DRY HARD 2: DRY HARDER! Dry January 2024, Thread#2 🧃🧋

[HPLikecraft]

Thread#2...

Let's keep going!

Well done for getting back on it Hedjwitch! And don't beat yourself up about the slip. Remember, if you get to the end with just that one then you'll only have drunk once in 31 days which (I'm assuming) is way less than usual. It's the moderation goal so many of us are striving for!

I've found this week harder. Hoping it's the week 3 blues and I'll be flying again next week. Trying not to count down, as I'd love to continue into Feb if I can.

Keep going everyone. The home stretch is in sight. Remember why you are doing this and what you want to accomplish.

I've lost my Christmas weight (2867 calories saved according to TryDry app) and am back to where I was in December and I've spent my no-alcohol savings on a lovely dress from Vinted so that's motivated me.

I've made it out for a sunrise run instead of dithering and ending up stuck indoors doing pack lunches and dancing hair before toddler lunch/nap. Been up since 5 with toddler of course 😅

Even though I am going to continue into Feb I am counting down as I find that quite motivating - it will be my first successful dry Jan. I'm now thinking about what to treat myself to on the 31st Jan before I re-group for Feb - that might help you get through the harder times?

Good morning everyone.
This middle section has gone quickly. In a couple of days time we'll be in the last week of January!

Unlike a good many of you, I have put on an absolutely obscene amount of weight since approx beginning of December. Cutting out alcohol doesn't seem to be helping with that, so I really need to be getting on with the diet and fitness regime I should have started alongside DJ. And extend DJ into February. I have some work to do.

Didn't give you a progress report yesterday, so, here, now, today at 9.30 on 20th January we are...

62.56%

Of the way through DJ2024

We're also nearly at the end of week 3 - that difficult week. Week 4 will be plain sailing, trust me!

As I wake up hangover free and very happy about that...(apologies in advance - but of a long 'thinking out loud' post.

Last night was my first proper test as to what a life / a night out without booze would be like, as I have been thinking about stopping completely.

I have conquered staying in and not drinking which is more reflective of my day to day so I'm pleased about that.

But last night was my best friend's birthday. About 15 women. Some v close friends and some acquaintances. It was absolutely fine for the first couple of hours, but then it was so noticeable when everyone started slurring and repeating themselves, finding things funny that I would normally have done too. Then the shots came out. (My friend kindly got me a Diet Coke shot!!)

I have mixed feelings. Yes I feel great this morning and 3 friends were grateful I gave them a lift home... but I felt quite on the outside of my normal friendship group (not by them - they were just completely normal with me which was nice) - but I just felt completely different.

My 3 closet friends (we are a group of 4 - go away for weekends etc) all went back to birthday girl's house for more booze/ dancing and I know I would absolutely normally be there having a great time and talking about what a fun night we had this morning. So I felt left out is what I am trying to say.

I tried to moderate last year after dry jan and it worked for a while but then it didn't!

These friendships in the day are still absolutely as they ever were and these nights are few and far between. Anyone else have any thoughts on this or feel the same?

Passing on some tips and tricks again today....
https://wellitywellness.com/2024/01/20/dry-january-20-yet-more-tips-and-tricks/

Morning all. I have woken with a slight wine headache 😳
Guess DJ has taught me nothing about moderation. I did have a lovely time, and I don't regret it, but it has made me think a bit!

Morning.

Still AF here. Finding it ok, not too difficult. But I’m getting bored with drinking fizzy water. I don’t want to switch to sugary drinks and I don’t like the taste of artificial sweetener. I’ve bought a bottle of flavoured tonic to try. I was thinking that as my drinking in the house is based on a longstanding habit of a particular drink being linked to a particular meal, that I could try linking a tonic flavour to a meal instead, as a sort of protective measure for the future.

Also what’s the Team Alcohol Resistance view on low alcohol rather than no alcohol? Whilst I was searching for flavoured tonic, I looked at the no/low shelf and the 0.5% apple cider had fewer calories than the 0% pear cider. And the ingredients looked more off putting on the pear (not that the apple ingredients label looked massively appealing). So I bought the 0.5%.

Does anyone know if the 0.5% stuff is likely to trigger my brain to start back on the booze, from a physical point of view? (It’s clear to me, from my own behaviour around buying it, that it could trigger something from a psychological point of view.)

@wellitywellness Interesting to see you ended up in the same place I did with the Quit lit - it all just sounded preachy like I was a sinner - no judgment on the sinning though 😁- they'd been there and knew better now but you're still the deluded idiot. And anyone who drinks a thimble full of booze every week has a problem with alcohol. Even if I never take another drink in my life I don't want to live with the reformed drinkers if this is what they become. I never like the reformed smokers either. I bloody loved smoking I gave up because it was becoming anti-social and expensive, but I never stopped loving it! I just knew it was time to quit.

I'll share my top tips for drinking less:

I am most likely to drink to excess when I'm out with friends - not because I'm anxious, I just get a bit carried away and drink more, for longer into the night than usual. However, if I go out with the conscious thought that I really don't want to get drunk, I am usually able to slow down and drink a lot less whilst still having a good time.
Choose your alcohol carefully - I avoid white wine - it's like pop - it just slides down far too easily.
And I drink half pints of beer when in rounds, it's controllable, unlike wine, when well-meaning friends buy you large glasses.
Buy yourself a very lovely small wine glass for home, you'll drink less.

@asleepattheshop exactly that! And I bloody loved smoking too. I'd smoke all day every day, if it wasn't fairly certain to kill / significantly harm me, that is.

Morning all. Still here. Day 20, and nearly halfway through for me as I'm planning to do 6 weeks in total. Feeling fine apart from a weird pain in my chest, which is hopefully due to the weight training I did yesterday and not a heart condition arising from suddenly stopping drinking 🤔.

@asleepattheshop , that's spot on regarding the Quit Litters.

@wellitywellness , I agree, the science-based stuff is so much better. Good luck with the Vale. I metaphorically threw it across the room about halfway through (it was on my Kindle!) as I found it his assertions often completely baseless and unconvincing.

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit , on the friendships thing... The best advice I've read regarding socialising is to give yourself permission to leave if you're not having a good time (or getting fed up with the drunk people around you!). It's something I've always done, as I find long social events stressful, and I tend to stay sober so I'm not tempted to drink too much to make the experience more tolerable.

The alternative might be to focus on seeing yourself as a good friend who is there to make sure your drinking friends are OK and get home safely. I'm sure they will appreciate the savings in taxi fares, and you will appreciate not having a headache the next day. Either way, if they are good friends, they won't exclude you just because you are not drinking.

@DJ24

It's my understanding that if there is even so much as a trace of alcohol in a drink, the Minimum they have to put on there is 0.5 - and that bananas contain more alcohol (is this a myth? I don't know)

In any case I find these beers have the opposite effect on me. I feel like I have had a drink when I have a couple of those (only by the taste / opening the bottle) and I then don't feel like a drink at all

@DJ24 , I think it depends whether you are a heavy or dependent drinker* or not as to whether a low / no alcohol drink will trigger an addiction. According to the Dry Drinker site, dependent drinkers are advised to steer clear of alternatives altogether. For most of us, I don't think it's an issue, but it will obviously vary between individuals and what alts they are consuming. I think a fake wine would definitely make me want the real thing, whereas a beer probably wouldn't.

*From what I've gathered online, heavy drinking is considered to be over 35 units per week, and dependent drinking a lot more than that. Anything between 14 and 35 is classified as hazardous.

Thanks for that neptunium. I’ve just googled and my range would be minimum 7 to maximum 20 in a normal (= only drinking at home) week. The max would be three evenings of sharing a bottle of wine and two evenings with a 500ml cider.

I don’t think I’ve got a physical issue with it, as I’ve had no problem ditching it. But having said that I’m aware that, despite the fact that I really don’t have a sweet tooth, if I start having sugary stuff it makes me start wanting more of it and developing a sweet tooth. So that’s something for me to keep in mind re the physical element. However I’ve definitely got a strong habit that I’ve formed around around particular drinks with particular meals, and then some psychological stuff around beating myself up that I can’t get it under control. So there must be a risk of the low/No being a pathway to the regular stuff again. Also on a (extremely rare) night out I would be keen to avoid driving so that I can drink. Which means I can’t rule out that I do have something more than a food related habit. And would mean needing to take a very risk averse approach to anything that could be a slippery slope.

Also thanks lemon that’s helpful insight. I’m going to save the 0.5% to after the end of January and see how I feel.

Yesterday was the toughest evening here too!
Trudged home through snow and ice to get home and in front of the fire and a glass of red would have gone down perfectly.
However, day 20 now!!

I think you might be overthinking this. Your drink levels are low - what is it that concerns you? Your intake seems ok to me but then if it is a problem to you then it's a problem. I thought when you were getting concerned about AF beer being a trigger you had a very serious drinking problem. A friend of mine did a study on the AA causing more people to categorise themselves as having a drink problem - that categorisation caused them to develop a drink problem because it removed responsibility from the drinker they started seeing their alcohol intake as beyond their control. The whole AA culture is not as wholesome as it seems.

“Your drink levels are low - what is it that concerns you?”

20 units a week is not low.

But you gave a range of 7- 20 units a week - are you now saying it's 20 units every week? You know yourself best - if you think AF beer is going to be a trigger and you feel it's too much of a risk then don't drink it - no one can tell you how you are going to react.

Hellloooo!
I haven't checked in for a while but still here, still reading the thread, and still dry.
I've had a few moments or wanting either a celebratory or a consoling glass of wine, but have dismissed the thought fairly easily. I have told myself that I absolutely am going to stay dry for January so it's now become a reality in my head and I know I won't cave even in the face of cravings. This is my 3rd DJ though and definitely easier than the 1st.
I was out last night with my best buddy and her partner for a couple of hours during which time she drank 3 large glasses and 1 small glass of red wine. I would normally have matched that but had 2 AF drinks instead. Partner drank similar number of pints. It wasn't very edifying witnessing them becoming slurry and slightly argumentative. This has been me on numerous occasions. I don't want to do that anymore. Im struggling with the abstain vs moderate concepts though. I have some thinking to do....

So so tempted by a rum and coke.

“are you now saying it's 20 units every week? “

With respect, my understanding was that this is supposed to be a support thread, not a being-subjected-to-scrutiny thread.

Yo! Haven't been checking in much, but still AF. First time last night I could really have been tempted. Went out to play pool and it was cold in the hall. Felt a big glass of red woukd gave warmed me up and probably improved my game!!!

Well, I’m just back from the pub and still af. It was ok. Me and DH both had af beer with our food and then a coffee after. I usually have two large glasses of red with a pub lunch (then come home and open a bottle 😬 ), so this was quite a novelty.
I always find my cravings are really bad on the 3rd weekend. Once this weekend is done the last week should be easy🤞🤞.