This story is part of the 2018 Feel Good Food Plan, our two-week mind-body-belly plan for starting the year off right.
For many years, I kept my head down when my friends and colleagues announced that they were doing Dry January. The rules seemed pretty clear: no alcohol + one month = you. That’s not really my personality, though. I would rather have ¼ of a cookie for four days than a big cookie on day one followed by three days with nothing—this has been documented by my colleagues. I also don’t really eat or drink to excess, and have been known to play things on the safe side (I wear goggles when I crack coconuts.) I would always rather do something in moderation than simply swing from one extreme to another.
But I figured it was time to re-examine my relationship with alcohol, and that meant taking a break. So last year, I attempted Dry January. And failed.
I don’t drink to excess, but 1–2 glasses of wine is part of my nightly routine. After three weeks of going cold turkey, I didn’t feel any different. So I stopped.
However, the real reason I didn’t finish was that I had never set myself up for success. I didn’t replace with with anything else: I drank tap water with dinner, and then had another glass of water while watching Game of Thrones. OF COURSE I FAILED. Gone was the pleasant feeling of discovering a new wine every few nights, and the comfort I got from doing something just for myself at the end of the day.
This year is going to be different. I'm approaching Dry January with the same level of planning that I afford the rest of my life. When the wine goes, other fun stuff comes in. How do I know? My wife was inspired by our editor-in-chief’s column about having a night or two off every week from drinking. She's been pushing me to build in a break every week, and Mondays have become my night. I have had practice, and January will be game time.
Here's a strategy for us both to follow:
If you're used to the pleasure of having a drink—the experience of making it, sitting down and enjoying it—then you should put just as much care into your non-alcoholic cocktails. Get out the nice glassware, the ice cubes from the square molds in the freezer, and take the time to build a drink that feels special.
On that note, get more creative with your non-alcoholic drinks. I had the most incredible virgin dark and stormy at the NoMad bar last January, and I was practically high off the fresh ginger juice. It was so good, it never gave me the chance to think it might be lacking anything, i.e., alcohol.
Chose your foods wisely. There are certain foods I will miss alcohol when eating, like most Italian food and pizza in particular. Ramen on the other hand, I will happily eat without a drink since I usually am so full after eating it that there literally is barely room for a few sips of water. Last year I had an incredible corn husk tea with the tasting menu at Atoboy and it felt just right (it didn't hurt that my buddy was also doing Dry January).
Stock up on seltzer, in multiple flavors, and drink as much of that as you want.
Kombucha is a great just-walked-in-the-door, sweet-tart wine replacement.
Get to know some hot, decaffeinated beverage options that can work as an end-of-day warm blanket, from decaf chai to Moon Milk or just straight up Sleepytime Tea if that is what it takes.
I recently started taking Charlotte’s Web CBD oil to see if it takes the edge off my slightly anxious mental state. I don’t see any reason to stop any time soon... and I'm not opposed to working in something stronger than CBD oil as an occasional reward.
