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Original poster

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

991 replies

HPLikecraft · 29/12/2020 10:13

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! 🙂☕️🧃

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
chuffedasbuttons · 02/01/2021 00:45

Day 1

I feel calm. My trigger is cooking dinner - I realise I'm thirsty at 5pm even though I drink 1600ml of water in the day.

Just got to keep identifying the habit times. And not eat cheese instead Grin

babysnowman · 02/01/2021 08:38

Morning everyone. It feels good to wake up without feeling the slightest bit groggy. Hope I can hold out again tonight, the temptation to drink before going back to work is real!

katmarie · 02/01/2021 08:50

Morning all, amazingly my toddler slept till 8.30 this morning, so I feel really good today, he's usually a 5.30 wake up kid. Ready to face day 2 :)

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Christmas General food
TyneFilth · 02/01/2021 09:00

Joining the wagon. Wasted money in Dec on cheap fizz to see 2020 gone. Have some weight to lose and want my skin and sleep to be better.

Hepzibar · 02/01/2021 09:00

I did it! Tonic water with lots of ice got me through, and it was easier than I anticipated.

If I can get through this evening then that will be longest period I've gone without a drink since I can't remember.

Feel motivated (at last)

laughoutquiet · 02/01/2021 09:17

I managed day one, which I thought was due to the enormous hangover I had but have woken up feeling equally as bad. Maybe a cold bug?

If I continue to be ill, not drinking will be easier ConfusedGrin

Original poster
HPLikecraft · 02/01/2021 09:20

@Hepzibar

I did it! Tonic water with lots of ice got me through, and it was easier than I anticipated.

If I can get through this evening then that will be longest period I've gone without a drink since I can't remember.

Feel motivated (at last)

Fantastic @Hepzibar!

You can do this 😀

OP posts:
Original poster
HPLikecraft · 02/01/2021 09:25

Good morning and well done, everyone.

Even if you don’t feel much different today, it is coming. At the very least, you should be feeling a little pleased with yourself.

We’re currently 4.5% of the way through!

OP posts:
PineappleCheesecake · 02/01/2021 09:32

Morning everyone! Day 1 done for me too. I drank lime and soda with my Friday night takeaway. The takeaway is the biggest temptation to open the wine for me.

Hope everyone is feeling better today.

CoronaIsWatching · 02/01/2021 09:38

Morning all. Well this is it the first Saturday of the month to get through. It doesn't really feel like a weekend to me so should be easy. I was at work between xmas and new year so luckily don't have the back to work dread to deal with. I have my first tea cup on the try dry app.

HavfrueDenizKisi · 02/01/2021 09:42

I'm in.

DH and I have done dry January the last 3/4 years. Usually managed fine.

I stock up on some soft drinks for those moments where you want something different of a weekend evening. Something like Fentiman's Rose lemonade.

Looking forward to some restorative sleep but new puppy due to arrive in two weeks so may be desperate by the end of jan!

ArrowsOfMistletoe · 02/01/2021 09:50

Baileys I'm doing 16/8 too, I run 8 pm till noon and have done since early September. I've quite deliberately taken Christmas week off and only do it 5 days a week, but I've lost about 2 stone and feel so much better. Once you get into the habit, it's an easy regime to stick to.

What I always like about DJ is how well I sleep - any alcohol impacts the quality of sleep I get, so I normally only drink on weekends in any case. A month of fabulous sleep is a treat.

laughoutquiet · 02/01/2021 09:53

@HPLikecraft

Good morning and well done, everyone.

Even if you don’t feel much different today, it is coming. At the very least, you should be feeling a little pleased with yourself.

We’re currently 4.5% of the way through!

Meant to say, thanks for the thread OP Smile

time2changeit · 02/01/2021 10:08

Day 1 done !
I drank just tea and grapefruit squash last night, woke up early feeling great.
I downloaded the MoodKit app which encouraged me to commit to avoiding people and situations that encouraged alcohol use. I now have to find a way of avoiding my home and my husband 🤣 he will cut down his alcohol but won’t commit to totally ‘dry’. We’re retired and love spending time together but the nights when he drinks are going to be hard for me.

katmarie · 02/01/2021 10:17

Well I got on the scales this morning, just out of curiosity, and I'm a pound lighter than I was yesterday. I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself every day but that is very motivating for me :)

gingercat02 · 02/01/2021 10:20

We did DJ couple of years ago and were really disappointed that we did have any of the visible benefits (obviously the health benefits would have happened) didn't sleep any better, didn't lose an ounce of weight, didn't feel full of energy, etc. However we are going to give it a go again! Starting Monday and then a full month at least. Will catch up with the thread then. Good luck ☘

Rosehassometoes · 02/01/2021 11:20

Just made a hot water with fresh ginger and lime. A lot of soft drinks are a bit sweet for me.

Plonque · 02/01/2021 11:26

I've got to say that I haven't lost any weight in previous years but I think that's because I was replacing alcohol with a snack of some sort for something to do with my hands when I'm watching television.
I think that's true of any type of "giving up" a vice or addiction, you tend to replace it with something.
I bought a good quality water bottle and try to sit with that in the evenings. I'm not claiming it to be the same but I found I could easily drink a litre without even realising, therefore kind of killing two birds with one stone.

AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore · 02/01/2021 11:38

Morning all: I slept brilliantly last night so feeling great this morning: day 1 done! Going to have a relatively lazy day but hoping for a nice walk later if I can persuade the teens!

@buzzofthebumblebee: sorry to hear about your mum, that's really tough timing.

Original poster
HPLikecraft · 02/01/2021 12:40

@namechangedyetagain

I'm in. I need to be. I don't think I can do it but I'm going to give it a go. Have just downloaded the app.
How did you get on last night, @namechangedyetagain?
OP posts:
namechangedyetagain · 02/01/2021 12:52

Yep good! Put a little tea cup on my app.
My sticking points are: weekend cooking needs a glass of wine on the go. Friday night needs a bottle glass of wine. Not so much Saturday unless I'm meeting friends. Stressful day needs a gin (as don't keep wine in the house generally). Feeling sad because I'm missing people and life has been awful needs a gin It's a bad pattern that I'm in.

I do not think I'll manage it, but every day is better than nothing. I managed 2 weekd before xmas due to covid so I can do it. Just need to find a replacement. Water is so dull.

dudsville · 02/01/2021 13:30

To those anxious about dry january or worrying you can't do it, this really was how I felt last year. If I remember rightly I started late and then had two blips, but each was short lived and the next day I just went back to it. I still count that as having achieved Dry January because it was still for me a massive undertaking and it led to changes for the better and to my being able to do dry weeks here and there afterward - something I never would have done. This isn't all or nothing. Just do what you can for ow and don't be hard on yourself.

Day 2 for me. Cleared out the opened wine bottle left over from NYE. Yesterday and today I made huge vegetable soups to also help kickstart and healthy eating month. I also feel generally more motivated to do a bit of general tidying/organising and have discovered the need for a plant in my home office. I'm feeling good about starting off the New Year this way. I don't have a sweet tooth generally, but I always develop one of the holidays, and in the absence of alcohol as well I know I'm going to start craving sweets so I'm going to try a gradual cut back of sweets to every other day for a week, then every two days, for a week, then every three, etc., etc., rather than diving in at the deep end and struggling as I normally do!

ArrowsOfMistletoe · 02/01/2021 13:41

Try ginger cordial with chilled fizzy water. It has a bite.

buzzofthebumblebee · 02/01/2021 13:56

Anyone else have night sweats last night? Blush

CountryLady1 · 02/01/2021 13:59

So dh and I had said we would start today and finished the last few beers we had last night. Im hoping to go beyond jan and into feb anyway so although not great its not horrendous.

So here I go!! I stood on the scales today and found i am now 2 stone heavier than the weight i have been trying to achieve. Need to reset my mind and thinking and get back some disciplineXmas Sad

Tonight will be the test...making a lovely fresh chicken and potato tomatey bake... with a nice water Xmas Grin