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How to Stay Motivated While Cutting Down on Alcohol

Cutting down (or stopping) your drinking can have a huge positive impact on your health and well-being. It's important to stay motivated along the way � try these tips to help you reach your goals.

How to Stay Motivated While Cutting Down

Now that you've decided to cut down on your drinking, you're well on your way to significant long-term health and well-being benefits.

Like many major life changes, this is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. There are three steps to keep in mind:
✔ Make a decision to cut down
✔ Plan how you'll do it.
✔ Consider ways to stay on track

But how do you stay motivated along the way and in the long run? This guide has practical tips to help you stay on track and succeed.

Research into different methods of cutting down on alcohol has shown that tracking your drinking and your progress can increase your success. Download the free MyDrinkaware app now to easily track how many units (and calories) you consume.

Think about what motivates you

Think about why you want to quit drinking � this is the motivation behind your goal. Write it down and keep it in mind.

You are more likely to stick to your goals if you have a clear reason for achieving them. Focus on what is important to you and the reasons why you want to achieve it.

For example, you might:

✔ want to cut down on drinking to have more energy, sleep better, or lose weight
✔ worry about some of the long-term health risks associated with alcohol, including seven types of cancer and high blood pressure
✔ want to improve your relationships with your partner, family, or friends
✔ want to save money by cutting down on drinking

Set Specific Goals

The "cut down drinking" resolution is a bit vague, which makes it harder to know if you'll achieve what you want. To give yourself the best chance of success, you need to choose something specific and realistic for you.

Determine how much you want to cut down, then review your progress and measure your success.

For example:
You might set a goal of low-risk drinking, no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. Or you might decide that you want to quit drinking for good You might want to increase the number of days you go without drinking per week by switching from an activity where you usually drink to an activity where you don't.
You might want to stop binge drinking. This means avoiding heavy sessions: no more than six units of alcohol in one session if you're a woman, or no more than eight units if you're a man.