Old habits DRY hard! It's DRY JANUARY thread #2... newcomers always welcome!

[HPLikecraft]

Here we are, a shiny new thread to help us stay dry.

Thread one has been great and supportive; and thread two will take us through further challenges and milestones. Hop aboard; you're all doing brilliantly!

There's no point caving now having done the first half of the month.

This is my thinking too. Now that I'm over halfway I'm determined to get to the end.

Only 2 weeks to go! We've done 2 weeks, we can do another 2 💪🏻

Oh well @Champagneforeveryone - I guess maybe we have to accept that life moves on. I keep reminding myself that I may (doubt it) live to 90 and end up in a care home. They're not going to pour me a glass or three every night... so it has to stop at some age!! I guess Ive had a good time. Now time to embrace a slightly healthier approach.
Anyway, clocking in, miserable and wistful.

Stupidly lost over £100 this month on something completely futile and fuming about it. At least I'm not spending lots on booze I suppose.

17th tomorrow seems quite advanced. Good work all 🏆

I've also ordered some Sentia - I think they are taking a long time to get delivered at the moment, but will feed back when it's here.

I bought some Sentia on a whim on NYE. I’d not heard of it at the time but have since heard David Nutt talking on the radio.

move not tried it yet as he said it was work waiting a couple of weeks of low alcohol consumption/AF before trying if you’d been a heavy drinker. I’m going to try some towards the end of the week or on the weekend.

@Selfesteem22 what did you mix it with?

Todays eye opener is my recycling bin. Collected every fortnight on a Tuesday. It’s normally overflowing and with a load waiting to go in it as soon as it’s been collected. Today it is only just over half full!

Good luck today everyone.

I agree that the 17th sounds very decisively over halfway. In fact at 8 o'clock this morning we will officially be 53% of the way there.

I'm full of cold today, which is annoying because I'm not getting that bright eyed and bushy tailed DJ feeling I had last week. Hopefully it won't last too long.

I'm not going to go for any kind of substitute. I don't drink to get a particular feeling, in fact the reason why I drink very little is that I don't like the fuzziness that comes with it. Maybe I'm a control freak. I was once given some really hardcore painkillers after sustaining a fencing injury in France many years ago, and they got me really high. It was terrifying, I hated it.

@FlightDeckBuckarooo our council are about to start a glass collection ( at last ! ) and we’ve had the glass bin for a month or so , it’s nicely full 👍but , the top layer is now coffee , mayo , spice , jam etc not bottles !

I’m still going strong , shocked at how much less our Tesco shop is ( I’ve subscribed to the Liberty beauty box as a reward , and my first box is arriving today hopefully )

Cold and crisp here , -3 as I write , out for a walk later as we’ve also signed up for Doddie Aid

So , what’s our % now @HPLikecraft ?
The end of January is in sight ,( and I’m off to the Canaries on 26th , and looking forward to A GLASS , not a bottle of wine on the balcony )

Can we have damp February ?

So this is week 3? I should be feeling a bit better by now. I'm not thinking about alcohol at all so far, although I do have a friend coming to stay in February and am looking forward to a really decent bottle of wine then. This is part of my DJ strategy - to moderate my drinking (I don't actually drink that much anyway and only at the weekend although it crept up over Christmas) so that I can enjoy alcohol on nice occasions. It's been good not "wasting" 20 or so on wine a week.

I'm also aware that I come from a family of addicts and alcoholics so I probably need to keep an eye on my drinking. I do like that buzz that comes from opening a bottle of wine, pouring a glass and turning the music up! Dh drinks less often than me, but when he does drink he can drink a lot more - I've had to stop him ever making me a gin/vodka and tonic as he doesn't use the measure and just slugs it in, once I drank a gin and tonic that he'd made me and practically passed out on the sofa.

This thread has been really helpful thank you @HPLikecraft .

Meant to add that a couple of people have said how healthy I look, I'm pretty sure I look a bit less puffy and haggard!

Is it still January? 😂 well done to everyone for working hard. Like PPs have said even if you do have a slip up, you're still changing the way you drink and view booze. Which can only be a good thing.

I haven't posted much but am still lurking.

Have joined the gym and started calorie counting. Now that I'm in the swing of dryness and the sugar cravings have gone, I feel like I can tackle other things.

Morning everyone. Hope you're all feeling well and rested. I'm feeling chirpier than the gloomy me of the past few days. It's cold, dry and sunny here with crispy grass. That is my favourite sort of day, so I'll be going out with the dog, a scarf and a few podcasts soon!

So,what’s our % now @HPLikecraft ?
Glad you asked, @Veryfishy ! Why, at this very moment , i.e. 9.45am on the 17th of January we are....

52.92%

of the way through! But in half an hour or so that will be 53%, which I think has a certain balance to it. Well done for all your efforts, everyone.

Well guess what arrived today? DH and I will try it tonight and report back. It's tiny though, and expensive, so I doubt it will become a regular feature in the Likecraft household.

<sigh>
I'm on day 14 and have lost the grand total of 1lb 🙄

Granted I have been snacking more in the evening but I had convinced myself that the middle aged "mum tum" was purely down to alcohol.

I was also supposed to go and visit DS at uni today but the trains are cancelled and the alternatives are a logistical nightmare. It's very cold and I'm feeling morose ☹️

@Champagneforeveryone you've only lost 1lb? Not true.

You've lost: increased diabetes risk, increased risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and digestive problems. You've reduced your chances of hypertension, dementia and liver disease. You've slashed the assault on your immune system, memory and mental health. You've decreased bad skin, poor sleep and anxiety. You've decreased your spending...

The positive losses of going dry are immense. And I think you're looking very well, as it happens

Snow day here with us. The kids are of school and we have snow half way up to our knees so they are delighted sledging and building snow. I don't fancy wine at all. I would normally have bought another wine bottle today but won't be

Fair play to those dieting and exercising, I'll tackle that beast in February...I polished off the rest of the Roses tub last night....

Mid-week is fine for me now, I go through Monday-Thursday dry phases so it's not totally alien to me. Still not springing out of bed in the morning, but that's because I'm a total child and keep the light on too late at night while I use my finger to poke at the internet 😂

Great post HP. Very encouraging

I tried it on the rocks and with tonic - next may do orange juice.

I have a dreadful memory and wonder if it could be anything to do with drinking?

I'm feeling a bit fed up about the fact we still have 14.5 days to go, but I can't crack now that I've come this far.

I have a dreadful memory and wonder if it could be anything to do with drinking?

ARBD (Alcohol Related Brain Damage) is very much a thing. Regularly drinking too much alcohol destroys brain cells that can't be replaced. The effects of ARBD start to be felt in the 40s and 50s - thinking skills, concentration and memory are all affected.
Although cells can't be replaced, stopping drinking improves the situation for most people.

I'm planning to keep Monday to Thursday (inclusive) alcohol free, going forward. However, this means that my dry January won't end until 3rd Feb.

That is sobering information @HPLikecraft .

My plan is to have three dry days a week after DJ is finished, but I'm not going to have set days - it'll depend on what I've got planned in any particular week. I'm also planning to moderate on the days that I do drink.

I think boredom could be the most likely reason for me to crack now.

I've come to the conclusion that the reason it's been fairly easy this time (though isn't it long) is that summer is my best drinking time. Really I should try Dry June.

17th... we're getting there.