500 Days of Sober
There was no exit strategy out of Dry 2025. I didn’t know what to do when it was finished, and it almost seemed like it shouldn’t just end because the timer dinged.
I don’t think I learned a lot from this experience, but I also didn’t want to erase it all with a glass of champagne. And as I sit here writing this on day 498, I pause to think (again): What did I learn?!
I guess this is that reflection.
My Sleep
It didn’t improve; at least not in the magical way everyone describes. I still wake up. I’m still fatigued. There are weeks that pass before I can say, “I slept so well.”
I did stop taking my sleeping medications, but honestly, I don’t attribute that to sobriety. I worked really hard mentally to come off those. And many nights I could still use them — if I had them.
My Skin
It didn’t improve. My fine lines or happy wrinkles are still there. My complexion isn’t glowing and I still get breakouts.
Is my skin as oily as it was before? You bet it is. I actually noticed an increase in sebaceous cysts all over my body. Perhaps vodka was keeping my pores dry.
My Body
Did I lose weight? Yes, I did. Have I gained some of it back? Almost half.
So I don’t attribute that weight loss to alcohol or the change in my habits from not having alcohol either.
Do I have a stronger craving for sugar? Yes, I do. Do I try to find ways to curb that sugar craving? Also yes.
Do I attribute that straight to lack of alcohol? No. But those cravings were not strong prior… correlation, not causation.
My Mind
Are my thoughts clear? Has the brain fog lifted? Not that I’ve noticed.
Maybe there was a barely perceptible haze before, but my brain is not functioning at an optimal level. I constantly forget things, and the ability to recall words or structure sentences is still missing. I wouldn’t say my memory is worse than it was, but sometimes… what was I saying?
My Bank Account
Is it cheaper when Bryan and I go out to dinner? Yes. Flat‑out yes. It is way cheaper.
Did we squirrel away that additional $50 every time we went to dinner and didn’t pay that price? No. But that’s on me.
Do I want to go back to the way things were before this experiment?
No. Not even close.
Epiphany!
What I did learn is how to simply function in life without alcohol.
That is a magnanimous feat in itself.
A lot of people can’t say they know how to do that.
I can hold myself accountable. I can be responsible. But it’s no longer the thing I can’t touch.
For the past 498 days, I put alcohol on this pedestal — a thing not to be touched, but still looming over me. And realizing that, I’m kind of sick of it. I want to take that power back.
I’m going to break the streak on May 16, 2026 and I’m going to see how I handle it for the next 230 days — see what I really learned.
Five hundred days didn’t give me the answers I expected, but it gave me something better — the proof that I can live life without alcohol, that I can respect myself, and that I have faith that I can handle whatever comes next.