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!

Sorry all for the DMail link but this article really helped me whilst having cravings last week.
Clover Stroud article

Thank you for starting this thread. I'm in! Not a big drinker but when I do drink I don't really enjoy it and it makes me ill. First ever dry January!

Hi. I think I will join. I have cut down my drinking a lot - now I am in my 50s wine especially doesn't seem to go down well. Terrible fast heart rates and anxiety hangovers.

Shared a bottle of champagne with DH last night and am feeling shitty and anxious and I just don't really want to any more.

Morning, day one. Today will be easy until 5pm

Morning, can I join too please?! I’m another near daily/habitual wine drinker in the evenings who is fed up of poor sleep and lack of productivity. I’d like to be more present and rested.
Will be planning in a toast on the 19th however as my DS8 is finishing 2.5 years of treatment for Leukaemia so will be a day of family celebration for us.

I'm in!!

After a boozy NYE - just counted up - 15 units 😮 I am happy to be here and on Day 1.

That's brilliant @TeamLoganHuntzberger, I'd definitely be toasting that!

One (fairly large) G&T last night followed by a Baileys. Stayed up too late though, it was after 1am when I went to bed, because I'm reading a really good book! So not up especially early. I'm looking forward to better sleep this coming month.

I'll start tomorrow. I forgot to get any alcohol in last night but do quite fancy a bloody mary later

Checking in 🥳 I need a reset!!

Thank you- interested to read this- (have read a couple of her books)- it’s asking me to log in and subscribe, though, am I doing it wrong?

I am four months alcohol free - it was such a huge part of “me” that I can’t quite believe I’ve done it.

I found the most helpful things to be listening to a podcast a day, especially whilst cooking:

• Naked Life Stories from This Naked Mind
• Sassy Sober Mum

These episodes are just 30 mins of normal people talking about why they decided to quit booze.

Some great books and audiobooks for Quit Lit - my favourites are:

• Glorious Rock Bottom
• Sober on a Drunk Planet
• The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober

If you feel you need that “end of the day/week” drink, my favourites:

• 0% Martini and tonic (£9 in Sainsburys, tastes like a Campari Spritz)
• Grapefruit Tonic over ice with a slice of fresh grapefruit and a rosemary sprig

Top tip: for me, cooking in the evenings was a massive trigger as it coincides with the stress of the work day ending, so I only did slow cooker recipes for the first few weeks where I dealt with it all in the morning.

Good luck :)

I am in - already said to a couple of collègues I will do it - been a stressful few months and definitely used alcohol as a prop

I’m in too. I want to have more energy and be healthier overall so I’m using it as a reset. I think the encouragement will help as I know the weekends will be tough!

I find if I eat the second I get home from work then I'm fine. My window of craving is 5-7 but after I eat I'm absolutely fine. Do even if it means having a few biscuits when I get in I'm going to do that. Also like pp said, I'm going to try and have meals prepped so that I don't trigger myself to open the wine whilst cooking.
Just poured two almost full bottles down the sink ( sacrilege) but don't want any temptations as I hate waste! Have a few unopened bottles but I think I ll be ok with them

Signing up! I was here last year and did more than 31 days sober (covid at Christmas made me lose my taste for alcohol and I just carried on not drinking til the end of January).

My mother died unexpectedly in that month but that didn't make me crave a drink at all. I don't think I use it as a de-stressor as I'm a fairly relaxed person, I think I drink because I just really really like wine! So it's a problem.

This year I'm determined to find something to drink at 6pm that I actually like and enjoy, so far it is eluding me.

Im in

Im an active alkie. Managed to get and stay dry for 12 years but started drinking again about 12 years ago, moderately at first, but since lockdowns its back to every day. Cant seem to knock it on the head for good but I seem to manage Dry January, one year I got as far as Easter.

So Im in for DJ - for now - see how I get on moving forwards

I've just realised that I have eaten a piece of fruit cake that was fed with brandy. Ooops....

I had a few glasses of wine last night, not too much as I was with friends who don't drink.
But that meant that there was 2/3 of bottle of white left in the fridge this morning.
And a 1/2 bottle of red from a few days ago.
I have just poured both down the sink! 🫨🫨🫨

I'm pouring the rest of my new year's champers down the sink (to be fair it was Sainsbury's cheapest and not one I particularly enjoyed, so it's not quite as dramatic as it sounds!)

I’m planning to do Nigella’s sausages and lentils later, using some red wine I bought for cooking- is that not in the spirit of DJ?? There is whisky in my Christmas cake too and I am definitely not getting rid of that 😬

But that meant that there was 2/3 of bottle of white left in the fridge this morning.
And a 1/2 bottle of red from a few days ago.
I have just poured both down the sink! 🫨🫨🫨

Wow, go you! 👍🏻

DAY 1

Good morning and Happy new year, everyone. Nice to see yet more new “faces”. You’re all very welcome.
I haven’t had time to read all of everyone’s posts yet, but a quick skim showed some great links and recommendations and personal stories. Thank you all, and welcome aboard! Remember you’ve taken the first difficult and decisive step by deciding to be here in the first place…

Hello again @MillyGoat !

Yes I remember that poster. She linked us to her blog that was about her health and alcohol free journey, and showed all of the research/ scholarly articles. I hope she’s doing well and joins us again this year.

Hi can I join. Have done DJ a few times, sometimes through to Feb half term, and try to keep alcohol free days after that, but always find I creep back to 4 glasses of wine a night. Not feeling terribly healthy at the moment, so a few weeks off will do me good.

I will be drinking fizzy water (have a mysoda fizzer which I bought a couple of years ago, definitely works for me), elderflower / ginger cordials with fizzy water, some AF beers, green tea and camomile tea.

Morning, may I join in? Usually do dry Lent but going to start early this year. Thanks for the support thread 😀