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

Fair to say I didn't manage my TWT dry streak. Did manage Tuesday. Wednesday I had one can (250ml). Thursday went out for an impromptu dinner with friends and had 800ml rosé and a pimms. Last night had a can (250ml). I'm trying to write down the quantities for accountability because in my head it becomes "a glass of wine or two" and I underestimate . In fact, I've actually realised just these few weeks that when I said when I joined the thread that I drink 3 bottles of wine a week it was probably closer to 4.

Trying to think about why this week has been hard- weirdly I think it's a combination of stress (house purchase dragging on, loads of touch up work in progress on our existing house) and boredom (not much work on - I freelance and it's a quiet time of year). Also on Tuesday I pulled my quad really badly and it's stressed me out as have a big race in 2 weeks and I haven't been able to train- wondering if it's also affected my dopamine levels??

@Trolleytoken gosh, sounds like you've got a lot going on. Hopefully it will all settle down soon and you can get some more af days in.
I think most people underestimate how much they drink or smoke. My friend works in insurance and she says no matter what people state, they just double it anyway 🤣

I'm proud of myself. Had my granddaughters this morning, walk, park, pub lunch - no alcohol for me. I thought I'll wait til I'm home and they've gone, then go and get supplies, but the moment has passed and I'm drinking diet coke.
I know if I drink today I'll not look my best tomorrow. Plus, I'd feel rubbish.

@Amdone123 Yes, everything you said is true. No point in the self flagellation. Just got back from lunch with my parents where we went we had one small glass of wine. My mum must have had some wine last night too lol. All evened out in the end.

Strange how initially I wanted to drink yesterday / last night. I actually had a lovely evening, watching tennis and the eurovision ( was in stitches laughing at that ). Had I drank, I wouldn't have even watched TV.
And today, I'm fresh for the celebrations. 😇

@Amdone123 I’m glad you had a fun evening! I managed to survive all my events without a hangover or any sense of dread. I did have palpitations on Friday night but that was because I ate too much cheese.

I was always hoping that I’d be able to moderate so that I don’t have to stop completely but I was worried I might not manage. With the help of this thread and the drink aware app I seem to be doing ok. My main problem now is the number of days I drink. I’ve been struggling to have many AF days. I’m going to aim for 3 this week and see how I go.

That's great!

Morning all and hope everyone managed to enjoyed some of the sunshine and not spend too long looking skywards to not see any Aurora activity !
Huge family get together this weekend and I drank wine
But to be honest I had planned having some wine at the wkd.
We had a gorgeous dinner out (wedding gift ) too Friday and shared a bottle of fizz .
What's shocked but helped me the most is my fit bit recordings when I'm not drinking compared to when I do.
All last week when not drinking my sleep quality, heart rate, oxygen sats were soooo good
This weekend it was completely the opposite
My heart rate was 100 % higher all night long than my daytime resting pulse while I was sleeping Fri and sat night.
Anyway that's me scrutinising the physical health effects. I'm actually looking forward to all the positives an alcohol free week will bring to me and my family.
Take care all amd thanks again for having me .

@mumzof4x gosh, that's interesting. I mean we know the effects drinking has on our health but to see it like that is pretty alarming. Perhaps I should get a fit bit.
Well, I'm not feeling too bad. Dreadful day nutritionally - beans on toast, 2 x bottles of wine. That's it.
I'm with you @mumzof4x this week. Let's have a few af days and see the good benefits.

Morning all, the wine witch got me on Saturday but I was good yesterday and woke up with a clear head ready for the week.

@mumzof4x yes I definitely notice the difference on Garmin with my sleep tracking and body battery. Generally I sleep for longer if I've had a few but the quality is much poorer.

Hello

Had a bit of a spotty week. Had one beer on Monday and AF through to Friday. On Saturday I had a bottle of Cava, two pints and a small glass of red :/ It was over quite a few hours (watching Eurovision) so may like seven hours? But felt terrible the next day with the anxiety.

Had a half a bottle of red last night and two bottle of beer. Don't feel great today. The old me would have managed that fine.

Reading that back I haven't done that well at all. @Bigbus like you I am trying to moderate but I'm not sure I can do it. At least I'm being more honest with myself about how much I actually drink.

I'm just thinking how much better I would feel if I gave up. Had such terrible dreams last night and it's put me on the wrong footing for the whole day.

Just checking in. Planning a no alcohol working week this week. I would like to try to do the weekend too, but I'm going to start off with Monday to Friday and not beat myself up if I have some wine on Saturday. To be honest, if I could do that as I general rule, I'd be much happier about my drinking habits.

@LaDamaDeElche yes, I'm similar. Mon to Friday for me af is ideal, then have a drink Saturday. But I've had af weekends before and I really like them.
@YoghurtPotWashingMachine I hear you regarding moderating. The good thing about abstaining ( not that I can ), is that you don't have any mental gymnastics. It's literally off the table. Do you think you could abstain ? Or at least have a good shot ?

@YoghurtPotWashingMachine I hope you enjoyed Eurovision. I had some friends round to watch it. In the past it would have been a massive booze-fest but I managed to stay on the right side of tipsy. It makes me think in the old days that I would have had so much - I reckon probably at least 20 units for the night. No idea how I managed it. It's so much better to have been able to have a few drinks, remember the night and get everything tidied up afterwards - no waking up to a huge mess and no recollection of how I got to bed. Sometimes I miss the lack of self-consciousness and the silly dancing but I don't miss the hangovers and the embarrassment!

@Amdone123 I have never tried abstaining indefinitely. In the past I have sworn off drink then went off the deep end when I started drinking again.

@Amdone123 @mumzof4x

I posted my sleep stats on another thread - the data is so hard to ignore, I find it really really powerful.

Two examples, below - the first, a Friday night after a bottle of wine. The second, a typical sober night, a few weeks after.

Oops - other way round!

@NextPhaseOfLife I have never achieved the dizzying heights of a "90" sleep on Fitbit. I'm in awe.

The first thing I check out after a sober evening is my sleep, the difference alcohol makes is astonishing.

Even without proof, I feel so much better even on a day 1. Some people on here struggle with sober sleep, initially, but my sleep improves immediately. Also, my skin, eyes, everything really.

Here's my heart rate
The first one is me sleeping after drinking on Saturday night
The second is an AF night last week x

Hi, coming back after an absence, only managed 1 af day last week so need some accountability. I will not drink Mon to Thurs this week.

@Hohofortherobbers hi ! Lovely to see you again !
Monday to Thursday, you're af - like a few of us on here actually so you're in good company ❤️

@mumzof4x That's great - it's an amazing difference, isn't it.

@Amdone123 totally agree that you don't need a gadget to see the difference. Seeing the physical changes is the most important.

I do love gadget though!

Same here @Amdone123 my skin and eyes always clearer and find I focus so much better at work
What's everyone drinking instead of?
For me it's my new water fizzer with frozen lemon slices and copious amounts of tea !

@mumzof4x I love sparkling water with lemon. I keep it readily available ( as opposed to buying it and ignoring it ), and aim for 2 litres. It makes me feel so much better. I like diet coke but try to have just 2 cans, as a treat, but I don't think it's good for you.
Tesco ginger beer is good - bit of a kick.
I'm on the fence with af substitutes. Well, af wine I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. Sometimes af beers and kopperberg work but sometimes they trigger me, so I've found I'm best with water.
Af tesco gin n tonics are great - especially in summer. You could mix with a fancy fever tree tonic. Anyway, it's raining today so summer is over.
I like an options hot chocolate too. Marshmallows, grated chocolate, a kit kat then bed !

I don’t mind some of the AF sparkling wine if it’s very cold - sometimes I’ll alternate it if I have people round. I also
find that one AF beer around witching hour sometimes does the trick. Like @Amdone123 i also like Diet Coke but less so in the evenings.

2 days AF and sleep much improved! The sleep data above is quite impressive. Definitely something to think about.