To already be sick of dry January (lighthearted kind of)

[januaryblues22]

Said I'd attempt dry January this year as I knew I'd over indulge over Christmas. As it happened we were all unwell and I didn't drink much at all, but thought I'd still give it a go.

I'm already questioning it and thinking I'll probably not stick it out. I know for some MNers that automatically makes me an alcoholic but it's not that. I can go without, I don't need it. But I miss it the same way I missed chocolate when I tried to give that up for lent --and failed.

One of my small pleasures in life is sitting down with a drink at the end of the day in front of a series. Not daily but maybe 2-3 times a week. I only have one and I don't drink to get drunk but I do like the slight buzz it gives me.

Is life too short to deprive yourself of these things or do I try and stick it out a bit longer? Fwiw I am sticking to my diet and exercise regime quite well (although obviously it is only the 2nd January so that could fall down too soon 😂)

Bump

Lifes too short, have the drink

That's an awful lot of hand wringing over something you appear to enjoy and keep within the recommended guidelines.

If you’re already having some dry days in the week, I wouldn’t bother! Winter is hard enough as it is!!

I agree. You aren't overindulging, give yourself a break

I always thought the purpose of dry January was to get out of the habit of regularly drinking a bit too much. If you’re sure you’re only having 3-4 drinks per week, it seems reasonable to continue!

I'm doing dry-ish January. It takes the pressure off. I'm also doing run-almost-everyday Jan.
Honestly, you're much happier if you don't set yourself up to fail.

If you don't want to do it, are happy your drinking is in moderation, and it's a case of "I'd have no problem doing it but rather not", don't do Dry January. It's not really anyone else's business.

From your post it sounds like you've started 3 big changes in January (diet, exercise, dry January) and if giving chocolate up for lent hasn't been successful/you're not sure you can manage dry January, maybe you need to be kinder to yourself and more realistic with the goals you're setting yourself.

For example, if your focus is to be in better health, why not focus on making choices that help with that goal, which might mean reducing alcohol.

I suppose I'm just annoyed at my lack of willpower. I set myself a challenge to do something that ultimately will benefit my health. Because booze might be enjoyable but it isn't good for me, the same as chocolate and carbs and sitting on my arse binge watching Netflix. However I enjoy these things 😂

I'm not hand wringing, I know I'm not drinking to excess but I suppose I'm just annoyed that I seem incapable of sticking to things.

Maybe you'd benefit from smaller habits changes rather than trying to overhaul lots of areas at once OP.

Keystone habits are a good thing to look into. Focusing on small changes in some areas the effect can ripple out to other areas.

Some people have a food keystone. If they are eating well, they have more energy and they're more likely to exercise. When they're eating junk, they feel lethargic, can't be bothered and then are more likely to sit and what rubbish on telly. They're best having a habit change with their food rather than focusing on working out 4 times a week.
Other people find that their keystone is exercise. When they exercise, they feel better, feel less stressed, so have more mental bandwidth to meal prep and eat decent food. If they don't exercise, they feel more stressed so are more likely to snack on junk food and eat rubbish. These people are more likely to achieve when they set fitness goals rather than a diet plan.