Eliminations

I'm not sure I had heard about "Dry October" until early in September, last month.  I'm not sure how long it's been a thing.  I suspect that people have been doing this for years, and as usual, I'm late to the party.

The idea is that it's easier to do this kind of elimination in a month that's not January, with all its baggage of New Year's resolutions that get dropped by January 4.  Some people (most people?) link charitable giving with dry October--support your favorite charity by giving all that you would have spent on alcohol to your favorite charity.

I am discovering that alcohol free substitutes cost as much as the versions with alcohol, so if one takes that route to sobriety, substituting AF drinks for alcoholic drinks, there won't be much for charity.

Several people in my orbit are giving Dry October a try, for various reasons.  My spouse is doing dryish October (cutting back most days), while my sister and I are abstaining from October 5-29.  We have all been concerned about our health, so that's a reason to cut back.  I'm concerned about the weight I've gained since last year (5-10 pounds), but more about gaining 5-10 pounds every year and what that means for my old age.  

As I analyze my diet, alcohol is the only thing left to cut/eliminate.  I no longer put milk, sugar, and cocoa in my morning coffee.  No more treats from day old grocery store bakeries as I set them out for students (I'm no longer getting the treats, since communal treats in a time of COVID-19 seems a very bad idea). I don't drink soda or eat fast food.  Each week, I routinely have meat-free days, at least 2-3 or more.

I wanted to do Dry October for many reasons, but most of all because my sister was doing it, and I know that these things can be easier to do in a group.  So far, it hasn't been as hard as I expected.  

I expected more cravings, but I've learned that if we don't have wine in the house, I don't crave it--that was a surprise to me.  I've had some headaches, but I'm not sure if that's because of not drinking.  I thought that I'd have better sleep, but so far, sigh, I'm not sleeping the sleep of a college student home on vacation.

This past week-end I did get more done.  I wasn't as tired in the evening.  On the week days, I was just as crashingly tired at the day's end, even without drinking.

I've done elimination diets before.  The most extreme was a 10 day "shred" where I got rid of alcohol, dairy, grains, and all but one caffeinated drink each day.  I experienced lots of cravings, which I resisted because I was doing the shred with a group of people from the wellness center where I went to spin class.  

On Friday, we walked to the beach to get some ice cream.  The beach was jam packed, so I wouldn't have wanted to stay there long.  But walking there and back felt safe to me.  We ate our ice cream distanced from the crowd, staring at the sea, as the sky darkened.  It was beautiful.

We wouldn't have done that if we had been sharing our traditional Friday evening bottle of wine.  It's good to remember that we can celebrate in ways that don't involve alcohol.