6 months Alcohol-free: what did I learn so far?

At the end of April, I was sitting in the famous Fiddlers Green pub in Portaferry (Northern Ireland by the way for those new to my blog) to celebrate the end of yet another successful fieldcourse. It was my first (and only) Guinness of the week, and little did I know that it would also be my last (for 6 months anyway..).  
As someone known to 'hold her drinks well', after my sporty and healthy life led me to reduce my intake, I was surprised at how one (just one!) drink seemed to affect me, so adding to tiredness of a week of early mornings and late evenings working with the students I was ready to collapse in bed pretty early. But even so, after just one drink and an early night, my morning run was somewhat disturbed from it and the all of the following day I felt less than my normal strong self. And that's when I decided that maybe I just shouldn't drink for a while. And this while has lasted 6 months, in all honesty without me noticing or without me missing it! 


Let's have a look at some changes that it made in my life: 

1.  Easier to stay slim. No more extra calories from the alcohol (a beer has a lot!) and no more mindless consumption of snacks that (sometimes) accompany such drinks 
2. Early morning motivation, even on a weekend! Means more activity, more productivity, ability to take on extra things
   
3. No more wasted Sundays wrapped in a duvet feeling like you are dying, eating your body weight in hangover food and watching series
4. Doesn't mean skipping the social things! Just order a virgin cocktail (bloody Maries are tomato based so less added sugars!), some zero sugars drinks, or why not an old fashion sparkly water with a slice of lemon?? If your friends are the good kind, they won't mind you are not drinking and there is still plenty of fun to be had! 

I recommend for everyone reading to try, not necessarily forever, at least one night out without drinking and see that you don't need it to be funny/liked/dance/talk to people - and if you do find yourself thinking that you need the booze to do all these things, then, maybe, is time to tackle the issue instead! 

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