Hop on up it's Dry January thread #2

[MyGhastIsFlabbered]

Shiny new thread to carry us onward through January

I found the nosecco in Morrisons this evening and I've put it away ready for Friday night

Well done for getting back on the wagon @ tea. Hate to say i am glad the weekend is over but is a relief. Feels good to have got this far. This thread is really helping. I am hoping not to rush back into drinking in February and going to stick to my plan of fridays and Saturday only. I am also on the club soda/ sober mindful drinking site on facebook and find that helps when i am trying to moderate. There are two groups one for moderation and one for stopping totally in case that helps anyone.

Hi not posted for a couple of days due to chronic earache felt pretty rough but now got antibiotics so wouldn't drink anyway. Been reading some open and honest posts I here and appreciate the safe space we have here x

Evening all xx day 18 here !!
I'm still finding it hard to get to sleep so am shattered after a day of home schooling.. can't wait to get into bed!!
Can't believe how much money I'm saving as well not drinking. I've been able treat myself to a lovely face cream when normally I'd be moaning that we have no money So this is another advantage of constant drinking!

Hi all, day 18, wow!

Definitely rounded a corner in our house, we've not had any twitches since the slip up on Friday.... DH sewing benefits now too, he's losing weight, feeling more focused at work.

Keep on trucking everyone 😁

Day 17. Can report AF Moretti is bleurgh. Plain old tonic with chunks of fresh grapefruit is nice though if you like that sort of thing.

Day 19!!! Thanks everyone for your insightful posts and keeping us all going. I’m finally noticing some of the fabled energy and even did a workout (made harder with a 2 yr old sitting on my back whilst planking ) which was unthinkable as a fun evening activity last year!

Keep the suggestions for nice AF free drinks and websites (and discount codes!) coming please.

Hi all,
Please can I join you? I’ve been lurking since the beginning and identify so much with what a lot of you are saying.
I’ve drunk fairly heavily for years but it’s been over the last year it’s been getting more out of control. I’m pouring myself bigger and bigger gin and tonics, making sure I always poor myself a bigger glass of wine if I’m sharing (god that sounds so selfish) love to do the cooking so I can quietly drink in the kitchen. Over Christmas I had two separate days totally wiped out by hangovers and I’ve just had enough now. My dp who is an amazing moderator and great support is also starting to loose patience.
I didn’t join at the start as had pretty much zero faith that I’d be able to do dry jan but I’ve been amazed that I’m actually enjoying it a bit. Home school and all that is so much easier without a hangover. I always thought I needed alcohol to break up the monotony but I’m starting to realise it kind of makes the monotony worse apart from a 30 minute buzz with the first glass.
I don’t think I’m ready to totally quit forever but I’ve set this year as a challenge to see if I can moderate, if not I’ll give it up completely. I’ve told my dp this.
Im thinking of carrying on through Feb as well to try and totally reset and to hopefully try to loose some weight and then have some strict rules for the rest of the year.

Sorry for the ramble, you’re all a great inspiration

@BoozeHound yes totally agree with you. I tell myself now when tempted is the maximum two hours of feeling great, relaxed, happy etc worth ruin the whole next day. Someone wrote earlier that drinking today is borrowing from tomorrow’s happiness ( I think) and I totally agree. If I didn’t suffer such debilitating hangovers it would be so much harder but I keep thinking about wasted days, impatience with my DS, feelings of guilty, hunger ( dehydration) thst no amount of carbs or coke will cure and I realise it’s just not worth it.
Am struggling a bit in the evenings and have out back on the few pounds I have lost as am craving sugar. It’s making me wonder if the witching hour wine craving could have actually been sugar craving ( makes me feel less alcoholic!)

Haha @moonbaby yes the two year old helps loads with my workouts too. Was sat on me while I was doing chest raises yesterday then trying to jump up while star jumping. Much fun 😂😀

Day 19 here too. Really struggled over the weekend and yesterday. Kept walkng to the cupboard and staring longily at the vodka. Dh stopped me though. Im glad, although I called him a few names under my breath 😂

@BoozeHound - welcome! Totally agree with what you said about alcohol CREATING the monotony. I was thinking about this yesterday - I think the reason it can feel a bit flat in the evening at the moment is that I'm not creating the usual drama every evening:

When can I have a glass of wine? / oh, that went down quick! / can I have another yet? / how can I drag this out? / oh, I've had 2 glasses of wine now and it's only 9pm! / can I have another "half" glass? / oh, go on then / bugger, I've had too much again

on and on and on and on..... If that's not monotony, I don't know what is!

You struck a chord there with me @ booze! If i was out in a group in a restaurant i always have one eye on the wine! Have they ordered enough? will i only get a one glass, what happens when it is empty, can i pour myself one and hope nobody sees?can i order more wine?will people realise i have drunk more than them? Is bloody horrible!

Think I will need to be very careful not to get back into that pattern.

I can totally relate to that monologue when you're out @Humphriescushion, and in last few months found myself sneaking a bit extra into my glass when my DP wasn't looking and we were having a drink. That was a real wake up call... along with starting to drink much faster than him and most others.

Moretti is more favourite of the AF beers, tastes the most convincing to me, so it just goes to show so much is personal taste. McGuigan Sauvignon Blanc is passable and not sweet and I love the Stryyk not spirits range as they use chilli to mimic some of the "burn" of alcohol which works for me. I hated Seedlip Spice on its own but mixed with tonic it turns into something vaguely gin like. Havent tried any of the sparkling ones yet... any day convincing recommendations on those would be great. Can't seem to buy Rawson's Retreat anywhere now.

I think a wake up call for me was after I'd drank a whole bottle of wine and then felt fuming because we didn't have any vodka left so I wasn't able to have my nightly nightcap (or 2) ...after a bottle of wine. What is all that about!? Drinking like this every night. What kind of mum does that make me? What if the kids needed me in the night? Oh Yes I'd get up with them but thinking how rough i would feel or that I had all that booze sloshing around my system is crazy! So im so glad I've put an end to that. Like others have said the monotony of the evening actually comes from sitting their weighing up how much more drink you can put away before bed time!. Like my evenings havnt changed since stopping drinking. I still watch films with the teenagers and DH. I have a nice soak and a read of a book. But knowing I can do this without that inner conversation about should or shouldn't I have a drink is great it's so freeing!!!
Sorry I don't half waffle on don't I!

Had a full on day working today and my brain wants to explode. My brain is begging me to open a bottle of alcohol free prosecco. Whats that's about? Does that make me an alcohol-free-aholic??
Just shows that for me the craving may not be the alcohol, but the feeling of a "treat" 🤔
Trouble is, in February that treat will contain alcohol, so maybe i should still stick to af??

I sympathise @Allycat I'm currently still at work, feeling very fed up with a headache that won't go away, everyone is annoying me and the self sabotage thoughts are creeping in.

@Allycat

Had a full on day working today and my brain wants to explode. My brain is begging me to open a bottle of alcohol free prosecco. Whats that's about? Does that make me an alcohol-free-aholic?? Just shows that for me the craving may not be the alcohol, but the feeling of a "treat" 🤔 Trouble is, in February that treat will contain alcohol, so maybe i should still stick to af??

And a gin and slimline tonic won't pile on the pounds like a slice of cake so makes it easier to turn to as a treat ime

I believe I have become a becks blue aholic! I am now rationing myself to 1 a night and 2 on the weekend, I need to do a mid week restock as I've gone through my supply so fast! Feeling good and optimistic today, didn't get any twinges for booze. Have been reading some of the drinking histories you've all posted and it resonates here. I used to go out and get legless as a teenager, at the weekends, at uni I again drank to get drunk when I went out but wouldn't drink every day or at home. Drinking was definitely a going out to socialise thing and was usually cider. As I've got older, and had children I got into wine, which seemed easier and more acceptable to drink at home somehow, almost a sophisticated thing to do. I haven't binge drunk since my cider days but for a good 15 years now it is usual for me to drink half a bottle of wine a night, I have had good phases where I haven't drunk during the week and phases where I have stopped for weeks at a time, stopped totally with no problem when I was pregnant. I always feel better when I do stop, but I always go back to my regulation half bottle, I even measure it out, no more, no less. I am a creature of habit.

I'm a bit addicted to my pomelo and peppercorn tonic..... but at 100 cals per 500ml bottle, it's not that bad! And better than le booze!

Yeah the inner wine conversation is almost as time consuming as drinking the bloody stuff. With working from home and home schooling I actually don't think I've got time to drink at the moment.

Hi all Day 19!! Love my nightly check in !
It's doin my head in that the dry Jan app calender is a day out!

Gin and tonic zero and zero cider tonight. Saw me through. Zonked after a 12 hour stint at work - from home. Well done to everyone and see you tomorrow !

@PeacheyPeach yes mine is toooooo. Driving me insane. Bloody app.