AT the start of the year, and with hopes of emerging from the coronavirus pandemic on the horizon, I embarked on Dry January.

Like many Brits, I reckon I drank more during 2020. With the pubs and restaurants shut, drinking at home became the norm for many – and I definitely felt it.

Although I actually lost weight last year – about a stone between March and December thanks to eating less junk food – my alcohol intake increased.

Cold beers in the garden during those lockdown summer months, a few cans every time the football was on (and it was on a lot), a glass of wine or three with dinner, a “well-earned” drink after a stressful day working from home with the kids running around my feet.

Basically, any excuse. But laying off the booze in January felt like a relief. I had a valid reason not to drink. “I’m doing Dry January,” I would tell anyone who would listen.

And unsurprisingly, I became more focussed, less tired all the time, more productive at work (not that I’m ever not productive at work of course!) and crucially, happier.

I even continued into February, but then allowed myself a few beers around my birthday – after all, my 40th last year had been a complete washout thanks to Covid.

However, it wasn’t long – thanks to Boris’s fresh lockdown – before I was bringing out the old excuses again.

So when the chance to try the One Year No Beer 90-day challenge came along, I jumped at it.

I had seen this idea popping up a lot on Facebook – probably because I had done Dry January and bragged about it online. One Year No Beer – or OYNB – is exactly that. A challenge to go a year without booze – but for those who think that sounds a bit much, you can try 28 days or 90.

You get help from the OYNB team to achieve it – with daily videos and emails, a podcast, and access to a private online community of others doing the challenge.

It is a paid-for service – £59 for the 28-day challenge, £109 for the 90-day challenge and £250 for the full year.

And for that you get access to a host of resources that help you along the way – and of course most people doing the challenge save money by not drinking.

There is also something to be said for that money being an investment in yourself – you’re more likely to achieve a goal if you commit to it. For example, you’re more likely to do a skydive if you’ve paid for it otherwise it would be a waste of money.

The OYNB team also encourage you to commit to another challenge to give you something to focus on – I used to enjoy my running but have become drastically unfit over lockdown – so I’m aiming for a half marathon by the end of the summer, collecting sponsorship for the brilliant Bolton Hospice.

I’m now just two weeks into the challenge and I’m feeling better already – the daily videos remind me why I’m going sober and I’ve even bought a pair of new trainers and gone on a couple of runs.

There will be challenges along the way over the next three months. It will be tough not having a beer during the European Football Championships, and I’m also due to go on holiday in July, and so I’m not sure how that will feel, not enjoying a drink in the sun.

But I’m determined to see it through to the end of August – and after that, who knows? Maybe I’ll have a well-earned drink to celebrate – or maybe I won’t.

For more information visit oneyearnobeer.com