Easy to have to much holiday festivities. “Dry January” is my start to the year. The affect on sleep and recovery is noticeable especially for the trainer sessions at 5 am. I’ve done this the past few years and the body’s reaction to the first cocktail after the break is enlightening. The body clearly rejects alcohol and actively seeks to process it out of the body. I’m certain I’ll have cocktails this year but a period of abstinence is healthy reminder of the effect on the body.
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Same here, did dry January last year and it was a great way to reset after the holidays. Excited to sync my build phase up with dry Jan/Feb this year to maximize my recovery/gains.
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I’ve pretty much got an addictive personality and if I drink beer or wine for a couple of nights in a row it pretty much always ends up being a good few weeks before I actually stop for a day or two. So for me it’s got to be all or nothing. Nothing it is.
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I’m a 1 beer a night, most nights of the week kind of guy (I have two kids under 5).
Jan is going to be 100% dry (and ice-cream free)
Then I’m going for 1 beer a week as a limit, until I reach my goal weight (should reach this summer, or Fall if things pan out).
Why?
- save money (to pay for TR membership and an annual 3 day training camp in Tahoe)
- reach goal weight (more W/Kg!!!)
- be healthier
I will miss them though, as that single IPA on a hot summer night is just absolute bliss.
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Craft sixers here are about $12. I buy one about every week or two. So if I go two years without beer, I can have a Kickr “for free” and still drink wine with my wife when she wants.
Sold.
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I’m not sure whether I should “stop” or not. Very rarely do I have more than one beer in the evening, but that I have almost every evening. I really enjoy beer, mostly for the taste and thirst, not keen on the buzz. Still I feel like any kind of consistency in drinking isn’t good, right?
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Obviously I’m not the right person to give advise on this but, one beer a night seems a little innocuous as long as one doesn’t lead to two to three over time. Someone mentioned they drink non-alcoholic beer so that seems like a perfect fit for you. I may try it as I do miss the taste.
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An average bottle of beer is about 1.7 units.
Max recommended weekly total is 14 units for a male.
So you are under the recommended amount on average.
Recommend by who, lol? I can’t imagine any non-biased study would actually “recommend “ drinking alcohol.
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UK Public Health guidance. It’s a maximum recommendation.
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Correct. 1 beer would be ok by essentially any governments recommendations. That said, if you’re even remotely concerned about your alcohol intake it’s worth doing some self education on recommended maximums and the effects it’s having on the body both immediately and over time. Don’t spend too much time poking around though because it is very easy to scare the sh** out of yourself unnecessarily.
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@RobertSims, I’m just about to dip my toe into the non-alcoholic training pool, during vacation no less! I’ll let y’all know how 7 days of backcountry skiing fare as a result. Until then!
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Well May as well start here - Possibly not the best place to introduce myself but as alcohol is a part of the reaosn i’m here… I started riding in 2016 and lost 70lbs - road 5000 mile in 2017 and again in 2018 though i sort of relaxed a bit last year and gined 20lbs or so back again - it took me a while to realise i’d drifted in to the 1 or 3 rums and night and wine at the weekends - so for the forseeable future - i’m dry. I’ve just signed up to trainer road - got a couple of hill to conquer this summer!!
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Welcome and go kill it!
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well, four days in for most people who started ‘dry january’ and if you are thinking that its a little tough, take a look at the results of a study involving 800 people who went teetotal for January, and how it impacted their drinking throughout the year
The research also showed that:
93% of participants had a sense of achievement
88% saved money
82% think more deeply about their relationship with drink
80% feel more in control of their drinking
76% learned more about when and why they drink
71% realised they don’t need a drink to enjoy themselves
70% had generally improved health
71% slept better
67% had more energy
58% lost weight
57% had better concentration
54% had better skin
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It feels like 4 days too 
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It’s been relatively easy for me so far 6 days in. New Years Eve was not a problem and i went to Cancun the next day surrounded by literally everyone drinking and again no problem. The only time I have the urge is exactly when I said before (getting dinner ready). If I eat something I seem to be ok.
So far I don’t feel more energetic or notice better sleep etc…I do wake up less groggy which is great. Not going to step on the scale for a while. In the past I’ve gotten upset, like a moron, when I didn’t see any change after 22 seconds. I know better that weight/cellular/metabolic changes take a little time but, I am typical in that I want it now.
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that’s me!!! I weighed myself yesterday and was annoyed that I hadn’t lost any weight over the Christmas period. In hindsight its a bloody miracle that I didn’t gain half a stone.
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Yep. Me too. So much goes on as you know day to day with training and increase/decrease in blood plasma and hydration it’s simply destructive for fragile ego people like me to get on a scale daily. The mirror is really a good indicator of being lean which is what I’m really after. The weight will fall where it will fall. Because I’m a moron, I will probably weigh myself every couple weeks just to get pissed off… 
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