No alcohol for 10 days and no positive changes?

[Konstantine8364]

I had a very boozy December, Christmas and then a week skiing early Jan, so I thought I would have 2 weeks off drinking alcohol. Everyone bangs on about how much better they feel when they don't drink, but honestly at 10 days in I feel exactly the same. Was wondering if this is normal?! Am I being unreasonable and expecting too much after a short period?

I would usually drink on average around 3 bottles of wine a week, spread over 5 days. I don't drink mon and Tues to give my liver a rest.
I do a lot of exercise whether I drink or not and haven't noticed I have more energy. Skin exactly the same. Energy levels the same (although worth saying I am pretty high energy naturally, as is most of my family). I eat pretty healthily most of the time, mostly salads for lunch and mostly home cooked meals eg this week I've had veggie chilli and rice, seabass and stir-fry and cod with rice and asparagus and I don't have any digestives issues. I do eat out once or twice a week and would have whatever I fancy, but I don't eat cheap takeaways or fast food.
I know I should drink less, but I absolutely love wine and when I get no benefit from not drinking it makes it very hard not to!

Your heart, liver, brain and body will be thanking you! 3 bottles of wine a week is a lot, Increased risk of liver disease, various cancers (breast, mouth, throat, bowel, liver), high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and mental health issues like depression. So yeah well done! Keep it up.

Has your sleep improved?

If you really want t help your liver, first thing in the morning add a squeeze of lemon juice and an a pinch of cayenne pepper to hot water.
Drink this and wait 20 minutes before you touch coffee.
It is a great clean out of your system and particularly your liver.
I am doing it after a lot of wine at Christmas.
Also if you are serious about giving your liver a break every week, rest 4 days, wine only for 3 days.
It's what my lovely doctor advises.
Oh and the lemon water thing is great for your skin too.
My buddy is a dermatologist and he does this every morning.
I add a spoonful of collagen and vitamin C powder to my coffee and at 60 my skin is unlined.
Serums are the best, as is a good light spf 50.

I’m the same OP - never noticed any difference at all whenever I’ve done Dry Jan/Sober October etc. I also eat well and exercise a lot and I don’t notice a single difference in my sleep/energy/performance at work/mood/skin/anything at all when I give up wine…. I don’t drink to get drunk (I have a 3 year old) but I do enjoy a glass or two of really nice wine on a Saturday night for example. The thing that impacts me far more than having a couple of glasses of wine in the week is how well DD sleeps. THAT I do notice in my skin and energy levels 😅

Just don't clean teeth straight after as lemon juice is so bad for your teeth

To me you sound like a blossoming alcoholic looking for a good excuse to get back to drinking those 3 bottles of wine per week! The proof is there that drinking alocohol is not good for you and drinking a lot of alcohol is bad for you and 3 bottles of wine per week is a lot. Do whatever you like but don't try and fool yourself that you aren't harming your body with your drinking.

I think - and I don't mean this as a dig - that if 10 days without alcohol is a notable change for you then your body will absolutely benefit from this. Three bottles of wine a week is significantly more than the recommended limit so it's likely that your alcohol intake is impacting on your body in ways you might not even be noticing.

Yeah, I usually feel good for a few days after giving up the booze after a heavy period like Christmas or a holiday. Then I just feel bored....

True👍. Some use a straw to drink it but I throw it back and rinse immediately with a little more water.
Its not a strong amount of lemon.
Apple cider vinegar is also a good substitute.

I’ll be trying these.

I think you need to give it longer. I do also think that some of the claims about feeling loads better are a bit inflated. There's likely to be aa placebo effect, and it is also likely that people make other changes at the same time as cutting drinking, which may partly explain improvements in how they feel.

But that shouldn't matter. You must know that three bottles of wine a week is enough to be harmful and, regardless of whether you can actually feel the effects, your body will be recovering in a range of ways (without which you may be more at risk of a range of problems, such as cancer)

Honestly although it might feel like there aren’t any tangible changes, there will be.

your liver especially will benefit from this. 3 bottles a week is quite a lot. I drink BTW so not preaching but perhaps you’ve lost a little perspective about how much you’re consuming which is about 30 units per week.

The liver is the body’s primary detoxification organ and it does an excellent job, which is why it’s important not to overload it with alcohol. Lemon water is a myth. So yes, take some time away from the wine and your overall health will benefit.

I’m the same, OP. We always do a dry January and October. We never feel, look or sleep better. It’s easy but also just boring.

And lemon + cayenne water does not cleanse or detox your liver. The liver cleanses itself. No drink improves the process.

The best thing we can do is not overload the liver with alcohol and avoid unnecessary supplements as many are liver toxic.

I do take 10-14 days off the booze sometimes. I don’t feel better, look better or sleep much better. Maybe my liver appreciates it but a bit of a damp squib overall!

I definitely sleep better if I don't drink. Presumably there are lots of other invisible benefits but for me personally, sleep is the main one.

Am I being unreasonable and expecting too much after a short period?

Yes. Your body doesn't really undergo vast changes in less than a fortnight.

Giving up drinking for two weeks isn't really going to have much/any impact. Dry January means nothing if you then go back to drinking a lot for the other 11 months of the year. If you feel you need to drink less, you'd be better off reducing your intake all year round, rather than cutting it out completely for one month.

If you really want t help your liver, first thing in the morning add a squeeze of lemon juice and an a pinch of cayenne pepper to hot water. It is a great clean out of your system and particularly your liver.

This is nonsense. Lemon juice and pepper have no effect on your liver whatsoever. 'Detoxing' and 'flushing' your liver isn't a thing.

Glad people are calling out the nonsense of the lemon+cayenne pepper thing. Reading it in the context of someone trying to cut down on excessive alcohol consumption was a bit shocking really, like suggesting that sucking a polo mint after smoking a cigarette could protect against lung cancer.

The extra water first thing in the morning is bound to be helpful, since most of us are a bit dehydrated then , especially if we drink alcohol. But that's about it.

Shouldn’t a healthy liver be doing all the work without the help of lemon and cayenne pepper? Not a doctor but I never really understand these tips when a healthy organ is already built to do the work.

Not drinking alcohol (or very little) is probably what a liver really needs.

Personally I'd see if you have any improvement over the 3 week mark. I now try to drink a lot less but previously was about the same as you - nothing Monday to Thursday and 2-3 bottles over the weekend depending on what was happening.

I feel loads better - better sleep, better skin, less PMT, moods more regulated, weight loss with no other effort being made, etc. In reality it can't NOT be better for you, we all know alcohol is bad for us. My (partly hereditary high) blood pressure also dropped down quite quickly which was good. I'm otherwise an averagely fit and active person, so I was initially surprised at the level of benefit I experienced, but it did take a few weeks.

Oh I didn’t realise others were too 😁 I just find stuff like that nonsense. Since when does a healthy liver need lemon juice and cayenne pepper 😏

I don’t feel any better when I don’t drink either. However alcohol is a known carcinogen so even if I don’t feel any better, I know it’s far better for my body in the long term.

I think youbare quite healthy anyway and your alcohol drinking wasn't excessive.
I think the people that notice big changes will also do other healthy things they coudlnt do while they were drinking, like getting up early, excercising more and not eating junk, so it compounds to a greater effect.

I also had a boozy Christmas and wanted a break in January.

Haven't had anything in Jan and def seeing benefits.
Less puffy, jeans looser, sleeping well, more energy and for me-most importantly my resting heart rate goes down.
It is always in the "excellent for a woman my age" category on fitbit but it is def responding to no alcohol and I feel better for it.

Even if you can't see it it is def good for liver, heart etc

My drinking was very similar to yours op. I’ve made a New Year’s resolution to cut out the weekday drinking and save it just for the weekend. I had 2 bottles of wine over the weekend (can easily polish off two thirds of a bottle with Sunday lunch!)

I do feel better during the week, more focused and patient. Better sleep. No glowy skin or anything like that though. Two bottles of wine over the weekend is still a lot but I think this will naturally dwindle too.

What I would say is there’s no point doing dry January it you’re just going to go back to your old habits in feb. You’d be better off making smaller changes that are achievable and working from there.