“The best money I have ever spent” – Scot Symonds

“I can’t remember ever actually feeling this good”

At 45, I didn’t expect to feel better than I ever had in my life. But changing my relationship with alcohol has done exactly that.

Before OYNB

I never really believed I had a “problem” with alcohol, but I was aware that alcohol was creating problems in my life.

On paper, everything looked good:

• A solid job

• Happily married

• Three great kids

• Good friends

• A generally good life

My drinking pattern looked “normal” from the outside:

• Drinks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday

• Sometimes more when life felt challenging

• The occasional weekend where I clearly went too heavy

I’d done month-long challenges like Dry January and Stoptober in the past and really noticed the benefits. But I always ended up slipping back into my normal habits.

Tired of being tired

I started to notice something:

• A heavy Friday night was costing me the whole weekend

• Saturday was spent feeling hungover

• The rest of the weekend was filled with anxiety and lethargy

It felt like I was trading an entire weekend for:

• One bottle of wine

• A couple of whiskies

It didn’t feel like a good deal.

Worse, Monday at work started to suffer too. Small challenges felt like big ones. I could feel anxiety building, and I knew I could do better, be better – and most importantly, feel better.

I’d already started working on my overall wellbeing:

• Listening to podcasts

• Exercising more

• Completing Couch to 5K so I could join parkrun with my wife

• Trying to shift long-standing excess weight

• Wanting better sleep and a better baseline mood

But alcohol kept pulling me back.

Finding OYNB

I’d seen One Year No Beer adverts and read them with a mix of interest and scepticism, but the stories stuck with me.

What really shifted things was hearing Andy Ramage on Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s Feel Better, Live More podcast. One idea landed hard:

If there were a pill that helped you lose weight, reduce blood pressure, lower heart rate and cholesterol, ease anxiety and stress, improve mental health, sleep and overall wellbeing – with no side effects and for free – it would be the most popular pill in the world.

I realised:I could choose that “pill” by changing my drinking.

I kept returning to the OYNB website, reading about the support and community. I didn’t sign up immediately, but it was clearly on my mind.

On New Year’s Day, hungover but full of that “fresh start” energy, I finally took the plunge and joined.

I chose the 90-Day Challenge – a serious step up from one-month stints, but not as intimidating as committing to a full year. Paying for it felt like a big move at first, but it also made me more committed. It turned out to be the best money I’ve ever spent – especially given how much I’ve now saved by not drinking.

My alcohol-free challenge

My initial goals were simple:

• Go 90 days without alcohol

• Lose some weight

• Feel better

I got all of that and more.

The thing that hooked me early was the daily emails:

• Short, focused videos

• Simple tasks

• Pieces of information

• Prompts to reflect on my own habits

These weren’t just motivational quotes – they gave me a structured plan and helped me:

• Understand my patterns

• See how alcohol was wired into my day-to-day life

• Build a different mindset around drinking

That was the biggest difference from any “dry month” I’d done before. It wasn’t just about willpower anymore – it was about education, support and long-term change.

The first few weeks were the toughest:

• Breaking old habits

• Creating new routines

• Managing social expectations

But gradually, the balance shifted:

• More easy days

• Fewer hard days

A lot of friends thought I was crazy for even trying it. But I kept going.

The alcohol-free benefits

By the time I reached 90 days, the benefits were so obvious that extending to a full year felt like the natural next step.

I was actually happy to pay to upgrade. I felt like I owed OYNB far more than they were charging. My “no alcohol” app showed I’d already saved well over £1,000 in drinks alone, so I was still massively in profit.

What changed? Practically everything:

• I’m much more relaxed, calm and content

• I’m more willing to try new activities and experiences

• I’ve started cycling every Friday with lifelong friends

• I went paddle boarding

• I signed up for the Yorkshire Three Peaks and a half marathon

These are all things I never would have attempted before OYNB.

At home and work:

• I’m far more patient with my children (and I thought I was already a good dad)

• I’m much more present with my wife

• My relationships have improved across the board

• My enthusiasm for work has come back

• My anxiety is practically zero

• My sleep quality is outstanding

Physically:

• My resting heart rate has dropped

• My dry skin has cleared

• My restless leg syndrome has disappeared

• I’ve lost almost 5 stone and reached my ideal weight

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I’d been trying to lose that weight for nearly 20 years. Stopping drinking was the gateway that finally made it possible.

Most importantly, I’ve rediscovered joy and humour in the simple things.

“I can’t remember ever actually feeling this good”

OYNB has been the key to stopping drinking – not just for 30 days, but properly.

The programme:

• Explains what alcohol really is and what it really does

• Helps you understand why you drink, not just what you drink

• Gives you tools to change your relationship with alcohol long-term

Once alcohol was out of the way, it became so much easier to build:

• Better self-care

• A consistent exercise routine

• New goals in work, home life and fitness

At 45, I genuinely cannot remember ever feeling this good.

The daily emails and updates were my foundation – but the OYNB Tribe is where the real magic happens:

• The Facebook community is insanely supportive

• You’re surrounded by positive role models at every stage of the journey

• The encouragement, advice and shared experience are a true game-changer

What’s next?

As I write this, I’m on Day 194 of my 365-day challenge.

My mindset has completely flipped from:

“I want a drink”

to:

“Why would I want a drink?”

I honestly never expected that. I assumed I’d always “want” alcohol, even if I chose not to have it. But the more I learned, and the more I felt the benefits, the more my thinking changed.

Once I hit 365, I’m not promising I’ll never drink again – but right now, I know this:

• I have more fun

• More connection

• More health

• More peace

When I’m not drinking.

I’ve already recommended OYNB to many friends.

If you’re even slightly curious, ask yourself:

• What’s the worst that could happen if you take a break?

• You “lose” a small amount of drinking time.

And the best that could happen?It might be beyond anything you can imagine right now.