February alcohol free/moderation thread - graduates and flunkies of Dry Jan 2023, new members welcome!

[MeinKraft]

Dry January has come to an end (sooner for some of us than others ) but the alcohol free fun doesn't have to stop there!

Whether you're wanting to extend your drought, moderate your drinking on an ongoing basis or are thinking of going dry for Lent and want to prepare why not join us to discuss all things alcohol free!

Day 1 of my mothers visit successfully dry, just one to go.

I'm proud I even managed to bring up the matter of my complete lack of childhood vaccinations in a rational way. If I had been drinking then I would have shied away from it in case she started to get upset and defensive again

Onward to day 2!

Just had the fibroscan that I'd booked on the last thread. Amazingly liver, kidney and spleen all fine!

Yay sticky, that must be a relief!

Very much so!

Well, we made it (and remained dry throughout) DM is homeward bound and a collective sigh of relief has been expelled.

Oddly I dreaded her visit more, but felt more levelheaded and better able to deal with her twathattery while she was here. In true drinker fashion however, she pressed a £20 note into my hand on leaving so DH and I could have "a proper drink" while we're away 🙄

Well done on managing your DM visit. I had some wine with DH on sat night over dinner but that's been it. I really enjoy how much better I feel in the morning not drinking the night before now

Still being sensible , we were away at the weekend , so I had a few glasses of wine when we had dinner out , but didn’t take the bottle of wine from the supermarket and drink in the hotel room like we would have done previously

I’m doing a learn to crochet daycourse on Saturday , trying to keep my hands busy in the evening !
DH going to the rugby club to watch The Match , I’ve no doubt a couple of beers will be drunk ( he’s Welsh , I’m English and have no interest in rugby at all )

Now , the big question ..
Q do I buy myself one nice bottle of wine to drink over the weekend ?
A yes , but only one . Make it last 👍

I wouldn't @Veryfishy just because I'm reluctant to start 'home' drinking again. I think it depends on what you want your relationship with alcohol to be? I'm going to only drink outside the house I've decided. Nothing at all except the one day in Jan so far.

@Veryfishy is it a nice bottle of wine you need or just because you can. I think that’s how we all ended up here.
There’s no reason not to have “ a nice bottle”. And maybe one in the week. And one next Saturday. And next Sunday and…back to square one.

The way I see it is that even if some of use end up back at square one, we know now that we can stop for a while if we want to. That's the game changer for me.

@chatelai Isn’t that the reason people put weight back on after diets. They go back to their old habits, thinking “I know how to loose weight, I’ll just do that again”. Forgetting all the problems and risks of being overweight that drove them to diet. Had they changed their eating they would stay healthy.

I think moderation is about drinking when necessary. A glass or two at a pub on a hot summers day, Christmas, weddings. Not for any of the reasons we used to buy bottles really.

@OneFrenchEgg and @Arrrrrrragghhh you are both the voice of reason and I have 2 large bottles of …. Sparking water in the fridge 🙀

Sorry! I have AF beer and nosecco for at home when the hummus and crisps need a friend.

@Veryfishy Good call. I think you’ll feel very happy with your choice on Monday. And when you do have a genuine reason for wine you know it’s been your choice, not habit.

I’m doing AF beer tonight. It’s ok. I miss proper Perrier. They don’t use the gas from the spring anymore, just carbon dioxide. That was my go to and my skin looked amazing after drinking it during dry spells.

@Veryfishy also wanted to say well done on your restraint at the hotel. I used to do the bottle from the supermarket too. 🙁

Yes I used to get at least two to three bottles a week - 'used to' being very recent and I could easily slip back. I'm really going to try to stick to only outside the house. My teens are getting older and I don't want to normalise daily drinking for them.

I tried a bottle of alcohol free koppaberg this evening ( as it was cheaper than the posh tonic )
not impressed , it tastes a bit like pop
Anyway , another alcohol free weekend to tick off ✅
How is everyone else doing ?

veryfishy I found AF Kopparberg very faithful to the original, but that's probably because the real stuff also tastes like pop as well 😆

Still hanging in here and really not giving it much thought. We are going away for a few days on Thursday, so will probably have a drink or two then. Although I'm oddly ambivalent about it now <shrug>

I like AF corona, and there's another one (not Becks Blue) that tastes nice. Tbh I'm just getting by with squash and Fanta!

Made another week incl a night out - no AF options so had to have coke

I’m still going but whilst I’m surprised I’m not missing it as much as I thought I am always surprised it really hasn’t been that long. I gave up for Lent so it will be 4 weeks Tuesday I think. Which is nothing. The thought of not drinking ever again is just too infinite to even consider.
I’m still having to consciously make the choice not to drink. It would be nice if the idea didn’t even cross my mind.

The thought of not drinking ever again is just too infinite to even consider.

Yes - I'm one day at a time rather than teetotal. I can't imagine having a drink now and going back to this so I think it's easier not to 'slip' and test my willpower

We're back from our short break where we drunk every night, though admittedly much less than what we would have done previously.

I'm indifferent to it, and actually felt slightly relieved to get home and back to being AF again as it removes the "shall I, shan't I" aspect of it. There was still the temptation to have "just one more", particularly as we were on holiday which is an eye opener. Prior to this I had only drunk on one occasion since going AF and was so on board with the benefits. It was a bit of a shock to see how quickly we were able to slip back into it ☹️

So next week will mark the end of my 12 weeks challenge - I’m almost sorry that the experience will be coming to an end...

It's been a slow burn, but recently there has been a sense of a sort of ‘steady state’ calm / contentment creeping in though. Let's see how moderation goes...

In the interim, my Gamma GT (high/normal in November) have halved since then! Very reassuring.

Had half a bottle last night and was massively underwhelmed - at taste, at feeling, at disrupted sleep. Not the much vaunted, long awaited fireworks and euphoria reunion I'd anticipated, though that's probably not a bad thing... Perhaps the chain has been broken...?