Here’s Everything you Need to Succeed in Dry January

Practically as soon as the champagne is popping, you’ll be thinking about when it’s stopping. Dry January is a month-long hiatus from drinking alcohol that follows on the heels of New Year’s Eve. Does that mean no champagne after midnight? Personally, I think there’s no harm in beginning Monday, January 8th, if you can carry it through to February 4th…but since January 1st falls on a Monday, I guess there’s nothing more motivating :). Here’s everything you need to succeed in a Dry January, including tips, tricks, and supplies!

*This piece contains a few sips worth of affiliate links; thank you for considering.

Get Expert Motivation

If you were trying to lose weight, would you rather walk by a bakery or a gym? Well, unless you have the willpower of a supermodel, you’ll most likely say gym. It turns out you can do the same thing when you’re trying to drink less alcohol. Annie Grace’s 30-Day Alcohol Experiment is a totally FREE online program with videos and journaling where you can uncover a little more about why you might be drinking in the first place. Every day comes with a new video and prompts to help do some detective work on your habits. You might find it helps enlighten you in different areas of your life as well.

Rock a Reset

If you feel like your whole body could use a tune-up, then plant-based Remedy Organics might have just what you’re looking for.  The Remedy Reset Program is a 3-Day Wellness Program with Shakes, Immunity Shots, and a Wellness Journal ($139 plus free shipping). You can also take it a bit more a la carte and start your day with some of their Breakfast Essentials and then eat regularly the rest of the time (12 bottles are $69.99). These stay good for a while, so stocking up is encouraged. My favorites are the Berry Immunity and Blue Essentials Shakes and the Immunity Shot Variety Pack ($89.99 for 24). The Energize flavor offers a great boost to your day with matcha, zinc, prebiotics, and cayenne (I personally used it after a sleepless night with my sick toddler, and it was just the trick). I also love how the bottles remind you to breathe before taking a sip – so often, it’s easy to forget to just be present.

You can find Remedy Organics at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Walmart, and other retailers. Take advantage of FREE SHIPPING on their website.

Stock the Fridge

The last thing you want to see in your refrigerator is a can of beer when you’re doing Dry January, unless it’s a Mango Cart Non-Alcoholic Wheat Ale from Golden Road Brewery. The taste is light and fruity and has only 0.5% ABV, a very low alcohol content. You can find it at Total Wine & More for $10.99.

Another great brand for Non-Alcohol Craft Beers is Grüvi, whose Golden Lager won the gold medal for best non-alcohol beer IN THE WORLD in 2022! This particular brew is so popular, though, that it’s often sold out, but you can find Mocha Nitro Stout and Juicy IPA, as well as others, on their website. I recommend a Variety Pack to find your favorites ($50 for 12). All their beers have less than 0.5% ABV.

If you feel like a little taste of the low-ABV devil is enough to get you going, then turn to alternatives like de-alcoholized wine. Noughty Sparkling Chardonnay is an organic, vegan, sparkling chardonnay with low sugar and absolutely no alcohol. The taste is excellent, and you don’t need to feel guilty about that second (or third) glass. You can find it at Boisson in Los Angeles.

If you’re a Rosé Wine lover, I recommend the Surely Sparkling Rosé, which comes in cans and large full bottles. It tastes exactly like the Rosé wines you’re used to because it comes from high-quality Sonoma winemakers; it just had the alcohol extracted. You can find it at Boisson.

I saw it on Boisson Surely – Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Rosé — $30 Surely is dedicated to creating sophisticated, stigma-free non-alcoholic wines out of premium Californian vineyards. Their non-alcoholic Sparkling Rosé is created and dealcoholized in collaboration with the finest Sonoma winemakers to retain the aromatic

Red Wine often gets a bad rap in the alcohol-free space, but that just means you haven’t tried the Dry Red Blend from Grüvi. It’s full-bodied and one of the closest things to the real thing. Best of all, it’s only 45 calories for a full glass. Purchase from their website or find it at The New Bar in Venice if you’re local to Los Angeles ($25 for four cans). The Grüvi brand also makes a supremely delicious Sparkling Sangria if you like your reds served chilled.

Do you prefer Cocktails? Right now some of my favorite canned cocktail brands is FREE AF Drinks, which makes everything from Apero Spritz to Cuba Libre – along with an ingredient called after glow which gives you the same burn you expect from alcoholic spirits ($24 for a 6-pack variety box).

If you’d rather make your own cocktails, then try the L.A.-based Optimist Botanicals brand which is really stirring things up with their distilled botanic spirits made to resemble Gin (Fresh), Tequila (Smokey), and lemony Vodka (Bright). Shipping is free over $50, and you can try them all for $90 (or 35 per bottle). Also, brand new on the market is their ready-to-drink Cali Spritz Canned Cocktail, which you can pick up at Silverlake Wine for $6.

Lastly, if you’re looking for a complete alcohol alternative that still gives you a “buzzy feeling,” try an adaptogen-style beverage like Hiyo Seltzer, Kin Euphorics, or Curious Elixirs – which offers a quiz so you can find your favorite as many resemble your favorite cocktails, but made with ayurvedic properties.

HiYo Seltzer is touted as a “mindful social tonic” and contains nootropics and natural mood enhancers. Try all the flavors with their 12-pack for $44.99. Kin Euphorics offers a similar brand of functional beverages made with botanicals. It’s all about finding your favorite – and Dry January is the perfect time to give a few brands a go. A single can of Kin Bloom is $5.50 at Boisson.

Hype up your H2O

Hydration is critical when you’re on the road to wellness, but getting those eight glasses a day doesn’t have to be boring. Consider adding enhanced water options like TREO into your routine that will fuel you with vitamins to get you hydrated faster. It’s naturally sweetened and utilizes birch water to create a sustainable product. Jason Derulo and Bob Golden of Snapple own the brand. Try all the flavors like Peach Mango and Kiwi Watermelon for the lowest price on Amazon ($32 for 12).

Also, ensure you have lots of La Croix Sparkling Water on hand. They have so many flavors that you can choose a different one almost every day of Dry January. Walmart has the lowest price, with some flavors coming in at 50 cents a can.

Focus on what you’re getting, not what you’re losing

Most importantly,this Dry January, don’t sit around thinking about booze and how much you miss it. Instead, focus your attention on how you’re improving your health. In just a few days, you’ll probably start to see less bloating in your body and face, not to mention how much you’re helping your insides. If you miss the ritual of drinking, try to replace it with a new one, like running or reading.

The loss of alcohol might equal a gain of hours you never knew you had. Spend them doing something that lights you up.