DRY JANUARY 2023! Been overindulging? Drinking crept up? Want to begin a healthy new you? 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 sixth year of DJ and I swear it may have saved my life; it was so hard first time, but having succeeded I did dry June and October after that, and do so most years. It has broken my habit, banished much of the craving and reset my relationship with booze. I imagine it's added years to my life.

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

Throw your hat in the ring, pull up a chair and let's do this together. Everyone welcome 🙂☕️🧃

The DJ2022 Wagon creaks to a start in just 4 days, but always stops for latecomers 🙂

I have to confess. My dry January is now somewhat damp 🥴
I will try to do better ☹️

@lipstickwoman think of it this way: how much less have you had now compared to what you would normally have had?

Still a win. Jump back in and keep going!

This afternoon has been a struggle. I’ve got covid (the end of) and I really wanted a hot toddy to knock myself out and sleep / feel the warmth etc. Really battled. Haven’t given in and I know I’ll be better for it in the morning (as 1 would have been 2 would have been 4…) but god, I feel deprived and fed up.

Lots of ‘why am I doing this and what is it for’ debates been had in my head.

Lots of ‘why am I doing this and what is it for’ debates been had in my head.

Thanks for articulating how I often feel during this process too.

And I forgot to add - a huge well done for not giving in!

Also a bit grumpy today - and am reminded how much I use wine to deal with work stress!

Completing my Try Dry app at this time each day gives me a little bit of a boost though.

First real full day back in the office and its a struggle. Even driving home I was thinking of having a drink! Got some Leffe 0% in the fridge thankfully so drinking that and know that the craving will pass...

Thank you @freshstart2023 and I’m having soup for supper - I don’t like having cold liquid (booze) with hot (soup) so I find it a great way of staving off the craving.

Just dropping back in. I am reading regularly but have only posted once or twice. All going well so far. I'm really pleased that the first full weekend was a success. Becks Blues are doing a lot of heavy lifting 😆 but it's been lovely to spend quality time with my family and not be falling asleep on the sofa or forgetting bits of the evening. I'm still planning to continue until the end of February.

I'm doing ok tonight. Monday is going to be a non-drinking day for me after DJ, so maybe it's psychological.
Well done everyone, especially those who have blipped but not letting it stop them - that might be the key I think to carrying on with reduced intake after DJ has finished 😊

7 days in, back on tonic water and lemon juice.... tried a 0% lager yesterday... vile! but not as bad as the 0% red wine i tried at the weekend.

Tonic water from now on :)

Sleeping a lot better too.

Interesting re the AF beers. I find they make me feel of I have had a drink / treat so I don't find myself craving alcohol. I have found my favourite (I'm no expert but tastes as close to beer as possible IMO - Brooklyn Brewery Hoppy lager.

Yes I second what the previous poster said - well done to those who have had a blip but are carrying on. Hopefully everyone on here has significantly reduced no matter what their journey so far looks like.

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit - I love those Brooklyn lagers too. I now drink them instead of real lager all year round. May as well. They taste just as good.

Here's a recipe for a lovely non-alcoholic toddy:

1/2 lemon sliced, 3 cloves, generous teaspoonful of honey, pinch of tumeric, pinch of grated nutmeg, 3-6 slices of fresh raw ginger in a tumbler or mug, filled with boiling water. Stir is well and steep for a few minutes. It has that warming hit of a whisky toddy.

@WinterFoxes that's interesting! I previously had a favourite (erdinger) but I am definitely switching to Brooklyn now. Just about to crack one open!

Thanks @WinterFoxes

Is anyone else finding that they’re enjoying food more? We used to start drinking long before even thinking about cooking. Dinner was frequently very late and just seemed like an interruption to the drinking and chatting. I’m thoroughly enjoying my dinner more!

Day 9. Our visitors, who will be expecting me to share a bottle or two, are now arriving on Saturday instead of Thursday. I’m going to find this difficult. I could have pleaded work in the morning on Thursday. My traitorous brain is already wheedling “You could have a night off….”

Might try the AF beer so that it’s not so obvious that I’m not drinking.

I'm struggling with low mood again tonight - I'm having lots of "just a couple of glasses won't hurt" thoughts. I'm looking forward to bed so I can officially tick off day 9.

I'm feeling a bit bleh tonight because I've just shipped the last of the DC back to uni, so it's just me again. Always a bit of an adjustment before I start enjoying it again.

But I have a job interview tomorrow and am looking forward to that, plus some social events in the calendar. All will be well, herbal tea beckons.

I know. What we’re doing is really difficult. You’ve done amazingly well so far. It’s worth doing the whole month. Although I didn’t manage the entire DJ last year (!) but even a few weeks left me with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Sometimes I’d find myself with a glass in my hand and realise I wasn’t even enjoying it, and that I could have one or two drinks instead of six. They say the first two weeks are the worst. It’ll get better and easier for all of us

Good luck with the job interview @pointythings :)

Day 9. Well done all for getting this far. I'm on ginger & lemongrass cordial with slimline tonic. My second. That would normally be 4 units of gin & it's not even 9pm. Shocker. Bad sleep last night, so looking forward to getting to bed this eve.

Hold strong there everyone. Get through today and that's yet another day ticked off !!

@pointythings good luck with the interview and echo what you say about howuchnyou didn't drink even if you had a blip. No blips here so far and not feeling too bad. I am also second week into couch to 5k and replacing the alcohol endorphins with exercise ones! The weekend was tough although I wouldn't have drank on Friday night as I was doing the 6 hour round trip drive to take DS back to uni. However, with the very heavy rain most of each way it took 8 hours and I got back thinking I bloody deserve the wine, but didn't and very proud of that! Off to make a cup of tea now 🫖 well done to all of you including those who had a blip and got back on.

I have been enjoying this too! Sailing through the self-serve check out as nobody has to verify your age... Bliss. Gotta take the wins where we find them!

I have been enjoying this too! Sailing through the self-serve check out as nobody has to verify your age... Bliss. Gotta take the wins where we find them!