Dry Another Day - Dry January and Beyond!

[wellitywellness]

We are officially at thread #3!

@wellitywellness love the Dominos analogy.
Weirdly I haven’t actually had a take away/ home pizza in years even though I really love the stuff. I’ve had a slice of my sons and would scoff the whole lot if it was left but I don’t actually go and buy any. Why is that? And why is wine different?

I’m doing ok on Lent. I think it’s my fourth year and this time is the first time I’ve genuinely not been bothered. I’ve really struggled with the last three times and tried every zero % beer and wine to drag me through. I’ve not really wanted any this time. Not sure what that means either.

Brains are odd.

@Marchintospring - same! But the principle stands ;)

Hi all, just found this thread and you’re all really inspiring! I have been battling with wanting to cut down & being pleased if I go more than 3 days then feeling like what’s the point after drinking as I’ve got xyz event coming up anyway so I may as well start after that, only there’s always something isn’t there!!

Can I ask what app you all use as I think that would really help me to stay mindful

@FUBAR77 , some of us are using the Try Dry app. You can find it on the Alcohol Change website, along with lots of helpful tips.

3+ days off is a great achievement when you are trying to cut down. You don't have to take a whole month off to get the benefits of reducing your intake if you don't want to. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good (as the saying goes). Best of luck 😊

@FUBAR77 welcome welcome! My experience is that you need to stick with the Try Dry app for the results to be meaningful and motivating.

At the beginning you put in so much effort but the results look minimal, five days probably feels like a long time if you’re drinking regularly but it really doesn’t look like it at all in the app. Set yourself a goal then track when you’re eg 20/50/70% of the way there and the time will pass quicker.

I did dry jan, had a couple of drinks early Feb, then nothing through Feb and a couple last weekend. I have now done 62 days dry this year and my next goal is to make it to 100 as soon as possible, ideally with drinks on less than ten days. This means that the longer I go on the less a couple of drinks feels like a major mess up because the big picture looks so good.

So stick with it and you willl see it all adding up!

Thanks @PoppyAndParsnip that’s great advice!! I had gone 3 days again but off the wagon last night, I need to build up to more and more AF days! You’re doing amazingly!!

That’s still great, even if you keep doing three days AF and one day with drinks… then within four weeks you’ll have done 21 days dry and 7 days with drinks… which overall is pretty awesome right? The small changes do matter when you think about how they add up. Find a pattern that works for you.

Welcome @FUBAR77 I'm a Try Dry fan too, and agree with @PoppyAndParsnip that watching the yellow squares (dry days) build up on the app is one of the good ways to feel encouraged, even if - post Dry Jan- I don't have lots of consecutive dry days. And tracking my drinking - which I've never done before - has been interesting (what is it about Tuesdays which means I always want to drink?, what was going on in the second week of Feb that led me to drink nearly every day?). And, weak willed as I am, I sometimes click the "didn't drink today" option in the afternoon while still working to stop me drinking later (if there's a way to edit it later I haven't found it). Daft I know, but it works for me! So even if you aren't trying to go for long continuous dry streaks and are just trying cut down, you may find the app is quite helpful.

Same here. I've not had more than 2 consecutive dry days since mid-February, but that's deliberate, and as long as I'm below 14 units for the week, that's fine with me. I think it's about striking a balance if you want to moderate rather than stop completely, and trying to avoid drinking too much in one session because it feels like you 'deserve' it after a few dry days (ie breaking the automatic link between alcohol and relaxation / reward).

@pangolinfan , that's true about the app - there's no way to edit it. I tend not to update it until late in evening for that reason, but doing it earlier to lock in a dry day is a good idea 😊

Actually you can go back and add drinks if you marked it dry. You can’t go back and mark it dry if you had drinks I think

@PoppyAndParsnip , oh no, I wish I didn't know that! 😉

Reflecting today on a long bus journey as to what my real goal is...

I've said before that I don't place any particular store in the 14 unit ceiling, so it isn't really about reducing risk. Clearly I felt that 28-35 units per week was too much for me as a slightly built female (though that level might be fine for someone else). But really it's about not being enslaved... To drink when I want to, not because I need to / feel I ought to / out of habit.

It's interesting that I'm starting to prefer the Pinot over my (formerly) regular Sauvignon Blanc. I think that means I'm drinking more mindfully, enjoying the complexity, and drinking a smaller amount of a stronger wine. I might try an oaky Chardonnay to see how that compares - I stopped drinking that years ago, maybe because it went out of fashion, which is daft now I think about it!

Been a while, good to see everyone doing well!

Happy to share I'm still on course. Have stuck to around 14 units a week (not that I'm altogether convinced this is the magic moderating number but it's a useful guide). Keeping my drinking restricted to weekends and nights out seems to be working. Thankfully not many cravings, when I do get one - I mindfully observe its arrival like an old friend popping in to say hello - it leaves again pretty quickly. I have broken lots of associations.
I still very much enjoy a Friday glass or two of wine, which doesn't affect my sleep or lead to any other negative consequences. I've kept my best bits of drinking and it feels like an approach I can live with long-term.

Hello, just popping in to update. I drank wine for the first time since before Christmas this week, as I ate out. I enjoyed having the “excuse” for a glass of wine and enjoyed drinking it but didn’t enjoy the waking up sweating, and feeling bloated after too much food.

So that confirmed my “it’s not worth it” position.

It also confirmed that I can’t rely on myself to be uninterested in drinking as the interest / temptation was very much there as soon as I had an excuse.

So it looks like last week’s mid week drink set an unfortunate precedent, as I’ve failed on my no drinking in the house policy this week.

Had a dry weekend no problem, but there wasn’t any low alcohol cider in the house so ended up having the real stuff yesterday. And worse than that today as well. Work is busy at the moment and not getting much of a break, which weakened my resolve.

Again, proof that I need to keep an eye on myself.

I had a moment like that last night, crazy work and other stresses. There was a can of Guinness zero in the fridge which really helped get over the moment of danger! Moral of the story is to be prepared.

I've been "dry" 56 out of 72 days in 2024 so far, and cut down on the remaining days. Really pleased with that.

Still here, and still on the 14 unit max per week goal - 3.5 weeks to go. It's starting to feel normal to stick to around 12 units per week, but I can imagine it might creep up, so I will keep monitoring, even if I don't have a specific goal. There's something about the act of measuring out the amount I'm going to drink and then recording it afterwards that keeps me on track.

@DJ24 , I wouldn't beat yourself up - as long as you enjoyed the real cider, it's not like you've binged on it, and you know that if you'd had the AF stuff in the house, you would have had that instead.

@disappearingfish , yes, the Guinness 0% is very nice. I am on 55 dry days so far this year. Aiming for 2-3 dry days per week currently.

I broke with tradition and had 2.1 units of sauvignon blanc at a restaurant last night. (Previously I would have stayed dry and then had a glass or two at home to make up for it, which sounds a bit perverse now I think about it.) I genuinely didn't want anymore, but even if I had, I wouldn't have because it was eye-wateringly expensive. I'd not had wine while out for so long that it came as a shock😲! I felt more guilty about the cost than the units 😉.

Hope everyone is OK and still on track with whatever your goal is.

Hi there, yes still on track, and following a very similar path to you @Neptunium93 (sub 14 units a week and measuring out what I drink - 50 dry days so far this year). I feel most pleased about the fact that less wine now seems enough - I have only drunk as much as half a bottle once this year, and usually just have 200-250ml max, and don't feel I am depriving myself. Im still using alcohol as a reward for getting through a tough day sometimes, but if I can keep a lid on the volume I am not going to worry about that. Also find myself rejecting poor alcohol options - e,g crap glass of expensive wine at the cinema, in favour of nothing, or a promise of a much nicer glass at home later (which I might or might not want when the time comes).

Greetings all, checking in here. Well done to those who are on track for their goals and seeing the progress ticking up.
I came on to report my first week where I’ve ended up having more than I wanted and realise I definitely need to keep myself in check even though I’ve done so well!

I’m On 68 dry days this year out of 77, meaning I’ve drunk on 9 occasions. Sounds good BUT six of them have been over the past two weeks, and suddenly it all started adding up in a way I hadn’t seen for a while. I didn’t go crazy, but;

1. I found it really hard not to drink on two occasions because they were celebrations and I felt kind of compelled to.. no fault of our friends, that all came from me. When I did drink, I felt like one wasn’t enough so had four or five.
2. On the other occasions I was at home or out for dinner the door of us, and there was absolutely no need for me to have anything at all so I soon regretted losing my dry days…

… in part because almost immediately my sleep was AWFUL. Like clockwork back to 2023, I’d wake up in the night for a couple of hours then be shattered and short tempered next day.

so my goal had to be how to make social drinking work for me, and to keep an eye on the evenings where there really is no need other than “I just feel like a drink”, which I think is where it all went wrong before.

I've had a boozy-ish weekend, rugby's Super Saturday and St Patrick's Day back to back. But still far less than I would have otherwise had. First G&T of 2024 yesterday!

The TryDry app is pretty unforgiving, I want to set goals but as I started from a low base in the first place, cutting to e.g. half my previous intake is impossible if there are I have more than 5 drinks a week. I have stopped the no reason mid week at home drinking, and subbed a lot of zero beers while out so I'm happy for now.

@disappearingfish it has so much potential but it really is pretty rubbish as far as app functionality goes isn’t it!

Yes agreed @PoppyAndParsnip & @disappearingfish , it's quite a challenge getting the best out of the app at times, although I am getting more familiar with the charts. Fortunately I set my base consumption at my highest level from last year so it looks like I'm doing brilliantly, although at 11-13 units per week and only 2 / 3 dry days, I feel like a lush compared to some! I find the savings tracker completely useless - my preferred AF subs cost more than the wine. Money is a great motivator while out, however - I regret that small £10 glass in a restaurant last week far more than anything I've drunk at home!

Lots of stressy stuff happening currently. I think if I can keep it moderate through this period then I'll have cracked it, although there is always the risk of boredom-drinking when things quieten down, so I will keep checking in.

Hope everyone is doing OK 🙂.

Well how is everyone getting on post DJ? Interesting to read about how the tracker Apps are helping, or not. Glad some are finding that moderating is working after a DJ reset.
I have continued in to a 'dry Lent'. Mostly now noticing that I don't think about alcohol (wine in my case) most days, not even when DH is being particularly irritating!
However, March seems to be going on forever as, I think, some felt about a 5 week DJ.
Based on previous years' experience for me, I am mindful of the Easter Sunday, ooh end of Lent let's have just one glass, potential for disaster. So I will be trundling on to see what 100 dry days feels like. Didn't make it last year due to serious DH health issues, no excuse really.

The app (despite my criticisms) is definitely helping me to swerve the mid-week "decompress after work" drinks, which all add up over the month. I end up making better choices as a result - like heading out to my exercise class rather than staying home to watch tv. I had 17 dry days in February so am aiming to beat that in March. Little goals.

Good luck @pollyannaperspective with the 100 day challenge, that's 27% of the year!

I am on day 82, haven't touched a drop since NYE and honestly not missing it at the moment.

When (if) the sun ever cones back I might partake in a few glasses of chilled rose in the garden, but only when i really fancy it.

Well done to those who are continuing.

I’m afraid I’m in a bit of a relapse period.

I need to get back on the wagon.