{"id":829249,"date":"2025-02-23T13:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T19:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/23\/we-became-much-healthier\/"},"modified":"2025-02-23T13:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T19:12:13","slug":"we-became-much-healthier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/23\/we-became-much-healthier\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We became much healthier\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Tomorrow, February 1st, will see Dry January end for many \u2013 but should you consider a dry February and staying off the drink for longer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consumer Correspondent with the Irish Times<\/em> Conor Pope told Newstalk Breakfast<\/strong><\/a><\/em> that one year\u2019s Dry January has since turned into a dry lifestyle<\/strong><\/a> for him and his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019d said to me three years ago that I\u2019d be talking to you about this particular topic, I would have laughed in your face,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause in 2022, myself and my wife decided to do Dry January – and we haven’t drank any alcohol since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Pope said that the couple had taken on the challenge following a \u201cparticularly boozy Christmas\u201d but felt no need to break their streak at the start of February.<\/p>\n

By March that year he said, neither of them had any interest in going back on the drink.<\/p>\n

People drinking alcohol, \u00a9 PA Archive\/PA Images<\/p>\n

According to Mr Pope, he has seen a range of health benefits<\/strong><\/a> in the two years he has remained sober since.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means that on a Saturday morning, I can get up at half seven in the morning, or eight o\u2019clock in the morning and go to the gym,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I know some people will be rolling their eyes when they hear that, but I actively like going to the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, both of us became much healthier \u2013 and this is a byproduct of it by the way, this wasn\u2019t the design.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost a ton of weight because it\u2019s not just the alcohol that puts on the weight, it\u2019s the inevitable snacking that comes along with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Then there was the cash’<\/h2>\n

Mr Pope said his blood pressure has also come down by \u201ca good 15 points\u201d since he stopped drinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, there\u2019s the health considerations, there\u2019s the lifestyle considerations – then, of course, there was the cash\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

“If I say five bottles of wine a week between two adults, spread out over the course of a year, you\u2019re looking at the guts of three grand.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m not talking about buying Ch\u00e2teau Latour or Pietersburg at a \u20ac12 bottle of wine.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I have to tell you, I have no idea where that cash is, but I can tell you it\u2019s not in my bank account.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Pope said he does miss the occasional glass of wine, but that he still manages to have the craic <\/a><\/strong>while sober.<\/p>\n

Listen back here:<\/p>\n

Main image: Alcohol shelf in liquor store or supermarket. Woman buying a bottle of red wine and looking at alcoholic drinks in shop.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tomorrow, February 1st, will see Dry January end for many \u2013 but should you consider a dry February and staying off the drink for longer? Consumer Correspondent with the Irish Times Conor Pope told Newstalk Breakfast that one year\u2019s Dry January has since turned into a dry lifestyle for him and his wife. \u201cIf you\u2019d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":829250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39587,26578],"tags":[43884,9103],"class_list":{"0":"post-829249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-we","8":"category-healthier","9":"tag-we","10":"tag-healthier"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}