9 Times It's Totally OK to Bail On Dry January
At last, it has come: the middle-to-the-end of January. The place where resolutions go to die. Perhaps you took it upon yourself to give up alcohol for the month of January. That's great - forgoing alcohol for a month can offer a hell of a lot of benefits, from glowing skin to pounds that seem to miraculously float off your body. But now might be the time when that happy hour margarita is calling your name.
So...drink it! No, I am not a pusher, but I am not down for shaming you (because people inevitably will) when you give up and cry bloody Mary (with a salted bacon rim). It's not giving up. It's human, and it's totally OK to bail on Dry January, because of logic: So long as you don't actually have a drinking problem, it's better to teach yourself drink in moderation than to punish yourself for a month only to hop on the blackout train come February 1 at midnight - one month sans alcohol doesn't absolve you from 11 months of soaking your liver in whiskey. So, here are all the times its OK to say yes...
1. You get invited to Happy Hour. Fun fact! Responsible drinking might make you happier. And this one should be a no brainer, but being a social creature can possibly help you live longer. All of this is science-backed.
2. You want a glass of wine after a really effing hard day. I'm not telling you to get wasted, I'm telling you be a responsible adult.
3. The inauguration happens. I mean...
4. You find a bottle of champagne on your desk at work. Should this happen (and it does!), it's just rude to say no to the champagne fairies.
5. You're at a wedding/there's something to celebrate. Have a toast of champagne, for crying out loud. Don't be the person who says, "well, best friend, I'd like to rase a glass to you on January 29th at your wedding, but I can't have a single sip because, well, 2 more days!"
6. Your baby **FINALLY*** went to sleep. Something to be celebrated!!
7. It's ~date night~. What, like when the sommelier at the super fancy restaurant your husband picked specifically for the insane wine selection comes around and tells you which one will go well with your seafood an enhance the culinary experience you're gonna say "pass?" Don't be rude.
8. Whenever Dame Helen Mirren says it's OK. As she said at Elle's Women in Hollywood event in October, "Never drink alcohol unless you are celebrating something, upset on something, or if it's a day that ends with the letter 'Y.' And never drink when you are driving." So. There you go.
9. When you, the responsible, independent adult, decide to. When you drink or shouldn't drink shouldn't be determined by a murky challenge, but rather, your own instinct and intuition. Just know that binge drinking - even if you do it after a month of abstaining from alcohol - can still wreak serious havoc on your body, and spoiler alert, it's defined as more than 4 drinks in 2 hours if you're a woman, according to the CDC . You're not magically free of problems because you ditched alcohol for a month. (Moderate drinking is defined as 1 drink a day for women, according to current guidelines. )
All of these, BTW, are perfectly good times to not drink, too. The choice is yours. Bottom line, just like crazy cut-everything-out diets, it's silly to omit something that you want, because you'll only want it more (and more of it!). Life is about learning to do things in moderation and knowing how to be responsible. How about ditching Dry January for a Responsible and Moderate January instead?
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