Six Steps to Make it Easier on Yourself

Here are several tips to make it easier to stick with and follow through with this 40-day self-experiment:

• Enlist a friend to do it with you. Just like with any type of new diet or exercise program, the buddy system can make it less daunting.
• Let people know what you’re doing. Sharing your plan with friends, family, and co-workers will not only boost accountability, it will also make things easier when alcohol is served at social events and family get-togethers.
• Throughout this challenge, pay close attention to the benefits of not drinking, to see how your body responds to this 40-day detox.
• Tune in to your energy levels and consider keeping a journal to track it. Notice how you feel when you wake up in the morning, as well as during those mid-afternoon hours when we’re naturally more prone for an energy slump.
• Check-in on your labs. Most labs will take at least a few weeks to see any appreciable difference. But if you need motivation to stick with it after the first week, you can get your labs re-checked after even just seven days. Labs such as liver enzymes ALT and AST, as well as inflammatory marker CRP can be improved in as little as one week, giving you that extra bit of incentive to hang in there.
• And finally, if you slip up and have a cocktail or two, don’t bail, don’t beat yourself up – just jump right back on the wagon.

The bottom line: This isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. Giving up alcohol may not be something that you choose to continue long-term, but depending on the results of your own little self-experiment, you may decide that it’s worth it to dial it back a notch over the long term.