I realized I desperately needed to reevaluate my relationship with alcohol. In London, I had heard of a new tradition, a government-sponsored Dry January when people pledge to take the month off booze while also raising money for charity. Although I would be spending January in the States, I decided to give it a try, hoping it would help me transform my overall drinking habits. Studies have shown that the average participant in Dry January loses about a pound a week and also experiences improvements in other health measures, like blood pressure and cholesterol. Personally, I was pleased to find that I lost 7 pounds in January and a total of 10 pounds in my first six weeks of not drinking. I’ve always struggled with skin issues, but after I stopped drinking, I noticed my complexion cleared up. My guess is that staying hydrated helped flush toxins out of my body and revitalized my skin. I’ve also noticed that my teeth stay whiter (I used to drink red wine) and my eyes are clearer. These days, people often tell me, “Wow, you look healthy”—something I never used to hear. Personally, not only is my marriage at a more peaceful place after I stopped drinking, but our sex life is actually better too! I believed, for many years, that alcohol was an important part of my corporate success. I thought it made me better at networking, and I even gave drinking credit for some of my better work-related ideas. And yet in the past year of no drinking, I’ve balanced a full-time executive role and written a book in my spare time. Plus, my work-life balance has improved—it was shocking to realize how much time drinking sucked up. I’ve found more personal and professional success in the past year than ever before. These days, I don’t feel guilty at all about splurging on a massage or treating myself to a movie. All I have to do is compare it to how much money I was spending drinking on a daily basis in order to realize that my checking account is much healthier sans booze.
