Okwudiri Straightman Nwali

Struggling with dry January? Hang on in there!  Here are our top tips to get you through the horror of a booze-free month 

The tree's probably woodchip by now, the decorations are in the loft, and it's no longer acceptable to spend all day lying around in your pants eating chocolates - such behaviour doesn't generally go down well in an office.

And now, to top it all off, none of your friends want to go drowning sorrows in the pub because they've all clambered aboard the 'dry January' wagon. It's enough to make anyone turn to drink.

Except you've joined them.  How hard can it be to stay off the sauce for a mere 31 days? After all, two million people managed it, to a greater or lesser degree, last January, and even more are expected to take part this year.

It is no longer acceptable to lie around eating chocolates, and to make things even worse, it's Dry January

But just in case you're having trouble teetotalling, (we know the feeling, btw), here are our top tips for getting through the horror of the dryathlon. God speed. 

If you hang on til the 31st, you'll have saved money and will have the skin and energy of Jessica Ennis

Take it one day at a time

Don't think of Dry January as a mammoth stretch of thirty-one whole godforsaken days without even the tiniest drop of Sancerre.

No. 

This will send you into a mad abyss of panic in which the words YOU'RE GOING TO FAIL flash around your soul in abrasive neon lettering.

Instead, take baby steps. Ticking off each day in a diary helps you foster a sense of achievement. Just think 'Maybe I'll have a drink tomorrow, if I really want one, but not today'. 

Chances are that when tomorrow rolls around you'll think 'I can probably do one more day', until suddenly 31 days have passed.

Even better, you've lost 10lb, saved £200, haven't offended anyone all month and have the clear complexion and the astonishing energy levels of Jessica Ennis.

Dry February, anyone? 

Swap cocktails for posh smoothies

Dry January doesn't have to mean dreary drinks. Virgin Bloody Marys taste almost as good as the real thing, and plenty of non-alcoholic beers can fool you into thinking they're 5.6%.

Dry January doesn't have to mean dreary drinks - Virgin Bloody Marys taste almost as good as the real thing

Helpfully, M&S has just launched a new selection of nutritious juices and healthy smoothies to help you kick-start 2016 and forget all about frozen margaritas…

Tropical Aloe Vera, Grape and Apple Juice is to 2016 as coconut water was to 2015 – packed full of nutrients and a great source of minerals and anti-oxidants, AND a 250ml glass counts as one of your five a day.

M&S has tapped into the growing trend for vegetable juice by offering four new vegbox-themed drinks, each of which counts as two of your five a day for a 250ml glass.  The new range includes Orange & Carrot Juice; Apple, Blood Orange & Butternut Squash Juice; Berries & Beets Smoothie, and Orange, Carrot and Mango Smoothie (in which you'll also find a thickening dash of pumpkin puree).

M&S is tapping into the growing trend for vegetable juice by offering four new vegbox-themed drinks

Find a buddy

Just like most unpleasant things in life, abstaining from the good stuff is easier to do if someone is right there holding your hand and generally feeling the pain with you. Plus a bit of healthy competition should be enough to spur you on. Find a boozeless buddy and dry January will be a doddle.

Call each other when you're considering slipping, and scour Instagram for inspirational quote photos to send each other. You know, things like F Scott Fitzgerald's 'First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you,' and NOT things like Chelsea Handler's 'There are two kinds of people I don't trust: people who don't drink and people who collect stickers'.

Drinking juice AND having a great time - it IS possible, especially if you find a boozeless buddy to hang out with

Get fit

Ditching alcohol for a month will give you new energy, so why not channel it into getting really fit?

Ditching alcohol for a month will leave you bouncing off the walls with new-found energy, so instead of sitting around moping about your empty Prosecco glass, why not channel it into getting fit for good? 

Pull on your trainers and use Auntie Pauline's Christmas money to invest in some new gear, whether a yoga studio membership, a swimsuit and nice new towel, or a snazzy thermal jumper for running around parks in sub-zero temperatures.

Boost your pre-work out energy levels with one of Marks & Spencer's delicious new Super Berry Smoothies, a frozen bag of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry to which you just add juice to make a vitamin-rich drink.

Touch your face

After 31 days of soda water and lime not only will you feel fabulously lively and alert, you will also look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed enough to be ID'd the next time you step inside an off-licence.

Alcohol dehydrates you and dries out the skin, so when you stop drinking your face will bounce back into its lustrous former glory. The sallowness will disappear, the redness will dissipate, and any problem areas will clear up now that your liver isn't working so hard to get the booze out of your bloodstream.

A week into no drinking, stop to marvel at your new beauty. Fancy a pint now? Didn't think so...

Not drinking will mean your skin' sallowness or redness will dissipate, leaving you looking better than ever

Avoid bars/pubs/off-licences/ your alcoholic Uncle Edward

Just as you wouldn't tour Willy Wonka's factory during a chocolate-free Lent, propping up cocktail bars when you're attempting to bat off negronis probably isn't the wisest of plans. 

It's too tempting to slip up, and before you know it you're on the table singing Jolene to 300 strangers and waking up in a skip behind Junction 15 on the M25 wearing only a bow tie. 

Safest to spend January socialising in places where alcohol isn't the main event: spin classes and nursery schools, mainly.  Alternatively, do what we do and go to bed, early.  Every night.

Every time you'd usually have a drink, pop the cost into a jar - you'll soon be a MILLIONAIRE (maybe)

Get a piggybank

Every time you would usually have a drink, pop the amount you'd spend in a jar: £3.50 for a glass of Pinot at home in front of the telly, £23 for a bottle of fancy red with dinner, £30 on Tinder date cocktails, £25 for a round of after-work drinks. And that's only four days in. By the end of the month you'll be a MILLIONAIRE (near enough), and may even change your drinking habits permanently.

Treat yourself

We're not advising you swap alcohol for another vice, but a little Dranuary treat here and there might be all you need to keep up momentum.

Whether a manicure, a new haircut, a trip to the cinema or just lovely lavender bath oil, rewarding your progress is a terrific way to pat yourself on the back. (Just don't lie back in that lavender bath with a glass of Beaujolais  try M&S's delicious new British Apple, Blackberry and Elderflower cordial instead.)

Sleep tight

Even a couple of drinks can affect sleep patterns, particularly when you drink (as most of us do) close to bedtime.

'Deep sleep is when the body restores itself, and alcohol can interfere with this,' Dr John Shneerson, head of the sleep centre at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge told Drink Aware. 'As the alcohol starts to wear off, your body can come out of deep sleep and back into REM sleep, which is much easier to wake from. That's why you often wake up after just a few hours sleep when you've been drinking.'

Enjoy 31 days of unbroken sleep this month and jot down how it affects your mood, your performance at work, and your energy leve