The Changes Dry January Can Have On Your Body and Mind
If you have set yourself up for the challenge ‘dry January’, reading this, you will be 12 days or more into successfully completing the challenge. After two weeks of being alcohol free, there are many changes that you will start to notice within your mind and body. These include:
Weight loss
Consistently drinking alcohol adds additional calories onto your diet that you may not be aware of and due to this, when the alcohol is removed from the body, many individuals start to notice the ‘lbs’ dropping off.
A study showed that the average pint and a large glass of wine is around 200 calories. Also, individuals often eat more during mealtimes if they have had alcohol first. This means that cutting out alcohol will lower your calorie intake and therefore help you get into shape.
Bad eating habits
Because your body is used to consuming a certain amount of sugar via alcohol, your body may start to crave sugar and you might find yourself snacking a lot more than usual. This is due to the fact that alcohol helps to increase the levels of ‘happy’ chemicals in your brain. However, this is completely normal to experience this and there are ways to cut these cravings.
Improved memory
After week 2, you may also start acknowledging improvements in your short-term memory. This could include being less forgetful, noticing that you are able to focus your attention more than you could previously and also being able to retain information for a longer period of time.
Along with the impacts stated above, there are other effects that cutting out alcohol can have on your mind, body and health and therefore if you can complete dry January, we recommend it. However, if you cannot due to an alcohol addiction, New Leaf Recovery are here to help. We are a rehabilitation centre based in Birmingham offering our services to those with substance and behavioural addictions.
Contact our team today on 0300 999 0330 or 07904 904 705.
