Notes on a month without sugar or alcohol
It is somewhat ironic that I am writing this a bit hungover: after a month of abstaining from alcohol and sugar, an open AND a DIY ice cream sandwich station at a wedding got the best of me last night. As much fun as we had, waking up with a headache this morning was a good reminder of how wonderfully healthy and alert I’ve felt for the past month.
Although we’ve done Dry January a few times before, we decided to take it one step further this time by eliminating sugar. David read somewhere that taking sugar out of your diet for a prolonged amount of time can help eliminate craving sugar, which seemed like a good step for two people with a serious sweet tooth. We also have a tendency to lean on the other if we try to cut back on sugar or alcohol: I’ll splurge on a pint of ice cream if we’re not drinking, or opt for a bit of Frangelico over ice as “dessert” if we’re trying to cut back on sugar. Taking out both removed them as crutches, which helped us focus on creating healthier habits. Friends have asked me just how seriously we took the “no sugar” part of things, and I like to say that it was mostly sticking in the spirit of it and staying around from added or refined sugar: no ice cream, cookies, soda, etc. I was fine with having fruit with all of its natural sugars–mostly because I wanted to shift our habits to craving something fresh and natural–but also tried not to lean too heavily on fruit as a sweet.
Overall, the month was pretty easy: having so much energy was addicting! We also focused on checking off more outdoor activities in San Diego: we hiked Iron Mountain, tried surfing, discovered the best place to watch the sunset. It did feel a little weird to be sober at events like a Superbowl party, or my friend’s housewarming party–mostly because everyone automatically assumes you’re pregnant if you’re 29, newly married and asking for seltzer water.
If you’re thinking about doing a sober or no-sugar month: DO IT. It’s a really interesting way to reset your health habits, and a reminder of our reliance on alcohol in a lot of social situations. I’ve chatted with a few friends and the hesitation is always that there never seems to be the “right” time to do it, and it’s true–there will never be a perfect time completely devoid of all social situations. It’s still worth doing, and perhaps even more so! Here were a few of our favorite things to swap for drinks or sugar over the past month.
Instead of drinking alcohol: we kept our fridge stocked with La Croix (coconut and grapefruit are my two favorites, and there are no artificial sweeteners) and lemon-infused water and iced tea (we have this pitcher, which makes it easy to make a bunch at the start of the day). We also have a Sodastream to make sparkling water: we had sparkling water in wine glasses with dinner, which made it feel a little bit fancier. I also picked up kombucha once in a while for an afternoon treat. Our nightcap of choice was chamomile tea!
Instead of eating something sweet in the afternoon: we had apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon (I’ve started splurging on Honeycrisp, and I think the juicy, crisp sweetness is worth it), a string cheese, a RXBAR, or put together a spread of celery, carrot sticks, cucumber slices and hummus (personally obsessed with the horseradish hummus from Trader Joe’s).
Instead of eating dessert: we snacked on frozen coconut chunks and frozen mango chunks (two of my favorite Trader Joe’s products!), or simply had a nice hot cup of tea.
Instead of catching up with friends over drinks: we made plans for early-morning hikes and breakfast, took the pups on a walk, did a workout class together (yay for Classpass!) or played tennis. We also went out for dinner, and just opted not to drink: it saved us a significant amount on the tab, and I don’t feel like we really missed out on anything.
Overall, it was a really great experience and we’ve already committed to to doing it again next year! And although I’m certainly looking forward to having a glass of sauv blanc with dinner or finalllly testing out the new Salt & Straw in San Diego, it’s also encouraged me to find and focus on doing more healthy activities.
