Dry January diaries: week two

Week two is over, so Eleanor, Scott and James give us an update on their challenges. Read on to find out more...

Monday 13 January

Dry January is going well, I haven’t really felt like drinking this week. It’s been a busy week at work with training projects kicking off across a couple of clients and we’ve been back into wedding planning mode after a break following Christmas and the New Year.

I’ve also started planning my 30-day challenge for Feb following on from Dry January. I’m going to be getting stuck into organising the house doing a de-clutter. So, my challenge is going to be to donate something each day that we no longer need and that could be useful for someone else. My planning has included watching the Minimalists for the 5th time on Netflix. Hopefully, this will help to give me the motivation to do a massive clear out.

I’ve been tracking the Dry January progress on the Try Dry App which is showing me that I’ve saved £47 over the last 16 days as well as saving about 2,900 calories by not drinking. I’ve also been eating a bit healthier after the overindulgence over the Christmas season.

Next week is going to be a busy one, so I’m looking forward to some downtime over the weekend. Although I do have a list of jobs to get to...

20 January

Wow, I’m really finding this Dry January thing hard – much harder than I imagined. The car saga continues, it’s been a really stressful week and I’ve been feeling like a glass of wine or a large G&T would take the edge off. Yes, I definitely use alcohol as a stress reliever, and right now it’s the regularity of a drink that I’m missing the most.

Doing Dry January has made me be honest with myself about why I have a drink. It has also drawn attention to the extent of my habit. I’m really ok with the amount that I drink in general, and I can happily go a good few days without any alcohol at all. I have a glass or two on a regular basis, and now and again I have a little more. It’s the latter that I dislike the effects of, so I’m glad to be having a break.

Thursday 16 January

Not a great deal to report this week. I enjoyed the end of last week and made the most of the weekend by engaging in fun non-drinking activities. A couple of bad sleeps and a sprained ankle have dampened my spirits this week, but I still feel more focussed than I was in December and I’m enjoying that.

I briefly thought about drinking when I was angry that I had hurt my ankle, but that is the only time I have considered it so far. I am feeling confident and committed to the month and I think the absence of doubt makes it easier to stick to; I find the ‘should I drink today/tonight/this weekend’ mental conversation tiring and it usually ends up with me giving in.