On A Mission To Moderate or Absolutely Abstaining? Join us for encouragement, support and non - judgemental chat *2024*

[Swannyb]

@amdone123 @mj20 @touty @Hohofortherobbers @Coppergate7 @bigbus @colouringindoors @wellitywellness @Atacamadesert @Freezingfeetwarmheart @WouldRatherBeAPieceOftToast @Hohofortherobbers @mickandrorty @Mykittensmittens @afaloren @NoTeaNoShade @CrackersCheeseNoWinePlease @LynnThese4reSEXPEOPLE @Needtokickthehabit @OhShitImNearly40 @Nowstrong @enoughisenough4

Morning all and @Amdone123 thank you for the shakes. Have brushed myself off, am on the straight and long AF, moderating a max, road. Again. Suppose we all have our ups and downs. Went quite low and bummed it completely last week. Not only drink wise, food wise too. Had a real "eat everything in sight" week. Not only the Wicked Wine Witches got me, but also the Nasty Nibbles.
Well..... I'm back. Vade rectro satana!
So! To everyone who struggles from time to time, ride the wave, pick yourself up, and climb back on the wagon. We are only human. With our ups and downs. Our strengths and our weaknesses.
Fortunately on this thread we can write all that down and share. Knowing that nobody will judge, only encourage each other in the right direction.
So thank you for writing your experiences, fears and hopes here. They do help.
Nowstrong had a wobble but is back.

Where's that effing group of WWWs? I want to bash them on their heads with my empties before discarding of them in the glass bin.
Wishing you all a good day. SSS!

@Nowstrong 🤣🤣🤣 - I love it

@Bigbus yes, in a way I feel energized, the change of scenery and routine did me good. But in a way it’s highlighted how restricted I am where I live.

Morning wow had a good read through everyone’s stories/comments and this is the right thread for me! I love how supportive and non judgmental you all are! So I’m currently day 3 AF. I’m not wanting to completely stop drinking but going to have to moderate it. What started as a bottle of wine on a Friday after work has now increased to 1.5 bottles and then soon I was drinking almost every night. I haven’t even been enjoying it more just a habit and then I end up almost downing it as I know my body needs so many hours to process it so I’m not over the drink/drive limit the next day. I’m also overweight, got a lot of home stress at the minute and I know alcohol is not helping. My plan to start with is to get to Mother’s Day without a drink and if I feel like a drink then to have a glass or two with my meal. I have had stints if not drinking when pregnant and following the birth of my children but I think Iv always had a problem with alcohol in that Iv never known when enough was enough. I’m heading towards my 40s and terrified of the damage I’ve done to my body especially my poor liver! Good luck everyone and thanks again for such a supportive thread!

So, after my last post about how I’m loving being almost AF la la la, I went and got wasted last night, and I’ve been paying for it since about midnight when I woke up full of anxiety and a bad tummy. It’s been a long day and I’m not even half way.

I (think) I can say with confidence, I don’t want to feel hungover ever again.

I can’t wait to get back to being energised again!

Checking in. Doing ok-ish. Having AF days and trying to not go overboard when I do drink although I still need to work on that one as I tend to drink more than I would like.

I find AF being like trying to diet/maintain my weight in that it feels like an 'effort' when I wish it wasn't.

Hello @Cheesecake1989 welcome to the thread. Well done on day 3. I do on at the beginning of the week because I work Mon-Wed but struggle towards the end. I am also overweight and going to SW so drink less when I’m doing that properly. How are you feeling? Somehow I always feel the worst on day 2 or 3 when I go AF after a long period of drinking a bit too much.

@Swannyb i think it is these hangovers from hell that help me to moderate - usually. I still have days when the wine monster wakes up and I think F**k it and drink gallons and I really can’t do hangovers anymore. I feel like I’m dying and the early morning anxiety is the worst! I’m still apprehensive about certain social occasions that I’ll just end up back to my old habits but I can’t avoid them forever.

@ShufflingAlong i totally get it. If I take my eye off the ball with what I’m eating and drinking I just seem to gain weight and drink too much. It feels like ‘normal’ people can just moderate both food and drink instinctively and I can’t and it’s a bit exhausting. Thank goodness for the support of this thread so I don’t feel alone!

@Bigbus im feeling tired, didn’t sleep great last night but didn’t have much water either yesterday! Goin to try and get out for a walk or something after work as usually it’s day 3-4 I cave!

Ah yes I often crack then too - I tell myself that 3 days AF proves I don’t have a problem so it’s ok to have a drink!

Hallo @Cheesecake1989 and welcome onboard. Good news is you're only young ,( you are!), and that the liver, once we start treating it properly, is the best organ for getting itself back to normal !
I'd just take it one day at a time - find some more activities to do ( you've already got walking - that works for me), and get yourself to mother's day. By then, you'll probably be feeling less bloated, lighter, so you may look at it differently.
Good to have you here, anyway. And thanks for the water reminder.
I'm day 3, too and no plans in March so I'm hoping to have a really good af month.

@Bigbus I rejoined SW last night, so I'm with you on that one. I've put on a stone since my course started in September, and of course the wine will be partly to blame as well as poor diet and lack of exercise of course. I'm going to allow myself one bottle of wine a week, but I really am determined to lose weight as I'm just disgusted every time I catch sight of myself. 5 years ago I was a size 10 and now I'm a 16 and it doesn't suit me at all.

@Cheesecake1989 welcome!

For you and anyone worried about their liver, the British Liver Trust do a roadshow where you can go and get your liver scanned for free. I did it last year and it's great. I'll try and find the link...

@Swannyb hope your day gets better. God, I hate hangovers but I haven't had a really bad one in a long time. They are enough to put you off forever. @Bigbus says, too, the anxiety is awful. I still have that when I've drank but through the night. The dog is usually asleep on my feet, so feeling trapped and shit - not a great combo 🥴

I've just looked at it doesn't look like there's any dates posted yet. I think it's mainly in the summer but it's definitely worth going to

Hello all hope you are all ok. Been quiet for a bit. Usual drinks at the weekend which I am happy with and back AF Monday and hope to do that until Friday. Trouble is so much stress atm my sleep is terrible, so hard not to grab the bottle to help me sleep. grrrr
Swannyb sorry about to hear about the slip up but that's all it is, just don't beat yourself up about it. I've learnt something recently that if I slip up I don't think, oh well had a drink so failed so might as well carry on, if that makes sense.

I am proud of myself this evening. I got in from work with my half bottle of wine. About 20 mins ago I got the 'hmm that half bottle is not enough i will just pop out for another half bottle'. I got in my car, drove to tesco, and drove back without going in. I am now home and changed and determined not to touch that half bottle til as late as possible. It could have gone either way though but I talked myself out of it and that is huge for me.

@Needtokickthehabit well done, that's absolutely brilliant. All these positive steps go a long way, I find, especially when you're lacking confidence ( as I do) in your ability to moderate or abstain.
You can do it ❤️

@Needtokickthehabit that's amazing! Very good progress, well done!

Morning, hope everyone is OK.
Day 4 here and feeling good.
I'm on a thread here about no or low spending in March ( we've been doing it for Jan and feb), and I noticed last month that it actually helps my alcohol intake.
It's strange but by focusing on something else - saving up / not wasting money by having a budget / not even buying clothes, etc, I find it helps.
I think I've read something about shifting focus. I suppose I'm thinking twice about what I spend money on.

@Amdone123 I'm finding the same with slimming world. It gives me a reason to be more disciplined about it and makes it more difficult to just think oh F it, because I'm so determined to lose some weight. On SW you can have 2 glasses of wine within your 'syns' in a day, but I'm allowing myself one bottle in one sitting, once a week. I'm hoping that once I start seeing the weight come off it'll keep me motivated to stay away from the wine

My drink aware app has said 'low risk' for a few days in a row now 🥳🥳

@enoughisenough4 that's brilliant, well done.
Yes, I meant to say shifting the focus to anything else, losing weight is a good example.
I find I can lose weight with 1 bottle a week, but no more. My weight is coming off slowly but surely ( 10lb in 16 weeks!), but I could do better.

@Amdone123 10lbs is brilliant! That's almost a stone!!

Morning all! Going strong here, extremely busy as being taxi for DGDs, plus hairdresser, plus loads of bits and pieces before I'm off on holiday on Sunday.

I'm away for 5 weeks, so packing my mini case is a big "do I need this or not?". The spare bed is now covered by a permanent mess of stuff all over it. Why such a small case? Because I'll be moving around a lot and don't manage well with a backpack, so mini wheelie case is now my choice.

Why bore you with these details? Because it keeps my mind off nibbling and a sneaky glass of wine. As mentioned above, by @Amdone123and @enoughisenough4, focusing on something else is a good strategie to keep the mind, over bottle and mouth, in control.

I'm really getting excited and nervous. Trying to not forget anything, checking my trip plan repeatedly. Good thing I do, as I managed to get a few dates mixed up and booked hotels on wrong nights. Really don't want to have to spend a night on a park bench in a foreign country. Even if it is warm enough. 😉

Well done to @Needtokickthehabit, small steps but positive ones. That's the way to stay positive and to take back the control.

I'm going to be AF or sometimes just a beer in the evening for 5 weeks!! That is really motivating. Won't be nibbling either. Hopefully will shed a few pounds. Which is a double reward for me.

Will catch-up on this thread from time to time, so definitively won't be too regular but won't disappear. Still 3 nights at home. I'm worse than kiddies, doing a count-down before Xmas.

Sending positive vibes to all! Stay strong and sober! Death to the WWWs 😈

@Amdone123 and @enoughisenough4 i could not agree more - I think if you focus so much about something, it’s harder to not do it as it’s taking up your thoughts. 10lbs is a fantastic achievement, well done.

I can’t believe how much my binge drink on Monday as affected my week. I was feeling so good last week and it’s taking it’s time to get my body back there, but I will get there eventually! Diet is in full swing now so I am focusing on that!

Enjoy your trip @Nowstrong !!!

@Nowstrong that sounds very exciting! Whereabouts roughly are you headed? Are you going on your own? I’d love to travel. I went straight from school to University into a job and never was brave enough to go on an adventure. I’m planning an adult gap year once the kids are old enough to fend for themselves!