One Year Dry… And Counting
I had my last alcoholic beer on Saturday, February 20, 2021.
That last beer was consumed in my neighbour’s backyard on the awesome outdoor rink he’d built. We’d be firing the puck around and skating for ~90 minutes. This was something I did as often as possible growing up: it was a requirement before homework every single day the ice was good enough to skate. The only difference between then and now (aside from my diminished puck-hanlding skills) was that now I snuck in four beers during that 90 minute skate. And I’d had a few primers before heading onto the rink. This had become a trend in my life over the past decade. As I was walking the short walk home that night, I tried to remember the last time I had gone more than two days in a row without a beer? Likely pre-pandemic: so in 11 months, I hadn’t managed two days in a row without a beer (or more). I went to bed with that fact circling my mind.
I was reminded of the drinks I had the night before when my then two year old wheeled into our room bright and early in the next morning. He and I hung out while my wife dealt with our other son, who was then two weeks old. As I attempted to move past the fog, I made a pact with myself to last through the following Sunday, my birthday, without having a drink. I figured it had been 5+ years since I’d lasted that long without alcohol, this would be a good start. And as Q107 had been reminding me every morning on the daycare run: it was #dryfeb.
During this upcoming #dryfeb, I’ll cross the one year mark since my last drink. I’m properly participating in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Dry Feb and will be raising money for the cause - a cause that I believe in and one that I believe can start a healthy conversation. It’s great seeing so many people committing to going dry this February, while also raising funds to make a difference for Canadians affected by cancer.
Aside from the somewhat obvious work benefits of increased focused, there are a few key reasons why I’ve kept this alcohol free train rolling:
Health:
For the first time in my adult life, despite launching a new business and having two little kids at home, I don’t have high blood pressure. With the uncertainty in the world with the pandemic, ever evolving work pressures, and not always getting a full night’s sleep, it would have been normal to feel a little off. But no, without question, physically, I feel as good as I have ever felt. Without alcohol, I’m more likely to end each day with stretching and bodyweight exercises - this means the next day starts out better and the positive snowball builds. Plus, without the extra calories from the beer, I dropped 10lbs within the first 8 weeks of stopping… this result was a benefit I wasn’t expecting. Oh, and the complete elimination of hangovers from my life is spectacular.
Alternatives:
I’m fortunate to work in the cannabis space and there are literally thousands of alternatives that don’t include a hangover, nor do they include ethanol passing through my liver. I really like beer/beverages and the cannabis options continue getting better and better, meeting the flavour profiles required, many without the same caloric or sugar contents. I truly believe this industry is going to create alternatives that overtake alcohol in the next 20 years. Alternatively, in social settings where cannabis isn’t an option or driving will be required afterwards, I’ve opted for sparkling water or non-alcoholic beers. Heineken 0.0 and now Corona Sunbrew 0.0 are some of the many fantastic non-alcoholic beers on the market - Corona was my go-to choice for years, so this new non-alcoholic option hitting the market is a nice win. These have helped bridge social gaps, when I would have previously had a beer in hand.
Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker:
This is a book about mindset and taking control of your decision making paradigm. It’s a book that makes you step back and think. I loved it for that reason - it’s helped me in more ways than with my relationship to alcohol. One of my colleagues recommended “Quit Like a Woman” as we were working to finalize the Northern Helm brand positioning, as they rightly noted it would help me better understand what we were trying to create. I was reading “Quit Like a Woman” the weekend I opted to stop drinking. Holly digs into the science of ethanol in alcohol in a way I’d never thought to question in the past. She uncovers the social dilemmas of deciding not to drink and how difficult it is to maintain the change - yes, there were a number of times that I nearly slipped back into my old ways. Hearing how Holly went through the process was important for me: understanding that quitting drinking doesn’t mean that I fit into a standard box of “alcoholic”, it just meant that I wanted a different relationship with alcohol.
Happy #dryfeb to you!