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! 🙂☕️🧃

But I'm bored

As someone said below, the boredom is a big one this year as lots of the things we could normally do to distract ourselves are currently banned.

Morning folks. Finally on night 16 I get the much fabled good night's sleep!

@SophieB100 that is my fear - if I start just a weekends I'll slip straight back into drinking every night. That's why I am planning on using DJ, and the brilliant support on here, to continue.

Previously the the thought of not drinking, on holidays, events etc was impossible - now I am feeling as though I could manage it.

Also worrying a bit about having a 'wobble' like others have described, not so confident that I feel immune

Day 17!

@SophieB100 I agree about finding these threads triggering sometimes. It's ok if I m feeling determined but sometimes if you come on when someone is having a wobble or has had a blip it's almost like it gives you permission to give in yourself.

I slept for hours through all of DH snoring and duvet hogging. Still feel knackered and a bit bored but actually this is inspiring me to do something. Have been through my box of seeds to think about what I might plant this year and am now wondering whether to attempt making a Yorkshire pudding, inspired by someone above ) sorry can't scroll up on phone).

@pointythings and anyone else who knows - tell me your top tips for the perfect Yorkshire pudding.

I'm going for it!

Morning, day 17 here too.

I was wondering if the OP had been around? I don't think I've seen her in a while but I don't post every day so may have missed her and can't scroll up as I'm on my phone. I liked the % she gave but I'm also wondering if she's okay, but perhaps I've just missed her.

I decided to give up my vape yesterday, dc have been asking me for over a year. Yesterday was not a good day, nor do I imagine today will be. Not sure I can do it but going to try my best.

Hope everyone has a nice Sunday.

@lunklitdays

Morning, day 17 here too.

I was wondering if the OP had been around? I don't think I've seen her in a while but I don't post every day so may have missed her and can't scroll up as I'm on my phone. I liked the % she gave but I'm also wondering if she's okay, but perhaps I've just missed her.

I decided to give up my vape yesterday, dc have been asking me for over a year. Yesterday was not a good day, nor do I imagine today will be. Not sure I can do it but going to try my best.

Hope everyone has a nice Sunday.

One day at a time - you can do this and every day will be just a tiny bit easier. I gave up smoking 25 years ago - it was bloody hard - not drinking will help you stick to it.

CrystalE mine are really simple. They have to be gluten free because DD is severely wheat intolerant (though not coeliac). They are also dairy free because DD1 doesn't react well to milk.

So the recipe is:

200 g cornflour
6 eggs
300 ml oat milk

Mix together to make batter.

Put oil in desired vessel - I have done small yorkshires in my cupcake tray and yesterday did giant yorkshires in a proper large yorkshire tray.

Heat in oven at 200C. Oil must be really hot - I use a small piece of gluten free bread crust to test. Drop it in and if you get bubbles, you're good.

Pour batter into the tins. Not too much - about 1/2 cm deep.
Leave for 15-20 minutes. Do not on pain of death open the oven to check.

That's all.

I did invest in really good heavyweight cupcake trays/yorkshire tins though.

[quote CrystalE]@pointythings and anyone else who knows - tell me your top tips for the perfect Yorkshire pudding.

I'm going for it![/quote]
Having your oil really hot and not opening the oven are key!

Day 17 for me. I've also done 30 minutes a day on my exercise bike (other than a couple of rest days) plus arm weights. If anything I've put on weight though (and one of my DJ motivators is definitely weight loss). Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I don't think I'm eating more than usual and I haven't replaced alcohol with lots sugary drinks, just a couple of tonics with lime and mint cordial over the weekend. A bit disheartening.

DH ate all our eggs for lunch. GAH! I am risking trip to local shop. I will not be deterred from my Yorkshire's mission

DH cooks the Yorkshire Puddings in balti dishes. Makes them the perfect size.

[quote CrystalE]@pointythings and anyone else who knows - tell me your top tips for the perfect Yorkshire pudding.

I'm going for it![/quote]
Auntie Bessie's frozen ones from Tesco

Highly recommended as a gin alternative.
Currently on offer at £10 rather than £15 at Tesco

It adds a bitter citrus kick to tonic - heavy on grapefruit I think . None of the cloying sweetness that you get with the citrus flavoured gins (Gordon's Sicilian Lemmon )

Day 17 for me

Missing a glass of red with my Sunday roast . No significant weight loss as seem to have replaced booze with chocolate 😫.

@Baileyscoffeeandcampfires...ooh that looks great, thanks. I feel I may need something for next weekend.

Hi Everyone. It's either Day 2 of DJ2 or Day 13 of DJ Original, depending how you look at it . And what a difference a day makes! Yesterday I was back on the AF wagon, and in the evening enjoyed a bottle of Nosecco, as it was Saturday. Knitted and watched a good film.

For once I slept really well, and today I've been out for a 5 mile walk.

Thank you all so much for your helpful comments (and I'm sorry if my previous meltdown was triggering for others). @Tazers, I will try to get some Sominex tomorrow, as I can guarantee that the good sleeping won't last!

@katmarie - you must be superhuman!

@Dugee - my drinking pattern is very much like yours, eg. timing it for bedtime. I just find it so mentally exhausting - there's too much administration - and I think it would be a relief to just stop. Like @Therainisback, I'm not sure if I've totally come to terms with that yet.

@SophieB100 and @Hepzibar - the longest I've done was one summer, in 2014, when I did 6 weeks AF. (I was teaching on a summer school for a group of German postgraduates, and I couldn't afford to screw up ). I often look back on that time, because I felt amazing. I felt so calm, I was so productive, my skin improved dramatically, and I had lots of fun and went out, safe in the knowledge that I would drink AF beer and be able to drive home. I was pretty much prepared to go teetotal, but then one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was back to nightly drinking .

@CrystalE - I think it was you who has the DH who snores loudly - I have the same problem. I've tried everything, and the best things I've found are Mack's silicone earplugs, which I get off Amazon. They don't totally block it out, but they do reduce it to the level that I can drop off to sleep.

I was listening to Laura Whitmore on Radio 5 this morning, and she was chatting about DJ and interviewed someone who has just written a book called "The Sober Girl Society Handbook". I've just had a look at it on Amazon and I'm thinking of ordering it - it looks quite good.

Sorry for the long post again - brevity is not my strong point! .

Day 17 checking in. I had a better night, and following that a better day. Good long walk, plenty of pottering to do at home, no huge cravings either for alcohol or extra snacks.

I've been more of an afternoon drinking than an evening one, so even while not trying to not drink, if I got to c. 5pm without starting, I'd not bother with it in the evening. Mostly it's because I'm very much a morning person - usually up by 5am, but useless after 7pm. Since I don't work, most of the stuff I need to get done in a day isn't time dependent, and I tend to get it done before midday. That leaves afternoons kind of empty for too much lazyness and idle pastimes, which leads to cravings. As said above, the boredom really doesn't help!

Dugee - my drinking pattern is very much like yours, eg. timing it for bedtime. I just find it so mentally exhausting - there's too much administration - and I think it would be a relief to just stop. Like @Therainisback, I'm not sure if I've totally come to terms with that yet.

As I said below, your journey is your journey and you'll likely find it's trial and error. Don't beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon, the fact that you are acknowledging and addressing things means that you are in a better place than you were.

@InTheseUncertainTimes......you are the same as me. I'm an early riser, always have been, but after 7pm, I'm good for nothing.
I would start drinking at noon or 1PM ish, but never of an evening. Even when we could socialize, I always opted for daytime drinking. If people wanted to meet 8PM ish, well, I wouldn't go.

Despite headache which has been going on all day like a horrible hangover, I have managed to do quite a lot.

Sorted out seeds to work out what to plant in garden, chopped back an annoying bush and cleaned up garden steps, been for walk and - ta-dah - made Yorkshire puddings. Which were quite good and voted better than Auntie Bessie by 3 out of 4 family members.

Going to watch TV with DD and then early night.

Hope headache isn't you know what - a family member had it and their main symptom was a headache. Have been super careful and we are not in a high infection area.

Just to add I get regular tests as am part of a trial - next one is tomorrow.

@LarryUnderwood - hope you are feeling a bit better.

Well done @TeaRose29, this is not just about staying dry for 1 month, its about understanding triggers and our own relationship with alcohol and it sounds like you've made progress with this even if it was through a lapse.
Thanks @CrystalE, I am feeling much better this afternoon. I have had a weekend of doing nothing culminating in doing my nails and a face mask this afternoon. Its done me the world of good. I'm still tired (how?!). But the horrible headache and sinus pain has gone and my cough has cleared up. Sense of taste still a bit iffy - I had a marshmallow after dinner and couldn't eat it, it was so so sweet i felt sick. Its like some flavours are enhanced - sweetness, sharpness, and others are muted. Weird.
And I'm still dry. I've been having those thoughts - shall I have a glass of wine? Time for a gin? But then when I actually examine the thought, I realise I don't really want it, its just a habit - cooking, after kids in bed, because DH is having a beer etc. At the moment I sort of can't believe how much I was drinking, it feels so alien. I very much hope that this feeling becomes more ingrained. I would love to be able to just take it or leave it.

Checking in with a bottle of Perroni AF beer 👍

Day 3 of 16/17. Had the usual early evening craving but otherwise calm so easy to ignore.

I'm here, day 17, but only just. Plenty of reasons to think F-it and pour a gin or wine this eve. But I'm holding on.

In good news ... clutching at straws I have now finished my Covid isolation, so went out for a walk today.
Keep strong this eve everyone.