Not dry january. But less booze in general. Anyone else?

[Frouby]

I am posting this thread because I really want to reduce the amount of alcohol I drink.

I was going to do dry January but think that is too much for me. And when I do drink again I will revert back to bad habits.

On a normal week I would have 1 or 2 g and ts mon to thurs. Bottle of wine on a friday. Then either a couple of beers or a couple of g and ts on a Saturday night. Nothing on sunday.

Over Christmas (which started for us mid December as we had a holiday) I have drank every day. Never been drunk drunk but 4 or 5 drinks every day.

I feel fat, bloated and lethargic. I want to cut my drinking down to a couple of nights a week. Friday and Saturday. Or thursday and friday. DP also drinks most days (more than me too) and we both need to address our relationship with alcohol.

I didn't drink last night and won't tonight either. And I feel 100% better already. We get married in May and I want to lose weight and improve my health.

Does anyone else want to join this thread for support? I know there is the dry January thread but I will be drinking (probably) 2 days a week so dont want to post on there and knock any penguins off the ice.

Currently drinking ginger ale with loads of ice and contemplating a shower and a cupp of tea later with the last of the Christmas cake (diet starts tomorrow) 😁

[Moggy72]

Damp January then surely ?!

[Frouby]

Yes Moggy damp January. Or a less moist one anyway 😂

[Lottapianos]

Good work OP. I do dry periods fairly often (former heavy drinker) and there are lots of great things about drinking less booze. For January, I'm going to drink on only one day a week. I virtually never drink Mon-Thurs. I ditched Friday drinking a few years ago - I'm so tired at the end of the week that I need a good sober sleep on Friday night. I had 3 pints of ale yesterday and felt very anxious this morning. So no booze today. Looking forward to a good night's sleep and having a clear head at work tomorrow

It feels good to take control of your drinking and say no thanks more often

[Frouby]

Yes I have definetly noticed a bit of beer fear creeping in.

And I would say if asked that alcohol doesn't effect me the next day. But it does. We have done very little for the last fortnight which is fine as we had nothing much to do. However today we both got up earlier and all bright and breezy then went for a long but cold walk. If we had been drinking yesterday it would have taken until early afternoon to be motivated enough to move. And wouldnt have walked as far.

I managed about 3 weeks of dry january last year and it was a real struggle. I am going to really try for just 2 days drinking in future. Not just in January but moving forwards as well.

I am starting matched betting next week which needs a clear head so am either going to get up early before dcs or do it once they are in bed. If I can improve my health and finances it will be doubly good!

[Frouby]

Still only damp here! And got past my danger point of coming in from swimming, making dcs tea, getting mine and dps started. Was up all night peeing tho. That'll be the alcohol induced water retention wearing off then.

Also a few bizzare dreams which I had last year when I did try dry jan.

Don't feel as stressed as I did last January as I know I 'can' have a drink if I want. But am going to wait until the weekend.

Getting up early for the school run and a busy morning after nearly 4 weeks of not.doing anything wasnt too bad.

[Lottapianos]

Well done! I felt less anxious than I normally do on a Monday which I'm putting down to no booze yesterday

[Frouby]

Still here and still alcohol free.

I am ashamed to admit that is the longest I have been dry since last January . Quite sobering (literally) to think that.

My house is lovely and clean and fresh again after the clutter and chaos of Christmas. I feel better. I have gone a bit spotty though. Probably all the toxins coming out of my pores. Yuck.

Am definitely aiming to drink 2 days a week rather than aiming to not drink 2 days a week. I don't actually feel deprived. Had a glass of ginger ale with ice earlier in the 'witching' hour and have a glass of water just now. As long as I have a cold drink I am ok.

Dp isn't sticking to our plan though. He has had a couple of cans last night and a couple tonight. It's a massive improvement on what he has been drinking BUT he needs to change. He always wants a drink after work. But can not drink all weekend and it not bother him.

I will wait a while until it becomes normla to me to not drink before raising it with him.

And I know I am talking to myself on here apart from Lotta who is probably only replying because it pops up on 'threads I am on'. But I am finding it useful so am keeping wittering away .

[SingingSands]

My close friends and I were discussing this a few months ago, and we came up with “wet weekends” - only having drinks from Friday nights to Sunday.

[TDHManchester]

I'm almost a non drinker anyway so it comes easy to me. I have had periods where i feel ive drank too much in a week but really, most would find it laughable because on those occasions i might have had as many as 4 or 5 glasses of wine in the whole week. Now,,well i can go for weeks without a drink and dont miss it. Its more medicinal now :)

[AthenaAshton]

Watching for now, but coming back to this thread later. I think it's just what I've been looking for...

[AFistfulOfDolores]

I've decided to do a "Dry-ish" January, which may be permanent, inasmuch as I won't drink at home, but will drink when I'm out, which averages to two or three times a month.

[Frouby]

Oooh more people to bore!

Witching hour here. Sat sipping ginger beer stroking my new teeth with my tongue feeling very smug.

Back later.

[Frouby]

Well another evening alcohol free.

It got to 5pm. Dp walked in. Dcs sat eating their tea. Dp trying to talk to me about an email we needed to send urgently, dd (13) waffling about wanting lifts at the weekend, ds (4) trying to feed the dog mushrooms out of his spag bol, dog trying to sneak under table to get to mushrooms, dsis txting me about something else. Everyone trying to get my attention yada yada yada.

It's just normal family life. But at that time of day it really wants me to have a drink. Dp had a can of lager. I really wanted one too. Or a glass of wine. Or a g and t.

But I didn't. Yay me.

After half an hour everyone settled down again. I am really pleased with myself this week. Apart from that mad hour every night I haven't missed it. And realise it was just habit. Not a good habit to have really.

Am looking forward to having one friday though. I usually have a bottle of wine or prosecco on a friday. I have a bottle of prosecco in the fridge and am going to put it in the cupboard instead because if I open it I will drink it all so it doesn't go flat.

I will have either g and t or a glass of normal wine. And won't be drinking all the bottle.

And I have lost 2lbs since Saturday so that's good. I have put a stone on in 5 months. And I think probably 2/3s of that weight has come from drinking lager or wine rather than g and t.

I get married in may so am desperate to lose a bit.

Has everyone else managed tonight?

[beela]

Ohhhh.... alcohol induced water retention.... I didn't know that was a thing but explains why I spent so much of last week going to the toilet.

As you were.

[confusedhelpme]

Brilliant thread OP!

I too seem to have this danger hour. And like you I have managed to get through it this week, although it's only Weds but that's four days for me.

I managed to get through it today buy making something nice to eat in that danger hour. But it's habit as you say - pure habit

[Frouby]

beela I spent the first 2 nights peeing every 2 hours. But at least I am 2lbs of pee lighter now

confused I wish I had healthier habits like running or doing a quick workout or eating salad or something. I never catch good habits.

[AthenaAshton]

I am going to join this thread properly. But the peeing thing is very interesting. Two evenings in, here. Spent much of last night wanting to pee. Feel the same now, though I have been drinking a lot of herbal tea and fizzy water this evening. Have got through the evening by watching TV, which I haven't done for 15 years (don't even possess a TV, so have watched some rubbish via laptop).

Fistful - my aim is also to drink only socially (which in my case would be once a week or so). Will see how it goes. But as things have definitely got out of hand, I need to do something about it now.

[speakout]

Can I reluctantly join?

Recovering from flu and haven't had alcohol since christmas day. Completely off food for a week.
I asked OH to buy some wine on Saturday as I am starting to feel a bit better but I couldn't face it.
I don't know when alcohol will seem appealing again- I hope soon!!
At the moment the thought of it turns my stomach.

[MollyHopps]

Well done OP. I would love to join you all, after the sheer embarrassment that was putting my bottles in the recycling a couple of days ago.

I am going to designate a single weekend (probably payday) where I am allowed a single bottle of wine. Otherwise no alcohol at all in the house.

[GeorgeTheHamster]

My habit time is as I cook dinner.

I need to buy some nice fizzy cordials and make some ice, so I have a nice drink but not an alcoholic one. I don't drink much at all, but I'd rather not drink habitually.

[colouringinagain]

Me too, can I join? I'm aiming to drink two nights and not five, rather than the last six weeks doing the reverse.

Not doing too badly, I work mon-wed and so this eve it's v tempting to have a couple, but I've scoffed loads of chocolate instead .

I find if I can get through Monday evening without one, I can usually make it through to Friday, but if I give in on Monday I'm pretty much done for!

[AintNoOtherFan]

I'm glad I found this thread! I have a habit of drinking too much, probably every day or if I'm lucky I have 1 day "off" a week

For me it's mainly gin. Wine I love too but find it too calorific so the gin and slim line tonic is my drink. It's not good the amount I drink. I find I can have up to 5 g and ts a night some days!

So Sunday night when I couldn't sleep something just hit me and my brain said I need to cut down. Like you op I don't want to give up completely but I would like to keep it to weekends if possible.

This week I am on my 3rd evening without drink. Monday was easy, yesterday was hard and I'm sure I had withdrawals or something and was craving a drink. Today hasn't been too bad but I still feel I need a "hit" of alcohol.

My skin has broken out in spots and I feel very tired. I'm hoping the symptoms will ease in a few days!

[myidentitymycrisis]

I am trying to cut down too. I need to lose some weight but I cant/dont want to go dry.
So far I have drunk wine on Monday (round at a friends) and tonight on my own I had a vodka and tonic as i was preparing food. Then DS and a friend popped in so I had one with them just to be sociable. I dont want to drink on Fridays or Sundays so I'll allow myself a couple of days in the week.

[Frouby]

aintnoother it's easier to say no to wine and beer because calories. But when a nice cold g and t is calling and it's less calories than a banana it's more difficult isn't it.

Last year when I did dry january I was having tonic water with ice and lemon and a splash of either lime cordial or elderflower cordial. It still felt like a grown up drink and indulgent. Obviously you don't get the lovely gin kick but it was easier than drinking diet coke or a different soft drink.

Have just picked some ginger cordial up from Tescos. I like dry ginger or ginger ale (even better with sloe gin!) but don't want to have too many fizzy drinks. Hoping it's nice. I baulked a bit at the price (£3+) but then remembered a bottle of wine would be twice that and drunk in a night.

Didn't sleep well last night for some reason. Teatime will be difficult tonight so am making it this afternoon (Shepards pie) so I just have to pop it in the oven.

If I do break and drink tonight I won't have 1 on Saturday. Have dd to pick up at 6pm so it might be easier to avoid on Saturday than tonight. But sunday is my lie in so I might regret drinking tonight and friday and having to get up.

Decisions decisions.

[beela]

Has anyone tried seedlip? You drink it with tonic water, like gin, but its non alcoholic. I had some in pizza express the other day just to try it. It was lovely and not too sweet like a lot of soft drinks. But it's £25 a bottle so no cheaper than actual gin!