Dry Jan 2026- anyone care to join in?

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Since there doesn’t seem to be a dedicated dry Jam thread I thought I would start one and see if I get any company.
I so need this. Drinking has made me feel sluggish, anxiety ridden and awful. I remembered how great I felt doing it last year but slipped back into old habits far too easily.

This thread popped up, I did DJ over a decade ago and still going! Just wanted to say well done everyone for making a change and even if you do have a slip you can still get right back on for the rest of the month. I’m not holier than thou and think if you want to have a drink go for it but I do like to think of the money saved and the hours not spent hungover.

I'm in the fortunate position of not needing to save money on extra curriculars and I tend to think about all the good times I've had whilst drinking - I don't get many hangovers. Hence 20 years on from my first Dry Jan - I'm still drinking and still enjoying it!😂

Hi all, just checking in to say I've been reading along and you are all doing great well done. Day 7 today for me also and so far so good let's see how the weekend goes though. Noticed my skin is fresher looking and my face is less puffy my nails are a better colour more pink. I have more energy and don't feel constantly tired with brain fog my mind feels clear and peaceful. My sleep has been really deep and refreshing and surprisingly my sex drive has increased. My drinks of choice have been water and green tea might get some Frexinet for the weekend. Written this ramble incase I have a wobble can read it back and see the positives. Keep going everyone 💐

Day 7! Wowza! Feeling positive/ more energy and lots of people saying about feeling less puffy in the face! Yes, same here too! Skin looks healthier.

I'm on ribena and tonic in the evenings it's a good change :)

Hi Everyone for getting through you first week( if you started in the 1st). I am mostly ok. I don’t have any physical cravings but I do feel a strange sense of emptiness and restlessness. Like I don’t want to drink atm and won’t BUT I also miss something about it.
Anyone else feel this way?

There is a little bit of me that misses that first sip knowing that I can know relax and the stress of the day is over even though I know I wouldn't stop at one sip or one glass. I am trying to ignore that feeling and just keep going

Fewer calories, cheaper on the weekly shop, better sleep, plus no more stupid late night purchases on Vinted! Feeling smug and glad of this thread to say that.

Checking in on day 7. Not noticed any improvements with skin yet but its early days. Have had a few moments when I could have caved in and cracked a bottle open but I haven't. As pp stated I do feel something is missing. Sleep was amazing last night. Massive bonus. Keep it up everyone. Well done so far 👏

@thisoldcity your right about the cheaper on the weekly shop. Went to Aldi the other day and the total came to £76 rather than £120. That for me was definitely a bit of a shock moment seeing the lower price on the till.

I was feeling a bit tetchy today. Thought I might cave. I had a can of the g spot soothe, sipped as I cooked. It does taste nice and I think gives a bit of a tingly buzzy feel like that first sip , which was nice. I have no plans for the weekend so feeling fairly confident I can get through it.

This could be me!
Have you had any effects since stopping your nightly bottle of wine habit?

Day 11 for me and I do feel really good. I do think my skin looks brighter, I am sleeping a bit better and I have more energy.
I don’t drink in the week generally anyway so it’s the weekend I will notice but I am committed to doing this.

We went out for lunch today and pre 2025 I would have had wine with lunch when out but I did put a stop to that when I started my diet last January which was a really easy win in terms of calorie reduction.

I am planning to do a 50k walk later this year (can’t run anymore due to dodgy knees) so although I may not completely abstain from alcohol long term, I really do want it to become an occasional thing rather than a routine for my health.

Well done everyone, it’s great to have somewhere to check in. Love the Try Dry app too, seeing the days count up is very motivating.

Day 7. First time I have had a tiny wobble but identified it as tiredness after a busy day in work. Not back in the groove of getting up early yet. Had an AF lager and am fine now. Done a lot of snacking today though so will have to watch out for that. Keep going folks.

Definitely feeling tempted this evening after a couple of very up and down days (down - returning to a toxic workplace with terrible leadership. Up - new kitchen delivery!) so emotions all over the place. I definitely use alcohol to numb strong feelings once the evening rolls around. Pushing on past the key risky hours (by 9pm I know I won't drink) with another crodini in a wine glass once kids are asleep 💪💪

Well done everyone 👏 first week done .
Have been reading about how your body recovers when not drinking, link here if you'd like to read it too

1 week alcohol-free - what's happening in your body? | Alcohol Change UK https://share.google/9761jcgZ9qVoVkx2J

🤭 I have eaten an obscene amount of chocolate, just got to keep putting sugar in my mouth !!

Well done on the first dry week all!

I have eaten so much in terms or carbs and sugar today and I dont even have a sweet tooth!
Like I advised another poster though, i know its just my body craving the lost sugar hits from the wine.
Hoping it eases off soon though as I have lost a significant amount of weight this year and dont want to jeopardise this!

Day 7 for me. I did have a craving tonight for a wine but settled for a trip drink instead. Its been a busy day. The kids were meant to fo back to school but the schools across our whole region closed today as the snow was pretty bad. We ended up sledging and building a snowman instead. I am hoping they go back tomorrow though. According to my app I have saved 1291 calories and saved 19 units. My skin and eyes look brighter though.

Day 7 for me. Well done everyone!

Would like to join please!
A little late to the party and only 2 days in but want to make changes and do this!

What was everyone’s drinking habits before doing dry Jan?

Mine was a bottle of wine a night for over a year 😏

Mine was binging every weekend at least a bottle Friday and Saturday, half on a Sunday.

Day 7 woo hoo! And well done everyone

I had a slight craving for a drink earlier but not giving in for I have definitely come too far now!
I generally feel more optimistic, and don't miss the fuzzy head in the morning.

Keep going all

Sleep well

Can I join please? I’m a bit later starting as I’m only on day 3. I’ve had an ever increasing issue with alcohol which has slowly crept up on me over the years. Not anywhere near as bad as some people (never more than one bottle of wine in an evening), but still enough, and often enough to know I’ve got a problem.

I want my life back and I’ve realised that drinking has actually been causing me to be more anxious, my sleep had been terrible and Ive gained weight.

In an ideal world I would love to never drink again. But that’s a scary concept. So I will start with a month off it and then see if I can make that 2 months etc.

I’ve been listening to an audio book called Alcohol Explained, which has really motivated me and also been using AI to help me to come up with strategies for dealing with cravings etc.

Good luck to everyone else.

I was drinking about 2 bottles of wine a week on average. I used to drink 3 bottles of wine a week before i did DJ last year. I feel awful when I drink though and have put on a stone in the last year partly because of my wine habit. I found reading a book called The unexpected joy of being sober quite helpful last year. It explains the science behind why we get addicted to alcohol.

Day 7 complete. Well done to all of us!