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!

@wellitywellness so sorry to hear your sad news. And thank you for sharing. I wish you strength, and love.

Struggling much more tonight tonight but still going. We're all doing it together in our family, me DH and my two daughters, which helps. DD1 coming to stay over tonight as she has an interview tomorrow morning and wants to use our WiFi, heating and the general sense of calm here to help. She's hit a bit of a ceiling in her first graduate job and knows she'll have to step sideways to move up. Whatever happens tomorrow it's good practice, and having a sober head will help.

Day 6 done. Better today less pigging out.
I'm really sorry about your puss, @wellitywellness we had a 19 and 20yo uitl a few years ago. We now have 2 slightly mad 6yo girls. Agree home isn't a home with an animal.
I have just remembered I have a leaving do for a close work friend on 19th and a family dinner on 20th. I'm not sure what I will do for those

Day 7 done. Was tempted as I took my youngest out for supper but enjoyed sparkling water and a clear head for the bedtime routine. Hoping for a super nights sleep tonight, it's our last lie in before the school runs start on Tuesday.

Day 7 done here too, and I've finally managed to get back on to the 16:8 after having chocolate yesterday and being disappointed in myself. So I'm now finally on the magical combination of DJ, 16:8, no sweets. Still need to reign in the fat to get back to heart healthy eating but I'm feeling stronger about making better decisions.

I'm taking a friend to dinner tomorrow. It's a special meal and i want her to feel free to have an alcoholic drink so I'm going to stay with some kind of way of asking if she's doing DJ, and if she isn't then I'm going to have to decide whether i have a drink.

Day 7 done here. No cravings or urges for wine but Sunday isn't typically a wine night for me, the only night of the week I didn't drink!
Back to work for me tomorrow and as it's a new job I want to have a clear head.
@wellitywellness sorry for your loss
Hope everyone else has had a good, dry day

Feeling strangely wriggly this evening. And having the unusual experience of watching call the midwife without falling asleep.

@wellitywellness so sorry for your loss, sounds like you’ve had many happy times together and were lucky to have each other.

well done everyone on the first weekend, I nearly caved in tonight as getting the kids ready for school was stressful, and realised how much I lean on wine when I have difficult days. Given how many difficult days we generally have it makes sense I was having so much! But getting through that was good and I’ve started to tell people I’m trying DJ now knowing I haven’t totally mucked it up after a few short days.

Interesting to hear how the one drink affected you @Morelinesadded abd thanks for sharing, I was very close tonight but will remember your comments if I come close again.

Here’s to the week ahead everyone, by this time next Sunday we will be almost half way through!

It's been a week! It was strange not reaching for the wine on Fri or Saturday night as a reflex. I also went out for dinner last night, and realised how much simpler it was; I didn't stress about the amount of the drinks, or whether I could get two/three etc, or how tipsy I might be. I could just enjoy my good and tolerate the noise/busy atmosphere (social anxiety).

I also think my skin is clearing up!

Weekend done!
Well done to everyone as well 👍
1 week down, 3 to go.
Come On!

p.s. have learned that flavoured water in a wine glass isn’t actually the same as a glass of Pinot, no matter how much you want it to be 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

@wellitywellness I’m so sorry for your loss.

I went for a coffee with a friend this morning rather than an evening glass of wine, and it was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Tonight I’ve not had a craving. Good.

I haven't craved alcohol but the munchies hit me yesterday and have carried on today. Four chocolates and a massive handful of kettle chips. Too much stuff left over from Christmas...

But still dry after a week, which I'm happy about.

Sorry for your loss Wellitywelness. I can still get teary thinking about my much loved childhood dog.

I can't believe we're going into the second week. Let's do this 😊

Well it's midnight now at the end of day 7.
This is fantastic.

We are now:

22.5%

of the way through Dry January 2024.
The end of tomorrow sees us hit the 25% mark which is amazing.

Sleep well, everyone 😴

Looks Iike I'll have to start thread 2 in the next day or two. That's much earlier than ever before!

Glad so many DJers are drying with us this year 👍

Sneaking in to get on this old thread before a new one starts. 7 days done. Have found it pretty much ok this year apart from a few pangs when DH treated himself to some wine on Fri & Sat nights.

But now is where the fun starts as I know from previous bitter experience that its all too easy to give into that little voice that starts saying - you've done so well, just one won't hurt ... Just got to metaphorically stick fingers in ears and sing la la la la la v loudly.

And think about waking up bright eyed, bushy tailed and feeling calm.

Busy weekend with grandchildren helped and a needed early night last night!

Best nights sleep I've had. Feel great and grateful this morning.
First day back at work after a three week break - tonight will be a test but will probably be shattered so another early night.

One day at a time everyone

Morning all
I got a solid 8 hours sleep last night. Back to work today, feeling nervous as it's a new job.
Have a great day everyone

Morning everyone! I'm on day 12 as I started a bit early. I had a great nights sleep last night without as many of the crazy vivid dreams so I'm hoping my brain chemistry has sorted itself out now. My face is much less bloated but my lips are really dry which is new for me!

I had quite a lot of fleeting thoughts about booze over the weekend but managed to bat them off. I really look forward to my cold can of Coke in the evening as my treat now

I've been on the cold cans of coke in the afternoons (sleepless toddler to run round after) - hoping they will become less necessary for me the longer I'm AF?

Morning all!

Morning.
OK sleep. Ready for the day. Hope all goes well for those back to work/school today/this week.
One day at a time and we are already closing in on 25% of January AF by the end of today. Amazing.
Thanks OP for starting the thread.

Also reporting in on a great night’s sleep- it’s the thing that annoys me most about drinking, my sleep suffers - to hell with my liver - it may or may not be affected - it’s a bit of a lottery but if I can’t sleep that affects everything health-wise.

Goodness isn't it freezing this morning? (Well depending on where you are. I am in SE but assuming it's similar or colder everywhere else in the UK!). The dreaded alarm went off so I could get the DC up and all I could think was how grateful I was not to be doing a hard Monday morning feeling hungover (I always had a few glasses of red on a Sunday eve that turned into a bottle)

Tired, ashamed, feeling hungover, feeling fearful / anxious about the day ahead / work.

The only one I feel is tired (plus cold obviously) and for that I am truly grateful.

I hope everyone has a good day

Still here and still AF. 🥳

Yesterday was my most testing today so far, for as long as I can remember Sunday has involved a lot of time outside with the horses and our DD’s, a roast and lots of red wine…

Its actually my favourite day of the week and yesterday just felt so dull without the wine.

I had a couple of AF Becks Blue, actually my first AF drink since starting and that definitely took the the edge off but even after the dreaded danger hour I still felt a bit twitchy for a glass of wine.

I did however have to check the labels this morning as have woken up feeling awful, groggy, sore head, lethargic and like I’d drank last night but was also very relieved that I didn’t and it reaffirmed to my how much better I can feel AF

Good morning day 8 ❤️