Drinking Alcohol has been a part of my life for the last 16 years, from underage drinking in the park with my friends, student parties, afterwork drink and more recently a glass of wine in the evenings after a long day. Its not that I drink heavily or can't say no but more recently the days that were i'll have one or two drinks have been out weighing the days that i've had none.
One year I did a dry January but apart from that i've drunk most weekends and quite often during the week.
So i've decided to cut down, i'm not going to cut out completely. I have a number of weddings and social occasions coming up and I enjoy a drink at them but I am going to reduce my drinking to a few days a week.
In order to help me i'm going here are some of the benefits I think I will get and the tips i'll employ:
Benefits
Healthier skin
Weight lose - theres 200 calories in a pint of beer
More energy - hopefully in the mornings, greater likelihood of me jumping out of bed for exercise
More money!!
Clearer mental focus/improved memory
Better general health
Less risk of future serious illness i.e cancer, liver disease
Less tired due to having a good nights sleep
Generally happier
Ways to reduce alcohol intake
Keep less alcohol in the house
Have set days that are alcohol free
Have an alternative to alcohol - this is a tricky one for me. A nice glass of red wine goes so well with my evening meal
Only allow alcohol when I've done some exercise that day
Have a soft drink between alcoholic drinks when out. If you're out this could just be drinking your table water or ordering a lemonade between each vodka and lemonade
Keep a tally of the amount of alcoholic drinks drunk per week - bit like a food diary, if you are honest it will help
Dilute your drink, white wine with sparkling water, beer with lemonade
Ok so i'm going to give this a go for a month, it'll be good to flex my willpower muscle!
CK
