Thousands of Britons will embark on a dry January this month – giving up alcohol for a month for the sake of their health.
Participants could sSee radical changes in your body, according to the experience of a man who has already completed the challenge.
American YouTuber Jordan LoNigro went teetotal for 30 days in 2019 after noticing he had been drinking more than usual, including a “48-hour hangover” after St. Patrick’s Day.
In a video documenting his experience, he said one of the “impressive” changes he had seen was losing 10 pounds (about three-quarters of a stone) in just one month.
“I have officially lost 10 pounds just by not consuming alcohol for a month,” he said in the documentaryIt got 1.8 million views.
He added that giving up alcohol gave him more energy and also freed up time for hobbies such as playing music, exercising and reading.
“I feel like I have a little more energy and I feel a lot less sluggish than usual,” he said.
“I’ve been more creative. Obviously I haven’t woken up hungover on the weekends, so I’ve been using my time to my advantage and being more productive in all aspects.”
LoNigro said his 30-day no-drink challenge had an “amazing” effect not only on his body but also on his lifestyle.
He especially liked the absence of hangovers.
“When I drink too much I get really bad hangovers that come with really bad anxiety,” he said.
“It makes me miserable and anxious all day and not wanting to leave the house.”
Another obvious benefit that stood out was a boost to your wallet.
“It’s pretty simple if you go out to eat and even if you just have one beer, that adds five to six dollars to your meal and if you eliminate that over the course of a month, you save money,” he said.
However, he added that giving up alcohol was not without its challenges.
“The most challenging thing for me this entire month is social life,” he said.
“When you stop drinking alcohol and you stop those activities that involve drinking, you don’t want to put yourself in those environments, so you stay home, you just relax and you don’t go out with people too much.” said.
He cited special occasions like birthdays and visits to family filled with “drink after drink after drink” as particularly challenging parts of his 30-day marathon.
LoNigro added that while he wouldn’t completely eliminate alcohol from his life in the future, “I was going to be a little more conscious of when I drink and how much I drink.”
It is believed that around 200,000 people will take part in this year’s Dry January.
The NHS recommends that people drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week (the equivalent of six pints of beer or six medium glasses of wine) spread over at least three days.
However, one in four adults in England report drinking more than this level.
The British are also some of the biggest drinkers on the continent, ranking third in alcohol consumption.
British women specifically came in second in terms of binge drinking, with a quarter of them, second only to their Danish counterparts.
By contrast, British men ranked fifth in Europe, with 45 percent reporting episodical binge drinking in 2022 data.