Top tips from Dry January® alumni

Write down the reasons you want to go "dry" so you have a reminder if it gets tough. I decided not to avoid any situation where drink might be present, but I planned how to deal with it. Go for it, it gets easier, and you feel a fantastic sense of achievement at the end.

The beginning is the hardest part and since it's awful to keep repeating day one, stick to your plan! Stay dry one day at a time, and remind yourself why you started. I found it helpful to focus on my overall health while quitting, including eating healthy foods, drinking lots of water, going to bed earlier, and exercising. Most of all take care of yourself. The alcohol-free journey is not easy, but the rewards are amazing.

I would tell someone new to trying Dry January® to prepare for it mentally in December. Have things to do during the typical times you desire to drink during the first week of January. Try a new hobby or go to bed early. Have fancy fizzy drinks available to sip. Try some new teas. Ask for support! It’s an amazing gift you can give yourself. Everything is better.

Stick to you guns, don't let your friends sway you with 'one won't hurt'. Don't feel you need to justify your reasons for being alcohol-free either.

It's a tough challenge but it does get easier and it is so worth it! Yoga can help to calm anxiety and is a great start to a new fitness plan. Sleep meditation really helped me as sleep in the first few weeks can be poor. Download the Dry Janurary app and check in regularly to the Facebook group for amazing support!

If you try and fail don’t despair. It’s like training for anything ... the more you try the stronger you get. One day, suddenly you’ll realise you’re doing it for real and you’ve become a Dry January®® and beyond-er!

You will learn more about how strong you are and what freedom feels like than you can even begin to imagine. And community is so incredibly important. Groups like this where you can post before you pour unites people in a beautiful way.

For me, the biggest thing was why I was doing it ... sounds pretty obvious but I think it’s important to set that out in your mind. My reason was to improve my health so I can be around long enough to see my granddaughter grow up.

Any day is a good day to change. Don't be put off by any slips ... learn from them. Observe yourself and count the blessings not drinking brings ... better sleep, memory, health.

I would say belonging to this group and others have helped me the most, I learned I was not alone ... I had somewhere to turn for motivation in weak moments. I also became familiar with quit lit, alcohol-free alternatives and strategies to deal with cravings. Signing up to 100 days was probably the game-changer, it just wasn't worth going back after that.