365 days without booze... join me?

[Davey S2]

Blib said:

JQ said:

I'm going for an alcohol free lockdown and see where it takes me.

Please check in with updates if you get a chance. I reckon there'll be others on a similar journey right now.

I did that at the start of Lockdown 1 back in March. Still not drunk a drop and that includes 2 weeks all inclusive on holiday.

[rpla102]

I'm also trying to go booze free for the lockdown.

3 days in now. This will be the first booze free Friday for i'm guessing 15 years. Alcohol dependency has crept up over the last year or so, working from home means far less driving and far more reaching for the corkscrew.

Anyway, good luck to everyone here.

[JQ]

rpla102 said:

I'm also trying to go booze free for the lockdown.

3 days in now. This will be the first booze free Friday for i'm guessing 15 years. Alcohol dependency has crept up over the last year or so, working from home means far less driving and far more reaching for the corkscrew.

Anyway, good luck to everyone here.

3 days for me too. And similar, it's crept up. Looking forward to some better sleep and being less grumpy. All the best. And I'll definitely check back in.

[rpla102]

JQ said:

rpla102 said:

I'm also trying to go booze free for the lockdown.

3 days in now. This will be the first booze free Friday for i'm guessing 15 years. Alcohol dependency has crept up over the last year or so, working from home means far less driving and far more reaching for the corkscrew.

Anyway, good luck to everyone here.

3 days for me too. And similar, it's crept up. Looking forward to some better sleep and being less grumpy. All the best. And I'll definitely check back in.

All the best to you too. Will check in after the weekend!

[Caddyshack]

rpla102 said:

JQ said:

rpla102 said:

I'm also trying to go booze free for the lockdown.

3 days in now. This will be the first booze free Friday for i'm guessing 15 years. Alcohol dependency has crept up over the last year or so, working from home means far less driving and far more reaching for the corkscrew.

Anyway, good luck to everyone here.

3 days for me too. And similar, it's crept up. Looking forward to some better sleep and being less grumpy. All the best. And I'll definitely check back in.

All the best to you too. Will check in after the weekend!

Just remember that any withdrawal at all will be around day 4, be strong for day 4 and then it gets easier so down hill from there...worth having some sugary sweets or soft drink as the body craves the sugar too. Vitamin C in double daily dose also helps. It is not just withdrawal from an addiction, it is as much from habits and the body expecting the same chemicals.

[Blib]

Caddyshack said:

Just remember that any withdrawal at all will be around day 4, be strong for day 4 and then it gets easier so down hill from there...worth having some sugary sweets or soft drink as the body craves the sugar too. Vitamin C in double daily dose also helps. It is not just withdrawal from an addiction, it is as much from habits and the body expecting the same chemicals.

This aspect can be overlooked. One simple, but effective method to short circuit habitual behaviour is to change visual and physical cues.

Do you mostly sit in the same sofa in front of the tv when you drink? Then, rearrange the furniture in the room. Or, simply change which chair you sit on when you relax.

These small changes can help.

[JQ]

Blib said:

JQ said:

I'm going for an alcohol free lockdown and see where it takes me.

Please check in with updates if you get a chance. I reckon there'll be others on a similar journey right now.

Went well over the weekend, with lockdown in place there's far less opportunity / excuse to have a drink. I have persuaded my wife to do the same as me, which has removed one of the biggest triggers of an evening. Whilst normally she may open a bottle it'll be me who finishes it. It was Monday i last had a drink so that takes me to 7 days, which I'm pleased about, my sleep has improved massively and I have a lot more energy during the day.

[chris4652009]

416 days for me now

[Davie_GLA]

chris4652009 said:

416 days for me now

Well done. How are you feeling?

490 for me today and I'm meh. Bored out of my mind and really need to find something to do.

[chris4652009]

Davie_GLA said:

chris4652009 said:

416 days for me now

Well done. How are you feeling?

490 for me today and I'm meh. Bored out of my mind and really need to find something to do.

I’ve worked throughout previous lockdown, this one and the next. But yeah all good, honestly not missing it at all.
Resting HR is a lot better (mid 40s) from mid 50s when I was drinking.

Sorry to hear you are struggling with boredom and keeping occupied. Do you have any in door hobbies? Maybe time for a new one?!

Keep at it mate

[ChevronB19]

FreeLitres said:

Alco-free Guinness anyone? YES!!

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/oct/22/alcoh...

Now withdrawn due to potential contamination!

[JQ]

ChevronB19 said:

FreeLitres said:

Alco-free Guinness anyone? YES!!

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/oct/22/alcoh...

Now withdrawn due to potential contamination!

Yikes.

I was going to buy some, as I'm playing online poker with some mates Friday night, might give it a miss now.

I wonder what the contamination is? Alcohol? That would be embarrassing.

[rpla102]

Checking in after the weekend…..

10 days in now and its already getting easier. Last weekend was (as i mentioned in a previous post) going to be the first weekend for about 15 years where no alcohol was consumed.

I had a big wobble on Friday after work, got in the car to go and get a bottle of wine but after chastising myself went back into the house.

I've been thinking about a cold beer of a glass of wine every day since cold turkey so truly starting to understand how hard it is to break the cycle.

[Joscal]

rpla102 said:

Checking in after the weekend…..

10 days in now and its already getting easier. Last weekend was (as i mentioned in a previous post) going to be the first weekend for about 15 years where no alcohol was consumed.

I had a big wobble on Friday after work, got in the car to go and get a bottle of wine but after chastising myself went back into the house.

I've been thinking about a cold beer of a glass of wine every day since cold turkey so truly starting to understand how hard it is to break the cycle.

Well done! That's the alcohol out of your system as it takes 10 days (according to the William Porter book anyway!) you should be beginning to feel the benefits.

It is really difficult at the beginning but take each day as it comes, I found that after making it through a day and a good nights sleep you wake up ready for the next and it just started to roll.

Don't be afraid to treat yourself to sweets/ice cream/cake as your body will be craving the sugar it's missing out on! It's completely normal and a great way to pat yourself on the back.

I've mentioned before that I had a massive bowl of ice cream every night for months at the beginning and it's good to have a well deserved reward for your efforts. I never ate ice cream at all before btw..

There is load of great advice on youtube which I found really useful too. Craig Beck and William Porter are a couple of my favourites.

Also don't worry if you do wobble as it's a learning process (I wish someone had told me this when I was really struggling as I was far too hard on myself when I did!)

Good luck!

[Bathroom_Security]

LordGrover said:

Some of us need to exercise some caution with regard to 'zero' alcohol drinks - that was my gateway to falling off the wagon back in the Summer.

I'd been drinking <0.1% cider at home for a few months with apparently no effect - just a familiar taste to enjoy with the warm weather lock-down. It wasn't until the pubs reopened that I realised my mistake, just one pint of the real stuff won't do any harm - only it doesn't work like that.

It just isn't the same as consuming water, tea, coffee, fruit juice, etc.

Many will be fine with low/zero alcohol, but for some (like me) it's not a risk worth taking.

FTR after failing at about 18 months I'm now back at 95 days.

Surely 1 in a while isn't bad?

Im coming up 11 months and AF drinks were a big help initially. Gradually went from having a 5-nights-a-week problem drinking AF stuff, to once or twice a week and now in the last couple of months I dont drink it at all now purely because it doesnt cross my mind. I'd have some at a pub or out with mates, just not that interested at home anymore.

I do enjoy a soda and lime with a stload of ice however, maybe that's where the cravings have gone into. Gives me the same refreshing feeling as an ice cold beer did

Its all sugar cravings for me, but the cravings for sugar are long gone.

[JQ]

Bathroom_Security said:

I do enjoy a soda and lime with a stload of ice however, maybe that's where the cravings have gone into. Gives me the same refreshing feeling as an ice cold beer did

After some recommendations on here I invested in a Sodastream and it's been brilliant - ice cold soda and lime on tap.

[Dg504]

Another booze free lockdowner here - going from 5/6 days a week social/habitual drinking to now the 8th booze free day has been hard but not too bad if I’m being honest.

Have tried the nosecco, AF wine and Heineken to ease the boredom - none particularly great so now have some Stryyk gin incoming for the weekend!

Have realised it’s definitely more of a habit and subconscious thing than proper addiction (I think), it’s too easy after work to revert to a glass then bottle of wine each night to relax and chill out. To my surprise even a cold tonic and lemon slice in a nice glass seems to give 80% of the “pleasure” of something alcoholic to sit down with.

[LordGrover]

JQ said:

Bathroom_Security said:

I do enjoy a soda and lime with a stload of ice however, maybe that's where the cravings have gone into. Gives me the same refreshing feeling as an ice cold beer did

After some recommendations on here I invested in a Sodastream and it's been brilliant - ice cold soda and lime on tap.

Reading that, I checked them out on Amazon.
Lumme! They're way more expensive than I was expecting - think I'll stick to water, coffee and masala chai.

[JQ]

LordGrover said:

JQ said:

Bathroom_Security said:

I do enjoy a soda and lime with a stload of ice however, maybe that's where the cravings have gone into. Gives me the same refreshing feeling as an ice cold beer did

After some recommendations on here I invested in a Sodastream and it's been brilliant - ice cold soda and lime on tap.

Reading that, I checked them out on Amazon.
Lumme! They're way more expensive than I was expecting - think I'll stick to water, coffee and masala chai.

£60 for everything you need - that's less than my weekly wine bill and the Sodastream will last a lot longer. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8358321?istCompany...

I was going through loads of bottles of sparkling water from the supermarket and whilst Sodastream is definitely more expensive than buying cheap bottled water I'm not creating anywhere near as much waste.

[funinhounslow]

JQ said:

£60 for everything you need - that's less than my weekly wine bill and the Sodastream will last a lot longer. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8358321?istCompany...

I was going through loads of bottles of sparkling water from the supermarket and whilst Sodastream is definitely more expensive than buying cheap bottled water I'm not creating anywhere near as much waste.

£60 is a good price (less than I paid!). It will pay for itself in the long run and as noted there is the convenience factor.

£60 is six bottles of wine from the supermarket or 12 pints in the pub.

The cylinders last ages and you can change them at Robert Dyas. £22 - £10 deposit on the old cylinder so £12.

I use mine every day. It’s great having a limitless supply of fizz on tap, even in winter.

I think anyone who’s given up drinking and likes chilled fizzy water should “treat themselves”