It was Christmas 2020, the culmination of a roller coaster year due to Covid-19 when I had my “aha!” moment. I was not my normal energetic, positive, confident self - on the inside. On the outside, no one would know. Like many people I was discouraged by the increasing toll of the pandemic and the boredom of lockdown. I was so bored with the routine of working hard and long days, that I would cap it off with a couple of glasses of wine, which increased in frequency from weekends, to daily. Even before the pandemic, I had put on a few too many pounds that did not sit well with me.
While on December break and with the opportunity to rest and reflect, I realized that the daily glass of wine was becoming a habit - and I wasn’t even enjoying it. As I looked to a re-set beginning in 2021, making positive improvements to my health, my attitude, I looked for ideas and inspiration to keep me motivated.
I decided to eliminate alcohol as an obvious way to lose weight and feel better. I found the Dry January campaign, run by Alcohol Change UK, and it really resonated with me – it was framed as a positive lifestyle choice. They offered a lot of free resources to help – I found the blogs most helpful to me, as well as some of the scientific-based research. They also offered an app for daily tracking, Try Dry; that was not for me, but I know others found it very useful. The tone of the program is very inclusive – it is a friendly, upbeat resource that gives you tips to be healthy by eliminating or reducing alcohol.
The second thing I did was to add daily yoga in addition to my usual workout routine. I now have two sources of positive affirmations and multiplied my health benefits.
