One week down, three to go

It’s a normal, freezing February Saturday in Ireland, thankfully the fire is blazing and in a few short hours the 6 nations rugby championship returns for the third week of the 2018 fixtures. Today Is the highly anticipated Home nations clashes.

Ordinarily this would mean a day filled with beer, snacks and a lot of couch sitting, but today is different.. I will still be couch sitting, snacking and drinking, but as I announced last week it will be Non Alcoholic Beer only today.

Today marks 7 days of no booze, the first week of my off the cuff break from my beloved Magners has ended. 7 days is a long time In politics and also in sobriety... so How do I feel

Well In 2016 I took part in the Sober For October challenge, no booze for a month in aid of personal well being & Macmillan Cancer Charity. Admittedly I found that to be a very long month, in fact I took two days off during that October and had a few beers, this was allowed under the schemes rules, although it cost me a £15 donation on each occasion. So for £30 I was able to have a drink & still complete the challenge, seems expensive, but the cause was worthwhile. The Charity that is, not my indulgence.

I can honestly say that so far this break from booze has been different. I don’t have the same urge to drink or the desire to sink a few cold ones. So far so good

This has been my favourite AF Beer of the week.. more on that coming soon

I haven’t missed the taste or that instant feeling of relaxation that accompanies a few sips of your favourite tipple. I haven’t gone out of my normal routine to distract myself or fill my time.


So why is this break so different? What is placating the urge to drink? Strangely enough my break from Beer & Cider has been made bearable by, well Beer and Cider. Whether it’s the much discussed Placebo effect or the vast improvement in taste, I have found that the Non Alcoholic versions of regular beers and ciders have allowed me to ditch the addictive alcohol while enjoying my usual routine.

This could be very much a personal experience but I found that when sipping on a cold zero free beer I was feeling the same chemical reaction in my brain that regular alcohol creates. Similar tastes but sans alcohol was giving me that same chilled out feeling regular strength beer provides.

Maybe this will prove to be a short lived, only time will tell. I can report that I Amy sleep has improved, I am regularly eating breakfast, which is new for me... as for the beer belly... well the scales don’t lie, but I’ll disclose those figures at the end of the month..