Not dry january. But less booze in general. Anyone else?

[Frouby]

I am posting this thread because I really want to reduce the amount of alcohol I drink.

I was going to do dry January but think that is too much for me. And when I do drink again I will revert back to bad habits.

On a normal week I would have 1 or 2 g and ts mon to thurs. Bottle of wine on a friday. Then either a couple of beers or a couple of g and ts on a Saturday night. Nothing on sunday.

Over Christmas (which started for us mid December as we had a holiday) I have drank every day. Never been drunk drunk but 4 or 5 drinks every day.

I feel fat, bloated and lethargic. I want to cut my drinking down to a couple of nights a week. Friday and Saturday. Or thursday and friday. DP also drinks most days (more than me too) and we both need to address our relationship with alcohol.

I didn't drink last night and won't tonight either. And I feel 100% better already. We get married in May and I want to lose weight and improve my health.

Does anyone else want to join this thread for support? I know there is the dry January thread but I will be drinking (probably) 2 days a week so dont want to post on there and knock any penguins off the ice.

Currently drinking ginger ale with loads of ice and contemplating a shower and a cupp of tea later with the last of the Christmas cake (diet starts tomorrow) 😁

Welcome Solo. We all have ishoos with alcohol on here. And we are all nice I promise.

2 g and ts here. Not too horrendous but not AF either.

Tried dress in again. Or tried to anyway. Dd couldnt get it fastened at the back. Hoping it is because she is weedy and not because I have got too fat for it 😂. The basque I bought still fits and I tried that on the.wrek after I bought the dress. In fact it feels a bit looser. Lovely ndn coming round after work tomorrow to lace me into my stays to reassure me it does actually still fit.

Early night tonight. Was up at 5am this morning to get a bit of work done.

One g&t here. And keep topping the same
glass up with tonic. Somehow I’m still tasting the original gin......
Not AF but bloody miraculous nonetheless!!

Will await further news on the corsetry front, Frouby . Glad you and Woosey have both been moderating this eve. Day Two AF here (yet again) after my catastrophic night on Sunday and hangover which has lingered even today.

On the good side... I had a conversation with DP this eve which I will actually remember tomorrow. No worrying at 4 AM about what I might have said, or whether I managed to sound sober or not. I was stone cold sober and we had a nice, harmless chat. Tomorrow I will wake up (assuming I go to sleep, which I may not), not feeling sick and tired and full of self-loathing. Or I may well be full of self-loathing, but it won't be quite so acute. Plus I was patient and pleasant to DD, and I am going to bed to read shortly. So while I did miss the pleasantly fuzzy feeling, I am not missing the foggy, staggery feeling which now invariably follows the nice bit (due to the problematic off-switch).

Thinking of you all...

Morning all. I have been reading up on what I've missed for the past couple of months and really impressed you're still here.
I have been having two days AF a week, but I know I need to shift the balance to more AF nights and less wet nights.
I have a day/evening trip organised for Saturday, which will involve a lot of alcohol. So I'm aiming for three AF nights in a row.
Was not planning on having anything last night but felt sad/stressed etc and though fuck it, I'm have one glass. Which of course ended up being 3/4 bottle. This meant waking up at two with self loathing and health anxiety and promises to stop. Part of that promises was not to skip this thread on 'threads I'm on' and join in again!
I have some beck blue and AF cider in case of emergencies, but otherwise, planning on drinking hot choc and milkshake as a treat instead.

Hello oren. Glad you are back!

I am finding this thread a bit of a lifeline, really. It's also nice, the way it has given me a little insight into the lives of some really lovely people.

I had quarter of a sleeping tablet last night. The GP put me on them a while back, but I am tapering them off as I hate them - so now down to quarter of a tablet once a week. What's funny is that I now have no tolerance to them, so quarter of a tablet knocks me out completely. Makes it hard to get up for the school run, though...

That said, I woke up feeling really glad that I didn't feel sick, headachey, sluggish and monstrously full of self-loathing. All because I didn't drink last night. We will see what happens tonight. DC will be with XH, which would normally be an opportunity for me to crack open a bottle of something.

I want to try to re-discover my self, which it is hard to do through a fog of alcohol. Still also terrified of the damage I might be doing to my health. DD sent me a text this morning to say I have been really nice for the past couple of days. This coincides with me not drinking, I am ashamed to say.

Hi Oren..welcome back :-)

Athena, you sound like you’re detoxing well!! To wake up refreshed is an amazing feeling isn’t it. And also to feel proud of yourself. I love that feeling. Just wished I allowed myself to feel it more often!! I had one gin last night. Not an overly strong one either. Prob a pub double. Everyone said I was happy this morning. Dh even said it was unusual to hear me converse in the morning!!!!!!!!!! Like you, it coincides with not downing a bottle of the bad stuff!! I know I wasn’t completely AF but I noticed a difference this morning I also feel fresher and not so pissed off!!
Will try again tonight for moderation if I can’t go completely AF.....

It's surprising what a few days Af makes. I definetly feel hangovers for a few days these days.

Thankfully dress does fit but jesus christ it's warm. Slight issue with basque being slightly visable from top of dress but am sure with a bit of tweaking we will sort it. Basque is much more supportive than a bra with straps pushed down and the boning in it gives me a better figure so will be wearing that but might have to buy a roll of tit tape just to stop dress opening up slightly at top as its everso slightly too big around the top. Or maybe with the top.laced up tighter it will be ok.

Had a good day work wise so obviously celebrating with a drink. Sigh. Had 2 x tiger beers and 1 x can of lager. Will be having 1 more then eating.

Frouby, that's a very interesting take on hangovers post AF days. I wonder if that's why I felt so lousy. Lovely to hear about your dress. We need to see it!!

Woosey, moderation sounds fab. I just can't do one g&t, so I'm better off having none at all. AF tonight (Day 3). Won't be tomorrow, though, as I am going out with DP. I found tonight much harder. But I have kept reminding myself what an awful state I was in yesterday and Monday, and I absolutely mustn't do that again. Even if I drink tomorrow (which I will), I must stick to wine and not have pre-drinks and nightcaps as well...

Athena this is from when I first tried it on.

And the back

And day 3 is fantastic. I have been 2 days away from AF for weeks.

Oh wow!!!!! That is gorgeous!!! I love the lace-up back. I never got to wear a wedding dress as XH "didn't agree" with them, so I can only imagine how fabulous it feels to wear it. And no wonder you are getting someone else to press it. It certainly wouldn't fit on my ironing board...

I am relieved to have got through Day 3, despite being tested just now by DP (blowing hot and cold yet again). I think I am going to go to bed, to remove temptation completely. Have had cake, two truffles and some cheese, just for something to do (and I don't even like chocolate), so I think it best to step away from the kitchen now.

Frouby- wow amazing!! Fits you perfectly!! Countdown definitely now on!!
Athena - well done on day 3. Simply fab!!
I had two small g&t’s. Ended up having the worst row ever with Dh. Has really shaken me up.

So much for my three day AF - had two small G&Ts last night. I blame DH for bringing me one without asking he can't win

Hope you're ok x

Really sorry to hear Woosey. Possibly just as well you hadn't had any more than that, but not much consolation.

Oren, two small G&Ts are a mere drop in the ocean. If I could stop at that, I would. But I know I can't.

I can't stop with one glass of wine either . I ASKED for the second glass so can't blame him - though I had a tiny amount of gin and lots of tonic so it was quite tame really.
And I went to bed early.

Does anyone else have a fear of smelling of drink next day? I'm really paranoid about it. I have smelt it on others, but you really can't smell yourself can you! (I do shower before work btw!)

Oren, it's really funny you should mention that. One of the things I was fretting about on Monday was whether people smell of drink the following day. I Googled it and it seems that you can in about half of cases. I then had a massive paranoid fit about how I was going to be one of them, despite religiously showering, toothbrushing, hair-washing etc etc. It's not the kind of thing friends would point out to you, but I had this awful idea that they would all be talking about it to one another. This is another thing that has helped with my three AF nights.

Athena (how do you bold?!) I often smell old beer fumes from male colleagues which is really unpleasant. They openly say that they gave a few beers every night too, whereas, I wouldn't dream admitting that I drink on a work night unless we 'd had a stressful day!

Beautiful wedding dress btw op, when's the big day?

I think you have to drink quite a lot to smell of booze the morning after, one or two drinks wouldn't do that. But if it takes one hour to clear one unit, if you drink a bottle of wine you probably do smell early the next morning.
Athena well done on 3 nights AF that is great going!
Oren if you can't stop at one or two drinks I'm not sure you can ever drink moderately. Most people find they have to give up completely.

Thanks, Anglaise. As I say, I won't be AF tonight. But I feel clearer and calmer for having had three AF days. I have to accept now that I can't moderate, so am better off having none (unless pre-planned). I am sure I would have been giving off gin fumes on Monday morning. One of the many reasons why I thought this has to stop.

Oren, I get bold by putting asterisks before and after the relevant words!

Athena I think it is better for you to have at least 2 (consecutive) days AF to give your liver a chance to recuperate properly, especially if you can't stop at one! It is so funny how alcohol affects us differently. My father is 83 and has never been ill, his blood pressure is a little high but he has drunk most evenings, not huge amounts, but probably the equivalent of a half a bottle of wine. I had my liver enzymes tested regularly when I drank and I was always under the measurements signifying a problem - until I cut right down funnily enough when inexplicably the ALAT and AST went up! I was sure my liver was in a bad way having drunk several bottles a week for the last 20 odd years (pregnancies excepted) but my doctor was never worried by the results.

AF here tonight. Am going to try really hard to have at least 4 AF days next week. Feeling bloated and fat and podgy and it's the bloody lager that is doing it. Have pit the 7lbs I lost being AF 4 times a week back on.

So big, stupid crash diet. No breakfast, no or minimal lunch, much fewer carbs and no bloody lager. Might even try AF tomorrow. Or at least seriously moderate then AF until at least Tuesday if not next Friday.

Have eaten tonight so danger period passed me by. Hoping DP finishes work early tomorrow and comes home and has a nan nap as he won't drink tomorrow which will make it much easier for me to be AF.

Athena , you’re doing really well!!
Frouby, I know you can do this!! Countdown is on. Best possible motivation.
Oren, I often worry I smell of booze the next day. Do any of you worry about driving the next day too??
Well went out for dinner with friends. Could’ve been an easily messy night but instead I shared a bottle of wine between a friend and I. So half bottle. Came home and made a cuppa to stop myself having more. Fairly proud of myself and feel brighter for not smashing my liver again

Frouby, we are cheering you on! Glad DP doesn't live with me, or I wouldn't stand a chance of being AF. That's an added hurdle for those of you with live-in partners...

Woosey, I have also worried about the 'driving the next day' thing. In the William Porter book, he explains why people are often over the limit the following morning, even if they feel stone cold sober. It's to do with the rate at which we metabolise units (Anglaise could probably explain this better than I can). It's another thing that has increased my determination to cut right back. I've found myself making excuses not to drive the DC to school, when the real reason is that I'm scared I might still be over the limit. This is not good.

Went out with DP last night, and we shared one bottle of wine. I would have liked to have had more, but he didn't want to so I acquiesced without demur. I'm glad now. We went to his house and had a cup of tea instead. We know how to have a good time.

Now the challenge re-starts. I have to remember everything that I was so worried about on Monday, and not just slide back...

Athena William Porter has a website and the first 5 chapters are online. This is what he says about the 'morning after'

Most people caught drink driving the following day do not feel drunk. They genuinely think that they are sober. In fact, it is only those who have not been drinking for very long, or those who usually drink modest amounts and then have a big binge, who still feel actually drunk the morning after. This is because their bodies have not yet learnt to efficiently counter the amount of alcohol that has been imbibed. Most people who still have
alcohol in their system the morning after drinking will be physically intoxicated but will not have any corresponding feeling of alcohol-induced mental relaxation.
To go into further detail, most people, when they wake up the following morning still under the influence of the previous night’s drinking, won’t feel like they do when they have just had a drink one evening. If you wake up after a night’s drinking with two beers’ worth of alcohol in your bloodstream, you will not feel like you would if you had two pints of beer after work one day. In the latter situation you will feel the relaxing effects of the drink. You may not be drunk but
you will know you’ve had a drink. However, when you have that amount in your system from the night before (or even a considerably larger amount), you will feel stone cold sober in that there is no feeling of relaxation. However, although you may feel mentally sober, you are not physically sober. Your reactions are as slowed as they would be if you had the drinks at the end of the day. So you can feel mentally sober but be physically intoxicated.