I've been reading and following this thread for some time, but am just jumping in now. Over the years, I have been the kind of drinker that loves beer, but hates being drunk. So I never really had a problem with blackouts, or doing stupid stuff I regret, or drinking interfering with my work, or anything "serious" like that. But since I love beer, I would drink it often (several nights a week), stopping when I started to feel a buzz. Of course, over time, the amount that took increased and I found myself drinking 2 or 3 beers a night, probably 3 or 4 nights a week. A few years ago, I started participating in "Dry January" each year to reset and never found it particularly difficult, but always returned to drinking afterward. One year, I also did the 30 day alcohol experiment, but it really didn't resonate with me because it really felt like it was pitched to people who drink to get DRUNK and have more serious problems with alcohol, and that just didn't resonate with me. And I never really felt that different after 30 days sober than I did when I was drinking - sleep wasn't bad even when I was drinking, no changes in energy, etc.
As I'm starting to get older (39 now) though, my body is just not aging well, which is common in my family. Even though I didn't have the "serious" problems associated with drinking, I know the cumulative effects of drinking as often as I do are not good. So I decided to experiment with 6 months instead of just 30 days to gather more data to see how I feel with a longer period of time sober. I'm about 2 months in now and still really haven't noticed changes in weight, sleep, energy, back pain, etc. But I also haven't found it very difficult and certainly even if I don't feel healthier yet, I know it is a healthier choice in the long term.
I actually thought it would be a lot more difficult to give up my evening beers (the habitual drinking) than it is. Mainly where I have missed it is for special occasions (e.g., celebrations, vacation, etc.). I just returned from vacation and was wanting a poolside drink, but wasn't tempted to actually buy one. Then I won a free drink in a game and decided what the heck, I'll have this one to see how I feel. I didn't feel any different, and wasn't tempted to have even one more drink the entire vacation.
I can see this being a pretty long term change for me since it really hasn't been hard and I know it is a healthier choice, but I'm hoping that over time I will start to SEE some of the benefits of being sober in terms of weight loss, energy, etc.!