The Checkup: The Most Convincing Reason to Ditch Booze for a Month

And more healthy reads for your weekend!

• It’s Friday. On Fridays, I tend to tell myself that “I will go out for one drink with friends after work,” only to end up twerking (er, well, trying to twerk) at some bar in Fishtown at 1 a.m. and having a damn near heart attack when I look at my bank account balance the next morning. If your weekend nights unravel in a similar fashion, this writer’s account of his Dry January just may convince you to go the hermit route for a month this year — mostly because he saved over $200 in one month by avoiding drinks and ended up eating out less in the process. (The weight loss that comes along with it doesn’t hurt, either.) [Bon Appétit]

• Cue the tears: A Boston Marathon bombing victim just got engaged to the firefighter who rescued her. [USA Today]

• Welp, science just discovered another reason to avoid fast food — but this time, it’s all about the wrappers, not the actual food itself. [TIME]

• Here, the ultimate motivation for tackling a marathon: New research shows it could be the ticket to brilliance. [Telegraph]

• And speaking of brilliance, here’s some serious healthy-living wisdom from a very unexpected source: Albie Manzo. Yes, as in that kid from the Real Housewives of New Jersey. [Greatist]

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