I’ve drank like a b%$tard for a lot of 2018, going to do my first complete dry January as of tomorrow. Join me?

[Exisonfire]

As it says in the title.

2018 hasn’t been kind to me, and the drink has been relied upon far too much.

I’m fed up of moping, and want to kick start a better year with my first ever complete dry January tomorrow.

Who’s in?

Thanks leaveby. I could probably count on two hands the total amount of days I had off in 2018, so yes, four days off a week is a massive step forward. This week I’ll aim to get my units down to 30 in total on the days that I do drink. It’s going to be a challenge!

MrsGrindah well done! I stepped on the scales for the first time this month this morning, and it turns out I’ve lost 2lb! My goal is to lose 11lb this year so it was a welcome surprise. I’m also sleeping so much better too - it feels so good not to be waking up at 3 or 4am with a dry mouth and pounding head!

Leaveby unfortunately it wasn't very exciting, just local radio about the Brexit vote today, I was on for about 3 minutes.*

Mrsgrinda* I've lost about the same amount, I feel much better for it. If I could lose the same again by the end of the month I'd be really happy.

Chicken curry for DH birthday dinner, ESS bought him a lovely bottle of whiskey that's been matured in an IPA barrel, so he's looking forward to that.

Hope everyone is feeling good tonight!

Still trotting along!!

Scream How did you get on with celebrating a sober birthday?
Read an interesting thing on cravings - that when they arrive - you can't ignore them - that doesn't work, you can sometimes distract yourself but if that is not possible or doesn't work for you, don't try to use logic to argue against them, just sit and observe how they make feel emotionally and physically - allow yourself to feel them - they can't hurt you but they will fizzle out, usually within 5 mins....arguing with them is like arguing with a child you just keep the friction going.
Good to see you back Orlando

Day 16, overslept this morning, I think I'm just going at accept that I need more sleep and start turning in earlier.

It definitely makes me feel better when I've had over 7.5 hours.

So, we're halfway there, I think I'll manage this, (many due to DH), we got through his birthday yesterday without a hiccup, I think him choosing curry rather than steak helped, (the thought of a steak without a glass of red wine is not good).

Big meeting with the bank today, and I'm feeling relaxed and prepared.

How's everyone else doing?

Who's still with us?

I'm still here!

I’m in - only just found this thread but have been dry since 1st Jan - came onto mumsnet looking for motivation last night when a long dry dark evening stretched in front of me - thank goodness for an online solidarity boost, got me through the most difficult time which for me is from 6pm to 7pm. After that I seem ok as long as I have a good book or something good to watch.
Some really helpful ideas on here, thank you. Personally have found it easier to drink tonic water than AF wine - tried the latter last year and it didn’t change my habits enough. Hoping to go dry long enough to reset my attitude to alcohol completely...

I am still in. I had a wobble last night but got through it.

I started Jan 2nd as finished off the New Year fizzy on the 1st. So that’s two weeks without a drop of alcohol. I haven’t lost weight, I still don’t sleep, I don’t look or feel healthier...how long before I start to feel the benefits? Currently I feel no different!

My mission is drastically reducing so I'm having one night a week to drink yummy wine. I can't remember the last time I went 6 days without alcohol but I suspect it was when I was breastfeeding!! I feel a lot better for it.

Much better than 4+ nights a week!

I haven't posted but been in since the 1st. My relationship with alcohol was getting fairly unhealthy- drinking too much, to quickly and finding it hard to set a limit.
I'm feeling much better, more productive at work and sleeping well. DH away tonight which is a test as I look forward to time alone with a glass of wine when the kids are in bed.

TFFW - me neither on the losing weight front, though I am sleeping better (except for the dogs waking me up last night at 2am). I am fighting the (very strong!) tendency to replace the alcohol calories with sugar - massively hit the sultanas last night and was shocked to discover that dried grapes contain the same amount of calories as wine grapes.... don’t know why I didn’t guess that sigh....!

I'm still in!

Feeling so much better when not drinking.

I definitely want to reset the just drinking when out or for special occasions (Tuesday night doesn't meet the criteria!).

Next stop is looking at my diet, but I need to get on top of the wine first!

To those who say they haven't noticed any benefits - I suppose it does depend somewhat on how much you drank before? I was on 70 units a week (I know, a huge amount ) and have almost halved that to 40. On my non-drinking days/nights I've noticed a big difference in terms of energy levels and sleep quality. My anxiety also feels more under control.

Tonight is a real test for me, as DH is planning to have a few drinks but I'm having tonight and tomorrow night off. I'm already craving a nice glass of white and it's only just gone 4.30pm!

I'm trying to follow leaveby's advice on dealing with cravings above...

Also, thank god for non-alcoholic beer and G&T - I don't think I could do this without them!

That’s impressive namechange - no wonder you are feeling better :-) I must admit I like the smug feeling of not lettting IT control ME any more - just hope I can keep it up...

Thanks Vixen. I know 40 units a week is still dangerously high, but it's an improvement I guess!

I'm still here! Well done everyone, you're all doing amazingly. I am feeling ok but not particularly noticing any massive benefits. I think the problem is that I have replaced wine with sugar. It is gross and I need to stop it, I don't even usually have a particularly sweet tooth but have managed to generate myself a new addiction in two weeks

One of the things I would like is to reset my tolerance to alcohol a bit. I wonder if a month will be long enough for that? It used to be that a bottle of wine would make me feel drunk, these days a bottle of wine is not usually enough on a Friday or Saturday and I find myself buying an add-on. I don't really want to get into that, I would like to reset to where I still get the same feeling but on less booze!

It's crazy how much I associate alcohol with "switching off" and relaxing after work - even though in reality it actually makes my anxiety a million times worse if I start overthinking things while drinking (and definitely the morning after). That's what I'm struggling with right now - the thought of cracking open that "relaxing" bottle of wine after a hard day's work.

Once again I have failed miserably. I cooked a midweek roast and now I'm a bottle of wine down.

I went to the supermarket tonight to get the bits for dinner and I saw someone from the back who looked just like my DB. It took my breath away and I felt like I had been kicked I the stomach.

I have now realised that despite the best will in the world, this is just not the right time to be trying to do anything drastic

I found this article really interesting - the bit about the effect of a nice cold drink particularly chimed with me! Hope you can read it ok... www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dry-january-why-comedian-lee-mack-gave-up-booze-in-2017-and-hasnt-touched-a-drop-since-jbs2hfv3c#Echobox=1546622134

Whilst I haven’t had a really bad craving yet , I’m getting really worried that as soon as it’s over I’ll go right back to how I was ( which was NOT good!) I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it, I know, but I’m conscious all this effort is just temporary