365 days without booze... join me?
Discussion
HairyMaclary said:
Final weekend of the month. Friday and Saturday nights AF was easy. The only point in the week when I really fancy a pint is Sunday afternoons.
Going to the gym later to sort that craving.
Plan to keep going and try for 100 days but taking it very much one day at a time.
Been reading more quit lit the last couple of days. Interesting read as it's the first sobriety book I've read from a women's perspective. They all seem to be written by blokes:
I think you might like this book – "The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober: Discovering a happy, healthy, wealthy alcohol-free life" by Catherine Gray.
Start reading it for free: http://amzn.eu/846EWwk
She talks about booze being a cure of introverts. I totally get that and like her it's very much stopped working for me!
Great book really resonated with me too. If only I’d read it earlier!Going to the gym later to sort that craving.
Plan to keep going and try for 100 days but taking it very much one day at a time.
Been reading more quit lit the last couple of days. Interesting read as it's the first sobriety book I've read from a women's perspective. They all seem to be written by blokes:
I think you might like this book – "The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober: Discovering a happy, healthy, wealthy alcohol-free life" by Catherine Gray.
Start reading it for free: http://amzn.eu/846EWwk
She talks about booze being a cure of introverts. I totally get that and like her it's very much stopped working for me!
How's everyone getting on? I've done 35 days now and feeling pretty good. Weirdly my sleep isn't as good as when I first gave up, but I still have far more energy than normal. It's great to wake-up on a Saturday and Sunday morning and not feel dreadful. My mental health seems much more positive and I'm far more patient with my kids. I've lost about half a stone, but I'm doing more exercise and dieting at the same time, so I'd hoped to lose more weight.
I've been out numerous times when I'd normally drink and it's been absolutely fine. I do find I tire more quickly in the evening - where normally I'd be doubling up at last orders I'm now normally on my way home before the bell.
As a motivator, I've also ordered a new car, which will hopefully be paid out of the proceeds of not drinking - 450bhp and 0-60 in 3.2secs should motivate me to want to drive each time we go out. I estimate I'm saving in excess of £300pcm by not drinking when factoring in taxis, late night kebabs / pizzas, bottles of wine with meals, beers at at the pub, drinking at home and the massive reduction of my wife's drinking as I'm no longer encouraging her.
I'm taking each day at a time and my next big goal is to have a dry Feb - no more than that.
I've been out numerous times when I'd normally drink and it's been absolutely fine. I do find I tire more quickly in the evening - where normally I'd be doubling up at last orders I'm now normally on my way home before the bell.
As a motivator, I've also ordered a new car, which will hopefully be paid out of the proceeds of not drinking - 450bhp and 0-60 in 3.2secs should motivate me to want to drive each time we go out. I estimate I'm saving in excess of £300pcm by not drinking when factoring in taxis, late night kebabs / pizzas, bottles of wine with meals, beers at at the pub, drinking at home and the massive reduction of my wife's drinking as I'm no longer encouraging her.
I'm taking each day at a time and my next big goal is to have a dry Feb - no more than that.
Well done mate. I could have written the first two paragraphs above.
Sleep is OK but been a little down this weekend but suppose that's just life. It's certainly nothing like the level of anxiety I was feeling before.
Lost half a stone and have another 8kgs to go.
I ran a charity quiz at my daughters school on Friday night and drank AF beer all evening. Nobody batted an eyelid and felt great driving home at the end of the night. There was some genuinely funny bits in the quiz which would have been lost in had I been half way to being battered.
I have been on an oddesy of trial and error with the AF beer. My beer fridge in the garage is packed full. Freedam is my favourite this week with Ghostship 0.5 in second.
The savings point is a good one. I think I'm about £300 quid up and January was an expensive month!
Sleep is OK but been a little down this weekend but suppose that's just life. It's certainly nothing like the level of anxiety I was feeling before.
Lost half a stone and have another 8kgs to go.
I ran a charity quiz at my daughters school on Friday night and drank AF beer all evening. Nobody batted an eyelid and felt great driving home at the end of the night. There was some genuinely funny bits in the quiz which would have been lost in had I been half way to being battered.
I have been on an oddesy of trial and error with the AF beer. My beer fridge in the garage is packed full. Freedam is my favourite this week with Ghostship 0.5 in second.
The savings point is a good one. I think I'm about £300 quid up and January was an expensive month!
Ticked over 4 months last week,. according to the app. I've settled into life without drinking now, but.... I've been here before. I can't get complacent.
It was nice that "Dry January" just happened without any particular effort or calendar watching.
Now, I just need to start a "365 days without Diet Coke... Join me?" thread before my dentist tells me to get back on the beer!
It was nice that "Dry January" just happened without any particular effort or calendar watching.
Now, I just need to start a "365 days without Diet Coke... Join me?" thread before my dentist tells me to get back on the beer!
400 days tomorrow. Keeping on keeping on.
It does get easier and I rarely think about it now until this thread pops up again and reminds me of where it all began. The last few weeks have been a very good test as life has thrown a couple of serious curve balls my way. The old me of just over a year ago would have seeked a hiding place in alcohol to blur it all out. But, that really would not help and the curve balls would still be there bouncing away - despite what we try and convince ourselves at the time.
Good luck to all.
It does get easier and I rarely think about it now until this thread pops up again and reminds me of where it all began. The last few weeks have been a very good test as life has thrown a couple of serious curve balls my way. The old me of just over a year ago would have seeked a hiding place in alcohol to blur it all out. But, that really would not help and the curve balls would still be there bouncing away - despite what we try and convince ourselves at the time.
Good luck to all.
Hmmm I went out on Friday after work. Decided dry January was over having done well and was feeling good about it. I told the Mrs i was just having a few beers, wouldn't be late.
By 10pm I was blotto, got a taxi home. Went straight to bed, and got up in the night to be sick.
Spent the weekend in the dog house, feeling pretty sorry for myself and dissapointed.
I didn't think I wanted to give up, just do dry Jan. But didn't really cover myself in glory on Friday, and a bit gutted about that. Think I better try again. Can't believe it really.
By 10pm I was blotto, got a taxi home. Went straight to bed, and got up in the night to be sick.
Spent the weekend in the dog house, feeling pretty sorry for myself and dissapointed.
I didn't think I wanted to give up, just do dry Jan. But didn't really cover myself in glory on Friday, and a bit gutted about that. Think I better try again. Can't believe it really.
Glade said:
Hmmm I went out on Friday after work. Decided dry January was over having done well and was feeling good about it. I told the Mrs i was just having a few beers, wouldn't be late.
By 10pm I was blotto, got a taxi home. Went straight to bed, and got up in the night to be sick.
Spent the weekend in the dog house, feeling pretty sorry for myself and dissapointed.
I didn't think I wanted to give up, just do dry Jan. But didn't really cover myself in glory on Friday, and a bit gutted about that. Think I better try again. Can't believe it really.
On and up mate. I’ve been there more than once but this time it seems to stick.By 10pm I was blotto, got a taxi home. Went straight to bed, and got up in the night to be sick.
Spent the weekend in the dog house, feeling pretty sorry for myself and dissapointed.
I didn't think I wanted to give up, just do dry Jan. But didn't really cover myself in glory on Friday, and a bit gutted about that. Think I better try again. Can't believe it really.
It’s not easy but every time I feel an urge I “play it forward” and it helps. I think that’s an AA thing, not sure but it’s effective.
I still cannot sleep, went to the docs today and he’s given me a short run of mild sleeping tablets. See how those go. Generally feeling ok though.
Davie_GLA said:
It’s not easy but every time I feel an urge I “play it forward” and it helps. I think that’s an AA thing, not sure but it’s effective.
It's an effective strategy. Along with 'one day at a time'. It's far easier to set yourself a goal of not drinking today, rather than one of not drinking for a whole month, year, life.Those days add up surprisingly quickly.
I just decided to do Dry January rather than make a big deal about it and apply loads of pressure. Despite a couple of wobbles with trigger meals or TV shows I made it through dry with no particular issues.
Decided to celebrate on the 31st with a nice bottle of wine followed by rum. Rather than it being the blessed relief I expected, I found myself not particularly enjoying it, certainly not as much as I thought I would. Felt awful on Saturday and realised that this is what I had been feeling like most days for the past 20 years or so.
So not denying I had a drink on Friday night, but I do think it was a useful step in a journey that reminded me that whilst I may occasionally crave a drink, the reality of it will always disappoint.
To build on Blib's point above, the thought of being dry for life is a little too scary for me at the moment; that's an awful lot of pressure and for now, feels like it's setting me up for failure. I think I'll stick with a month at a time and see how I get on
Decided to celebrate on the 31st with a nice bottle of wine followed by rum. Rather than it being the blessed relief I expected, I found myself not particularly enjoying it, certainly not as much as I thought I would. Felt awful on Saturday and realised that this is what I had been feeling like most days for the past 20 years or so.
So not denying I had a drink on Friday night, but I do think it was a useful step in a journey that reminded me that whilst I may occasionally crave a drink, the reality of it will always disappoint.
To build on Blib's point above, the thought of being dry for life is a little too scary for me at the moment; that's an awful lot of pressure and for now, feels like it's setting me up for failure. I think I'll stick with a month at a time and see how I get on
ben5575 said:
To build on Blib's point above, the thought of being dry for life is a little too scary for me at the moment; that's an awful lot of pressure and for now, feels like it's setting me up for failure. I think I'll stick with a month at a time and see how I get on
Couldn't agree more. A day, a week, a fortnight.I'd also add that even setting a target of say 30 days can be hard and if you end up in the pub on day 20, it feels like failure. But only if you frame it in black and white. On the other hand, if you compare the previous 20 days to the 20 before that, one day in 20 versus whatever it was before is likely an outstanding success.
208 days I think I'm on and feeling ok. One thing the booze suppressed was the lain from injuries I've sustained throughout the years, now feel everything lol and am borderline dependant on codeine. So the merry go round starts again.
I've also booked Florida again for may. If anyone needs this is where it want spectacularly wrong for me last year and I ended up in hospital with borderline liver failure.
This will test me.
I've also booked Florida again for may. If anyone needs this is where it want spectacularly wrong for me last year and I ended up in hospital with borderline liver failure.
This will test me.
365Clean said:
How's everyone getting on? I've done 35 days now and feeling pretty good. Weirdly my sleep isn't as good as when I first gave up, but I still have far more energy than normal. It's great to wake-up on a Saturday and Sunday morning and not feel dreadful. My mental health seems much more positive and I'm far more patient with my kids. I've lost about half a stone, but I'm doing more exercise and dieting at the same time, so I'd hoped to lose more weight.
.
Same for me approaching 6 weeks. Much happier though.
Ski trip with a couple of friends has been hard work during the social hours...
Somebody posted in here about going out not drinking then soon as people start to talk utter s
t, slur and repeat themselves it's time to leave. First experience of that this week and it was a bit cringeworthy really. Do think I would have been better off drinking but I just dont want to and seeing my mate wkered and spew out utter waffle while sober has put me off even more.Did have 1 sip of 0.4% beer actually. Have I sinned and failed?
Bathroom_Security said:
Ski trip with a couple of friends has been hard work during the social hours...
Brilliant, I'm flying out this weekend on a 4 day lads ski trip. This normally involves starting drinking around 4pm each day and pushing through til around midnight, 4 nights on the bounce. Mornings are generally painful, but the clean air and exercise have normally meant I'm ok by lunchtime.How did you find it?
It will be interesting to see my what my tolerance levels are like after a few hours of my mates drinking Jagerbombs, pints and flaming Sambukas. Fortunately, there will be 2 of us not drinking, so we may slope off early doors to the Spa each night if it gets painful.
I'm also very excited to see what hangover free skiing is like - for the last 20 years skiing and heavy drinking seem to have gone hand in hand.
Bathroom_Security said:
Did have 1 sip of 0.4% beer actually. Have I sinned and failed?
No, I don't think you have sinned or failed, unless you specifically set yourself a target not to sip 0.4% beer?I had a few pints of Punk AF (0.5%) on a night out, and felt nothing. I think I can metabolise that sort of ABV quite easily without any effect building up.
Each to their own, of course, but I'd happily treat 0.5% as "alcohol free" for all practical purposes, as the rate I'd have to consume the stuff to feel anything would be almost impossible, and certainly not normal pint-supping speed. Remember, lots of foods contain trace amounts of alcohol, so really this question is more of a psychological one than a physical one. How does having a sip of low alcohol beer make you feel about your drinking? Does it feel like failure, or does it feel like drinking beer-flavoured soft drinks?
Norfolk B-roads said:
Bathroom_Security said:
Did have 1 sip of 0.4% beer actually. Have I sinned and failed?
No, I don't think you have sinned or failed, unless you specifically set yourself a target not to sip 0.4% beer?I had a few pints of Punk AF (0.5%) on a night out, and felt nothing. I think I can metabolise that sort of ABV quite easily without any effect building up.
Each to their own, of course, but I'd happily treat 0.5% as "alcohol free" for all practical purposes, as the rate I'd have to consume the stuff to feel anything would be almost impossible, and certainly not normal pint-supping speed. Remember, lots of foods contain trace amounts of alcohol, so really this question is more of a psychological one than a physical one. How does having a sip of low alcohol beer make you feel about your drinking? Does it feel like failure, or does it feel like drinking beer-flavoured soft drinks?
Things are taking a weird turn for me at the moment. Now that I've made my peace with never drinking again it seems that opportunities to do so seem to be much more prevalent.
The family are giving me some serious stick about going on holiday incase I relapse, they are also giving me stick about moving with some of the old guard incase I succumb to some peer pressure.
However if I make the decision to avoid these things then I may as well never leave the house. They are scared and I get it but it's not making things easier.
I'm also dreaming about relapsing more and more.
Maybe I'm being tested.
The family are giving me some serious stick about going on holiday incase I relapse, they are also giving me stick about moving with some of the old guard incase I succumb to some peer pressure.
However if I make the decision to avoid these things then I may as well never leave the house. They are scared and I get it but it's not making things easier.
I'm also dreaming about relapsing more and more.
Maybe I'm being tested.
Edited by Davie_GLA on Thursday 6th February 21:57
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