Less booze. More AF days. But still a bit damp. Not dry jan, but not a soggy summer. Support thread for reducing alcohol.

[Frouby]

New thread in case the other fills up while I am busy this weekend.

Did I mention I get married tomorrow? 😁

Rubbish at clicky links but sure someone clever will be along to link the last thread.

This is a support thread for those wanting to reduce the amount you drink. There is no judgement on here. We are all struggling along with our own problems and lives and looking to cut down. You might only want a couple of weekends off. Or reduce the amount of days you drink. Or the amount you drink. Or both.

Whatever your starting point and whatever your goal come and join us for friendly chat and support.

So sorry for all the bold shouting I'm sober but used asterisks instead of writing fucking and it screwed up the rest of the post. I'll just swear next time sod it.
•Dion• glad you are ok, you will manage it one day.
My DD aged 17 spent the whole day helping me decorate, clean and put together furniture in the living room. DC are sometimes lovely!

Flipping hell anglais..how did you manage to get a nice 17year old?! What’s the trick?! My ds is 21 and hates me and everything I stand for!! Told me when I’m nice I’m just being false. Ffs!!

Come on frouby, we are all rooting for you!!

Sarah - wow bloody wow!!

Dion - I’m sinking a bottle a night in the camper and having a glass at the bar too. Anglais is right..they don’t do wine over here in bars. Their measurements are crap. Thimble fulls!! Still managing to sink too much tho. In fact last night I totally embarrassed myself by not being able to walk properly. Alcohol never usually does that to me. In fact the reason I drink so much is because it never usually has any effect!!

Woosey I brought my kids up on my own, largely by benign neglect I'm just lucky that they are OK, at least so far, but DS is only 11 and could easily go off the rails.
French women don't really drink and never wine in the quantity downed by Brits that's why it is so easy NOT to drink here (when you live here). No-one I know (female) drinks in the week or even weekends unless there was an apéro or other special occasion. Certainly never alone.
I hope the weather is better for you than it is up here in the North West!

In vendee currently and gorgeous. Head to Lacanau tomorrow where it looks hotter :-)

Frouby, I have been thinking of you today, and especially this evening (which has been another Epic Fail here, though am still trying to work out why. Think it is related to DC1). I so, so, so hope you have managed to stick to AF. But even if you haven't, you have done brilliantly, as our lovely Anglaise confirms.

xxx Woosey.

Sarah, how is your evening going?

Woosey, meant to say I agree re older DC. DS is a sod. That is the short version. He has flounced off, having listed all the ways in which I am a defective parent/person...

Massive eye roll at difficult kids, I've been there but mine are in a lovely patch at the moment, probably because they are on holiday with no responsibilities and lovely lives, sigh...

Well done on Day 4 Frouby. And lol re guinea pig.

Day 24 AF here. I still look florid though. V annoying!

Water, Day 24?!?! Blimey. I am full of admiration for you.

How old are your DC? I was actually pretty good when mine were all toddlers, but I have decided that I am spectacularly rubbish at teenagers. Sadly.

Didn't manage day 5. Had 3 cans of lager which isn't too bad.

Partly because am fed up of bloody dd. She can be so lovely one minute then a witch in the next breath. Last nights strop was caused by a bloody, bastarding avocado. Bought 2 monday for something nice I want to try for breakfast on Saturday. Left them in fruit bowl to ripen.

Dd said one is ripe now and can she have it. No because it's for breakfast on Saturday, pop it in the fridge if it's ripe.

So she went on and on and on and on. About how its ripe now and should be eaten now and she won't be up for breakfast on Saturday so she wants her half now. For half a bloody hour.

Fml.

Then I went to clean my teeth and toothpaste empty. Had bought more on monday so start looking for it and it'snot in bathroom. Had left toothpaste and other toiletries at bottom of the stairs and asked dd to take them up so asked her where it was. She didn't know.

It turned up in the medicine cupboard downstairs. Obviously Mr Nobody put it there, and Miss Someone Else probably didn't take it up when asked.

So we had a flounce over that too. Then a flounce because I wouldn't let her have one of Ds juices. He only had 4, he only drinks those juices and water. She has 2 dilutes to chose from, drank 2 litres of orange juice since monday and can help herself to 1 can of fizzy a day.

Roll on September!

Dionysa, my kids are 21 and 15

Day 25 today and feeling great actually. I haven't had this long without a drink for eek, probably 9 years.

Frouby, it's a start! Sympathy on stroppy teens

Frouby, your DD and mine were evidently separated at birth. And three lagers is pretty good going, after 4 days AF. I am going to try Day 1, yet again, today.

Water, I am just in awe.

How did day 1 go Dion? Not dry here.

But I moderated like a mofo. Opened a bottle of wine about 4.30pm. Had 3/4 and at 7.30 instead of saying 'fuck it, I will finish it' I told DH I was switching to water.

Feel relatively sober and am off to bed shortly.

Frouby, I have limped through the (very long-seeming) evening. Had an enormous glass of smoothie and tonic. Now feel fat, though this is ridiculous as it probably has fewer calories than a bottle of wine.

Well done on moderating. I fall off the rails at the point where there's only quarter of a bottle left.

Going to bed now, just to make the day end.

Well done on 4 dry days Frouby.

I’ve now done 13 but I have really wanted to the last 3 nights.

I’m going through loads of fizzy juice which makes me feel like a child (not in a good way).

Between about 7 & 9 pm is the hardest. I need liquid with dinner. Then after I’m so thirsty esp if I’ve had something salty. It is making me realise that I’m maybe just as addicted to the sugar as the alcohol.

People are noticing my better skin and weight loss and this is what is keeping me going (feels vain).

Re the guinea pig. When I was a child we had one that apparently lived to 9. I think it was replaced several times. Still struggling. X

13 nights dry is amazing sarah. I bet I only have in average 13 dry nights in any 3 month period! I like dilute ginger cordial, it's more grown up than soft drinks or normal cordial I find.

Sorry to hear you are still struggling wrong. We all struggle at times.

Didn't sleep well past night. It will be the wine. Was awake and stressing about 4 times, really noticed the difference.

If I drink tonight it will just be the last bit of wine. Then that will be me aiming for another 4 dry nights. Have got so much more done this week. I deep cleaned and rearranged my bathroom yesterday afternoon. Did the grouting, all the window frame, the windowsill outside, evicted a million spiders from the window frame outside and binned loads of opened but unused body lotions, cheap bubble bath we will never use (dd and I are allergic) and other bits and pieces. Now everything fits in the storage I have and it looks a million times better.

Dion that's what I find, that the evenings stretch. An alcoholic drink seems to end the day, evening begins and then it's bedtime. I like eating earlier though when I don't drink. Then have been having a cup of tea. Am hoping the darker evenings will help. Plus I will be back working and up at 5am to get a few hours in before the school run so will be asleep a lot earlier.

Have been enjoying reading sober. Picked up my kindle last night but am reading book 2 of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It's very good, but because it's based in sweden it needs a bit of concentration to remember the swedish names. Even though I didn't feel drunk I struggled to follow it.

Off allotmenting today. Got loads to do, then loads of produce will need washing and prepping and freezing. Sending dh and ds blackberry picking so I can make apple and blackberry pie filling for the freezer. Have 2 huge carrier bags of apples!

Day 26 here and I think this is the 4th weekend without wine. I've lost 6lb in the past week so that's nice too (BSD so no sugar either)

Totally agree about getting more done. I'm more even tempered I think too. Dh may disagree...

In the evenings I've been making myself a huge jug of water with lots of ice and several slices of lemon, that's helped. And there is wine in the house but it's in the garage, not the fridge so not cold and not tempting.

Well done everyone.

Unspeakable fail here. More tomorrow.

dion I failed too. 2 x cans of lager, 2 glasses of wine. Hmpph.

Day 1 today. Aiming for 4 more dry days.

Have had 6x 440ml cans of lager and 1 bottle of wine in a week. It's better but still too much. Especially calories. If I can swap the lager to gin this week I will be happy. Then next week drop to 4 gins and 1 bottle of wine.

Then go for 5 days AF.

I failed too, but then maybe not as I'm allowed to drink at weekends. Forest Man (now back from holidays) came over and we had a bottle of wine with dinner between us, although he had more than me. Snogged and danced like teenagers until midnight I've never done that with anyone. Maybe I'm in love for the first time in my life aged 52.
Birthday barbecue with friends today so will have a couple more but as I'm driving no more than that.

Frouby, that's not bad over a week, not at all. 🙂 It's not a bottle a night!

Anglaise that sounds lovely, how romantic.

Anglaisr that sounds lovely! Am weljel.

Day 1 done and out of the way. I only briefly thought of drinking but had a pint of water instead. Currently in bed and looking forwards to a good kip.

Normally reliable period turned up a week early again. 2nd time in 2 cycles. Am usually bang on 27.5 days. Am 40 and wondering if I am a bit premenopausal.

Even more of a reason to moderate if so.

Hello, just found this thread and hope it's OK to join? I really want to cut down as my drinking is such a habit.. My good intention of 'just one wine /gin' usually turns into at least half a bottle /3 or 4 gins most nights... I can see it on my skin and am sick of feeling tired, disappointed, waking up in night (now!) and the expense! My goal is to just be in control of it, not it in control of me.. AF most of the time but able to enjoy a drink sometimes..day 1

Frouby You did really well last week. I went over my 10 units this weekend, probably had around 1,5 bottles of wine and a bottle of beer (25cl).
40 sounds very early for the menopause, did your Mum have hers early? I hope it isn't. But you are right, menopause and alcohol really don't go well together.
Dion how are you? Woosey how is your holiday going?
Welcome Hurley I hope you can reduce your drinking and control it rather than it controlling you which was my problem.
Anyway, it is my anniversary today, one year if successful 'moderating'! With the exception of this last weekend I stuck to my rules, AF in the week, one bottle of wine over the weekend. A year ago I did a Half Marathon and didn't enjoy it, did my worst ever time of 1H53, the scales were tipping 63kg, I was tired, my skin and eyes awful to drinking wine every evening, probably 5 or 6 bottles a week. I was also starting the menopause and my kids were 16 and 10 so at an age where I didn't want to be drinking in front of them on a daily basis. Those were my triggers to change my drinking habits. I'm now 56kg, skin and eyes clear, I don't get as stressed or anxious and sport is much easier to do. And most importantly I can take or leave a drink now, I hope I have broken my previous addiction or at least dependence on wine. It is possible.