Giving Up Alcohol for 100 Days: My First 14 Days.

I’ve decided to take a 100-day break from alcohol.

Not because I think alcohol is bad. Not because I’m trying to be “better than”.And definitely not because I’m giving it up forever.

I just wanted a pause.

Fourteen days in felt like a good moment to stop and reflect on how it’s been honestly, without hype or judgement.

What My Drinking Looked Like Before

I’d describe myself as a fairly middle-of-the-road drinker.

I wasn’t drinking every day, but I was drinking most weekends and often during the week too. A beer or a glass of wine in the evening, a few more at the weekend. There was always a reason:

• Work events

• Stressful weeks

• Celebrations

• Social plans

  
  

Nothing dramatic. Nothing extreme.

But looking back, the problem was this: I was drinking like I was still in my 20s even though I’m now in my mid-40s.

And over time, that just became normal.

Why I Decided to Take a Break

If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t like what I saw when I looked in the mirror.

I saw an overweight, tired, middle-aged man staring back at me.

The last few years have been tough. I’m not making excuses but they’ve taken their toll. And while I can’t do much about my age, I can do something about how I look after myself.

I’d tried before to get fitter and lose some weight. I’d be good all week… then the weekend would come, I’d have beers, and undo all the good work I’d done.

It felt like starting again every Monday.

So I asked myself a simple question:If I remove alcohol for a while, would that give me a better foundation to finally deal with the dad bod?

That was enough to try.

What Worried Me About Stopping

Most of my worries weren’t logical they were emotional.

• What do I do on Friday nights?

• What will my friends think?

• What about holidays, parties, social events?

The funny thing is, my close mates didn’t really care at all. That pressure was mostly in my head.

I had to keep reminding myself: This is a break. Not forever. Just for now.

Week One: The Reality Check

I was originally going to do a “7 days alcohol-free” update, but the truth is Week 2 was where things really shifted.

Week 1 was… fine, but a bit messy.

After my usual red wine on Sunday night, Monday became Day 1. That part wasn’t too bad, although my sleep was a little all over the place.

Friday night, though, caught me out.

It arrived without warning, and I found myself instinctively reaching for something. I didn’t drink, but it felt uncomfortable almost like I was punishing myself a bit.

Being ill at the same time didn’t help. I didn’t feel amazing or energised. And that’s when I realised something important:

I couldn’t just take alcohol out and hope everything else magically worked.I needed to replace it with something.

That weekend, I decided to start Couch to 5K, with the aim of doing a parkrun in a few months. I also made sure my spare evenings weren’t empty especially with it being dark and easy to retreat into old habits.

Week Two: The Shift

Monday of Week 2 was big.

After nearly talking myself out of it, I went for my first run. And when I say run… I mean jog. It hurt. But later that evening, I felt incredible genuinely better than I’d felt in a long time.

That same week, something else hit me unexpectedly.

We were watching a Take That documentary on Netflix (no judgement it was my wife’s choice :-)). Gary Barlow talked about his bad patch after the band split, how he felt about life, and how he slowly self-destructed by eating and putting on weight.

It really resonated.

I realised I’ve been blaming myself for a lot of what’s happened over the last few years. Nothing dramatic just a quiet, slow loop of giving up on myself.

And alcohol had become a way to escape that feeling.

That moment was like someone shining a light on it.

This suddenly stopped being about alcohol.It became about identity.

About becoming the man I want to be someone who actually takes care of himself, so I’m around and healthy when my lad is older.

Going into the second weekend, I had a couple of zero-percent beers on the Friday night. They were fine, but I wasn’t even fussed.

That felt like progress.

Where I Am After Two Weeks

There haven’t been any dramatic physical changes yet.

But mentally and emotionally, something has shifted.

It feels like I’ve drawn a quiet line in the sand not out of punishment or restriction, but out of self-respect.

And that’s just two weeks in.

Over to You

Have you ever taken a break from alcohol?

Did you stop and go back?

Did you notice anything change?

I’d genuinely love to hear about your experience.

For now, I’ll leave it there and I’ll keep sharing how this unfolds over the next few months.