30-Day No Alcohol Challenge

I was given my first drink at my 16th birthday party. It was a couple bottle of sweet and delicious (at the time) vodka cruisers. My first experience of alcohol was a pleasant one - I felt very happy and did not get sick. Having said that, I did not find drinking particularly exciting. I asked dad why he drank a bottle of beer a day, to which he said that a bottle of beer a day was good for the body. I, being the righteous brat I was, said that alcohol hurt the liver and vowed I would not start drinking til I was 25, because I was taught that was when our livers were fully developed and was capable of properly breaking down the alcohol.

I started going out and drinking proper upon turning 18 - the legal drinking age in Australia - and totally ignored what my 16-year-old said about alcohol and our bodies and all that. Being able to drink and party was damn liberating, and made life sorta exciting. Parties were being had left, right and centre to coincide with the end of high school; hanging out at bars and clubs were the thing to do; and ordering a glass of wine/cocktail at a restaurant with your meal made you feel more grown up than ever. It was nice being able to be an adult (ha!). During my year abroad in Canada, living in an university student town, my drinking increased exponentially. I was drinking five nights a week because it was definitely the thing to do socially. Drinking, either at a bar or at a house gathering/party, allowed for bonding and experiences to be shared - social lubricating at its best.

One litre mason jars served at La Distillerie, Montreal, CANADA 2011

Of course, I realised all this drinking (and post-drinking poutine) was not good for my body. I had gained weight and became rather unfit, not that I was fit to begin with. But when I came back to Australia, my drinking did slowly decline, mainly because everything was ten times more expensive in Sydney than in the small town of Kingston. But I still drank where ever I was and thoroughly enjoyed what it allowed for in my (social) life; I just wasn't drinking five of the seven days a week, and wondered how I ever did it. 

One of my friends late last year told me about how he had not had alcohol for close to four years, which I found really inspiring. He said it all started as a New Year's Resolution one year and it just kept going. I queried as to why he still doesn't drink, to which he replied, "The body is the temple." I pondered on what he had said a bit, and realised "Damn right it was", especially given my quest for a more healthier and active lifestyle. And so, I decided to also stop drinking alcohol, for 30 days, to see whether I could do it and how different I would feel afterwards. 

The 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge was relatively easy. I had told my group of friends about it, and of course was given unwavering support. It was easy enough to say 'no' to any alcohol when you place a little challenge for yourself, despite alcohol being so readily available everywhere. I think the most difficult thing during the Challenge was not ordering that glass of wine to accompany that delicious meal and to complete the fine dining experience - seriously, there is something quite special about ordering the perfect wine off the wine list.

Place where a great bottle of wine was shared post-Challenge, Sydney, AUSTRALIA 2014.

I didn't have alcohol until about two weeks after the end of the Challenge. It was at a restaurant where a bottle of wine was shared between me and three other friends. Because I didn't have it for more than a month, alcohol had become a treat at that stage, which made the two glasses of wine all the more satisying. Having said that, the next morning when I decided to go for a run, I realised how much the alcohol had affected my body (even though it was only two glasses). I didn't have a headache or anything, but really felt that the alcohol had strained my liver. This made me feel more lethargic overall, and made my run slightly less satisfying because I couldn't put in 100%.

I am glad I did the 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge because not only did it made me realise how much alcohol had affected my body, but how awesome it felt without it. I realise that we rely on it as a social lubricant, to get conversation juices going and what not. But during the Challenge, I found that great conversations could be had without alcohol. What made these conversations even greater is the fact that both parties can remember what was exchanged and that future conversations could take place anywhere. This made me more confident as a conversationalist, though I still have those lull conversation moments due to either my inept social skills and/or inability to properly understand sarcasm. I no longer drink on a constant basis, and rarely have it because the Challenge has made me more aware of how alcohol affects me, mind and body. I have not completely cut it out because I know I enjoy a glass of wine at a fine restaurant, and parties still need to be had.  But I personally no longer feel compelled to drink when someone else is drinking and instead sometimes engage in the social experiment of not drinking at party of drinkers, which has been quite fun in itself, especially in the expat communities of Asian countries where booze is ridiculously cheap, like Phnom Penh for instance.