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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Beth Ure & Kieren Williams

Young binge drinker looks unrecognisable after shedding four stone by ditching beer

A young man who's long been a binge drinker now looks unrecognisable after he ditched drinking and dropped 4st.

Jame Rogan, 28, made the decision to go sober last April after a number of failed attempts to stop drinking alcohol over the years.

At his heaviest, James weighed just over 17st but is now down to 13st after trading nights out, for working out.

The mechanical technician from Nuneaton, West Midlands, says that as well as making a huge different physically and to his physical health, cutting alcohol from his diet has massively improved his mental health.

James used to drink 12 pints and spirits in an evening when he went out.

He said: "I was binge drinking pretty much every weekend, which started because I used to play rugby.

James after the weightloss and cutting alcohol from his diet (Mercury Press & Media Ltd.)

"Obviously that's a sport with a big drinking culture, and I was just working in an office job straight from school.

"I've never really had an off-switch with alcohol like most people do, I never knew when it was time to stop.

"I'd have one drink, and that was almost like a self-destruct button, and then there was no going back after that."

Now, as well as cutting the drink, James works out regularly every week, and feels better than before.

He said: "I go out on hikes, I'm exercising regularly every week, I've started doing kickboxing, which I'm really enjoying.

"I feel much much better, and I never feel like I'm missing out or anything.

He began drinking heavily after he took up rugby due to the 'drinking culture' within the sport (Mercury Press & Media Ltd.)
When he did drink, James would regularly consume more than a dozen beers and spirits in a single night (Mercury Press & Media Ltd.)

"I went to a mate's stag do a few weeks ago, and leading up to it I was a bit nervous, but I had a great time.

"Everyone is really supportive as well, obviously once the drinks start flowing you get people saying like, 'can't you have one' and things like that.

"But mostly, when I tell people they're interested, or curious, more than anything else."

Before, James revealed how he got into a negative cycle with drinking, felling physically bad because he had drunk, then drinking again.

He said: "I'd be binge drinking at the weekends, and then feel crap all week, and just do that over and over.

"It started to put a strain on my relationships, and I just wasn't happy.

"That was the catalyst for, at first, just taking a break, and then giving it up all together."

He first took a break from alcohol back in 2018, when he took part in dry January for the first time.

James said: "I took a month off, thinking that that might help me be able to handle the alcohol more.

"The next year, in November 2019 I decided to take a full year off to sort it out, and I did, but I went back to drinking November 2020.

"Each time I took a break, I'd be back in the same habits within a few weeks, so I knew I just to cut it out for good."

As well as cutting alcohol from his diet the 28-year-old has taken up new forms of exercise (Mercury Press & Media Ltd.)

James started charting his journey with sobriety on his Instagram @_drysociety.

He said: "I wanted to start that just as way to support other people.

"I think, especially for young lads, it's hard to give up drinking in some environments.

"When I was trying to quit, I didn't know anyone else that didn't drink, so that's why I started the blog."

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