Quitting the grog for good
Discussion
I am not dependent on Alcohol. I can go without it for many days (recently did Sober for (most)October). But I do have an un-healthy relationship with it. Over time I have built up a tolerance that would impress Oliver Reed and when I drink, I really drink.
My wife drinks a fair bit too, although nowhere near the volume I do. We are both beginning to think that it is impacting our lives and health.
We have tried to cut down in the past we have never managed it. My wife thinks we should both quit drinking permanently and I am starting to think it is probably not a bad idea. I made a list of all the benefits to giving up and then a list of all the negatives. To say the benefits out-weighed the negatives would be an understatement.
However, I am not sure that having a clear idea of why I am doing it is enough to keep me dry. Has anyone done this and do they have any tips? The Allen Carr book seems to be quite highly recommend. Has anyone tried that?
My wife drinks a fair bit too, although nowhere near the volume I do. We are both beginning to think that it is impacting our lives and health.
We have tried to cut down in the past we have never managed it. My wife thinks we should both quit drinking permanently and I am starting to think it is probably not a bad idea. I made a list of all the benefits to giving up and then a list of all the negatives. To say the benefits out-weighed the negatives would be an understatement.
However, I am not sure that having a clear idea of why I am doing it is enough to keep me dry. Has anyone done this and do they have any tips? The Allen Carr book seems to be quite highly recommend. Has anyone tried that?
My wife and I decided to stop for November. No long term view on quitting, just followed a pretty heavy October and then the run up to Christmas.
We were never spending a fortune or losing weekends, but we would often go to the pub (conveniently 30m away from the flat) for a pint and end up having 4 or 5 and eating there. So one round would become a £50 night out. And we'd do that 3 or 4 times per week. Never enough to get a hangover really but it seemed to mount up.
We decided to go November without drinking for a few reasons. I'm not too sure of the effects overall (perhaps too early to say) but I do think I'm sleeping better. Although more tired when I go to bed I am waking up feeling refreshed at 5:30 - 6:30 which is nice.
Just about to sign a lease on a car which we've debated about for a while. We should be able to afford it no problem but I had no hesitation in saying, "if it looks tight I'd happily forego the booze to make sure it wasn't a problem"
It's should also benefit our attempts to start a family. I should lose some of the spare tyre I've been carrying around again. etc, etc.
I think I've reached an age where I wouldn't miss it. Although I'm not all that outgoing so in some situations it might mean I'm quieter than I would be but we'll see. To be honest I can't see a downside. Financial and health benefits at the very least.
We were never spending a fortune or losing weekends, but we would often go to the pub (conveniently 30m away from the flat) for a pint and end up having 4 or 5 and eating there. So one round would become a £50 night out. And we'd do that 3 or 4 times per week. Never enough to get a hangover really but it seemed to mount up.
We decided to go November without drinking for a few reasons. I'm not too sure of the effects overall (perhaps too early to say) but I do think I'm sleeping better. Although more tired when I go to bed I am waking up feeling refreshed at 5:30 - 6:30 which is nice.
Just about to sign a lease on a car which we've debated about for a while. We should be able to afford it no problem but I had no hesitation in saying, "if it looks tight I'd happily forego the booze to make sure it wasn't a problem"
It's should also benefit our attempts to start a family. I should lose some of the spare tyre I've been carrying around again. etc, etc.
I think I've reached an age where I wouldn't miss it. Although I'm not all that outgoing so in some situations it might mean I'm quieter than I would be but we'll see. To be honest I can't see a downside. Financial and health benefits at the very least.
I'm 32 now. I went from the age of 18 to 30 without a single drop of alcohol.
Went to Ibiza with some friends knowing that it would be alcohol fuelled, lived it up, drank all my friends under the table all week long(haha), had a few mental drunk sessions since.
Decided that alcohol doesn't really contribute much to my life except for empty pockets, and an occasional fuzzy feeling. So I quit it again.
For me, it's easy. For others, depends on their will power.
Went to Ibiza with some friends knowing that it would be alcohol fuelled, lived it up, drank all my friends under the table all week long(haha), had a few mental drunk sessions since.
Decided that alcohol doesn't really contribute much to my life except for empty pockets, and an occasional fuzzy feeling. So I quit it again.
For me, it's easy. For others, depends on their will power.
smiffy180 said:
Out of interest for this type of thread.
What is it about the alcohol that keeps you addicted?
I'm just wondering if you bought non alcoholic alcohol would you still get the same feeling without health risks as such?
For me its the taste. Non alcoholic wine etc just doesn't taste the same. Red wine, Gin, JD. The feeling of being tipsy is ok as well. But hangovers can be a bWhat is it about the alcohol that keeps you addicted?
I'm just wondering if you bought non alcoholic alcohol would you still get the same feeling without health risks as such?
h.Hackney said:
To be honest I can't see a downside. Financial and health benefits at the very least.
This is where I am at. The only downside is I like the taste of it. But I am fatter than I should be and despite exercising regularly I can't shift it. Plus I worked out that I spend on average between £200-£400 a month on booze, so the financial benefits are big. Just clocked up a year alcohol free and have no plans to return 
I would echo the recommendations to read the Allen Carr book. I read it in a couple of days and haven’t touched a drop since. Haven’t wanted to either.
Another book which is worth getting is Jason Vale’s “Kick the drink easily” - exactly the same message as Carr’s but with a slightly “younger” twist e.g. the anecdotes are about going out on the lash with your mates rather than the golf club dinner.
Both books make the point that there is no “halfway house” - you either continue to drink as you do now, or you give up totally. “Cutting down” isn’t an option. As you note you haven’t managed to cut down, and neither did I when I tried.
What the books did for me is remove the desire for alcohol. I still go to my weekly pub quiz, and meet friends in pubs but just stick to lime and soda (not as boring as it sounds and if you have a half pint it just looks like you’re drinking a gin and tonic or something)
After a year I have lost a load of weight, feel healthier, sleep better. I am more motivated - I go swimming, cycling and walking more. I am reading more and have just taken up Spanish lessons. My bank balance is also healthier.
I would say be prepared for it to affect your social life though. People are rarely as funny as they think when they have a few drinks inside them, and I am usually the first to leave any social function. You will notice there is a definite point in the evening when people start becoming repetitive, and that is when i make my excuses and leave.
In short, quitting was far easier than I thought, and I wish I’d done it years ago. Read either or both of the above books and give it a go - I am sure you will be taken aback by how easy it is.
Good luck!
I would echo the recommendations to read the Allen Carr book. I read it in a couple of days and haven’t touched a drop since. Haven’t wanted to either.
Another book which is worth getting is Jason Vale’s “Kick the drink easily” - exactly the same message as Carr’s but with a slightly “younger” twist e.g. the anecdotes are about going out on the lash with your mates rather than the golf club dinner.
Both books make the point that there is no “halfway house” - you either continue to drink as you do now, or you give up totally. “Cutting down” isn’t an option. As you note you haven’t managed to cut down, and neither did I when I tried.
What the books did for me is remove the desire for alcohol. I still go to my weekly pub quiz, and meet friends in pubs but just stick to lime and soda (not as boring as it sounds and if you have a half pint it just looks like you’re drinking a gin and tonic or something)
After a year I have lost a load of weight, feel healthier, sleep better. I am more motivated - I go swimming, cycling and walking more. I am reading more and have just taken up Spanish lessons. My bank balance is also healthier.
I would say be prepared for it to affect your social life though. People are rarely as funny as they think when they have a few drinks inside them, and I am usually the first to leave any social function. You will notice there is a definite point in the evening when people start becoming repetitive, and that is when i make my excuses and leave.
In short, quitting was far easier than I thought, and I wish I’d done it years ago. Read either or both of the above books and give it a go - I am sure you will be taken aback by how easy it is.
Good luck!
Edited by funinhounslow on Wednesday 20th November 16:45
Interesting.
Never been a big drinker. But when I did it would take me 5 plus pints to "feel it" and 10 plus to think doing something very silly was a good idea.
So with that in mind and taking the recommended units with a huge pinch of salt I'm still well over what they deem safe just to have a "good time"
So I gave up sometime in September this year.
It's helped me lose a bit of weight. No more rat burgers or kebab after a few beers!
Saved me a stack of cash
I get to enjoy watching all the drunken fools when I'm out.
However I was and still am far more partial to a volcano in Amsterdam.
Never been a big drinker. But when I did it would take me 5 plus pints to "feel it" and 10 plus to think doing something very silly was a good idea.
So with that in mind and taking the recommended units with a huge pinch of salt I'm still well over what they deem safe just to have a "good time"
So I gave up sometime in September this year.
It's helped me lose a bit of weight. No more rat burgers or kebab after a few beers!
Saved me a stack of cash
I get to enjoy watching all the drunken fools when I'm out.
However I was and still am far more partial to a volcano in Amsterdam.
Sounds a lot like me.
Read the book - worst case you've lost a fiver and a couple of hours.
Best case it'll change your life for the better, immeasurably and permanently.
Best thing I ever did anyway.
944fan said:
Has anyone done this and do they have any tips? The Allen Carr book seems to be quite highly recommend. Has anyone tried that?
I quit in February using Allen Carr's easyway to control alcohol. Long story short it was extremely easy - so much so I thought I could drink on holiday and quit again when I returned. Not so easy it turned out. Re-read the book and attended the 'clinic' (seminar). This time I know it's for real and how easy it is to slip back so won't be trying it again.Read the book - worst case you've lost a fiver and a couple of hours.
Best case it'll change your life for the better, immeasurably and permanently.
Best thing I ever did anyway.
funinhounslow said:
I still go to my weekly pub quiz, and meet friends in pubs but just stick to lime and soda (not as boring as it sounds and if you have a half pint it just looks like you’re drinking a gin and tonic or something)
This would be a big downside for me.I can't stand lime & soda. Drinking coke (or any sugary drink)all night gives me a sugar hangover.
I'm left with apple juice. Which is fine, but I get half a pint. Less, if they load the glass with ice which means two drinks and its gone.
And it's almost as expensive as beer.
Which is why I'm avoiding the pub all together at the moment.
If you're struggling to quit without reading a quit drinking book then I hate to break it to you but you're an alcoholic.
You will lose weight
Be fitter
Accomplish more
Be less moody
Spend less
Not worry about taxis etc
I cant see many upsides to alcohol, it doesn't make you relax long term, its a depressant.
One advantage people give is that it makes them more sociable and up for a laugh but I think thats rubbish. You can still be sociable and join in without the crutch of booze.
Many people think of an alcoholic as a wino on a park bench but the typical alcoholic is one that looks forward to a Friday night booze up, the glass of wine after a stressful day etc.
Each to their own but just stop for a year and then assess your year. Don't stop for 3 months as the long term effects wont become apparent.
You will lose weight
Be fitter
Accomplish more
Be less moody
Spend less
Not worry about taxis etc
I cant see many upsides to alcohol, it doesn't make you relax long term, its a depressant.
One advantage people give is that it makes them more sociable and up for a laugh but I think thats rubbish. You can still be sociable and join in without the crutch of booze.
Many people think of an alcoholic as a wino on a park bench but the typical alcoholic is one that looks forward to a Friday night booze up, the glass of wine after a stressful day etc.
Each to their own but just stop for a year and then assess your year. Don't stop for 3 months as the long term effects wont become apparent.
I don't think I would ever quit completely but I have cut down a lot.
I don't go to the pub that often and can happily go without a beer for months. It's red wine that I love.
My wife isn't a big drinker and is also 4 months pregnant so not drinking at all now.
I don't drink in the week unless I'm out (not often) and try to limit drinking to Friday and Saturday nights.
I used to polish off a bottle of red on a Friday and Saturday night but have just bought a nice supply of half bottles which are perfect for me. Nice wine, gives you a little alcohol buz but not enough to give you a hangover.
I suspect I will cut down even more next year when the baby arrives. I will be a dad for the first time at the age of 40 and want to be a fit active parent. Besides, bad hangovers are horrendous but the thought of having one and dealing with a baby / toddler fills me with dread.
I don't go to the pub that often and can happily go without a beer for months. It's red wine that I love.
My wife isn't a big drinker and is also 4 months pregnant so not drinking at all now.
I don't drink in the week unless I'm out (not often) and try to limit drinking to Friday and Saturday nights.
I used to polish off a bottle of red on a Friday and Saturday night but have just bought a nice supply of half bottles which are perfect for me. Nice wine, gives you a little alcohol buz but not enough to give you a hangover.
I suspect I will cut down even more next year when the baby arrives. I will be a dad for the first time at the age of 40 and want to be a fit active parent. Besides, bad hangovers are horrendous but the thought of having one and dealing with a baby / toddler fills me with dread.
If you're struggling to quit without reading a quit drinking book then I hate to break it to you but you're an alcoholic.
You will lose weight
Be fitter
Accomplish more
Be less moody
Spend less
Not worry about taxis etc
I cant see many upsides to alcohol, it doesn't make you relax long term, its a depressant.
One advantage people give is that it makes them more sociable and up for a laugh but I think thats rubbish. You can still be sociable and join in without the crutch of booze.
Many people think of an alcoholic as a wino on a park bench but the typical alcoholic is one that looks forward to a Friday night booze up, the glass of wine after a stressful day etc.
Each to their own but just stop for a year and then assess your year. Don't stop for 3 months as the long term effects wont become apparent.
You will lose weight
Be fitter
Accomplish more
Be less moody
Spend less
Not worry about taxis etc
I cant see many upsides to alcohol, it doesn't make you relax long term, its a depressant.
One advantage people give is that it makes them more sociable and up for a laugh but I think thats rubbish. You can still be sociable and join in without the crutch of booze.
Many people think of an alcoholic as a wino on a park bench but the typical alcoholic is one that looks forward to a Friday night booze up, the glass of wine after a stressful day etc.
Each to their own but just stop for a year and then assess your year. Don't stop for 3 months as the long term effects wont become apparent.
There was points in my 20s and early 30s before I had kids that if i had one drink I had 8, no two ways about it so I would only drink when I knew I could cope with being drunk, once or twice a week at weekends, I never really saw the point in having a single drink. Now a days I can enjoy a single beer or maybe two or a glass of wine more often without having to get drunk but it's taken quite a few years to slowly change my mentality, my missus has pretty much followed the same pattern, so I probably drink the same but just never get drunk - thinking about it it's equally as pointless as drinking to oblivion once a week.
I don't think any of that answers any of the points in the op, just saying like...
I don't think any of that answers any of the points in the op, just saying like...
It sounds like you have a problem controlling your alcohol intake so it probably is pointless just cutting down or drinking 2 days a week. I did Stoptober and I have to say (although I generally drink 1 glass of wine a day) hand on heart that I felt absolutely no benefit whatsoever from not drinking alcohol for that entire month. In fact I was a bit of a miserable sod! Although I overcame the cravings very quickly I really missed sitting down in front of the fire with a glass of wine after a hard day's work.
I train hard every single day, have a very physical job and for me I see it utterly pointless to give up something I enjoy, but good luck with whatever decision you make.
I train hard every single day, have a very physical job and for me I see it utterly pointless to give up something I enjoy, but good luck with whatever decision you make.
I drink 3 or 4 cans a night, every night, never any more. I have quite a stressful job and I find it relaxes me. I did that Dryathlon for January this year and kept going, was about 6 weeks in the end.
Am I dependant on alcohol? Perhaps. But I am far more relaxed and chilled out for it.
Do I want to give it up? Yes. But what else would relax me, a cigarette?
Am I dependant on alcohol? Perhaps. But I am far more relaxed and chilled out for it.
Do I want to give it up? Yes. But what else would relax me, a cigarette?
I just gave up coming on 5 years ago. (really that long?) Did it quite easily. Then I began to notice the recycling collections are getting very noisy. I wonder how many are thinking it is not a problem but it really is?
Mind you, if they could get a good Port non alcoholic with no loss of taste I would bankrupt myself on the stuff. Just loved that taste.
Mind you, if they could get a good Port non alcoholic with no loss of taste I would bankrupt myself on the stuff. Just loved that taste.
Been dry for about 4-5 years, not missed the old me. It took a bit of time for friends to stop buying me bottles for birthday/Christmas 
I have a couple of Bavaria 0% Asda beers when I'm chilling, but I'm happy with coffee and water. I just decided to stop, didn't decrease, just got up one morning and that was it.
I have a couple of Bavaria 0% Asda beers when I'm chilling, but I'm happy with coffee and water. I just decided to stop, didn't decrease, just got up one morning and that was it. Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff