Roses are red, we like Becks Blue, Tryers to be Dryers push on through. 2019 will be our Valentine.

[Frouby]

Thread 4 for support, tips, tricks and friendship as we reduce our alcohol intake even more. For anyone who wants to reduce, stop, moderate or even just track their drinking.

Absolutely no judgement, just support. Everyone welcome.

Previous threads somewhere but am rubbish at clicky links.

Old tryers and new dryers, welcome to our thread. The one that starts in February and will see us all hit our goals as we move forwards.

Wow frouby.....I need you to sort out a cookery weekend. We all come, bring booze. You show us a few recipes, then we all sit around and talk cooking while overlooking an Italian countryside!! What you reckon??

On a serious note.....I need your strawberry and apple cake recipe. And banana cake!! Pleeeeease

Did any of you watch sugar free farm a couple Years ago?? It was fab. I watched it and then walked into the kitchen and threw all the sugar away!! We’ve not had it since. Ok, we still eat shit..they have sweets and shop bought cakes..but we don’t have sugar granules anywhere. Ds used to literally pour it on everything. He went into cold turkey state. Had headaches etc. But it really was for the best. We now put blueberries on porridge instead of sugar, or honey on pancakes etc etc.
As I said tho..I’m no mother Teresa of the sugar world..we all still eat crap..but we don’t add sugar.
As for the amount of sugar in wine 😂😂

I think the most recent thinking is that fats aren’t so bad. It’s sugars and carbs (which turn to sugar or something) that mess you up.
A good diet is high in protein, fruit and veg and healthy fats.
I’m a carb addict, but I’m aware of it.

Flossie I can't see that ending well tbh. We would start off with a pile of ingredients, a load of booze and some good ideas.

We would end with a pile of ingredients minus a few lemons, not much booze left and some empty pizza boxes plus hangovers 🙈.

I tend to just wang stuff in and hope for the best. An apple and strawberry crumble I would just cook the apple like an apple pie base, add the strawberries for the last couple of minutes then taste and see how sweet it is and whether it needs sugar, bearing in mind you are topping it with sweet crumble and custard I usually only use a tablespoon or so.

If I am baking I just google recipes until I find one that uses the ingredients I actually have in. The bbc goodfood website is very good.

But courgette and lemon drizzle cake is lovely, sounds a bit weird but its a really nice moist cake and you really don't need much sugar. And if you are reducing sugar but still want to bake almond essence is good. It smells so sweet that it tricks your mind into thinking its sweeter than it is, and cinnamon is similar.

The only thing we use sugar for here is guests hot drinks, baking and if we have pancakes with lemon and sugar. We don't have it in tea or coffee or on cereal or anything like that. Ds and dh both have a sweet tooth though, me and dd rarely bother.

Ds is back to school this morning, wish me luck, hes adamant hes still poorly but he was fine all day yesterday. He did fall asleep early though and woke up at 1am saying he had a headache but I think that was more him trying it on. Am taking him anyway, they can phone me if hes not right.

I am in awe of the Frouby Bakery. I'm with you for the cookery weekend, Flossie . I have nothing remotely useful to say about cooking, other than that it is a necessary evil, and would be fine if it only had to be done once a month or so.

I hope your DS gets through the day, Frouby. My DD has now decided that she is no longer ill, given that she wants to have this party.

Longest, I hope you manage to sort out the teeth. There is always something to worry about.

NC4, hope they hypno goes well.

Anglaise, peri menopause is no fun, but it is arguably better than alcohol-related liver disease.

Rotten night last night, presumably due to Dry Day 2. The night before was blissful because I was so tired and hungover. Last night, though, I couldn't go to sleep for ages. Then I had endless vivid dreams and kept waking up. Got up at 5.30 because I was awake again. FML.

Well I managed to be AF while my mum was here thanks to 2x nanny state. Win. Gah re sugar. They don't add it to things and don't have holiday cereal but dh is always giving them Haribo. But i think maybe it's her brushing technique - another ADHD type thing - she just won't pay attention. Back to treating her like a toddler and chasing her round the house, sigh

Agh though, she's so bloody impulsive. I snuck out of the kitchen for 2 mins peace from the squabbling and she climbed up to the top cupboard and was eating a solid hot chocolate spoon thing whole. Feel like crying. It's all so out of control.

Small update from me - I have remained totally alcohol-free. Yesterday I started really craving a cold lager but I resisted, had a nap instead and didn't fancy one any more. So I'm trying to remind myself that the cravings can be fleeting.

I will be 6 weeks AF tomorrow. Never thought I'd hear myself say that.

Little dog - wow! That’s impressive. I am 5 days and feeling hopeful

Swarskid2184 5 days would have been an absolute dream for me not so long ago. I went over 15 years without an AF day. But the last few years have been the worst and very out of control. I'm enjoying being able to say no and honestly I can't believe how different I feel all the time. I was literally constantly always on edge. Now I feel very calm. I feel an almost magnetic pull towards alcohol, like it's there all the time and I'm aware of it. But I keep on saying 'not now' to myself and then the moment goes past. I am absolutely terrified of ending up where I was before I stopped and I keep reminding myself about how much I longed to be out of it.

Thelittedog that is absolutely amazing, a bet you are chuffed to bits. Do you feel amazing? I bet you do.

Well done Swarskid as well. I can't remember the last time I did 5 days AF. Probably this time last year.

I need a plan, struggling again here. 2 beers and a gin last night, 2 gins tonight. Had a beer on sunday too so no AF day.

I really need to get that sunday in, it sets me up for the week.

No dramas here, been working all day, ds back at school, back to the grindstone.

Just watching a review on AF beers on itc, need to get me some becks blue in for next week.

Well done both of you! That's seriously impressive.

I had a better afternoon than morning. Went for a outdoor swim, which is my cure-all. I love it, so came out much happier than I went in. Dd1 actually came home from school in a good mood and cooked and ate chicken curry. Apparently it was delicious. Ok it was basically chicken and spice paste on rice but stil, she was raving about it, and made menus and place settings and thingsl I also bought kilos of healthy snacks from the hot nuts shop which is always a hit with both girls, if not my wallet. then we went birdwatching in the dark with woodcraft folk and had a little sit in the garden looking at the moon and stars. My baby girl isn't always a horror, but she can be! Now the half bottle of wine in the fridge is calling me. Will see what she thinks.

Yes I agree Frouby. Feel I am slipping too. The nanny state were a good idea last night as they still feel like a bit of a treat, but I have run out now. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday are my normal AF days but I was AF yesterday so tempted today, even though I also had one glass on Sunday. In fact I already had a beer at lunchtime today.

I am feeling a lot better today, and the pull of wine and gin has been powerful today. So am feeling please with myself that it is nearly bedtime and I am still AF (have eaten a whole bag of jelly tots, but hey ho).

Little dog - ‘not now’ is a great tip. And a magnetic pull is exactly how I feel. I cooked spag Bol earlier and deliberately opened a bottle of wine that I know I don’t like so that I would not be tempted to have a little sip whilst cooking...

I have a work reception tomorrow evening where there will be wine, so that will be a big challenge...

Well I managed to stay AF if you don't count the lunchtime beer.

Good for you Swarskid! I had lots of cravings today but resisted them. I feel good everytime I resist.

Impressive stuff going on here. Not from me, but still....
Hypnotherapist was interesting. I’ve come away with a lot to think about in terms of my relationship with food and drink. I think it’ll take a while, but it’s worth going further with.
Ok I bought a bottle of wine (and drunk it) but it was only session one and I’d pretty much made my mind up before I went.
I do feel a bit different. Cleaner, somehow.
Watch this space....

Interested to hear about hypno, NC4. Let us know how your thoughts develop.
I need a plan too, Frouby and Longest. I did manage two days, but not yesterday. I worked incredibly hard yesterday and there was no way I wasn't having several G&Ts.
Longest, I'm glad you had a good evening!
Littledog and Swarskid, well done. That's a huge achievement.

Littledog Swars you are both doing brilliantly. Please keep us posted because it is very inspiring. I need a plan too as since DP has moved in I've failed to be AF too. Although not overdoing it on any night, but nearly half a bottle of wine a night adds up over a week.
NC4 was your first hypno session a preliminary one to find out what you wanted to work on, or did you go to sleep? Is it Eriksonian hypnosis that is practiced? Good luck if you decide to go for it.
Frouby I've ordered your curry book. I cook a lot of Jamie Oliver too, I bought his 5 ingredients one for my daughter who is off to fac next year and will have to fend for herself. I wish it was DS (12) who was leaving because he is a fussy eater. Not sure if he is a supertaster but he is super annoying over food.
Dion I always feel like a drink after a hard day's work (especially physical work) so don't beat yourself up!
Flossie I hope you and DD are OK

Anglaise1 I was half a bottle of wine a day for a while and although it’s over the recommended weekly units, I felt okay with that. But it kept creeping up. I think if I started again now in moderation it would creep up again.

We did a bit of deep relaxation Anglaise, but he didn’t say what type it was. He wants to do some emotional freedom stuff too because I got quite tearful.
I have still been pigging today and still want a glass —bottle— of wine, but I’ve pigged on healthyish stuff.
I made a lovely harissa sausage traybake out of the new WW cookbook for tea. That was a huge hit. Except the Tesco man substituted my reduced fat sausages for full fat. I can live with that, and use lower ones next time.
Seriously impressed with some of the AFing going on here.
I think I missed DP moving in Anglaise. Congratulations! It’s a bit like being on holiday at first, isn’t it?
I’m at the GP in the morning to review my antidepressants and try and get some bloods done. I’ve been stable on my meds for years but since Christmas I’ve been fighting the Black Dog.

LittleDog I know what you mean! Before I moderated for 16 months I was the same. And I'm not happy with half a bottle now. But because of the menopause and the sleep deprivation that goes along with that, plus the fact that I get up at 6am and run for an hour before going to work, I know I can't reasonably drink more than half a bottle without being completely useless the next day. That helps me not drink more, at least on weekdays. I switch to tea and chocolate instead.

Anglaise, you are so lovely.

Wanted to be dry here, but really am not (work related, DP related, DC related, everything related).

Mightily in awe of some of the dryness here, though...

I too am mightily in awe of the af skills of you all. I haven’t had an af day for months now. I just can’t. I can’t think about it. Hate myself for it due to the constant health anxiety. Really bloated recently and obviously think it’s somethinf hideous and due to alcohol. But then I still drink!!!! Ffs
Nearly a bottle down. It’s pure self harm!!

Dion, darling, I hope you’re ok