Coalition stalwart Barnaby Joyce 'leaner, sharper' for ditching alcohol after pavement scenes

Veteran Coalition MP Barnaby Joyce has ditched alcohol and lost 15 kilograms after an infamous night he says he barely remembers.

The former deputy prime minister and ex Nationals leader told The Sydney Morning Herald he has embraced a healthier lifestyle since video was released in February showing him lying on a Canberra street and swearing into his phone.

Joyce said shortly after the footage went viral he was suffering from a mixture of prescription medication and alcohol when he fell off a planter box in Lonsdale Street.

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Reflecting on the incident, the 57-year-old politician says it was a wake-up call for him.

"Big swathes of the night I don't remember. And that's never, ever happened to me before. And I never, ever want it to happen again," he said.

"I disgraced myself and I just woke up the next morning and said 'that'll do', so I didn't have another drink."

He and his wife Vicki no longer have alcohol in their home and he hasn't touched a drink since the Canberra incident.

Joyce says he has lost 15 kilograms, through running, playing touch football and "physical work" on his property in northern New South Wales.

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His healthier lifestyle is also paying dividends in the political arena.

Several National Party MPs, speaking anonymously so they could be candid, said Joyce had been more focused since he took leave to clear his head after the video's release.

Joyce, the Coalition spokesperson on veterans affairs, maintains he is "not a wowser", and has not ruled out drinking in the future.

"Maybe at some stage I'll have a beer again, but at the moment, nah," he said.