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

[HPLikecraft]

Thread#2...

Let's keep going!

I’m keeping going and have decided that I’ll only drink if I’m out (a rarity these days). I’ve nothing social in till 17th Feb so I’ll be dry till then for sure.

I’ve loved not drinking. Loved it.

Happier, fitter, better rested, far less anxious. It’s the first time I’ve really done DJ and I’m so pleased I have. I get the craving but it only lasts about 15 mins - I ride the wave and reward myself with a small amount of good chocolate after dinner. Still lost 3lbs (wasn’t trying to & didn’t need to but still!).

I just cracked open our latest attempt at finding another good AF beer - UNLTD IPA. I had high hopes that it would make it to the top shelf joining Guinness 0%, Leffe 0% and Big Drop Special Effects but it still feels a bit lacking in body and has a long bitter aftertaste which places it in the middle of the pack. No mistaking this for a proper IPA.

Still continuing to the 9th.

I have lost 2.5kg since starting AF 33 days ago as it has curbed my snacking as well so for vanity reasons it's my motivation to keep going for a bit longer.

“Ideally I should stay dry until not only the cravings subside, but also that feeling that i need alcohol as part of an occasion, or that I should be drinking. What a terrible culture of alcohol we have here in the UK, it has crept in insidiously. Drinking at home in the week never used to be a thing a few decades ago, and especially not for women. Heavy drinkers were men in smoky pubs.”

You’ve hit the nail on the head here, for me HP.

@asleepattheshop , I thought that the first time I tried the UNLTD, but the second time I loved it. I'm not a beer expert though, and my options are limited, as many of them contain a lot of sugar, which puts me off. Possibly it's the sugar that gives the others more body? The Leffe has 2g per 100ml, for example.

Regarding weight, mine has gone back to normal after initially losing a couple of pounds. I didn't want to lose any, so this is good news.

Thanks for the podcast recommendation @wellitywellness , that does sound like my cup of tea, and as you say, thank heavens for some nuance in the sobriety vs moderation debate.

Still here 👋👋👋 still AF! Bloody Norah, amazing!
Now very distracted by whether to drink tomorrow or not. Have this enduring image of a sherry, then a glass of champers, a nice red and a scotch. This suggests to me I may not be quite as ready for moderation as some of you, although also suggests I probably should try harder.

@Neptunium93 Dh has just discovered UNLTD has only 12 kcals a bottle - sold! to the man previously known to be a total beer snob! (And needs to lose a stone!)😂

Just tonight and then tomorrow. Last little bit has flown. Gosh.

It's interesting hearing about everyone's thoughts on quit lit. Despite being a veteran DJer and serial DJ thread-starter, I have never read any. Not a page.
I just think, well... I know I have to drink less, and stopping is easier than moderating, so a dry January is a good idea. I know the poisonous effects of alcohol, and the benefits of quitting. And I get tips, support, and AF suggestions from my online support group (that would be you lot, then). Not sure what else quit lit could give me. If I did venture into it, I'd like an impersonal fact-based one, rather than some sanctimonious twonk's "journey".
That said, I do like a good online article, and I could possibly be tempted by a podcast, so may well give @wellitywellness 's suggestion a listen tomorrow when I walk the dog. It may encourage me to keep hoing!

So envious of all of you who've lost weight... I've put on half a stone!

It's been great having your company fellow travellers. One last day, and it's the beginning of a more considered relationship with the bottle. However, we have a few days away next week with a long time gang of chums, which will not be dry! So the new regime (at least four AF days each week) starts on Feb 12th.

We are so close now…
I am going to try to make it to mid-Feb, as I last had a drink in mid-December so would like to get to two months!

Well done to everyone! Last day tomorrow. I will carry on through February, hopefully staying AF until Easter like I managed to do last year.

Yesterday I was cooking and the recipe required a glass of white wine. In the end DH gave me a glass of wine which was already poured into a wine glass. So I have a glass of wine wine on the worktop where I’m cooking waiting for me to get to the stage where I add the wine to the pan. I had to make such an effort not to drink the wine! Not because I particularly wanted the wine, but just out of the habit of it being there. Anyway I managed to not mindlessly drink the wine which was a minor win!

In a couple of hours I am off to Australia for a much longed for reunion with my DS1 who now lives there. There will be wine on our arrival!
But I hope to go weekends only on our return.
Bloody amazed I got this far!!!!
Well done everyone!!!

Have an amazing time @Sonolanona ! Lucky you!

All that remains for me today is to announce that the end of day 30 means we will, at midnight be

"96.7%"

Of the way through. Phew! 😅

Ha, messed up my bolding! Not been drinking, honest!

Well done to everyone as this is the last day for some of you.

I really found it helpful just reading other peoples thoughts around DJ and generally AF and moderation.

I am continuing for a bit longer but will probably lurk on the alcohol moderation support threads for a bit.

Is it too early for a whoop whoop we did dry Jan?! 🥳🥳🥳

I'm also going to continue - right now it's easier for me not to have any. The only thing coming up where I need to make a decision is half-term and skiing but I'll deal with that when it comes.

Still one day to go @Yestodessertplease. Steady on! 😀

But well done to all DJers, and to the reducers.

I'm continuing on until Sunday at least. Maybe longer into January as well.

@disappearingfish 🤣Although I know I won't drink tonight! I did think should I celebrate with 0% sparkling - No,no,no! - that is what I'm trying to move away from the idea we celebrate by drinking. I'll just celebrate with a smug feeing inside instead.

Yay! We’re nearly there! 🎉🎉🎉

Thank you @HPLikecraft , @wellitywellness and everyone else for the great, motivating support on this thread. This year has been slightly easier and I think it’s down to the excellent support and camaraderie.

I intend to have a drink on Thursday or Friday. I really hope to moderate my drinking - no week night drinking from now on. Unlike previous years, I’m going to keep updating the dry January app. It will be interesting to see how much DH and I save over the year.

👏👏👏 to everyone who’s still here.

Morning all.

Today feels good, doesn't it? 😁

✊👏I've completed my first Dry January, ever! I'm so pleased, particularly as it's my birthday month. It has definitely reassessed my relationship with wine. I think I'll be cutting down in future for sure. I'm going out on Friday and I am looking forward enjoing myself although I did offer to drive as I'm also not that bothered about drinking as much as I used to.

It feels seriously good today!

🥳🥳🥳🥳 soooo close! I'll be having a planned drink on Friday, weirdly I'm actually looking forward to it less the closer it gets.

Going forwards I'm aiming to become an occasion only drinker - weddings, birthdays and so on. We will see how that goes!

Well done everyone ❤️❤️❤️

Not at all premature to be celebrating - because we know we won't drink tonight having got this far, don't we? Well done everyone and thanks to all for the support..👏😃

I must admit that if you had asked me on 31st December, I would not have been convinced I could manage to stay dry for one day, let alone 31. But something had to change. Looking back it has been far easier than I expected, apart from some adjustment issues early on (slightly worse anxiety / digestive issues). In my kitchen I have about a dozen bottles of wine, so I always knew I could have a drink if I wanted to, but I haven't even thought about caving.

I'm looking forward to carrying on for a couple more weeks, and then I have the option to drink wine (but not the obligation). Now I just have to deal with my AF Beer / CBD drink / Sentia addictions 😏!

Hurrah for the final day of DJ 2024! and good luck to everyone, whether your February will continue to be dry or whether you're now aiming for moderation going forwards.

It's been a brilliant thread this year, thank you @HPLikecraft and all contributors