DRY JANUARY 2021! This way please... all welcome

[HPLikecraft]

It’s that time of year again... the late Christmas present to our livers!

You may be thinking of doing Dry January to:

*detox a little after seasonal overindulgence, or
*help you cut down a bit generally, or
*help you start to get out of a harmful alcohol habit, or
*just be a bit healthier for a month...

It’s good for all of those things!

I find the MN DJ threads excellent for support, encouragement, sharing info,‘we’re in this together’ camaraderie, suggestions for grown up drinks, aversion techniques and just fun.

This is my fourth year of DJ and I swear it has made all the difference to me; it was so hard first time, but having succeeded I did dry June and October after that, and do so every year. It has broken my habit, banished the craving and reset my relationship with booze.

I won’t be finding DJ too difficult this year, but some will. Hopefully this thread will help.

Come climb aboard the wagon! 🙂☕️🧃

I'm exhausted so going to bed to read some more of my royal Marsden nursing manual! . Camomile tea, pillow spray and rescue remedy sleep drops will hopefully help.. So will mean day 5 done... Nearly a week! Congrats to everyone whatever your circumstance. ☺️

16% of the way through. Time for some herbal tea and my book in bed. I remembered not to drink any caffeine after about 4pm today so fingers crossed....

Tomorrow is back online school again for DD(13). I don't think we've seen her much before 11 this past fortnight, so an 8:30 start will be fun.

I really fancied a red wine tonight but didn’t as I really want to finish this now I have committed to it. They really need to make something as delicious with no alcohol ! Back to my herbal tea...

Well done all! I'm so proud to have made it this far, I think it might be the longest I've been without a drink for at least a couple of years. 5 days done!

Ah yes, the headaches. Well, I haven't had them this time, but in the past I had. And the poor sleep. It's sometimes easy to think you felt better drinking than not, but it's just a transition stage to something better. Detoxifying and adjusting.

Well despite not being a heavy drinker any more, I'm managing less well than I expected. I'm really gagging for a glass of wine this evening. Another peppermint tea will have to do.

Sending my thoughts to all of you getting back into work after a break, those who mentioned having had bereavements over the past year, and those with relationship and/or dishwasher issues. And anyone else who's struggling. It's all the more difficult with external struggles to deal with too.

Well I hope you all manage to get a refreshing or at least adequate sleep tonight. Enjoy those vivid dreams!

At the end of day 5 (midnight) we'll be 16.1% of the way through, but by the morning (shall we say 8?) It'll be 17.2%... and we'll hit 20% in another day and a bit. That'll be a good achievement. Make sure you make it!

Goodnight all.

Enjoyed a pink tonic water in a nice wine glass this evening. I think I actually prefer it without gin! It’s not too sweet and feels like a “grown up” drink.

Day 5 done.

Just glanced at another thread trending, and shocked myself - about fatty liver caused by excess alcohol & bad diet. I think I need to be really honest with myself about weekly units of alcohol & saturated fats I consume - or rather generally do consume. And stop making excuses that size 14 is Ok, and being able to run 5-10km means I must be fit, when really my gut is probably in a shocking state.

Well - that little realisation won't help me drift off nicely to sleep, will it?!

Off to bed too. Units of alcohol = 0. KGs of cheesy snacks consumed = bodyweight. Dishwashers still not working = 1.

Hoping for a fabulous dream themed around white knight in white van bearing Bosch standard riding to my greasy pans' rescue.

Onwards DJ -ers - to 20% and beyond

Morning everyone! Pretty good sleep last night, extremely vivid and unusual dream... Content not suitable to share..!

Had an espresso and done 20 minute yoga flow... At work all day doing some unfamiliar tasks so hoping for energy and inspiration...

Headache not as bad this morning and sleep improved a little.
I am thinking that if these are withdrawal/body adjusting symptoms, then just how dependant had my body become? It's a bit scary to be honest, my reasons for stopping drinking were weight and bank balance, with health coming third. Looks like I got them in the wrong order.

I've been poisoning my body for years!

This is day 6, any ideas on when I'll start feeling better? So far no alcohol just tiredness, poor sleep, and sugar cravings.

Good morning! Anticipating a crazy busy day at work, and have a job application to do as my contract runs out in 3 months. People I spoke to yesterday very keen for me to apply though.

And I'm having a comfy chair and footstool delivered in a socially distanced way, so that will add to my living room. It's not for me though, it's replacing the manky chair DD1 has been using.

Have just had a delicious filter coffee - now if anyone asked me to do Decaf January I would tell them that the second word was Off. I only have the one cup each day and non-caffeinated herbal tea the rest of the time, but I will not be without it.

if anyone asked me to do Decaf January I would tell them that the second word was Off.

Morning. Fifth day here. Had a bad cold yesterday - streaming nose, headaches and very out of sorts. Not sure if it was detox flu or a bug but spent the entire day in bed feeling grouchy. Managed to read a book so not entirely wasted but now have to catch up on work.

Not craving alcohol too badly. Instead, I find I crave sugar massively and extra food - guess I miss the alcohol calories. Any advice on this? I am supposed to be losing another stone in weight this year.

Can't help you there Labobo - as I'm the opposite and tend to go cold turkey on alcohol, sugar and snacks all at once. All or nothing.

No idea what my calorie consumption in wine was a day (500? ). But in my head I know I don't want to replace those 500 calories with cake and sweets. Plus if I have something sweet, the wine cravings come back harder.

But in good news, I have dropped 3 lbs already. Still eating the same breakfast, lunch & dinner, but no snacking & obvs no wine!

Hope everyone have a good day today.

Good morning everyone, hope you've slept well.

Your post made me laugh @CrystalE
Glad the headache's better @Hepzibar and you're staying on track

@Xmascardcrap soon! Of course, that varies from person to person, and might depend on how much you drank before. You'll get there!

@buzzofthebumblebee which was the fatty liver thread? Can you link? Funnily enough I was thinking of pasting something about that from last year's thread today.

Morning all.
CrystalE Dishwasher sympathies! Ours has developed a "quirk" (I feel better thinking about it like that than thinking it's broken...) and will sometimes work and sometimes not. Can't afford to replace it right now, can't quite face constant washing by hand, so I keep trying with it.

nuitdesetoiles Me too with the vivid not-suitable-to-write-about dreams last night! I suppose it was some entertainment in the middle of all the gloom!

I have a massive headache this morning, but no idea if it's DJ related or illness related. Either way, paracetamol, ibuprofen and caffeine aren't touching it.

Re. fatty liver, I've had "fatty changes" in the past. I've had other risk factors than drinking, too, but it's definitely a motivation!

Morning all, @CrystalE I feel your pain with the dishwasher. Have a look on YouTube for your model, see if there are any repair guide videos on there. Thats what I usually start with when my appliances crap out.

I slept solidly from 8.30 last night until 2yo ds brought me his cuddly toy at 7am today. I can't remember the last time I slept that well.

Hello!

I'm forgetting what day it is for me, but think it is day 5, as I started a day late.

Slept well last night and I've just been for a walk before I start online studying, (I'm doing a part time degree).

I've also booked into some online yoga classes this week.

Like a pp, I am finding I'm eating more, but I'm cutting myself some slack in that regard, for a week or so.

Good luck everyone with day 6 (or 5, or 1 or whatever you're on).

Hi all
I had a better night last night, might be due to the 3 mugs of low fat Horlicks rather than 3 glasses of prosecco!

Regarding the sugar cravings - a little bit of dried fruit (dates, apricots) now and then helped me starve off the missed sugar.

We are doing well! Any January is hard, but January in lockdown, and going dry - we're awesome!
Take care

Delurking and NC to say thank you to you all for making me feel like I'm not on my own with DJ. Day 6 today, not done that for a long time. Eating my bodyweight in sugar but I'm of the mind of tackling 1 craving at a time. Just can't decide whether it's alcohol withdrawal or homeschooling that's making me a grumpy cow.
KOKO

The percentages are really motivating!

I got a Middle Eastern cookbook for Christmas which has lots of recipes for non-alcoholic drinks, planning on an experiment at the weekend (although spent a fortune on ingredients!). Have also been trialling alcohol free ‘spirits’, found them more impressive than I was expecting.

The meal I’m cooking tonight uses red wine, not normally my poison so hopefully won’t be too tempted!

Afternoon, day 6 and I've definitely got the twitches. Haven't stopped all day and still have loads to do, thinking how nice a white wine would be to get me going. I won't but I really want to and it's only 3 in the afternoon, I'm pathetic.

I'm still off work, start back on Monday when schools go back here (well home bloody schooling) I am very lucky that I'm on a Scottish isle that is still in Tier 3 so as much as I am hating the thought of the homeschooling again at least we still have some things open and my teens can go out at night with their friends for a walk and my little one can make plans to meet friends outside at the weekends. Well obviously being on a Scottish isle this all depends on the weather, which in January could be anything.

Hope everyone is doing good, one day at a time and all that shite

If you're pathetic then I'll join you on that bench @lunklitdays.

Work was shite. Kids up through the night. Homeschooling.

I'm cooking a big roast dinner and usually I'd have a sherry before serving and wine after.

Least Scottish water is lovely. It's minus 2 here so it's perfect straight from the tap.

@Salacia - I just subbed red wine in a recipe with Merlot grape juice. I tasted it. A bit sweeter but it has that earthy roundness to it.

@buzzofthebumblebee - 3lb already! Wow. I never lose weight during Dry Jan. I think it's the sudden increase of compensation carbs. I'll try to fight them this time. Been pretty good today - sugar free muesli sprinkled on natural yoghurt and iced berries. Then scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for lunch with a couple of clementines afterwards. And buckets of tea. I've avoided the bread, crisps and the new devil incarnate - Carr's water biscuits. I could eat a large box of those a day.