Jena Sims Reveals the Health Benefits She Gleaned From Dry January—With Visual Proof

SI Swimsuit’s reigning Rookie of the Year detailed her experience with the challenge as it nears its completion.

Jena Sims was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Two-time SI Swimsuit model Jena Sims posted a brief reel to Instagram on Wednesday, Jan. 28, where she detailed some of the benefits of participating in Dry January. The 31-day challenge aims to eliminate alcohol throughout the month, and Sims shared that her experiences resulted in some major physical and mental changes.

“dry jan is coming to a close. here’s what i noticed,” the Georgia native and Pageant of Hope™ founder penned onscreen as she posed in string printed bikini. Then, a slew of phrases surrounded the model including “body less inflamed,” “under eye area brighter” and “abs are back.”

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Commenters on the clip raved over Sims’s progress, including comedian Heather McMahan who penned, “I’ve never once look this good after a dry January. Go girl 🔥.”

“👏🏻 not always easy, but worth it!” another user cheered.

At SI Swimsuit, we’re more than aware of the model’s unwavering determination. It’s the same grit that led her to the brand through its Swim Search competition. “The first year I got [to] the first round of interviews and that was it,” Sims noted when reflecting upon the time she originally tried out for the open casting call. “The second year they just opened it up to TikTok and it came and went, and then, my third year, finally bit.”

And yet, despite the initial setbacks, Sims persisted. She scored a finalist spot in the competition’s 2023 cohort before securing a rookie campaign as one of its seven co-winners. In 2024, she made her SI Swimsuit debut in Mexico, and just one year later, she added “Rookie of the Year” to her résumé while celebrating her second straight shoot with the brand in New York City.

Jena Sims was photographed by Yu Tsai in Mexico. Swimsuit by Akoiaswim. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

“I think especially in today’s day and age, women are sort of crippled by this imposter syndrome and I just don’t subscribe to that—I don’t believe in that at all,” the model said following the title-winning shoot that graced newsstands as part of the magazine’s 60th Anniversary issue. “I believe in going for anything that you want.”

However, while the perks of Sims’s dry January are clearly evident, she also admitted that she won’t necessarily be taking the challenge into next month. One commenter added, “So you are going to stay dry in Febrary is what you are saying 🤔.” Sims playfully responded, “i am saying the opposite of that actually 😂.”

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