No alcohol in 2024

[Noalcohol2024]

I gave up alcohol for an entire year 10 years ago and I am going to challenge myself to do it again in 2024. Anyone want to join me? I won’t lie I found it really hard. However, it did help me reset my habitual drinking. I feel ready to do it again. If anyone else feels a year off alcohol is something they want to do then join me on January 1st. I am going to take the next few days being honest with myself and reflecting on why I feel this challenge is something I need to do. Anyone who starts on January 1st with me can include their reasons in the introduction (if they wish to). I have a big birthday this year so I know it will be a challenge on that day as-well as Christmas and New Year 2024 but I am determined.

Alcohol Free made it through Friday. Was suppose to be going to the gym this morning but feeling a bit rough. Headache, aching joints think I might be coming down with something.

Not thinking about alcohol at all just my lovely warm bed and not getting out it!

@Sonnet Thank you - I had a wonderful nights sleep, slept like a baby.
solid sleep from 11pm to 7am.
Also good feeling not seeing empty wine bottles in the kitchen recycling bin. I remember I used to strategically place them in the outside big bin, as I didn’t want the neighbours to hear clinking sound of glass bottles.
Going to stay productive today with an early spring clean. Hopefully this will keep me busy and tire me out for another good nights sleep tonight.
Will end the night on a nice feel good movie with my Posh M&S squash.
stay strong everyone, we have got this.
ooh OH did text me last night on his way home from work “ I’m in Tesco, Do you want anything ?” I replied a big fat Nooooo.

My first week I too had a terrible cold. I think someone mentioned alcohol may have antibacterial properties in it 🤣 . As this was the first time in years that I had been ill.
If you have a sore throat, gargle in warm salt water. It works a treat.
Sometimes it is a blessing in disguise as you will not want to drink so you will fly through AF weekend.
Get well soon x

Morning all... Happy no hangover day!
@whereaw I'm thinking of joining the local gym too. All I wanted to do after work yesterday (half day) was go for a swim, but the public pools are all doing swimming lessons or age restricted activities when i can go.
I looked at my try dry app and I've saved £80 so far.
I'm going to go to the local posh health club today and check out the facilities. Fees are £42 a month- which made me momentarily think 'oh I can't justify spending that much on myself'... but I was spend nearly that much a WEEK on booze for myself!!
My DH has given up too, so we're doubling up on the savings!

Hope all are doing well and enjoying your sober weekend x

Happy fresh Saturday everyone.
I'm excited to be at 30 days AF which I think is the longest I've ever gone. Gym class for me at 11, then have my sister coming over which is a surprise for my kids as they haven't seen their cousins in a while so they'll be very pleased.
Those that want to do exercise classes but struggle to get to the gym - have a look at LesMills online. It's bloody brilliant. I have that as well as a gym membership so if I can't get my kids into a class at the gym and DH and I both want to exercise, then he'll usually go along and I'll do a class in the lounge. I actually love it. They have loads of styles of classes available. Cardio, HITT, weights, yoga / pilates etc
It's almost as good as going to a class.

@anythinginapinch oh yes what you wrote is exactly why I have my weekend binges! The great escape! Not easy to replicate and so far I’ve struggled to find a replacement. One thing I have noticed is if I’m not drinking I tend to keep myself busy doing chores etc but sometimes my brain just wants to opt out for a bit so just taking all pressures of myself (no chores watch to trash stay in bed) for an evening and a morning (as if I’m having a drink and a mild hangover!) is the best I have come up with. It kind off works.

Hi, Sorry I haven't posted much! Really busy week and I've had a cold/headache too, but day 15 today and still sober!

Someone else mentioned the I Am Sober app....That's what I use to track days and financial savings and I really like it.

So far I have saved quite a decent amount of money (was averaging £35 a week!) and lost some weight even though I have been eating LOADS.

I actually haven't found it hard so far, even with my husband still drinking, but the danger for me is when I forget how bad alcohol made me feel and start to forget how desperate I was to stop..... I'm definitely worried about complacency kicking in!

I have finally started to sleep better but am still SO tired!

Will try to post more regularly now! Hope everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable Saturday.....

@ThisIsASeaplane I have this trouble too. I think I want to drink because it was great! Then I remember how awful I felt... but the distorted memories of 'oh it took all the stress away and what great fun we had' are still there.

In my vast amount of quit lit, I cherry picked something that made perfect sense and its really helping.

He explained it (something) like this:

"When we had 1 child we lived in a lovely two bedroom house. We loved the house, it was perfect, stress free and the right size. Then we had a second child, and the house became too small, we were tripping over prams and toys and juggling new stress.
So we moved to a bigger house. It was strange and didn't feel like home, but in time, we grew into it and it was great and again, we could breathe into the space, but there was work to be done... but it didn't stop me looking back at the old house with rosy tinted glasses. What fun we had, the bathroom that didn't need painting, the feeling of comfort and 'home'.

Our brains pick and choose how to perceive memories and looking back on something that wasn't actually right can seem lovely because moving forward involves more work and is daunting.

So the question is, do we move forward and work hard on a new life, or do we go backwards to something that wasn't working, just because it feels 'easy and comfortable'."

It really resonated with me. Weirdly because we've actually done the move to a bigger house after endlessly falling over things and moaning about the kitchen. Yes, I miss that house and all the lovely memories, but would I move back there... not a chance!

That's my weird thought for the day 🤣
Hope it helps someone else look at the rosy glow of booze memories in a different light x

And, I have to edit my posts because I still have chubby booze fingers and I'm crap at typing 🤣

Although... I have lost 7lbs!!!!!
Sober Slim Fingers here we come ❤️

Really like this! Thanks for sharing!

This really resonates with me - I was drinking to relieve stress of work and then just feeling awful during the days at the weekend too!

I went to a party last night. Only knew a couple of other people and not well.

What I don’t get is how upset/annoyed/rude a couple of people got about me not drinking. I didn’t mention it and the waiters were great about bringing non alcoholic beers over to me so people couldn’t tell except when I wasn't taking drinks off the main trays being brought round.

But when they noticed they just would not accept that I might be not drinking from choice, and kept going on about how they couldn’t understand why I couldn’t ‘break the arbitrary rules’ I’m apparently imposing on myself.

I was chatting, danced etc along with everyone and actually felt I had more energy to be still enjoying myself late into the evening, but was made to feel like it was bad manners to say no thanks to an alcoholic drink - like I would be offending the host and shouldn’t be there if I’m not going to drink! Why do people care?!!

@RhubarbRocks I think people get shirty about it because it shines a light on their own drinking. If you say "I'm doing dry January" or whatever, they more often then not talk about their drinking and "well I only drink at weekends" or something similar. Drinkers LOVE to justify their drinking. I just say 'good for you' and do not engage in any of that rubbish. The whole 'but a glass of red is actually very good for you' brigade are the worst!! I feel your pain!

Argh, @RhubarbRocks, this would really annoy me! I'm not good at keeping my mouth shut either so probably would have loudly demanded to know what was with the fucking peer pressure why they gave a shit anyway....how rude!

Sorry for the sweary ranting but stuff like this REALLY pisses me off!

@wannabedry is probably right - it probably does show their own need to drink in a light that they don't like, but even so..... are we 16 years old?! (Not that peer pressure is acceptable then either of course, but when it is grown adults doing it - even more pathetic!)

Sorry, maybe being sober is making me grumpy 🤣🤣🤣 Honestly.... people!!!

Oh and bloody well done for staying sober, especially in the face of such provocation.....!

@RhubarbRocks just tell them you can't drink anymore because you just downed a whole bottle of white lightning in the car park and honestly you'd rather save yourself for a dabble in something stronger later on. And then look them up and down and say, "Is that really ALL you're drinking? Lightweight!"

@RhubarbRocks I had this loads when I first started but also a lot of support too. If they go on I just tell them I'm a twat when I'm drunk and got better things to do than lie in bed with a hangover the next day. Then they say can't you just have one then. 🙄

🤣

@RhubarbRocks oh god I think I may have been that person in the past. I always hated it if people weren’t drinking and getting messy with me. Wouldn’t do that now though of course if n fact I always provided AF options if I was hosting dinner or something even if I was drinking.

May I join please? It's Day 15 for me today. I hope everyone is doing well, I know that Saturday nights are hard for some.

I was a dependent drinker for many years and lost everything through alcohol. I am doing better these days but have only ever got as far as 31 days sober (last autumn). I started off intending to do Dry January, but I am finding that already the "wanting', the bargaining and the plotting is back - shall I have a drink on the 1st Feb or 31st January? Or maybe even the 30th. What shall I drink? Shall I buy it now and keep it so I can open it straight away? Etc. Then I saw this thread and it had never occurred to me to aim for a year. But as soon as I considered considering that, something funny happened - all the internal bickering stopped. Instead I just felt peace and relief. Because there's nothing to bargain with is there; the choice is already made. You don't have to keep making the sober decision a million times a day if you're committed to the full year and I like that idea.

welcome and well done for getting to Day 15 . I neither had thought beyond january 31st so this is going to be a huge challenge.
I have just accepted my 1st invitation out with my friends for next month and i have told them il drive as im not drinking. Nobody has questioned it yet tbh they probably don't believe me 😳😳

I've been reading along and would like to join too. I'm doing my first Dry January & it has been overwhelmingly positive for me so far. I can't see me planning to drink any time soon. Never done anything like this before! have been drinking at home in the evenings for years.

I have a holiday booked soon which will be a test, but so far I've not been tempted at all. I also stopped having any alcoholic drink in front of the DC some time ago, when I realised just how much some family members have influenced both DH and I with our drinking habits. So hopefully that will help me stay on track.

@Theredfoxfliesatmidnight my partner is alcohol dependent and also doing a year. I think the length of time is good because it's not saying forever but it's long enough that you really focus your mind on other things, actually living your life, rather than wishing away 31 days.

I have also never met someone who regrets getting sober!

@DJer24 I do think back to past holidays, the hungover sick feeling in the heat - what a way to waste all that money in a beautiful place. You might find it's better than you think!

Wishing you both luck.

@Theredfoxfliesatmidnight
@DJer24

I will add you to the list on Monday we check in every Monday.

The year target was exactly how you describe the inner turmoil and counting down the days is taken away as a year is just too far away to obsess about when you can drink again. Hoping brain rewires itself in the first 6 months!

I am in bed watching TV well past wine o’clock so going to mark my sober day on my Try Dry App.

Nearly week 3. We are gaining some momentum now.

@Noalcohol2024 me too! Hot vitamin drink and a dose of gardeners world for me.

I had a real tricky moment at about 4.30. My husband came home from a big, exciting day at work and the bargaining started... one won't hurt, we're not really going to never drink again are we?

I'm not sure what got me over it, but we've been marking the days in chalk on the blackboard wall in the kitchen, and the thought of rubbing them off made me really sad.

I also told my husband about the 'moving to a bigger house' story, and started waffling on about buying armchairs to fill the space, rather than moving back to a smaller house.

He had absolutely no idea what I was going on about, but it instantly killed the party mood... so I guess that's a good thing 😂

I've been sowing seeds and planning an outdoor kitchen all day.
I'm going to fill those empty boredom spaces with good things x

@glindathegoodbitch it is the thought of starting again that stops me too.

Well done for getting over the wobble.

The problem with me is that everything from a hard day, a happy day, a productive day, a finished the tax return day, a drive a far distance day (I could go on and on) always (pre 2024) was an excuse to reward myself with alcohol. Hopefully, by the end of 2024 I will be able to hoover the whole house from top to bottom and not feel like I deserve a glass of wine as a reward for completing this task. Not hoovered since 2023 though 🤣