I did it last year, partly to verify that it wouldn’t be a psychological hardship (it wasn’t).
So, been there, done that. And besides Fri/Sat, most days are already dry, so I’m comfortable maintaining an even keel.
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I humbly request that people leave posting on this thread to those who are taking part, or have genuine questions, or even to say simply that they aren’t doing it. No one is obligated to participate, or even to understand why we do it. So I get that the “fuck off” posts are meant to be funny, and not really meant to discourage people who are giving it a go, but it would be nice to keep this supportive and positive. @Patrick_Taylor has done a great job every year keeping this light and connected, and I for one have found tuning in to the thread to be great fun through the month.
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I’m doing two blocks this year because of a mid January event I have; Dec 25-Jan 14, and Jan 18-Feb 10 or so. Basically doing a ketogains protocol for each block. I think 3 weeks is a sweet spot for me, so that seems to be a good plan.
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I was prepping for some cycling events this year and did 2 one-month blocks without drinking. If you haven’t done it before, it’s not that bad. I also found when I would allow myself to drink afterwards, I would drink less.
Tried some of the non-alcoholic beer during those times. It wasn’t terrible.
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Yeah, I think this is the correct attitude. I don’t really have anything positive to add, except, if I were going to do this…I would use this most clear minded time to make the wine purchases that I should be making, not the ones that happen when I’m drinking a bottle and thinking…I gotta have more of these.
It’s a very healthy thing to take a break. It’s also coincidentally the month of BerserkerDay…so think about that.
I was going to take a couple of weeks off before my mid-February trip to Japan and Korea, but I’m in for Dry January too!
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I’ll be doing half dry January lol got a college buddies wedding on the 23rd 
and then my birthday at the end of the month with a trip to Santa Ynez.
I am in until Jan 30.
Today I’m looking forward to it. In a week or two, I’ll probably start contemplating which bottle to open first. In a month, I’ll look back and be happy that I stuck to staying dry. Thank you for this thread!
As they say in AA and Al-Anon: “Work your own program!”
That said, I find the most value in Dry January precisely in not making exceptions for special events —-weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, foreign travel, rock concerts by your favorite band etc.
It feels liberating to me to have the discipline and restraint to hold firm to my commitment as friends revel around me.
To be super clear … everyone must decide what works best for them. There are no rules to Dry January. If people decide to take a break for just 24 hours or the entire 31 days, good on them! There’s value in either choice.
Nor is it an excuse to be judgmental about what anyone chooses to do or not do or to feel morally superior to anyone.
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I call this the freedom paradox. There is no freedom without limits. Maybe.
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Sure - that’s the definition of satisfaction. Something accomplished when it’s too easy isn’t satisfying.
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Well, we went dry for Advent, and tend not to have Dryuary. However I will have something tougher for me, Ketoary, as I drastically cut back carbs for the month. I’ll be with you all in spirit!
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For my own education - would you mind sharing more on this? Is it keto + fasting? What timeframe are you planning your fasts? I’m looking for some inspiration - I’m going to do a few weeks of dry January and keto before my Southeast Asia & Japan trip. This will be my first time jumping into “dry”, had some real success with clean keto a few years back.
Sarah can tell you more about her protocol but typically this is a very low calorie diet (800 kcal a day) with at least 1.5g/kg of protein, if not more like 1-1.2g/lb (if calories allow). Essentially as close to all of your calories will be from protein as possible in order to spare muscle while losing fat.
My keto protocol is more or less similar to this with a bit more fat, as I said earlier around 2000 kcal, ~20g carbs and ~350g/protein a day. 800 calories isn’t sustainable for a long time unless you’re very small or morbidly obese, so most people only use true PSMF for a relatively short period of time.
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Got it, thanks for the info!
There’s a ton of information online on PSMF - it’s very well researched and extensively discussed, so I’ll be brief and let you do your own Googling around…
It’s basically what @MChang said. It was first used under medical supervision for those who needed to lose a great deal of weight. Now, it is also used for short periods (1-2 weeks) for people who want to jumpstart a diet, lose some fat quickly before a vacation, for bodybuilders trying to get past a plateau, for lean people who want to scrap off the last bit without losing muscle, that kind of thing.
It’s hard to do, and it’s definitely not for everyone. Small deficit over a long period is also very effective for fat loss and muscle maintenance, and is honestly a much better choice under most circumstances.
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Thomas delauer has made quite a few videos on it that describe it very closely and his protocols use quite a few vegetables.
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I intend to cut some fat and get leaner, but I would never want to look like that. It just looks unhealthy in the opposite way.
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Don’t worry; it won’t happen by accident.
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Another reason to be grateful in the new year!