I gave Up Alcohol for Six Weeks and This is What Happened

Happy Saturday, friends! So for this blog post, I wanted to talk about my experience with giving up alcohol for the six weeks of Lent, which is the six weeks in between Ash Wednesday (the day after Mardi Gras) and Easter. I gave up alcohol (and fast food, haha) for six weeks after hearing so many good things about people participating in dry January. Here are the five things that happened when I gave up alcohol:

1. In the first couple of weeks, I had HARDCORE sugar cravings. I used to pride myself on not having a sweet tooth. Before I began drinking, I NEVER ate candy. I would have the occasional piece of chocolate, but those moments were few and far between. I never really considered how much sugar I was consuming when I drank alcohol (silly me), but those first couple weeks of going alcohol-free meant that I was no longer getting all that sugar that my body was used to. In a little over a week, I single-handedly consumed a family pack of Chips Ahoy. As time went on, I started eating more fruit to satisfy my sugar cravings. Eventually, the cravings went WAY down!

2. I started drinking more water. Whenever we went to restaurants, I would sit and drink water while enviously eyeballing Jackson's Old Fashioned. As I drank water, my body began actually CRAVING even more water. Now, I drink about 80 oz of water every day at work.

3. I lost about ten pounds. Without changing my diet AT ALL (except for the fast food). This was something that I hoped would happen, but wasn't sure it actually would. News flash: margaritas are REALLY fattening.

4. I craved alcohol less and less. In the first couple of weeks, my meals felt incomplete without some kind of alcohol, and I missed my glasses of wine. Eventually, I no longer missed the drinks and was completely content with tea, water, kombucha, etc.

5. I saved a ton of money. I know drinks are expensive, but it was such a good reminder to go out, order water, and then receive a bill that was half the cost of what it would have been if I ordered drinks.

Have you guys given up alcohol before? Tell me about your experience!

Much Love,
​Vikka