365 days without booze... join me?

[willisit]

Just back from a fortnight in Gran Canaria (all inclusive). Usually my favourite tipple is a Pina Colada (yeah yeah.. not beer). Anyway, I really figured I'd have a drink this holiday. Work has been stressful and I'm near the end of a house move (which nearly went up the swanny on holiday) so... I didn't. I mean, I drank my bodyweight in Tonic Water, but not once did I fancy alcohol. Weird.

8 months so far and I can't see me drinking any time soon

[funinhounslow]

Mashedpotatoes said:

Not good at all im back to my old tricks. Just got back from the shop with a six pack. This going cold turkey is proving very hard. Any tips?

Read Allen Carr's "Easy Way to Control Alcohol" - its about a fiver and you can get through it in a couple of evenings.

I haven't touched a drop since reading it about 18 months ago. Haven't even been tempted.

And I was a regular drinker i.e. couple of pints/glasses of wine most nights, with the odd session thrown in. Stopped overnight aged 46, I would never have believed it could be so straightforward.

[Mashedpotatoes]

funinhounslow said:

Mashedpotatoes said:

Not good at all im back to my old tricks. Just got back from the shop with a six pack. This going cold turkey is proving very hard. Any tips?

Read Allen Carr's "Easy Way to Control Alcohol" - its about a fiver and you can get through it in a couple of evenings.

I haven't touched a drop since reading it about 18 months ago. Haven't even been tempted.

And I was a regular drinker i.e. couple of pints/glasses of wine most nights, with the odd session thrown in. Stopped overnight aged 46, I would never have believed it could be so straightforward.

Have it on the iPad I read a 3rd of it about a year ago and struggled with the repetetativety. I will try it again.

[Eleven]

I need to reduce drinking to one night a week for dietary reasons. Some guidance from you old hands would be appreciated:

1. Is once a week realistic, or would it be easier to sack it entirely? I drank 4 nights a week before, but not heavily.

2. Mrs. Eleven is annoyed that I am stopping because she likes a drink and doesn't like to drink alone. Aside from trying to breed some more baby Elevens what could we replace alcohol with?

[Mashedpotatoes]

Eleven said:

I need to reduce drinking to one night a week for dietary reasons. Some guidance from you old hands would be appreciated:

1. Is once a week realistic, or would it be easier to sack it entirely? I drank 4 nights a week before, but not heavily.

2. Mrs. Eleven is annoyed that I am stopping because she likes a drink and doesn't like to drink alone. Aside from trying to breed some more baby Elevens what could we replace alcohol with?

Answer to Q2 = sex perhaps

[Eleven]

Mashedpotatoes said:

Eleven said:

I need to reduce drinking to one night a week for dietary reasons. Some guidance from you old hands would be appreciated:

1. Is once a week realistic, or would it be easier to sack it entirely? I drank 4 nights a week before, but not heavily.

2. Mrs. Eleven is annoyed that I am stopping because she likes a drink and doesn't like to drink alone. Aside from trying to breed some more baby Elevens what could we replace alcohol with?

Answer to Q2 = sex perhaps

That's what I was driving at when I mentioned breeding baby Elevens. Or did you mean the sort of sex that doesn't risk having babies? I'll ask her if she's up for that.

[Smitters]

Garlick said:

Just back from my first dry Le Mans, before that I spent a weekend at a friends house with 10 others who were all drinking and that was easy too. Yesterday was at a corporate event in the sun and passed that too.

Three months and one week in. Can't see me going back now.

Congratulations.

I think everyone who quits gets a milestone event, be it a wedding, Christmas, stag do or whatever. Whether you get through it by gritting your teeth, or fly through and have as much, or more fun, I found feeling of positivity afterwards is brilliant - the "I can do it" confirmation. I would say Le Mans is a reasonably sizeable hurdle to clear. After all, there aren't many tomato-juice mountains.

For those wondering about whether to limit the drinking to one day a week or give up entirely, personally, I'd go the whole hog, but then that's because I need a black and white rule. Any middle ground and I end up bending the rules and then I'm never clear if I'm being successful. I think it's very personal, but be honest and if you find making the one day a week into a real binge, it's probably not a brilliant plan. Although trying for children brings it's own peculiar stresses anyway, making such a big change as stopping drinking (and don't kid yourself it's not a big change - culturally it's enormous - people look at you like you have leprosy), is a very personal challenge. This means trying to buddy up can either work brilliantly, or be a cause of friction between you as one is successful and the other not, one nags and the other feels scolded. It might be that having one day on for your other half is the right thing and quitting completely works for you.

And just in case you're wondering why I'm whittering on, I'm on day 856, lost 20kg, ended a relationship that was beyond saving, started a relationship that is brilliant, got a promotion, then another one and now have an Audi A6 because I'm going to need the extra seats... But most importantly, show me another way to save 20kg on a Caterham and have MORE money in your pocket...

[Super Slo Mo]

I had a single can of beer last night. Didn't really want it, but it was there in the fridge, and I was feeling pretty miserable.

It was nice, very sweet and light, although precious little in the way of alcohol I think.

The downside is that I awoke at 03:30, as always used to be the case when I was drinking. Nowadays I can easily go to 05:30 or 06:00, so I'm probably not going to try that again.

On the other hand, I really struggle to be in a big group of people that are drinking when I'm not, I get really stressed/anxious, so tend to avoid the situation instead. I probably need to work at it to overcome the psychological issues though, rather than trying to keep out of the way.

[jonah35]

Eleven said:

Mashedpotatoes said:

Eleven said:

I need to reduce drinking to one night a week for dietary reasons. Some guidance from you old hands would be appreciated:

1. Is once a week realistic, or would it be easier to sack it entirely? I drank 4 nights a week before, but not heavily.

2. Mrs. Eleven is annoyed that I am stopping because she likes a drink and doesn't like to drink alone. Aside from trying to breed some more baby Elevens what could we replace alcohol with?

Answer to Q2 = sex perhaps

That's what I was driving at when I mentioned breeding baby Elevens. Or did you mean the sort of sex that doesn't risk having babies? I'll ask her if she's up for that.

What does your mrs mean when she doesn't like to drink alone? Cant you have a soft drink? Sounds like she may drink too much and/or have issues with it.

How do you mean 'replace alcohol' ? Just do what you do when you drink but don't drink!!

[jonah35]

Super Slo Mo said:

I had a single can of beer last night. Didn't really want it, but it was there in the fridge, and I was feeling pretty miserable.

It was nice, very sweet and light, although precious little in the way of alcohol I think.

The downside is that I awoke at 03:30, as always used to be the case when I was drinking. Nowadays I can easily go to 05:30 or 06:00, so I'm probably not going to try that again.

On the other hand, I really struggle to be in a big group of people that are drinking when I'm not, I get really stressed/anxious, so tend to avoid the situation instead. I probably need to work at it to overcome the psychological issues though, rather than trying to keep out of the way.

A lot is psychological but also there is reality. They may be sat round just talking utter rubbish that isn't interesting to a sober person.

[funinhounslow]

Mashedpotatoes said:

funinhounslow said:

Mashedpotatoes said:

Not good at all im back to my old tricks. Just got back from the shop with a six pack. This going cold turkey is proving very hard. Any tips?

Read Allen Carr's "Easy Way to Control Alcohol" - its about a fiver and you can get through it in a couple of evenings.

I haven't touched a drop since reading it about 18 months ago. Haven't even been tempted.

And I was a regular drinker i.e. couple of pints/glasses of wine most nights, with the odd session thrown in. Stopped overnight aged 46, I would never have believed it could be so straightforward.

Have it on the iPad I read a 3rd of it about a year ago and struggled with the repetetativety. I will try it again.

Or try Jason Vale's "kick the drink easily" same message, just written by a younger bloke

[Smitters]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Thank you. I'm all about the Caterham weight saving...

[grumbledoak]

I just read this and thought of this thread:
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/sociali...

Many a true word...

[soad]

grumbledoak said:

I just read this and thought of this thread:
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/sociali...

Many a true word...

When a potential employer asks for your hobbies, or what you do in your spare time?

[Mashedpotatoes]

soad said:

grumbledoak said:

I just read this and thought of this thread:
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/sociali...

Many a true word...

When a potential employer asks for your hobbies, or what you do in your spare time?

Very true

[Wilf61]

Afternoon all, having read this thread for many months I'm now going to start being alcohol free.
I'm not sure how long I'll do this for, certainly until the end of July, and then I'll see how I feel.

I'm not a heavy drinker, maybe a couple of drinks 3/4 times a week although I used to drink more in the past, mostly now it is just some wine or sake or chu-hi ( I'm in Japan ) with dinner with my wife.

I'm fairly fit due to cycling regularly and hiking a bit and playing tennis but would be happy to lose about 5kg and at 53yo my metabolism has definitely slowed down and my blood pressure has gone up a bit so stopping alcohol seems like it could benefit me in several ways.

I'm going to try and post here regularly through July and hopefully feel some benefits soon.

[MikeOxlong]

Since this weekend I'm off to stop drinking for a few months to see how I get on with it. I like a drink but recently even after just a few I've felt horrible. Completely drained, no motivation to do anything and the less said about the effect on my guts the better.
On Wednesday evening I drank 4 cans of that Strongbow with the citrus in it and until Saturday I was a mess. Muscle pain all over, breathless, a fierce headache and a metallic taste in my mouth. I've never felt like that before so I figure booze has started catching up with me now. Also a complete waste of the 4 days off I had from work which only comes round on my rota every 8 weeks so I'm a bit irritated I've wasted them too.
I'm aiming to go 3 months with no drinking which will be quite tough as there's a few birthdays coming up and other social occasions that normally lead to getting fked up.

[thenortherner]

This week was my first drink since Xmas day 2012. I've contributed on this thread a few times now, detailing my quitting of fags and booze on the same day.

Long story short is I got myself fit, mostly as a distraction from work and other things, and to build some self-esteem. A week ago I completed an Ironman 70.3, this was something I set myself a goal of once I got things into place. I'm quite happy with the achievement, but there's still a lot more I want to do. It almost feels like unfinished business.

Re the drink, I've had a few bottles of beer 3 or 4 nights since. I can see how it'd be fairly easy to slip back into a regular habit, so I think I'll make this week my last, kind of a one off treat week, then back to zero. It definitely helps me relax and I don't need and never have needed a lot to get me into a chilled-out state. That said, I do notice a difference in mood and tiredness now that I've had a few drinks again.

[jonah35]

thenortherner said:

This week was my first drink since Xmas day 2012. I've contributed on this thread a few times now, detailing my quitting of fags and booze on the same day.

Long story short is I got myself fit, mostly as a distraction from work and other things, and to build some self-esteem. A week ago I completed an Ironman 70.3, this was something I set myself a goal of once I got things into place. I'm quite happy with the achievement, but there's still a lot more I want to do. It almost feels like unfinished business.

Re the drink, I've had a few bottles of beer 3 or 4 nights since. I can see how it'd be fairly easy to slip back into a regular habit, so I think I'll make this week my last, kind of a one off treat week, then back to zero. It definitely helps me relax and I don't need and never have needed a lot to get me into a chilled-out state. That said, I do notice a difference in mood and tiredness now that I've had a few drinks again.

So you've been off booze since 2012 and then in the past week youve drunk 4 nights? What happened?

[thenortherner]

jonah35 said:

thenortherner said:

This week was my first drink since Xmas day 2012. I've contributed on this thread a few times now, detailing my quitting of fags and booze on the same day.

Long story short is I got myself fit, mostly as a distraction from work and other things, and to build some self-esteem. A week ago I completed an Ironman 70.3, this was something I set myself a goal of once I got things into place. I'm quite happy with the achievement, but there's still a lot more I want to do. It almost feels like unfinished business.

Re the drink, I've had a few bottles of beer 3 or 4 nights since. I can see how it'd be fairly easy to slip back into a regular habit, so I think I'll make this week my last, kind of a one off treat week, then back to zero. It definitely helps me relax and I don't need and never have needed a lot to get me into a chilled-out state. That said, I do notice a difference in mood and tiredness now that I've had a few drinks again.

So you've been off booze since 2012 and then in the past week youve drunk 4 nights? What happened?

I only intended on giving up the drink for 12 months, but it sort of stuck. Then when I signed up to the Ironman thing I promised myself I'd have a drink as a reward if I completed it. It wasn't so much me falling off the wagon or giving in to a moment's temptation. I stayed strong, much like I did with the fags too.

I've a week off work, I've worked hard, the weather's warm and I like the taste of Staropraman. I've only had the equivalent of 1.5 pints each time I've drank, maybe 2 pints at most.

I could / can / will drop it just as easily as I did the first time around and the chances are I will once this week's up.

I train for around 10 hours a week, either running, cycling or swimming. i don't smoke. I'm careful with what I eat, so an off week as I'd promised myself I can let myself off with.