So,
you’re just a normal guy or gal who enjoys a good glass of wine now and then.
You might not drink every day, but you definitely don’t mind having a drink
with friends or enjoying a relaxing evening at home with a drink or two. You
might have heard about people choosing to live an alcohol-free lifestyle, but
you just don’t think that’s for you.
However,
as the years have gone on, you might have noticed yourself gaining a little bit
of weight, not sleeping very well and constantly feeling tired or irritable.
While you used to bounce back quickly after a night of drinking, now that one
night out can hit you hard enough to last for a few days afterwards. Does this
sound familiar? If so, your story might be similar to that of James Swanwick,
the creator of the
30 Day No Alcohol Challenge.
In
2010, after years of feeling groggy, bogged down and unfit, James decided to
switch things up a bit by going alcohol-free. On his website, James writes: “I
felt rock bottom so made the instant decision to go 30 days alcohol-free: a
personal best to test my self-discipline.” And thus, the 30 Day No Alcohol
Challenge was born.
With
James’s story, more and more people across the United States and the world
began trying the challenge, and seeing how long they could go without a single
sip of alcohol. For some, it was a walk in the park. For others, not so much.
Almost every single person who tried it experienced the same results as James:
less weight, more energy and more overall zest for life. So, if you’ve ever
considered the no alcohol challenge—or even had it pique your interest just to
see if you
could do it—we have some
reasons you should officially give it a try.
One of
the biggest reasons to try the No Alcohol Challenge is simply to see if you can
do it. Like anything, alcohol tends to seep into our lives gradually at first—a
drink after work with colleagues, a beer at lunch, a few glasses of wine at
dinner, etc. While you might tell yourself it has no real hold on your life,
there’s no actual way of knowing until you try to go without. As Bjorgvin
Benediktsson
says about his experience with
the 30 Day Challenge, “As someone who regularly has a beer at lunch, likes to
celebrate a workday with a couple of drinks at the bar and parties on the
weekends I wanted to know just how strong of a hold alcohol had on my life.”
The
truth is, no matter who you are, alcohol
does
have addictive properties, and can become
a vital staple of our lives if we don’t pay close enough attention. The No
Alcohol Challenge is a great way to reset your mind and actually take note of
the effects you experience when alcohol doesn’t play a role in your life.
As you
might have guessed, going without alcohol also has a significant amount of
surprising health benefits. Depending on your drinking habits beforehand, you
might experience considerable
weight loss, likes James Swanwick did, more energy, such as Bjorgvin
Benediktsson experienced or even
clearer skin, like Amanda Montell cites. Going
without alcohol has even been shown to improve users’ memory, focus,
productivity, cognition and overall zeal for life. Consistent drinking can
often leave us feeling sluggish, groggy and result in poor health and life
decisions. Instead, abstaining avoids many of these consequences and can
improve overall mental, emotional and physical health.
In an
article by
Lifehack, author Tobi Atkins cites
Dr. David Nutt, M.D., a neuropharmacologist at Imperial College in London. In
2010, Dr. Nutt
rated 20 different
drugs
based on the various harms caused by each drug, both to the individual person
and to others. Drugs involved in the study included ones such as LSD, ecstasy, cannabis,
tobacco, cocaine and of course, alcohol. Out of all of them, alcohol took first
place, presenting the most cumulative harm to users and others around them. On
a scale from 0-100, alcohol scored an approximate 72, making it the most
harmful drug in the study. By giving the 30 Day Challenge a try, you can see
the beneficial results of avoiding alcohol for yourself.
And of
course, one reason many people choose to try the No Alcohol Challenge:
finances. Alcohol is expensive, and depending on how often you drink, can
quickly add up to a huge chunk of the budget. Avoiding alcohol is a great way
to save yourself some money in the long run, and put it towards something more
beneficial and fulfilling in life.
While
giving up alcohol and living a completely alcohol-free lifestyle might not be
in your long-term future, the 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge is the perfect way to
give it a test run. Learn more about the role alcohol plays in your life, how
you can improve your health without it and even how you can save some money in
your budget. Start the No Alcohol Challenge today and let us know what results
you experience this month.