No Booze January - Week 3 down

I bent the rules a bit over the weekend so No-booze January become Negligible-amount-of-booze January. Greg and I took a little daytrip to the Navasota/Brenham area and were surprised to find there was actually something going on for once. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered it was a wine festival! I didn't indulge, but it got me thinking about how I was passing up a fun and novel evening for...what exactly? Ultimately I was forced to acknowledge that the only reason I was completely abstaining at that point was so that others wouldn't judge me. Since I historically don't give a shit what others think, I decided that wasn't a good enough reason. I ended up having a margarita with dinner that evening and a beer later that night for a friend's birthday. It was a nice way to cap off the day and I went to bed with no regrets.Then on Sunday I had a beer and a half while visiting a friend who is moving to Malaysia. I felt like my reasons were pretty good because I was treating myself for nice events instead of caving after a bad day or something. I know this sounds an awful lot like weak-willed justification, but I made the decision to indulge after much careful consideration, and keeping in mind that a treat of a drink or two doesn't have to turn into a lazy hangover the next day just because it's the weekend.

There is a small part of me that wishes I wouldn't have done it because at the end of the day I know I could have made it the whole month, and the drinks I had didn't really live up to the anticipation. Oddly, that makes me glad I did do it. The fact that it wasn't really worth it is a useful thing to know, in case I ever decide to do something like this again. It's all part of the experiment as far as I'm concerned.

 My sole reason for abstaining, which is to focus on trimming down and being fit is still intact; a couple of drinks won't hinder that. I've lost 2 pounds which doesn't sound like much, but I have a small frame, so 2 or 3 pounds around the waist can be a pants size for me. The key going forward will be to moderate during the holidays and cut out weekday drinking like I do the rest of the year. If I successfully do that, there's really no reason to have such a strict January. I read that most people gain a few pounds of holiday weight and never lose is, so it stacks up every year. That's a bummer, and I think it's easier to not gain it in the first place than to lose it. I'm more about sustainable goals that you incorporate into your daily life, as opposed to strict limits, so for that reason Dry January isn't a thing I see myself repeating. I'm glad for the experiment and I'll see it through (though I may allow myself a 2 drink max for a good friend's birthday this weekend) but unnecessary deprivation serves only to suck the joy out of life! I don't eat sweets, I don't smoke, I don't overdo caffeine.

I could look at my small indulgences as a failure of the experiment, or I can consider it a B instead of the A+ I had planned. I choose the latter and I'm good with it. Next time I stumble across a wine festival in a cute little town I'm getting out of the car and enjoying myself, damnit.