I have no time for alcohol in my life anymore – Paul Fagan
- OYNB
- Nov 16
- 4 min read
I can honestly say this was the best gift I ever bought myself
The ‘gift’ of OYNB didn’t come wrapped in paper – it came in the form of self-respect, energy, and a completely different life.
Life before OYNB
Life before OYNB was challenging, to say the least. Like many others, I’d slipped into a lifestyle where alcohol had no excuses and no limits.
I didn’t wake up in the morning craving a drink. If anything, I woke up wishing I hadn’t drunk the night before. I wasn’t sitting at my desk counting down the minutes until I could open a bottle – but the minute I got home, habit took over.
I’d kick off my shoes, head to the kitchen and pour a large glass of what I used to call my favourite grape juice – usually a robust red, often Italian, from the Chianti region. Bad day? Have a glass. Good day? Celebrate with a glass. No reason at all? Well, that was reason enough.
My drinking habits
Red wine and I had a long-term relationship. We’d been together for years, through good times and bad. It was there when I was happy, when I was sad, and when I was somewhere in between.
There was always a justification:
“It helps me unwind.”
“Everyone drinks.”
“Red wine is good for the heart, right?”
Wrong.
During lockdown, while some people were panic-buying toilet rolls, I was stocking up on red. I gained a ton of weight, lost my energy and motivation, and watched my creativity hit an all-time low. After one hangover too many, I had to face the truth: I had developed an alcohol problem that needed to be addressed.
Looking for answers
Like most people do these days, I turned to Google.
My first search was simple: “How to quit alcohol.”
What came back was an avalanche of information – articles about the damage alcohol does, stories of struggle, and powerful testimonials about life alcohol-free. I threw myself into it, reading everything I could find:
The harm, pain and chaos alcohol causes
The benefits – physical, mental and emotional – of being alcohol-free
At some point the balance tipped. The benefits of being alcohol-free clearly outweighed the short-lived relief and long-term damage alcohol was causing.
That was the turning point.
Finding OYNB
Somewhere in that deep dive I found One Year No Beer (OYNB).
The more I read, the more intrigued I became. This wasn’t just “stop drinking and suffer through it” – it was about changing your relationship with alcohol and transforming your life in the process.
So I signed up for the 90-day challenge.
I knew this wasn’t just a subscription; this was an investment in myself.
With that came a mix of hope and fear:
Do I really need alcohol?
Could I live without it?
What if I fail?
What if I discover I can’t cope without it?
I had no idea where this journey would lead – only that I couldn’t stay where I was.
My experience going alcohol-free
The first couple of weeks were tough – but not in the way I expected.
I didn’t sit there desperately missing the taste of wine. Instead, I was hit with something else: a huge gap in my routine. What do you do with yourself when the hours you normally spend drinking suddenly open up?
That was the real challenge at the start:I had to rebuild my evenings from scratch.
But very quickly, something shifted.
Once the alcohol was out, the energy came back – and in big doses. Suddenly I wasn’t slumped on the sofa with a glass. I was:
Running again
Reading more
Digging even deeper into the science and psychology of alcohol
Writing more
Joining a gym (and actually loving it)
My self-care went through the roof. My skin improved. I slept like a log. And I lost over 3 stone in weight.
And here’s the key realisation for me:
It didn’t “just happen” because I quit alcohol.It happened because I used the freedom and energy that came from quitting to actually do the things alcohol had been holding me back from.
Quitting was the start. Getting busy with life was the difference.
The OYNB support
The support from OYNB has been phenomenal.
The daily videos became part of my morning routine. Short, focused and to the point, they gave me:
A mindset reset for the day
Practical tools and ideas
Motivation to keep going, especially on tougher days
But the real magic? The community.
The OYNB Connect group is something else:
Thousands of people from all over the world
All on the same path
All supporting, encouraging and lifting each other up
You see people:
Celebrating milestones
Owning their slip-ups without shame
Cheering each other on through the hard moments
If the world were even a tenth as kind and supportive as that community, it would be a very different place.
What’s next?
I don’t “manage” my drinking anymore.I simply don’t drink.
There is no relationship with alcohol now – because I finally understood the truth:
There was never a real relationship. Alcohol lied to me.
It promised:
Relaxation
Connection
Reward
But all it delivered was:
Weight gain
Low energy
Lost time
Dullness
A burden on me and the people I love
There is no place for that in my life anymore.
The biggest change hasn’t just been physical – it’s been the shift in my mindset. I wanted to know what my relationship with alcohol really was. Now I know: it was a one-way drain on my life. Walking away from that has changed everything.
The best gift I ever bought myself
When I signed up for OYNB, I thought I was buying access to a programme.
Now I know what I really bought was:
My health
My energy
My clarity
My self-respect
My future
And I can honestly, wholeheartedly and passionately say:
