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

[HPLikecraft]

Thread#2...

Let's keep going!

Thanks OP. Hope you and yours feel better soon and the manflu is shortlived.
90% - go the AF Resistance.

Checking in for day 26 (I’m running a couple of days late but finishing on the 3rd!) Had my first wobble today- we’d had a fab morning out & had gone out for a Sunday roast & I really really fancied a pint. Went for soda water instead & feel relieved I didn’t crack on the last hurdle!

I feel like I fall into the ‘bad drinker’ category. I’m hoping I’ll be able to turn into more of a social drinker category. I’m planning a damp February as I have a couple of social events planned but otherwise hoping not to drink. I really don’t want to fall back into the habit of having a bottle of wine every bad/good/ random whatever reason day!

I had some rubbish news this evening, but am
plodding on AF.

I don’t want to go back to having a drink as soon as it’s Feb, I want to carry on.

“I don’t want to go back to having a drink as soon as it’s Feb, I want to carry on.”

Same here.

Still here (to my own amazement).
Downside, I have eaten my body weight in Tyrells cheese and chive crisps and have put on a few pounds... oh well!

Tough news is so often such a trigger, you did good plodding on and I bet you feel more clear-headed this morning - a good night's sleep always helps.

Morning all. Well done everyone! So impressed to read the various tales from the Resistance .

I'm finding the recent posts about sugar really interesting. I absolutely do not have a "sweet tooth" but when I don't drink I always get a little craving for something sweet instead. I have given up smoking along with Dry January and so, in the interests of not giving myself an impossible task, I'm allowing myself small amounts of sugar - Werthers toffees, fruit corner yogurts, small ice cream bars etc. I really would never touch this sort of stuff normally.

I remember once on a Friday I went out to afternoon tea at a friend's house where several people had baked cakes and so ate maybe three pieces of cake (absolutely unheard of!) but when I got home, even though it was a Friday, I honestly didn't fancy a glass of wine. It stuck in my mind, that.

Today will be day 33 for me. I have managed to stay dry even through a couple of days in the company of my older brother (tricky character who winds me up just a tad) dealing with the admin and practical tasks after our mother's death and the very emotional process of choosing readings and music for her funeral. Don't know how I've done it but I have. So there's a lesson for me for my future.

Happy AF Monday everyone.

Another one with the lurgy here, feels like I got no sleep at all last night as I was just constantly blowing my nose. On the plus side, it means I have no desire whatsoever to have a drink, so should make it through the rest of the month fairly easily.

I'm not going to continue into February, but will try and limit drinking to weekends, and hope that strikes the balance - I tend to drink at home (my clubbing days are long behind me!) so it's pretty easy to keep track of what I'm drinking, I just need to remember that just because I've opened a bottle, that doesn't mean I have to finish it!

Morning all, and congratulations on completing 4 weeks! 🙂

My AF beer journey continued last night with UNLTD...

This is an IPA with virtually no sugar / carbs, so very low calorie (and has the advantage of being available to order on subscription via Amazon). I must admit it didn't go down quite as smoothly as the ON Beer, as it is more citrus-flavoured, with more bitterness, but it's interestingly complex, and I suspect I could get a taste for it. Once again, I had to keep checking the label to make sure it really was AF! To my mind, alcohol really is optional when it comes to beer.

@vinoandbrie and @LindorDoubleChoc , I'm sorry you are both dealing with difficult news and loss, which can indeed be a trigger to drink. Well done for keeping going.

I've been thinking about when and why my drinking started to creep up. I'd been putting it down to a couple of difficult years involving lots of change / stress and a significant loss, but actually it goes back to the Covid lockdowns, which affected me quite badly, on reflection. I seriously hope we are never put in that position again, but perhaps I would be more aware of it next time at least.

@LindorDoubleChoc I agree with the sugar : alcohol substitute. I don't feel like drinking if I have sugar - seems I am a dopamine addict.😳I am so wary though of swapping out sugar for alcohol because sugar was so hard to kick I don't want to mess with the balance I have achieved.
Kicking smoking was another challenge I confronted almost 30 years ago - I think I gained 2 dress sizes (lots of sugar) but it eventually fell off and it was worth it. Again so much harder than booze - I didn't drink or socialise to begin with, too much risk. I initially thought about smoking 24/7, but every week I thought about it a bit less. Alcohol I'd only think about maybe 5 mins a day tops. Good luck with it, one day at a time - I used to tell myself if I really wanted a cigarette I'd have one tomorrow - of course tomorrow never comes but it worked anyway. Good luck with it all.

Still bloody here. Still bloody alcohol free. Hurrumph.

@Wilkolampshade bloody well done!

Me too. Stretching this out to next weekend. Amazed at how few wobbles I've had.

How are we starting ANOTHER week of January?! It's been January forever.

THIS.

😂!

Hang in there @Wilkolampshade and @MeinKraft , you will get there! At least with the short evenings we've had a good excuse to spend as much time as possible asleep 😉.

Tru dat @Neptunium93 . And I'm grateful, really, for the encouragement @HPLikecraft but Oh. My.Days.

This last bit is crawling by.

I share the sentiment! Was January always this long before...??

Here's me for today:

https://wellitywellness.com/2024/01/29/dry-january-29-gratitude-journal/

Nearly there, folks. Overall, it's been OK.

I'm day 27 (planned drinks on 1st and 19th), and I definitely do feel better.

Sleep is massively improved.

According to the Try Dry app, I have saved 11500 calories (which should equate to 3.3lb or 1.5kg weight loss). I am, as of today, back to my pre-Christmas weight, which is 1.6kg off.

DH and I have agreed to absolutely no mid week drinking at home. We hardly ever go out in the week. He has yet to be convinced to drop Sunday too, so we shall see!

Dry until Friday, and we are out with friends then. Dry Saturday as I have to go to the airport at 10 pm
Then MY plan is Friday and Saturday maximum.

Still here and still af. 👍

I’m so looking forward to a nice glass of Malbec on Thursday, although it may be Friday as Dh only started on the 2nd and it would be a bit mean of me to drink in front of him 😀. Planning to keep my drinking days to Thursday OR Friday plus Saturday.

DH and I have saved over £400 by not drinking this month. That is going towards our spending money for a city break next month. If you add up what we have spent on wine in the last 10 years it’s truly shocking. What an absolute waste of money.

Does anyone else think about continence when the congratulatory message "you stayed dry!" flashes up on the app? Or just me 😀

Still here. I dread to think how much money I've wasted over the years. I can find myself thinking some things are too expensive e.g. organic honey from a NT shop yet if I don't have any wine I will go out and spend £££ on an average bottle from the corner shop. Madness!

I don't think I've saved any money at all, what with all the alternatives I've been trying out - if anything I've spent more😀. I have to say I never regret spending money on wine if I've genuinely appreciated it. It's those 2nd or 3rd glasses that don't really add to the pleasure of the 1st one that I'd like to cut out if possible, as there is very much a diminishing return on investment.

I think I'm going to try to carry on until 15th February. For the future I want to restrict myself to Thursday - Sundays, within a range of 2-4 units per night.

Still here, still dry, still wondering if I'll get the hang of moderation.

Me and DP are planning an outing on Saturday afternoon/evening which will involve a drink or two. That'll be our first. I do feel quite conflicted about it. I love a glass of wine but Ive really enjoyed being alcohol free so even one drink seems like a backwards step. Really not sure how I'm going to play this. I suppose a plan for staying within recommended weekly units would make sense, as otherwise I'm concerned that my weekly consumption will creep up once I no longer have DJ for motivation.

Currently listening to Adrian Chiles book for inspiration

I've never seen alcohol purchases as a waste either, I've had some good adventures - I'd say alcohol contributed to that fun. But I think it's time to make some changes - I hope I can still go out and have fun - chat with randomers in the pub, share a lovely bottle of wine with dh and friends, drink a refreshing pint of lager on a hot sunny day - I just need to save it for when it matters.
This year I have cut back which I think has meant Dry Jan has been a relative doddle - if I can make further progress by the Dry Jan '25 thread, I'll be happy.