Dry November

[DryNovember]

Right.
I want to do this and I need help.
Clearly I've name changed for this.
I'm a bottle of wine a night drinker and 2 stone overweight as a result. I never get 'drunk' - no blackouts, no throwing up no anti social behaviour - but clearly not a 'healthy' relationship with alcohol (whatever that is).
I don't need anybody to label me, or tell me I have a problem - these are things I know. What I want are MNetters who can relate to join me, lets share tips and hopefully as a side effect to lose a few lbs before Christmas.

I can relate. I haven't had a drink in 23 years, but I was in much worse shape than you when I stopped.

You need to stop completely, at least for a time. If you can do that without too much trouble you're in good shape. If that's a struggle, you need more help than a few people on MN can give you and should speak to your doctor about it.

Good luck.

There was a related thread yesterday. Here's the link if you missed it:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3073563-AIBU-to-think-my-boyfriend-is-a-high-functioning-alcoholic

I am not saying that your situation is equivalent by any means, but there is some useful information. Take a look at some of the links I post toward the end of the thread.

Thank you miss, I read that thread and I'm following the links.
I tried Dry January this year and managed about 20 dry days in the month so I'm determined to take this a day at a time and not give up if I have some failures.
My plan is to avoid my triggers (evening tv being my worst time) - with reading, early to bed
Distraction - in the form of treats.
Using the Headspace app and reading self help stuff.
Right now I'm reading MN, full of left over chocolate from last night and I'm ready for bed soon.

Hi Dry, I won’t join you but was the same as you, a bottle of wine a night for years, no problem except bad quality sleep but in August I decided I had a problem and decided to stop the habit. I did without problem.
I didn’t go completely AF but decided to set rules, no drinking on my own (I live alone so most of the time) and no more than 2 units when out or with friends. I have no desire to drink more. Things I’ve learnt - keep busy during your ‘trigger time’, find an alternative drink (mine is Perrier but there are lots of AF wines and beers) and read a good book like Alcohol Explained or The Naked Mind which are excellent motivators.
I lost 4kg in 5weeks - when the wine went so did the cheese and crisps- and I wasn’t overweight (I run every day and go faster now!), sleep better, have saved a lot of money. My face is less puffy and at last I feel normal even if I eat lots of chocolate (it’s normal to replace the sugar from alcohol with something else). Good luck to you - the club soda group on FB is also very helpful.

Thanks Anglaise.
I had a 'go on, buy some wine' urge today that took me by surprise. Anyway it passed, and the house is AF. Just not child free.
I'll put those two books on my list - I'm currently dipping into Alan Carr and Jason Vale.

Best of luck Dry. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you want to chat about anything.

Good for you on resisting temptation Dry. I thought Alan Carr was good for smoking but not so good for alcohol because he didn’t ever have a problem with it himself. I didn’t like Jason Vale because it was a rewrite of Alan Carr and William Porter’s Alcohol Explained but I know a lot of people like it. Stay strong and think about those pounds, the ones you will lose and those you will save by stopping the wine habit.