The 28-Day No Alcohol Challenge is an exercise in self-control and discipline. It’s also a detox, as you’ll be ditching fizzy drinks and caffeine (if you can).
If you are looking to lose weight for a particular goal or event, you first need to assess your lifestyle and start making active lifestyle changes. You should also stop consuming alcohol and fizzy drinks, as both provide additional calories beyond what we need.
This would always be my first point of call when working with new personal training clients, and it’s essential to ensure that all your hard work does not go to waste. Start this 28-day no-alcohol challenge, and why not combine it with one of my other 28-Day Challenges for real change?
Ditch The Booze and Lose Weight! Are you in?
Drinking enough water daily and limiting other drinks are some of the most fundamental things we can do to manage weight and stay healthy. Consuming enough water is essential to maintain a healthy water balance; your water input must equal your water output. This is much like accounting; something is wrong if the ins and outs don’t balance. In addition to keeping DRY for 28 days, we also want you to stay hydrated, preferably with water, rather than cordial or juice.
The 28-Day Dry Challenge
Go ‘Dry’ with us for 28 days and take on the 28-Day No Alcohol Challenge. Join our challenge and discover how ditching alcohol and staying hydrated can enhance your health and weight.
- Ditch the booze for July.
- Ditch fizzy drinks
- Ditch the caffeine
- Stay hydrated by drinking at least eight glasses of water daily.
Score your challenge
| Challenge Archived | Points |
|---|---|
| Alcohol-Free Day | 1 |
| Fizzy Free Day | +1 |
| Caffeine Free Day | +1 |
Download the Dry July Scoring Sheet
The scoring sheet for the July NO Alcohol Challenge (Dry July)
MAX points per day = 3, BONUS points only achieved if Alcohol Free Day also achieved.
Reducing Calories
All drinks, except water, contain calories in addition to your daily calorie requirement. We get our calorie requirement from the food we eat. Calories in drinks rarely have any nutritional value. Limiting your consumption of additional beverages can positively affect your calorie balance.
Alcohol is the most significant contributor to additional calories in drinks, and it contains many unnecessary calories. Breaking habits will help reduce alcohol consumption. Sure, we all like to drink sometimes, but most of the time, we drink because of habit. This includes statements and beliefs such as, “It’s Friday, I’ll have a drink,” “It’s the weekend,” and other behaviours instigated through habit.
Staying Hydrated
Most people are dehydrated nearly all the time, and due to habits or lifestyles, we often don’t intake as much fluid as we need. However, we extract some of our fluid requirement through the food we eat (about 30%), and we generally have a negative calorie balance by the end of the day. If you feel thirsty during the day, your body has triggered the stimulus to encourage you to drink, a sign that you’ve not had enough fluid. Just because you are not thirsty does not mean you shouldn’t drink and hydrate. The thirst sensor serves as a warning signal, much like the water warning light on your car. If you drink enough during the day, your body won’t need to stimulate you to drink, and a healthy balance is achieved with a fluid loss equal to fluid intake.
Remember not to consume large quantities of water. It is best to drink little and often and keep a water bottle to sip from throughout the day.
You need roughly 1 litre of water for every 1000 calories of expenditure, that’s about 2.5 litres for most people.
Day 1 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 1 of 28-Day Dry Challenge. If you like to unwind with a glass of something, it’s time to switch.
FACT
One unit is 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. Because alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and sizes, units are a way to tell how strong your drink is.
Day 2 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is Day 2 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Think what a treat your liver is in store for this month. A whole month off allows time to detox and cleanse yourself.
How is alcohol made?
The type of alcohol in the alcoholic drinks we drink is a chemical called ethanol.To make alcohol, you need to put grains, fruits or vegetables through a process called fermentation (when yeast or bacteria react with the sugars in food – the by-products are ethanol and carbon dioxide)
Find out more about alcohol and its ingredients at Drink Aware
Day 3 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 3 of 28-Day Dry Challenge. It may be summer & BBQ weather = a few beers? No! There are loads of delicious alcohol-free drinks to make, ask Alexa!
FACT
A pint of ale or stout contains as many calories as a bagel
Find out more about extra calories in ale or stout via Drink Aware.
Day 4 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is Day 4 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. If you have an event where you may be tempted, plan ahead and make yourself something special. I bet everyone will want one!
FACT
A large glass of wine contains as many calories as an ice cream
Day 5 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is Day 5 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Tell friends and family what you are doing. Have positive people around you. They’ll support and help you, and they may even join in!
FACT
A Gin and tonic made with 25ml of 37.5% ABV gin contains 97 calories – similar to a buttered crumpet.
Day 6 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is Day 6 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Try drinking more water, but not carbonated. Treat your taste buds with fruit, spices, and herbs.
FACT
One 125ml glass of 12% ABV prosecco contains 86 calories – which is slightly more than a chocolate digestive biscuit.
Day 7 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
It’s day 7 of the 28-day dry Challenge. Your first week is done! The first week is always the hardest when giving something up. It’s a habit. Break it and break free.
FACT
It’s a myth that drinks featuring clear spirits are low in calories.
A 25ml measure of 40% ABV vodka contains 110 calories – similar to a small slice of pizza.
Day 8 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is Day 8 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Are you finding you’re sleeping better and not foggy and fatigued in the morning? Your body is thanking you!
FACT
Alcohol is a poison
It may not seem like it but alcohol is a poison and can sometimes have lethal consequences.
Day 9 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 9 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Excess fatty deposits build up on your liver after prolonged drinking. The good news is that it is reversible after 2 weeks of abstinence.
FACT
Regular drinking can affect the quality of your sleep making you feel tired and sluggish. This is because drinking disrupts your sleep cycle.
Find out more about how alcohol affects your sleep via Drink Aware
Day 10 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 10 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. 7 ways to look after your liver = abstinence, exercise, diet, stop smoking, avoid toxins, lose weight & reduce medication.
FACT
Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of developing liver disease
Find out more about drinking and liver disease via Drink Aware
Day 11 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 11 of 28-Day Dry Challenge. Your liver is the biggest organ in your body. It aids digestion, helps fight infection & reduces blood sugar.
FACT
Excessive drinking can make your liver get fat
Find out more about the health consequences of developing a ‘fatty liver’ via Drink Aware
Day 12 of 28 Day Dry Challenge
This is Day 12 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. It’s time for tea! Drinking herbal teas like thistle, red clover, or burdock can help remove toxins from your liver. Drink up!
FACT
A pint of cider can contain as many calories as a sugar doughnut!
Find out more about calories in alcoholic drinks via Drink Aware
Day 13 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 13 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. So, most alcohol is consumed through habit. If you change your routine, you won’t think about it.
ADVICE
If you think your tolerance is rising, then think about whether you could be becoming dependent on alcohol for example, beginning to use it regularly to unwind after work, or to socialise.
Find out more about drinking more through habit at Drink Aware.
Day 14 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
It’s day 14 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Are two weeks done already? Make sure you are staying hydrated, and try drinking eight glasses of water today.
FACT
Guidance suggests we should drink eight glasses of water a day amounting to about 2 to 2.5 litres of water, it is essential to take on water throughout the day to replace lost fluid from the body.
Day 15 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is Day 15 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. We are what we repeatedly do. Ask yourself, Why do I want a drink tonight? (Because it’s what you normally do.) = Habit!
Recommendation
Check out The Power of Habit and the Audible original series ‘in the hobbit’ for great insights on kicking your bad habits and re-enforcing good ones.
Day 16 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 16 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. So, the halfway point has been reached, and there is no turning back now. Enjoying the way you are feeling?
FACT
A pint of lager with 4% ABV can contain 180 calories, similar to a slice of pizza.
Day 17 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 17 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. So you’re not only stopping an old habit, you have started a new one. Drinking more water. If not, why not?
Tip
Drink water little and often and keep yourself hydrated.
Find out why you should drink water little and often.
Day 18 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is day 18 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Most research suggests that it takes about 2 weeks for your body to withdraw from a habit. You are on your way to being healthy from the inside out.
FACT
A double 25ml measure of whiskey with a mixer contains approximately 234 calories, which is about the same as a burger.
Day 19 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 19 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Into your third week now, and you may even be feeling a little more room around your waistline. Benefits are endless.
FACT
Alcohol irritates your digestive system. Drinking – even a little – makes your stomach produce more acid than usual, which can, in turn, cause gastritis (the inflammation of the stomach lining).
Find our more on the health affects of alcohol on the stomach via Drink Aware
Day 20 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is day 20 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. There are eight more days to go, but the question is, will you revert straight back to your old habits, or do you like the way you’re feeling?
FACT
Alcoholic drinks account for 11% of the UK population’s daily intake of added sugar.
Day 21 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 21 of 28-Day Dry Challenge. Try not to substitute the absence of alcohol with another bad habit. You should be the go-to person for mocktails now!
Day 22 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
It’s day 22 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. Don’t feel you are missing out; think of it as being mindful of your body.
FACT
If you drink regularly, you increase your risk of developing pancreatitis
Find out more about drinking and pancreatitis via Drink Aware.
Day 23 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 23 of 28-Day Dry Challenge. Alcohol should not be a reward for a hard day or a hard week! Fight it. You’re in control now.
Day 24 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is day 24 of the 28-day dry Challenge. You set out for four weeks dry, and you are in your last week, so stick with it. You CAN do it.
Day 25 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 25 of 28-Day Dry Challenge. What an achievement to have got through. Abstaining from something is always the hardest.
Day 26 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is Day 26 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge. With only two more days, just think how you’ll feel when you’ve done it. Not everyone can do it.
Day 27 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
Day 27 of the 28-Day Dry Challenge: Your liver will thank you for taking the time to acknowledge that it works for you every day, no matter how you treat it.
Day 28 of 28-Day Dry Challenge
This is day 28 of the 28-day dry Challenge. Congratulations on four weeks sober; it’s no easy feat. Your body will thank you for the detox.