improved version of myself.

In conclusion, I’m abstaining from alcohol for an entire year because of the 5 reasons I’ve listed above. However, I think it’s gonna kinda suck not to be able to enjoy a couple of drinks during the holidays with friends and family. No champagne during brunch. No martinis before dinner. Also, this year we are going to Maui again for my birthday, which means no mai tai’s on the plane and no cocktails at the Four Seasons. Ugh, fml, kidding, kind of 🙂

Btw, I am not judging anyone who drinks alcohol. DO YOU. If you have a moderate and sensible approach to drinking then enjoy yourself and stay safe.

In the comments section below, let me know what you would like to quit for an entire year. And do you think you could commit to that?

Thanks so much!

Wanna enjoy more content like this? Click here

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE