Dry January 2020 thread 2... keeping it dry!

[ParanoidGynodroid]

Thread two to help us continue to share the love (and dryness)

Keep going, everyone... good luck

It sounds as if everyone is at a tough stage. The novelty has worn off, boredom is creeping in, not a lot of visible benefits for many of us.
I’m in London visiting my sister - always an opportunity to neck a bottle of wine each. It felt odd being on AF beer while she had wine...

The difference for me is in how much more positive I feel without alcohol fuzzing the edges and making me feel miserable. There seems to be more clarity about things and I feel more....powerful, if that makes sense?

Hang on in there everyone.

I’m still firmly on for the end of jan. Still planning to keep it going beyond. I’ve saved so much money, liver better, weight will start after a little longer (when I stop eating so much to distract myself). We can do this !

Had dinner and now in bed, have bad lower back ache which I think is the remnants of period pain.

Need to get up and wash my face, put retinol on etc I'll feel better once I've done it but cba to move!

I know alcohol isn't the answer to making me feel less blah right now but it's almost like because I can't have it it feels like something to blame!

There's so many more positives to not drinking than there are to drinking!

• less anxiety
• more energy
• more motivated to get up early
• less clutter of bottles
• save money
• better skin
• long term health improves
• walking more
• making healthier food choices
• not being tempted to smoke
• not counting down time to bedtime
• better sleep
• less guilt

I just feel cross and teary and almost like I feel bad but don't know why I feel bad. I think this is probably not to do with drinking though. Anyway I'm going to look at my badges on the trydry app as I like seeing all the days I've done and the badges I've earned - that sounds so sad 😂

I'm having an easy couple of days , or at least easy not drinking days. I haven't really thought about it today.
But it shows that it comes and goes because i have also has difficult days. These things will pass I suppose.

A weekend off will be interesting though.

I have also had some headspace to think about my eating habits

Tonight’s musings.... more prominent as I always said I’d slide off this weekend and now I’m dithering. Basically....

What is the worst that will happen if I willingly and happily choose NOT to drink?

• NOTHING

What is the worst that will happen if I do have a drink?

• one won’t be enough and as a result of that....
• it’s empty pointless calories
• my liver needs to be healthy and that will not help
• my blood sugars need to be healthy and that will not help
• my sleep will be disturbed and not of good, resting, restorative quality
• I won’t pay 100% attention to the thing I want to watch on TV
• I won’t read at bedtime
• I won’t do a bit of my hobby
• I won’t tidy the kitchen up 100% and therefore have to face it the next day
• I won’t take my makeup off properly or do my moisturiser
• I’ll breathe fumes all over DC at bedtime
• I’ll breathe fumes all over DH all night
• I’ll feel sluggish and dehydrated the next day
• I’ll eat carbs and crap the next day
• I’ll be snappy with the kids the next day
• I’ll get up later and waste the morning
• I’ll not want to be motivated to help with homework
• I’ll look sallow and puffy

And to be honest I could probably think of more. So I’m going to consider my position and keep revisiting that list a LOT.

waves the thrill I got when I read yours and remembered I hadn’t entered my dry day on my calendar was truly ridiculous. Felt like a 4 year old with a sticker !!
The try dry app has been really helpful.

Thank you @Nomorewineever
Very good list!!!
Going to read my book in bed

Heron something happened to my app where it looked like all my days were filled in but it wasn't registering on the streak section, for ages this really bothered me as I was like I've got more badges and streaks but they're not showing up!! So ended up having to uninstall and reinstall it and fill them in again and then I got them all 😁

I might write my list and stick it up in the kitchen too

Blimey that would have driven me to drink ! Before I knew how it worked I was on my badges page and read ‘10 days’. I actually said out loud ‘no I’ve done more’ I was SO upset/fuming. Until I understood I’d get my next at 20. Whew !

@Nomorewineever great list! I am 100% less snappy with my two girls and have been reading to them at night, something I wouldn't have done before. The book is called "the house with chicken legs" and it is excellent!

Natsku the phrase "had a tough time a toddler gymnastics" has captured my imagination. Have visions of you desperately trying to flee as crack squads of toddlers back flip towards you .

Also have been plagued by thoughts of mini bottles of wine tonight. I'm v bored and it's a day off work tomorrow - just the right conditions for sloping off to the spare room to watch something on catch up with some wine.

Luckily tomorrow eve have to pick DC up from party at 11pm so no chance of a slip up which would otherwise be on the cards.

I'm suffering from the "just one won't hurt" syndrome

So I have really struggled this week but I have been out with friends this evening for a really nice meal and it was focused on food. It was a package deal where a cocktail on arrival was included, I decided I would have it (gin and ginger beer) and then had sparkling water for rest of evening.

Really proud of myself for having the mindset of just having the one when normally we’d have had a few bottles of wine. Result is a very pleasant evening with loads of really good food and no headache tomorrow or having to pay for a taxi home.

Gah!!! Now I have just clicked on a thread about roast lunch after church and am craving roast chicken (we have gone vegetarian chez Sylvia).

Does temptation know no end .....

the phrase "had a tough time a toddler gymnastics" has captured my imagination. Have visions of you desperately trying to flee as crack squads of toddlers back flip towards you

That would have been so much better DS is just usually so easy, I'm not used to him not cooperating but the terrible twos are hitting us and karma has decided I've had it too easy with him for too long

I’ve woken up at 5:45 and my brain is awake and ready for the day! Jings!

nibdedibble
Same here. Morning. 🙂

nomorewinever great list. Thanks for all these reminders. It can get easy at this stage to forget all the crap bits of drinking.

Day 27 here and finally feel I'm out of the "I must eat EVERYTHING" to make up for the not drinking stage. Maybe it takes this long for the sugar cravings to stop? I certainly haven't wanted to mainline sugar. And in fact at the start of the week I had something sweet (i can't remember what it was right now - could have been a multitude of things) and I thought- "oh, thats awfully sweet!" and that never happens.
Bizarrely i hadn't ever connected my sweet cravings to my alcohol cravings.
Because of the veganuary thing I'm also not craving chocolate like I used to. That's another surprise.

Day 22 here today. Really struggled last night, and couldn't get on here - the app has started telling me "oops! You have a bad connection" from about 8.30pm onwards, although I have no trouble getting onto anything else!

Yesterday was horrible, we applied for DS3's EHCP and had to write a letter detailing all the ways he's not coped in mainstream school and all the things he can't do. It was so relentlessly negative I was more than ready for a large glass of red by 8pm. However, I had a cup of tea while DH watched the football.

It doesn't give me any space away from all the shi, though, when it's tea. That's the problem I can't get around.

Day 24: Is it worth it? Some fantastic lists from people - I need to remind myself of all of those any time temptation comes a waggling, Weigh up what I stand to gain, and what I stand to lose.

I felt exactly like you yesterday wavesfromtheback it's been a shitty week for me due to family worries from all sides all coming one after the other. I got in bed early with a cup of tea after a hot bath (yes! up twice for a wee in the night) and listened to some podcasts. Feeling about 60% now and about to brave the cold for a walk in the hope that will bring me up to at least 75%.

How do ex drinkers deal with 'life stuff' I wonder, yes they just 'get on with it' but they must have coping mechanisms?

@funnyoldonion I’ve got that book arriving today from amazon for DDs birthday next week. Coincidence!

Well I woke up with a thumping headache. Can only assume it’s hormonal as AF is lurking round the corner. I really don’t want to take a pill as I’m really trying to give my liver an easy time but if this coffee hit doesn’t work I might have to.

Lots of asks around social stuff and coping. Weirdly I find that less of an issue than being on my sofa in my PJs really, but for the most part the ‘coping’ I hope will come from being able to have one glass and leave it, whilst others around me descend into acting like muppets and talking shite. And I’ll keep reminding myself I’ll be the one who hasn’t lost a day and hasn’t had a bad sleep and hasn’t consumed eleventy billion pointless belly fat calories either.

Deep sigh. I’m trying to lose weight. All I’m doing is maintaining, the scales aren’t shifting at all. The answer for me is to move more, I accept that.

I have been steadily putting on weight for years, I’m bloody 65lbs over what I want to be. Since I’ve stopped drinking, no gain. These lbs must have come mainly from booze. I feel grotty and quite ashamed about that.

(Now to get rid!!)

@Nomorewineever how funny! The book is really great!

@nibdedibble I’ve finally lost 4lb this week but it’s been bloody tough. 1100 cals a day using MFP app, walking 30 mins a day and then having one day ‘off’ where I don’t weigh every calorie (Saturday). I also 16:8 and this was the boost to get it moving. So I don’t eat (usually more than the 16!) from 8pm to around 1-2pm the next day. I also do my 30 mins walk in the morning so basically I know that’s burning fat as there are no foods hanging around to move me! It’s been working for me, but as always it’s slow. Frustrating!