No Booze January - Week 1 Down

This year I decided to join the masses of smug masochists (j/k, love yoooou!) in Dryuary, or what I've been calling No Booze January. I'm generally happy with my alcohol intake but I've been working on getting healthier for the past year and a half and figure this certainly can't hurt. This isn't a New Years resolution thing, it's just convenient timing after indulging in so much holiday gluttony and sloth. Temptation is so hard to resist when all of the good seasonal beers are out, plus salad is not appealing when my office is frigid. Anyway, I'm a week in and things are going great! Here's a run down so far.

Status on day 1
Feeling a little muffin-toppy in my size 6 jeans - probably closer to an 8 right now - and tired and sluggish from holiday overindulgence. To be fair, I've also been fighting off some cooties.

Goals
-To lose aforementioned holiday muffin top. Weight loss isn't necessarily a goal, but by my calculations it's possible I might lose 3 pounds or so. That's not much, but it happens to be what I've put on over November and December. If I don't, I'll be happy with de-bloating and seeing the results of my strength training pop a little more. I'm going to be fully honest here and admit that this is my main goal. I'm vain as shit and I want to look good for my 30th birthday.

-To see drinking as a treat, not a given. Prior to the holiday season (during which I had a beer or two nightly) I was limiting drinking to weekends, so the occasional weekday drink was a treat. The thing is, I was still drinking all weekend out of habit. My relationship with booze has changed since my early 20's - I'm much more into quality over quantity - but I would like to view weekend drinking the same as weekday drinking: a special indulgence.

- To force myself to think outside of the box for non-drinking activities. Is drinking keeping me in a socializing rut? What's it like to wake up truly refreshed on a weekend? Will the day's activities be different?

-To satisfy some curiosity and exercise willpower. In addition to the small, reasonable goals above I really just want to see what happens and gain a sense of satisfaction. If there are some unexpected benefits, that's additional motivation that will help me to make better choices in the future. I don't plan on giving up drinking altogether, but how I feel when abstaining is good data to have.

Week 1 Summary
The first booze-free weekend was a bit weird, trying to figure out where to go that doesn't involve drinking, but it helps that I'm ultimately fine with being a homebody because of the winter weather. The exception to my homebody lifestyle was Saturday morning, when I woke up at 9:30 and Greg and I headed off to Brazos Bend for a couple mile walk. Now, that's definitely not something I would have been motivated to do if I drank the night before. I'm pleased and a little smug that I'm making better health decisions only a few days in.

As week 1 comes to a close I can report that I'm super hydrated. I drink a ton of water normally, so this usually isn't a problem for me overall, but I still notice my skin is less dry. I'm well-rested and energetic. The decrease in carbs and calories plus resuming my strength training routine has me mega hungry though. I'm also craving sugar which I never do, but I expected that. I'm doing ok at only giving in occasionally, like when I had donuts for breakfast over the weekend (a once in 5 years occurrence that I always sort of regret. I hate that sugar rush feeling!) No weight loss, but I'm feeling more svelte and my jeans fit better already. My stomach is a little flatter though I'm not back to pre-holiday shape. I think occasionally about how a beer or cocktail would be nice, but I wouldn't classify it as a severe craving. It's akin to when I walk right past Treebeards and their delicious chicken fried chicken on my way to the salad place. I do miss margaritas with my texmex though, not gonna lie, and if I'm being completely honest I did shoot down my friend's suggestion that we go to our favorite Belgian place for dinner tonight because I simply will not have moules frites without a nice tripel.

Anyone else participating? How's it going for you?