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.

@Noalcohol2024 the protracted withdrawal sounds like how I felt through the week in between weekend sessions. Irritable, anxious and depressed! Interesting! I think you are right about going and not worrying about it. Im a bit of a perfectionist so I don’t like the idea of breaking a streak however that’s really just an excuse to keep going if I do decide to have a drink in Feb. I’m a bit of an introvert and my party clubbing life actually would not have happened without booze in the first place so it’s all a bit ironic!

Checking in - very briefly - hectic week! But day 27 :-) Will try to catch up properly soon!

@Atacamadesert don’t make the night out about if you do, how much and what you drink. The night out is about a memory and time with your friend. Take the focus off the alcohol and enjoy yourself.

Day 26th here , I had an evening out last night . Luckily i took the car because it was out in the sticks but normally id still have 1 . It went ok the initial first half hour was abit tricky .. I have noticed how much alcohol smells so strong ! i was nearly tipsy from the fumes.

Checking in with Day 50!!

I can't believe it! I have to say I don't feel much better physically and my sleep is probably a bit worse, BUT my mental health and anxiety levels are much better and I don't have the dread around Sunday mornings now and it's been great to plan things on a Sunday knowing I won't have a hangover.

The trouble is, is that Ive not really tested myself as a non drinker in a drinking world.

I have a work 'drink' thing next week, which I'll obviously stay sober for but I'm interested to see what I am like 'in the wild' as a sober person. I hope I can cope with it.

I also have a family meal coming up with the mega drinking side of the family. Dreading this one as it was bad even when I was drinking. Good thing is that I'll be driving and my other will be there and said he will only have a couple, so he won't get stuck in with them.

I'm committed to doing 100 days but would love to be sober for life. I can't go back to the dread and ultra low, depressed feelings I was getting after getting blackout drunk after sweating that 'this time will be different' and 'I will only have two' or whatever other rubbish moderation techniques I was failing at.

Treating myself with a Goodrays and Trip order! Happy Day 50 to me!!

@wannabedry YAY!! congratulations on your big 50! I've just got my 4 week badge on my app and am over the moon. Fortuitous timing for it to drop on my phone on a Friday (now known as DryDay instead of FriYay) or else I may have crumbled.
I'm definitely in a danger zone of kidding myself that I could go back to it and moderate- but I really do know that I just can't.

@Noalcohol2024 that article is excellent, reading at my desk and feeling like I'm starting to be able to understand why I've felt the way I do.

My skin is really starting to improve, but I'm left with lots of broken veins on my cheeks so I look 'ruddy'. I'm wondering if they'll go, but research is telling me that I've done permanent damage. I'm thinking of using some of the money I will save by not drinking in Feb to book in a dermatologist appointment for laser removal of them. There are no appointments available until the end of Feb, so that's a real goal to not drink and save for. I'm not hugely vain, but I've really let myself go in the last few years. Hopefully I can drag it back a bit.

Well done to all those surviving in the wild! Apart from meeting up with school mums in the day, and DS's birthday party, I've had nothing in the social calendar this month, so it's given me a little sobriety cocoon- although I couldn't believe how much alcohol was a topic of conversation- at a school sports match, on a Monday!

Anyway, have a lovely weekend all. I'm determined to be checking in on here on Monday. ❤

Morning everybody! Well done on sticking at it!

Feeling a bit deflated today, I work ad hoc (mostly from home) and quite a lot of hours (but very good pay as I'm paid hourly) and fit it mostly around kids, for instance I make sure I can take off holidays, if they're sick etc (and work late to enable it). My OH seems to always be cross if I have work (because it's quite stressful) but then says things like 'at least YOU get the summer off' not understanding that I make his life immensely easier (and my life harder) to do this by working 80 hour weeks at other times of the year so that I'm always there for holidays, sick days, drop offs etc. He has his own business (a trade) so 'can't' just take a day off.
Normally it's days like today I would think, well at least I can have a big glass of wine later and forget it all. Not that it would help.

My eldest is off poorly today and will mostly be stuck in front of the tv while I work, so feeling like a pretty rubbish mum! Not sure how other people do it, and I think this is why we rely on mummy wine to just escape for an hour or two...

@whereaw yes, I totally get the stressful job (although I'm properly skiving at work today and browsing the internet for ways to get rid of a double chin) balancing kids, housework, elderly parents, flippant husbands who don't really understand fully the immense juggling act you're pulling off- mummy wine is a massive social issue for a reason. Before I have definitely looked at my life and thought 'Thank god I can have a drink later'.

But... I'm finding my juggling act so much easier to manage and I'm so much less stressed. Tackling things head on was horrific for the first few weeks, I just wanted to bury my head back in my wine-soaked security blanket. But it is getting better.

Have a good rant on here rather than ranting into the bottom of a bottle- so much more productive x

@glindathegoodbitch thank you so much, I don't really have close friends so it's nice to just vent and have someone listen and understand!! I don't think (some) men really understand all the plates we juggle.
I think for me I work from home so don't really have an 'escape'. I'm going to try to get to the gym much more or a run, even just 20 minutes three times a week. And schedule in a bubble bath every weekend. Just a few little things for me.
I LOVE waking up clear headed every single day and definitely will keep going with the no alcohol.

I listened to the podcast with one of the one year no beer guys and Rich Roll which was pretty good

Was up for my 0630 gym class this morning as usual, definitely starting to notice accelerated progress in my fitness. Was still blowing out my arse 😂 but definitely felt a lot stronger and fitter than I have since I started going 3 months ago. So happy and looking forward to my good rays tonight as a treat. Hoping between that and the gym I'll go out like a light tonight 🙌🏼

I've read all the messages and am really enjoying (and benefiting) from reading them, but this is only a quick check in from me because I'm at work. I will find time to post in more detail and reply to others properly at the weekend!

Day 28 for me and I've lost 11lbs! I can't quite believe it! I lost a bit pretty fast (Christmas weight coming off probably!) then seemed to stay the same for ages, but had a huge drop this week! I've been eating lots too, genuinely, so it isn't unhealthy, starving myself loss by a long shot. I'm no longer in the overweight category by quite a bit (I had just crept into it after Christmas). At this rate I will be comfortably back in all my size 12 clothes in no time! I can actually see a physical difference now too, which is amazing. It is really motivating, not to mention the money side!

That was more than I meant to say :-D I just got excited about the weight loss! Will read and reply more properly over the weekend!

@ThisIsASeaplane YESSSS!!!!! That's amazing! You must feel so proud of yourself and so much better- Imagine... that's 22 packs of butter you've thrown in the bin! FANTASTIC!

I'm on the 11lbs bus too. I lost loads in the first two weeks and have plateaued since (but hormones have made my chocolate intake insane). I'm guessing the first 2 weeks, I was just weeing out neat wine (like the baggy inside a wine box) and now I actually have to deal with all of the fat that I have put on. I'm borderline obese 😳I've put on 3 stone in the last two years and it's all booze related. I'm going to kick that in the arse next month.

Self care priorities by month for me:

January- SLEEP (soooo much better)
February- DIET/ Gut health (good eating habits and not just relying on quick fixes and carbs... and chocolate)
March- EXERCISE (eyeing up the local health club with dreamy eyes, I'm just not ready yet)
April- SOUL (I need to get back into something mindful like painting and walking to solo joy me up a bit)
Ongoing- CLOTHES (definitely try to look less homeless) SKIN/ HAIR (see before)

Setting little tiny monthly goals and giving myself my wine budget and my drinking time to achieve them.

One day at a time, one goal at a time- seeing at as a massive picture is just too overwhelming for me right now.

@unbelievablescenes I am so jealous of your willpower to get to the gym- I was huffing about looking for kids' trainers and arguing with the cat about whether or not he was a fussy twat at 6.30am.

Imagine being at the gym at 6.30am with a hangover....

Thanks so much @glindathegoodbitch ! Your description of weeing out neat wine like from a wine box almost made me laugh out loud at work! Yes, thinking of all that fat loss is amazing! I've been a bit obsessive about fad diets and weight before so am trying really hard not to make any radical changes this time....just not drink and try to eat more mindfully maybe..... I already eat loads of fruit and veg, it is tendencies to binge on unhealthy things when tired or if I haven't eaten enough due to being busy (or hungover!) that is my issue.....hopefully sobriety will really help with that!

I really like your month-by month plan and will try to do something similar.....January has mainly just been about not drinking! I definitely also need to work on snacking habits, earlier bedtimes, going for more walks etc...... I will try to come up with a plan like yours, because focusing on one thing at a time does seem to be helpful for my brain.....

Hope everyone else is well and coping OK with Friday.....

I'm genuinely getting a taste for alcohol-free beer, so may treat myself to a mixed case with some of my savings! :-)

Day 25. Going well still. I think I'd like to take one day off at the end of dry January and then go for February too.

@glindathegoodbitch I may as well have been hungover, boaked all the way home! 😂 Seriously though would have died if I'd been drinking it was a tough shift!

@unbelievablescenes I once hired a personal trainer... turned up half a bottle of gin hungover and she worked me so hard I could have got pissed on my sweat. I ended up almost passing out and hurling on the treadmill. I'd paid upfront for 8 sessions and I never went back after the first.
That was the last time I tried to get fit. Hoping it will he easier now I'm not going to be disgustingly hungover.

Very impressed with your effort!

Popped to tesco on the way home (half day friday) and couldn't believe the amount of booze offers. My shopping was significantly cheaper and much lighter!

Little win for me there, my eyes kept getting side tracked, but I'm feeling pretty damned determined.

Now in the garden with my chickens enjoying the lovely sun. I'd forgotten what it looked like!

Sorry this may have been answered already but is anyone following a particular programme that they would recommend like One Year No Beer?

Hi, no program here for me. Just doing lots of reading and reflecting- hopefully without doom spiralling into regretting what has passed. Just trying to build a better future and counting the positives along the way.
I joined tge oynb Facebook group, but it was actually full of people relapsing and making a joke of it. Sadly, I found it quite unhelpful, but everyone finds different inspiration. I'm loving reading the sober mummy blog from the start, and this group is brilliant.

Happy sober Saturday everyone!
I found last night tough for a few hours, then got over myself and cooked a lovely meal, went to bed and read.

I feel fresh as a daisy this morning and am planning a full day gardening and playing football with the kids.

Definitely going to swap my shopping day from a friday- that was torture and I spent the afternoon thinking about discounted booze and 'all the money I could have saved'. Ridiculous.

Hope everyone had a good night ❤️

Aww @glindathegoodbitch that's so funny (but not funny iykwim) that you were raging at the money you 'could've saved' 😂 Just reiterates the amount of reframing we need to do to escape the poison. It messes with your head in so many ways other than just getting you pissed! X

Just thinking about the oynb thing. My experience was a few years ago (this isn't my first attempt, but by far the most successful). It may have changed and I know a friend who had amazing success and is still sober 4 years later.
Good luck if you go for it and let us know what it's like x

🤣 I was raging! I also was cross because I felt like I'd wasted a perfectly good friday night opportunity to get pissed.

In fact, I snuggled in front of a movie with my kids, had a fantastic chat with DH, tidied away clothes, hoovered the house, cooked a lovely meal (Thai basil pork) organised the sitting room pile of crap, gave myself a lovely facial, read a great book, had some 'romance' with DH and slept like a baby.

Awful how part of my stupid brain thinks that is a night wasted. Not sure when I'll stop feeling that way, but I hope it's soon!

@Jeffsmeffsmiff I’ve been wondering how you’re doing now?

@glindathegoodbitch my brain is switched off to the wine offers now I can see how much money I am saving not drinking alcohol.

Even eating out the wine I prefer to drink is so expensive and I can’t bring myself to hand over money when I know it’s been marked up 200%.

I am actually enjoying food better without the wine because I’m appreciating the food. Also not obsessing about what I’m eating and cooking and don’t like meat as much so having loads of meat free days (which will stop when teenage son is home from Uni!).

I had really weird dreams again last night. Loads of actors from soap operas in them (I don’t watch soap operas). I was drunk in my dreams and making a fool of myself.

Started reading a book and it I just couldn’t get the rhythm going.

Last Saturday of January we can do it.