How do we do Dry January without touching diet culture?

After a drunken New Year’s Eve, combination of cocktails, shots and great bubbles, January begins with this firm desire to suspend alcoholic beverages, at least for 31 days. This “forced” weaning also takes the form of a challenge: Dry January.

This challenge, far from being excessive, questions our sometimes tortuous relationship with alcohol. But besides the savings aspect, Dry January can also have that massive aftertaste of flesh. By giving up the elbow lift, the pounds tend to tip off the scale. Therefore, the promise of “no alcohol” quickly degenerates into a race to get thin, sometimes even driven to the point of inebriation. So, to partake in Dry January without deviating from diet culture, here are some simple tips for easing it on a daily basis.

What is dry January?

Break out the little foam among the fellows during the later work, and the senior student churns out a red cup with each meal, This month of January flat water tour (or a virgin mojito) for everyone. At least, that’s the bet made by Dry January, prof Annual challenge with protective accents.

This ‘fun’ health campaign was born on British soil in 2013 at the instigation of the NGO Alcohol Change UK Take a break from alcoholSoft, disguised drug. According to the association, this experience makes it possible, among other things, Evaluate our alcohol consumption And so on Evaluate our accreditation score.

In France, the kingdom of the Bon Vivantes, it took until 2020 for Dry January to find its place in the January landscape. Yet it was a necessity. According to a report by Public Health France, One in four French people drink a lot of alcohol. However, even if Dry January brings together thousands of people every year on the basis of “good faith”, Many reserve only the “dietary” challenge opportunity. A message with just enough to go to the head (like a shot of pure vodka).

Dry January and diet culture: What’s the link?

Dry January, as beneficial as it is, can turn into Pathological weight loss. With good reason, according to a survey conducted by a professor at the University of Sussex, 54% of the participants In dry January, they lost two or three kilograms.

The “detox” argument Sure, this challenge is somewhat positive, especially after the orgy in December. However, it is not uncommon for it to escape the “reasonable” framework. This is where all the subtlety lies. Some participants, rather than questioning their love for the bottle, Especially the question about calories Massive amounts of these frantic drinks.

The must-have Pina Colada is actually a powerhouse at 176 calories while the Cosmopolitan hits nearly the same level as the chocolate fudge. It is clear. This “dry” month of January has been misinterpreted or deviated from its fundamental conviction, Calls above all to reject alcohol in the name of “curves”.

The language surrounding Dry January is also a problem since it is mainly limited to jargon “Cleanse,” “Detoxify,” and “Reset”. A somewhat reductive record of diet culture. Sobriety is, in fact, excellent “Vitality Bonus”. But once she bathes in apologies for “always the best” or “the perfect body,” she becomes so Dangerous.

“That beautiful thing that allows people to re-examine their relationship to a drug can become a commodity. This is the case when it runs counter to a cultural system that leads us to believe that our value is only determined by the achievement of impossible ideals,” asserts Holly Whitaker, author of How to Quit Like a Woman.

As Danielle Holliston, Director of Fundraising and Engagement at Alcohol Change UK, reminded the Glamor UK media, Dry January allows Regaining “control of his alcohol consumption”. The goal, then, is not to become a better version of oneself, but to become one Re-examine this often turbulent relationship with alcohol.

Whether this glass, accepted simply to avoid the appearance of “rabajois” or this almost obligatory party of the evening of integration, Alcohol is mostly ‘social’. So a dry January is excellent “resistance” test, not a purification or beautification diet. To approach this useful initiative with more objectivity, here are three rules to keep in mind.

1 – Appreciate your intentions

Dry January, which constantly runs through the mill of “well-being”, tends to Makes us forget why we are taking part in this challenge. Is it to find a peach peel? To get better sleep or to have more intense sex? Journalistic articles drip headlines here and there “Healthy” Flavors Who is the Our perception of dry January subconsciously blurred.

By leaving this propaganda under the hood, the field of vision widens. This break with alcohol is far more symbolic than the banal “slimming down” opportunity. Furthermore it Top secret battle which is tested in the first person singular. Everyone has a history with alcohol. Whether it’s a sanitizer, stress reliever, or depressant cleanser, alcohol slips down the throat with it. Lots of shocks. So the dry January is an act of introspection Before everything.

2 – Treat drinks and food separately

One success begets another. When you take the Zero Alcohol challenge for a month and notice physical changes, you can quickly fall into something like this. Let’s go.

The sobriety was so refreshing in the glass that it quickly spills over onto the plate, wrongly, because food and drink are two very different entities. Weaning does not apply to what is “vital”. Hence the importance of dealing with Dry January “individually”.

3 – Get rid of frustration

Dry January, regularly turbulent in the sense of “satisfying the flesh,” can create a kind of frustration. To glorify an overly dry January as a true ‘sublimation’, We are used to the idea that it will change us. However, it is not always visible. Sure enough, according to a study, three out of five people lose weight during Dry January. But this data is enough randomespecially if Margaritas are replaced by equally rich mocktails.

Bringing up this notion that the body will inevitably be reborn with Dry January gives a lot of hope. But Everyone has an assumption. Moreover, when we eliminate the “pleasure element” from our daily lives, we tend to compensate for with other delicacies. So it is not so dramatic that the weight remains stable despite a month of sobriety.

Almost nothing seems to escape diet poison, not even the good reasons. However, Dry January intends to transcend stigmatizing sermons by highlighting the educational component. It should be noted that every year 10% of the French take part in this challenge.