DRY JANUARY 2025! Join us for a healthier start to the year! All welcome 🥤☕️🧋

[HPLikecraft]

It’s that time of year again!
If you need a detox, to lose weight, to be healthier, to undo some seasonal overindulgence, to sleep better, to look better, to have healthier skin, to save money, boost liver function, improve your memory, or to decrease your likelihood of dying earlier of various nasty illnesses (sorry for the sudden hard ball!) then you’ve come to the right place!

The MN DJ2025 Chat thread is for anyone who wants to reset their relationship with alcohol; whether you’re a weekend tippler or a problem heavier drinker.
This is a friendly, non-judgmental thread where we support and encourage each other, exchange ideas and information, share alcohol-free drinks recommendations etc.

Hopefully we’ll have some fun along the way. Please hop aboard the good ship DJ 2025, everyone welcome!

Day 2 ticked off on the app!

Day 2 done. Found a bottle of 0% rhubarb and ginger "gin" which, with lots of ice and tonic, has made a pleasant grown up drink at the end of the day.

Sorry for your loss, SplendidFox.

Day 1 done for us and my Garmin sleep score was 91 (but I don’t believe it)!

Morning all. Not the best night's sleep unfortunately. Exhausting as last nights dream was being chased by an angry gang, lots of shooting etc.
Also, anyone else struggling with their err... bowels? I've done three af days and haven't been since! Feel so bloated so that's probably not helping me fall asleep ( 2 am last night)
I've never had this before when I've given up for short periods.
Ordered magnesium so I'm hoping this helps on both fronts.
Out for a meal tonight which will be HARD but I have to remember how good I feel in the morning with no hangover/ shame/ regret etc so will keep that in the back of my mind!
Happy Friday all

Another terrible nights sleep with wierd dreams but am sure it will get better soon. Happy Friday

And just to add, usually as soon as I leave work I get the wine craving. I've realised this is maybe more sugar craving so I bought jelly babies and stuffed them down on the way home and when I got in, had a cup of tea and just didn't fancy wine!
If I have to do this every day between 4-6 then I shall in the short term!

Completed my 1st day. Usual cravings around 5pm. I’m not sure it was a physical craving, more of a wine o’clock calling. I need to find something to do around this time. By 8pm, I was OK and the craving had gone.

Can I join please? Last drink on NYE. Have had a very boozy December and feeling old fat and tired.

never managed DJ but feel has clicked differently in my head this time. But day 3 and am exhausted!!!

Morning all. I’m so pleased that I managed to get a good nights sleep last night. I sept from 10pm-5am and feel so refreshed today.
It feels so nice to wake up with a clear head!

Friday night is looming, so I’m making a plan today. I was going to go to the gym, but decided to go this morning instead. So I’ll have to decide what I’m doing tonight.

@SwiftyFifty if this works for you, you could also try a multi-pack of the little boxes with raisins instead? Still the sugar hit but also fibre.

Morning. Day 2 done here too. Sleep still poor. Woke at 3am and took til 4:30am to get back to sleep. Wasn’t tempted to drink last night. Distracted myself by setting some 2025 intentions and writing them all down.

It’s Friday and our usual habit is to open a bottle or two and drink on Friday and Saturday. So I’ve bought a new Lego set for tonight to distract me instead 🤣

Jumping on to join. This will be my third DJ. Last year was a tough one - DF was seriously ill & died in November & I was the one helping out a lot & used alcohol as a crutch to unwind from the stress of it all & my consumption really crept up. Hoping this will help me reset.
day 1 completed yesterday for me.

Sorry to hear of your loss @RedxRobin 💐 think a lot of us can empathise using alcohol as a crutch.

Day 3 and I'm off out for a pizza which is torture because I know the wine will be deliciously Italian. Staying firm though, I'm going to try a berry blitz mocktail!

Feeling very flat and unmotivated today. I’ve had plans for a couple of days to get cracking with some work- had been looking forward to it even- but then OH said he needed things at the shop (I went shopping yesterday, thought I’d done all that) and somehow the thought of going to the shops again has made me feel really depressed and unmotivated. Not sure it’s alcohol related but it’s not very nice!

1st day completed yesterday for me, and I slept all the way through - 9 hours! I had a tough workout at the gym yesterday evening and only a glass of sparkling water with my dinner afterwards. Off to the gym again later this morning. Pub tonight to catch up with friends - within walking distance - but I'll probably have a Becks Blue, which I usually have if I'm driving. DH says he's going to find it hard to go to the pub and not have a drink (loves his red wine), but I'm going to try and persuade him to come and will stick with him to make sure he doesn't go off the rails. It's going to be harder for him than me, I think. Onwards and upwards fellow Mumsnetters!

Hello. Glad I found your thread.

Really sorry to hear about your DF @RedxRobin. x

I'm doing dry January and zero carbs - or as little carbs as possible. My friend 100% knows this,. She made me dinner last night which consisted of beef and potato pie. And she poured me a glass of alcohol ready for when I got to her house. I felt obliged to at and drink it all. Feel like I have fallen off the wagon already.

I'm in for this year. I've had the try dry app on my phone for 9 months and am a low/moderate drinker. Monthly tally ranges from 26.3 units to a positively hedonistic December total of 44.5.
I'm probably in the worried well basket but I really want to use DJ to kick start an abstinence habit. I sway from telling myself alcohol is a toxin I don't need to loving savouring the warm glow from a good red wine (no other alcohol option interests me).
I will check in with the thread (and the other 'DJ and beyond'), to keep my mojo going.

Morning all. Just had my first weigh-in since the horror of standing on the scales on Wednesday. I've lost 6lbs! Amazing what a difference stopping booze-fuelled snacking on Lindor/Pringles/Stilton can make!

All set for Day 3.

Oh @dododahdahdahdoo that's tough. I suspect it's the mirror effect, where your friend didn't want to be confronted with how much she drinks/eating patterns 😢. Onwards and upwards though, it's only a blip so don't give up x

Day 3! Slept well again last night. Already feeling fresher and more motivated. Tonight will be safe as I already have plans. Tomorrow is going to be the real test.

Keep going everyone and @dododahdahdahdoo you haven't failed just start again. I'm sure a lot of us will have blips this month.

Had a wonderful deep sleep last night - best I’ve had in ages. Woke early (5am) then drifted back to sleep for an hour before my alarm went off - bliss.

I’m feeling brighter, fresher and even my insides feel better. I was a heavy drinker (a bottle of wine every day, sometimes more) - so this is quite a revelation.

If it helps, I found that drinking a big glass of water (or two) on arrival home would stop the alcoholic drink craving. It turned out that I was dehydrated after all day at work but just didn’t recognise that I was. The dehydration gave me a tense feeling which made me want a drink to relax.

Just mentioning it in case it helps anyone else.