And when I say "from time to time", I actually mean that I'm likely to be the life of most parties, always ready for a Sunday brunch bloody mary bar, and I never miss a Wednesday Winesday with the girls at our favorite restaurant. Brewery tours and tastings are my favorite. I recently took a trip to Ireland, where I averaged 3-4 pints of Guinness each day, and it was every bit as delicious and magical as I had heard it would be.
On the eve of my 32nd birthday, while drinking gallons of water and trying to prepare for the two-night celebration, I decided I would take a break from drinking, following the weekend. No wine, no bloodies, no complimentary drink after the lunch shift at my bartending job. I also decided that April 9th would be the perfect day to start, since my birthday was the day before and I was sure to be totally disinterested in alcohol.
For 27 days, I had not more than a sip (tasting a friend's new and interesting beer doesn't count, people - I was sober, not dead). On the suggestion of someone who had taken similar breaks before, I didn't put a time limit on my total sobriety - I was advised that setting a timeline of "a month" or "two weeks" would just leave me counting down the days until I could crack open my next microbrew, and would thus accomplish none of the perspective I hoped to gain.
Here's what happened.
1) I needed way less sleep. As a person who highly values my shut-eye, I have always said I need 7 hours to function properly, 8 to feel great, and with 9, I'm a true rock star. After a few days of no alcohol at all, I found myself waking up without an alarm after 6-7 hours, feeing completely rested and ready for the day. Don't think I'm converted - I still really want that full 8. But with nothing coursing through my system to make me more exhausted, waking up with the sun feels very natural. My sleep quality got better, too - no 3:00 am wake ups to pour another glass of water.
2) I got dehydrated. I know this sounds ridiculous, since alcohol is actually what dehydrates you (we've all slogged into our favorite breakfast place on a Sunday morning, ready for the waitress to come to our table so we can plead "coffee and a water, please, lots of water"), but without the knowledge of damage done the night before, I almost completely forgot to drink water. Four days into my sober period, I woke up with a splitting headache, urine the color of marigolds, and soreness and exhaustion after 7 full hours of sleep. Whoops.
3) I lost weight. A couple of days ago, right before I decided I wanted a margarita too much to be able to resist, I weighed myself and found there is 8 pounds less of me than on April 9th. While I wasn't drinking, I was not paying any special attention to my eating habits, and had slacked off a bit with my running schedule. It didn't matter, I lost weight anyway. My face also appeared slimmer and tighter. By this time, I had reconciled the dehydration issue, which surely helped with this result.
4) I realized how much free time I really have. When you get out of work at 5:00 pm on a Friday and have no plans to drink, the amount of things you can accomplish seems endless. I did laundry on a weekend night. I grocery shopped on a Saturday at 8 pm. I helped a friend clean and organize his home. I sat on my couch with a coloring book and my Netflix subscription while the bars downtown filled up, and then popped out of bed ready to make the most of my Sunday - just 4 hours after those same bars were closing. I thrift shopped, scoured my apartment, and entertained my parents over a long weekend (in which most of our planned activities started before 8 am).
5) I felt socially liberated. You know how some people will tell you the truth about a situation, but only after they've knocked back a few glasses of Cabernet? I just started opening my mouth (and my text messages) in an entirely sober state, consequences be damned. I analyzed my friend's dating lives openly and honestly. I flirted with abandon. I told people how I felt about them. Simply, I decided that anything I might feel comfortable saying when my BAC was heightened had better be something I would say sober, too. As far as I know, all of my relationships are still intact and no one has been offended, which brings me to my next point...
6) I realized that nobody cared. Perhaps that's the wrong way to phrase it, because my friends did care. They cared to be supportive, to let me know that they were proud of me for taking a break and working towards making healthier choices. When I say nobody cared, I mean that not one of my closest friends tried to convince me to stray from the plan. I attended all four Wednesday Winesdays that occurred this month, sipping iced tea or water while everyone else drank wine. Did you know that your average "soft" drink costs about $2.50? Oh, yeah...
7) I saved money. I have no idea how much, but I do know that going out for dinner is actually a pretty reasonably priced endeavor if all you're having is dinner. Between alcoholic beverages bought for myself and those I jovially purchased for my drinking partners, I estimated my average weekly spending on booze to be somewhere between $40 and $60. Whoah. Going home from an evening out with cash still in my wallet is a wonderful feeling (waking up on a Sunday morning knowing exactly how much is left in there is even better).
I'm quite sure some of you will read this and be immediately concerned or convinced that I have a problem with alcohol. "Why would she feel the need to take a break, unless she was boozing hard every night and spiraling out of control?", you'll ask. The answer is: I have never felt out of control, but I came to a realization that alcohol doesn't need to be a social priority. When friends invite me to their home for a bbq, my first thought does not need to be about what type of beer I should bring. My second thought does not need to be a plan on how to get to and from the gathering without driving - automatically assuming that every social event will potentially result in being too intoxicated to drive is just ridiculous.
Drinking had also come to be seen as a reward for me (this is something I partially blame on pop culture, which is inundated with portrayals of hard working men and women kicking back and letting loose with beer, wine, or margaritas on a Friday after a "hard week"). Saying "I deserve these beers, I just worked six days in a row", or "I pulled a double on Friday, so Saturday night I'm going out" makes little sense. If I am working this hard to earn a little free time, shouldn't I be spending that time feeling my best - waking up with a clear head and enough energy to really enjoy a day of freedom?
If this blog post has been an inspiration to you, then I am sorry to disappoint: I had margaritas on Friday, and woke up yesterday feeling less than stellar. I also had a bloody mary at brunch this morning. Laying off the booze for nearly a month didn't make me want to stay sober forever. However, it did help me gain some important perspective about how I view and value my social relationships, my free time, and my health. Moderation, something I have never been great with (ask me about my sugar addiction!), is my new goal.
Maybe next month, dessert. Maybe.
