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! 🙂☕️🧃

Morning everyone ! (Still not getting great sleep)
1/3 of the way - OP you should be proud of this thread and the good work you've inspired !
I had a little pang again last night, didn't give in but had the thought 'if only there was a great red-wine substitute' (all of the ones I've tasted are awful) I love the tannin taste in red wine -bitter and astringent but tea just doesn't cut it for me after 5.00pm ish.Will google the hell out of it and see what I find.......

Morning all! I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to get up. I can't remember the last time that happened. We're into week two, and Friday is the halfway point, so we really are doing well, this thread has been a huge help for me so thank you so much op!

Morning all, hope you're all well.

Still a few headaches and some interrupted sleep here and there as far as I see from your posts, but it also seems that the trend is towards both of these being much better.
I can relate to the sugar cravings, alas... @Brassicababe my low carbing has also gone out of the window for now.

It's fantastic to see that some have gone longer than ever before.. I'm sure you can go much further still!

OP you should be proud of this thread and the good work you've inspired !
Thank you @time2changeit. As I've bored you all with before, I only did DJ the first time because I saw it on MN Chat. It has made a huge difference to my life and health. I hope it can help others, too. It's really good to see new people joining us most days, who may not have done DJ had they not seen the thread; and it's also pleasing to see posters remarking that the thread has helped them stay on track.

Sorry about the lack of % update last night... Here it is now: as of 11.30 am on day 11, we're...

Drumroll....

33.8% done! More than a third. That's fantastic. Hold onto this wagon, enjoy the scenery, and we'll be at 50% before you know it 👍🥛🧃☕🫖

Morning everyone. Good luck for the new week!

Day 11 here, and we think it'll be the day DH will officially get given his notice. We've been expecting it. His long term work ended a few months ago, and he's been doing something very short term for the same company in the meantime, but always knowing it'd end soon. He's the only one of us who works, so this is obviously not great.

I won't blame DH if he ends up giving up DJ, but I think he's feeling determined to try to stick to it. I certainly am. We need to save the pennies and not waste them on wine, if no other reason! Feeling quite anxious, though. Went for a long walk in the drizzle while blasting music to myself, which was kind of good.

Good afternoon!
Had a Chinese takeaway last night, was great when I was eating it but woke up this morning with severe salt dehydration! Really foggy, banging head does anyone else get that with takeout food? And that was despite drinking two full water bottles (at least 1.8L) while I was watching tv.

I also fell off my bike yesterday, I'm fine, just bruised legs and a jarred joints feeling this morning. Bit stiff etc. Would have loved a wine or something to take the edge off

Back at it, need to go shopping so might actually grab a couple of AF beers or something. I feel like I might have earned it

Hope you're all well and having an Ok Monday, cos let's face it, Monday's are rarely good and ok is probably the best we can hope for!

Day 11 - more than a third of the way through! Still not drinking but probably still eating too much. To make up for it I'm exercising more (twice a day).
Trying not to look at news more than once a day, and do it in the morning when I'm feeling stronger. During the first lockdown I found bad news before bedtime pushed me over the edge. So far it's working! How does everybody else cope with the news at the moment?

How does everybody else cope with the news at the moment?

Very badly. I've been told to really limit the amount of time I spend on them by my therapist, but my efforts have been puny. DH WFH in front of the TV, and he'll often just have the news channel on in the background, because there's nothing else on, so it's a bit of a constant background noise. I also keep checking the two news apps on my phone, because there's not much to do, and I guess out of some anxiety-driven hypervigilance: imagining that if I know more, I have more control, or something, whereas really it's just endless repeats of stuff I'll have no control over at all. Trying to limit the evening exposer now, though, and distract with nicer things.

Afternoon All! Day 11 and yay! A third of the way through!

I struggled last night. Don't like Sunday evenings, which is silly as I no longer have anything to dread on Monday mornings, but it's just ingrained . Knitting, Netflix and AF spritzer got me through.

Like others, I've decided that I'm now on to phase 2, which involves going back to my very successful low carb diet and stopping all the sugar I've been consuming . The fact that the Christmas snacks and chocolates have all gone, and that I am now paranoid about going to the supermarket, will help! Fridge and freezer are chock full of healthy proteins and veggies, so no excuse. Also well-stocked with slimline tonic and AF Chardonnay. I'm buggered if I'm going to give up alcohol for a month and not see any weight loss! I'm determined to finish DJ and lose that last half stone, so that when things improve, when it gets lighter and warmer, and hopefully the virus is on the way out, I AM READY!

@InTheseUncertainTimes - so sorry to hear about DH's impending redundancy . I'm so impressed about how strong you are being. Keep us posted.

@Plonque - yes, I react the same way to Chinese food, and it's even worse if accompanied by a bottle glass of wine, so I don't have it very often. Sorry to hear about you falling off your bike, as well .

@BrassicaBabe - your name has inspired me to make a diet-friendly Brussels sprout cole slaw for this evening - it's not as gross as it sounds!

I'm wondering if we could put together some tv series / film suggestions?

To watch rather than the news (I agree, the news just makes me feel like drinking) but also, I find if I really get into a series or film, I forget I wanted a drink.

Maybe a recommendation with a brief description of what it's about?

I'll go first. I watched a film called Harriet on Now TV last night. It's about an escaped slave called Harriet Tubman who conducted raids on the south (USA) to free other slaves and bring them to safety in the North. It's a really engaging film and also interesting from a historical perspective.

OMG only day 1 of home schooling and wfh I am fantasising about a cold glass of white.... what will I be like by Friday .
I was hoping to lose weight too but by lunchtime I was driven to the biscuit tin

@Tazers good idea, re: TV and film recommendations.

Im vaguely familiar with the Harriet Tubman story, but haven't seen a dramatisation. I'll check it out.

I watched a film I really enjoyed last night: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Sad, funny and blackly comic, about a woman frustrated by the lack of arrests following the murder of her daughter. Frances McDormand won an Oscar for her role.

Please give us some gripping recommendations to distract us, everyone! 🙏

Well done us! I'm feeling quite proud of myself!
@InTheseUncertainTimes I hope you are okay, what a crap thing to happen and @Plonque i always fall whenever I go on a bike ride (which is clearly not very often!) so I feel your pain.
This is now week two if home schooling for me although I'm really not much help, my two are secondary school and their maths looks like another language.
@Tazers, I recommend Bloodline on Netflix. Just started watching it and I'm hooked. It about a picture perfect family who run a beautiful hotel in the Florida Keys but there are so many skeletons in the closet, think there will be many twists and turns.

Thanks for all the sympathy, I'm okay - just one grazed shin and a humdinger of a bruise on my knee. I feel it most if I need to squat down to look in the bottom kitchen cupboards

I got two 4 x bottle packs of 0% beers while out shopping, San Miguel and Heineken. San Miguel is my beer of choice if I'm drinking and I've not tried the AF one and the Heineken was just screaming out to bought cos it was £2.95 in Aldi.
I'm feeling the need cos I also burnt my hand really badly when I was cooking the other night🤦🏽‍♀️ I swear, they really shouldn't let me adult sometimes.

I've stopped looking at the news, I've hidden the CV topic on here and hide any threads that appear to be about it without even opening them.
If anything big happens, you'll know about it. If it's not important enough that I get a bbc news notification about it - I don't need to know! I do feel much better since I took that approach.

I watched a film I really enjoyed last night: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Sad, funny and blackly comic, about a woman frustrated by the lack of arrests following the murder of her daughter. Frances McDormand won an Oscar for her role

Good shout. I remember meaning to go and see this at the cinema when it came out (remember going to the cinema in the olden, pre COVID days, it was like a night out 😀) but never got round to it. What channel is it on please?

I recommend Bloodline on Netflix. Just started watching it and I'm hooked. It about a picture perfect family who run a beautiful hotel in the Florida Keys but there are so many skeletons in the closet, think there will be many twists and turns.

Thank you. I've added it to my watchlist.

I'm really enjoying 50% cloudy apple juice and 50% strong ginger beer (like Old Jamaica). Doesn't compare to wine but nice to have a drink I don't usually drink to look forward to.

Day 9 done. Had an orange, pear and lime juice with my dinner.

Still having cravings, but ignoring them.

Good luck, everyone. Keep going!

Well I am safe now till Friday. Working all week and never drink when I have to drive or work the next day. Well done everyone keep going

Shocker of a day at work today. I am so stuff from hunching over computer. I could probably sue myself for providing myself with a workstation that doesn't meet proper health and safety standards.

I recommend The Serpent on BBc for a binge watch. Deals with a serial killer but not too much graphic details. Lots of great locations and 70s travellers vibe.

Haven't had time to think about drinking anything other than a billion cups of coffee.

Going for walk to try to ease stiffness from inactivity

Day 11 for me, I'm still in the stage of eating anything sugary in sight

Day 11 here too. By-passed witching hour with an online yoga session. First in a while. It was great. Forgotten how much I love yoga. Have left my yoga mat out hoping by tripping over it I may actually stop & use it more.

Well done OP & well done rest of us too.

GAH! Hanging on by my fingertips! Could murder an effing drink! Slightly frustrating day with online supermarket order and Amazon thing that didn't work.

Anyway, just distracted myself with cryptic crossword. Now going to knit and watch TV. Just taken my teacup on the app, so no going back now! At least diet has been v good today .

Day 11 here. Felling better than at the weekend but still fatigued so the early bedtime is helping. Also, and this may be a coincidence, but I have noticed that the hormonal breast pain I usually get from mod cycle onwards has not.emerged this month. Like, at all. Usually for 2 weeks per month I dread taking my bra off because my boobs are so sore, swollen and lumpy. Could it be the lack of alcohol? Its the only really major change - I'm eating a bit less but haven't really cut stuff out apart from booze. Hmmm.

Day 11 and it's been boringly straightforward. Long may that continue.

@LarryUnderwood that's interesting. I have breast cysts that can be very painful and they've been a bit better than usual so far this month. Bit gutted if that's the case though as I would like to go back to my weekend glasses of wine in Feb!