I’ll give myself a B+ for my personal alcohol experiment.
I do not believe I have a problem with alcohol but I was attracted to The Alcohol Experiment after a very busy (Australian) summer which involved catching up with friends and family who were home for Christmas from near and far. All of those catch ups, usually over dinner, featured alcohol. By the middle of January, I realised that I had had something alcoholic to drink for nearly 3 weeks solid. I wasn’t feeling great, my training (such as it is) was suffering and every night I’d have an exhausting mental battle over whether or not to have a drink.
What is the book about?
The Alcohol Experiment is a 30-day programme that helps you quit drinking alcohol or cut back on your consumption. There is a chapter to read every day that guides you through a new way of thinking about alcohol, including explanations of how alcohol impacts your body…that can be uncomfortable reading!
Does it work?
Yes. I read a chapter every day and got great (nerdy) satisfaction when I put a tick next to the previous day to signal my success.
Why I recommend it?
The Alcohol Experiment is well written. Grace has translated scientific research into easily digestible language. She has given the facts straight and shared some of her own struggles and experiences which makes it eminently more readable than you’d expect of a book about stopping a “bad” habit you enjoy.
Why only a B+?
I picked two nights during the 30 days where I knew I was going to have a drink; one was a lovely dinner out with old friends and the other was a super duper dress up birthday party. On both those nights I drove to the event so that made me cap my drinking at two glasses over many hours. Therefore, I did not do an A+ job but I was pleased with myself anyway.
Doing The Alcohol Experiment has really made me think about my alcohol intake and I just feel so good without it. I don’t want to give up alcohol for good but I do want to be selective about when I chose to drink and now I am confident I can do this.
