DRY JANUARY 2024! 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!

DJ threads are 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 7th year of DJ and I swear it has made all the difference to me. It was so hard first time, but it has definitely 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. 🙂☕🧃

The DJ2024 Wagon creaks to a start in just 5 days! Join us!

Congratulations! 🤛 I’m envious. 😅

Morning all!

Well, yesterday was a struggle but I made it through (with a little help from copious amounts of chocolate!)

Feel very grateful to be without hangover this morning, though. I'm really starting to appreciate how anxious I am the day after drinking, and not missing it at all.

Have a couple of challenges on the horizon though. Monday we are going for a curry for FiL's birthday, then a gig next weekend and then meeting friends in Manchester the weekend after. All a bit daunting but I suppose I just need to take it one day at a time.

I've just read this post on the Dry January Facebook group. Is it your post or has someone been lucky enough to have the same dream 😂

lol! Nah- same person- thought I’d share the love😂

Morning all, hope you've all slept well. It's a beautiful frosty and sunny day here which always cheers me up. That's my favourite type of day!

I'm tempted to try the AF Kylie. I love the Kylie pink fizz. It's got hearts on the bottle, come on!
And thanks for the tip about Erdinger beer... that's another for me to try.

I'm envious of the young Ralph Fiennes dream. I'd be happy with an old Ralph Fiennes dream, actually! I often have boyfriends in my dreams, but they NEVER get explicit! My AF dreams have been really weird and vivid though.

Have a great day, everyone.

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit there have been a few ‘debates’ on here over the years too 😂

angostura bitters was one. I can vouch that a large tonic with a dash of bitters is about a million times more like a real g&t than any 0% extortionate gin on the market. The issue being bitters are 44% proof. However 2 dashes in a tonic make it something like 0.03%, less than mango juice or some AF beers. But HOW the debate went on!!!

anyway, bitters rock. And there is a great article which does the maths and proves they are FINE in a mocktail or on DJ. Can highly recommend for those who like a ‘dry’ non sweet, really adult drink. https://morningsoda.wordpress.com/2019/03/19/what-are-bitters-and-are-they-safe-to-use-in-sobriety/

Checks back of off-limits booze cupboard.

huzzah, a bottle of angostura! Thank you for that recommendation.

one of my favourite sayings is “ don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. You don’t have to do something strictly 100% for it to still be worthwhile. And just because you had a little slip or made a small compromise, ,that doesn’t mean the whole thing is ruined.

Morning all. After feeling a bit ropey last night, I woke up this morning with an awful bad throat bug thing. Neg for covid but feels v similar. So glad that I didn't drink, as imagine how much worse I'd feel today! DS woke up at 6.30am with a nightmare but luckily settled in my bed for a bit. Now we're up having breakfast and watching some Saturday kitchen. I had a horrible vivid dream too. So absolutely shattered but, crucially, not hungover woohoo!

Well after my early wake up this morning I'm cracking on with cleaning the house. Got magic radio on to sing along to as I go 😂 much to DH's bemusement.

Checking in -

We're having a lazy morning with breakfast and cartoons (fDC Saturday cartoons).
I'm going to have a coffee and then do some chores before we're off out with friends for a Sunday roast at the pub. I've already picked my AF drink option so there is no wavering.

I've lost 2.5 lbs but I'm still not convinced it's anything more than natural fluctuations, post period and water weight.
It'll be interesting to see what my start and end weight net out at with DJ.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Morning everyone.

Still AF here. Glad to see so many positive posts.

I like the fact that I don't have to think whether I can drive or not.

Been to the supermarket to stock up on tonic water for my evening AF drinks.

Day 7 🎉
Just back from the gym!! I know, wtaf! 😀. Normally I would be nursing a hangover on a Sunday morning.
Im not finding the cravings too bad atm ( famous last words), but the lack of sleep and weight loss is getting me down. 0.3kg loss - pathetic! Ok, I did finish off the Christmas cheese this week, but still.
DH and I tried Sainsbury’s Nozzeco last night. It was ok but not as good as the pink frexinet 0%. Last years top af beer, brew dog, has been replaced by Guinness 0%. That really is quiet nice.
Anyway, onto the next week…..

Overslept and woke with a headache after the Goodrays last night - worse than I would have had from drinking wine.

For those interested in AF drinks, have you seen the Dry Drinker site? They have loads of interesting looking options, including the Leffe beer.

I've also had the vivid dreams. No handsome actors, sadly. Last night I was in charge of a project to develop a flying taxi, but my miniature prototype imploded and someone threw a hammer at me 😧!

Onwards to week two...

I discovered the 0% Kylie when I did Sober September and it’s still one of my favourites. I really like the Thatchers 0% cider too, it doesn’t just taste like fizzy apple juice.

Checking in as well. Today's blog is a round up of week 1 and all about building toolkits / coping mechanisms, etc.

https://wellitywellness.com/2024/01/07/dry-january-7-one-week-in/

If I may give my own self a plug for a minute, I'd highly recommend reading yesterday's entry on the harms of alcohol. This has already changed my life - if not downright saved it - so well worth a read.

https://wellitywellness.com/2024/01/06/dry-january-6-harms-of-alcohol/

Checks back of off-limits booze cupboard

Got some bitters somewhere, I'm sure. I'm not going the AF wine/beer route, it'll just remind me that the full fat version is so much better and why don't I just have the one....

Hydrating like a sand dune after rain here, but that was a NY resolution anyway.

@wellitywellness your post from yesterday has made me consider becoming teetotal for life.
The fact that it can take up to 20 years for liver damage to catch up with you makes me want to wrap my liver up in cotton wool and spoil it rotten forever, so it doesn't turn on me because of previous misdemeanors!

Of course, careful moderation for life would be great, but I personally don't find that easy, so keep having to have resets by going dry. It's a terrible, addictive poison. ☠️☠️

The fact that it can take up to 20 years for liver damage to catch up with you makes me want to wrap my liver up in cotton wool and spoil it rotten forever, so it doesn't turn on me because of previous misdemeanors!

I have a blood condition, and one of the checks I had during the investigations to find out what was wrong with me was a scan of my spleen and my liver. Liver got a clean bill of health, I'm glad to say, which as I said to the radiographer, just goes to show what a forgiving organ it is 😉

Of course, careful moderation for life would be great, but I personally don't find that easy, so keep having to have resets by going dry. It's a terrible, addictive poison.

Moderation is definitely my goal. I've achieved it in the past and believe I can do so again, but I know how challenging it can be. I've started to think how I might change my future drinking patterns. For some reason I have found the idea of giving up for a month easier than having 2-3 days off per week. When I try the latter I feel much more deprived. I'm considering a different regime, where I stay dry for the first 10-12 days of the month, and then drink normally for the rest of the month. (Normal for me is 2 standard glasses of wine most evenings.)

Regarding the massive increase in liver disease (and other diseases) since the 1970s, a proportion of that will be down to rising levels of obesity, so it's about diet as a whole, not just alcohol. If we could eat and drink like southern Europeans, we'd probably be healthier overall. People in two of the Blue Zones, where there are higher numbers of centenarians (Icaria and Sardinia) drink wine every day, but in relatively small quantities and generally with food.

I find moderation is hard work too and I'm not sure where I stand with it vs 100% sober in 2024 (something to think about after dry Jan). However since have a couple of long sober spells (11 & 12 weeks) I was 75% dry in 2023 vs 75% wet probably in 2022.

I also used a delaying tactic for holiday in 2023 so e.g. a week away I wouldn't drink til day 4 or 5 - it is easier for me to have the dry bit at the beginning, drink the rest of the holiday then back to dry.

Starting day 7 with a clear head, taking the Christmas decorations down and tidying....which will get done because I don't have a hangover.....Yay!!

@Neptunium93 totally agree.
I'm doing this for a reset. I have no plans for an AF future or even an extended period.

I work in health care and worked in gastroenterology for a while totally agree that non alcoholic liver disease is a huge cause of the rise in liver disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and the very poor diets some people eat are big causative factors.

On the other side, you absolutely do not have to be a vodka for breakfast type of drinker to have alcoholic liver disease

I have been lurking on this thread because I knew I had a long planned lovely outing yesterday with DH and I planned on having a cheat day and getting back to it after so felt a fraud to post earlier.

I am doing dry Jan and trying to eat much healthier and yesterday was a bit of a splash in both departments.

I am posting here to say it was so not worth it-meal was not very nice and I regretted the wine.

It wasn't wonderful or worth it.
And it was a very good wake up call for me to see that and I wanted to share in case anyone else felt temptation-I planned the cheat day-wasn't a moment of weakness but it was very unsatisfying and I am kicking myself for doing it.

So back on the straight and narrow with renewed enthusiasm-no more kicking myself today but a sobering couldn't resist reminder that I am doing Dry Jan because I want to and I feel better doing it.

You've got this @MrsMitford3 . I'm sorry the meal wasn't what you had hoped, but it sounds like you've had a positive reflection on it and sounds like it's reinforced what you want.

Truly grateful for this thread, I've just read another one about schools that made me feel very negative and want to reach for the wine, but actually I don't need to and more importantly don't want to.

Another test for me later is doing a lamb roast. I normally drink some red while cooking a roast to get me through haha ( it's always a full blown roast too) with friends on the kitchen TV as back ground noise to ease my Sunday scaries.

Hopefully the camomile will suffice