On a mission to moderate or absolutely abstaining, no judging, keep on being strong, new thread autumn 2024

[Nowstrong]

@Amdone123, @Freezingfeetwarmheart , @Bigbus,@Flumpywoo , @FiveShelties , @ForeverTipsy, @Hohofortherobbers,@Jbob1976,@walliedug,

Wanted to post and old thread wouldn't let me, so took the plunge...
Please tag everyone, don't want to leave anyone behind.

Still AF here and even starting to enjoy it. Nearly 2 months. Will write proper post later..
Hope you are all doing well. Stay strong. Wet vibes, 'cos it's raining.

I’ve stayed away a bit as July was pretty boozy 😳. Was away on holiday for 3 weeks and a pre dinner cocktail and sharing a bottle of wine with DP over dinner was standard. Funny that didn’t seem like a lot at the time (we’ve been known to be far worse!! 😳) but when I looked at the app and see that July was 150 units and only 7 dry days it’s a bit eek! Quite relived to be home and not drinking daily.

Will read back a couple of pages and see what everyone else has been up to.

Just checking in. 170 days here so not far off 6 months. Head away on holiday next week, long haul. Was originally apprehensive about not doing my usual bloody Mary at the airport and G&Ts on the plane. But now I am actually excited about the fact I wont be trying to cram in as many drinks as possible before the flight leaves or getting anxious about when the drinks trolley will be coming round, or if I can ask for two drinks at once. And I wont be parched and hungover halfway through the flight 🙃

Sounds like a great holiday and less than usual is better than nothing 😀

Great work @Hohofortherobbers !

It all starts with that first day, and every day after gets that little bit easier

170 days though!! 👏 Take a bow @HorrorFan81

In bed already but a good evening, rode with dh and dcs on our bikes to get a drink and pudding at a lovely country pub and had a 0% peroni in the sunshine. Dh is not a drinker so no temptation from him. If i hadn't committed to this thread this morning I'd have had a drink though.

Didn't check in this morning, but all good, today I won't drink. That half bottle on my cupboard is safe til Friday

Well done @Hohofortherobbers

Congratulations @Hohofortherobbers !

I was tempted last night, but stayed on the straight and narrow!

Thank you guys and well done 👏
Slept well, today I won't drink

Well done to you too. And isn't a good night's sleep wonderful!

Thanks for your support this week, I'll check out now till Monday, will enjoy my half bottle tonight 😀

Well done @Hohofortherobbers ! Thinking about this thread really helps me drink less. I'm actually on-call for work from 1st Aug - 18th, so decided not to touch a drop in case I'm needed (very unlikely, but I'm liking the excuse/reason to go dry for 17 days tbh, esp after a boozy July).

Forgot how freeing Just Not Drinking is !!

Its SO freeing! I never would have believed it when I was still drinking

Been out for date night tonight. Lovely restaurant followed by some fun activities. Had a corona zero, a zero cider and a Brewdog Punk. Had so much fun and remember the whole night with my husband. Now home drinking tea before a good night's sleep - having a date day tomorrow where we are doing an all day walk interspaced with stops for food and drink. Wouldn't manage that with a hangover 😳

Happy Monday moderators. The suns out, today I will not drink

Successfully navigated the airport and flight without a drink. Had a slight smirk at the bloke on the other side of the aisle who was knocking back the beers and asked the air steward for two and was told firmly no, he could have one for now. Would have been me last year. A few more challenges ahead on this trip but honestly think I'll get through it fine. I usually spend a fortune on booze whilst I am in this particular venue so planning some shopping trips and yummy desserts as treats with the money / calories i wont be wasting on booze 😋

Hooray and well done @HorrorFan81 ! I bet you have a wonderful trip and you'll remember other situations where you'd have been knocking back the booze in your previous existence and feel happy and slightly surprised at how much better it is now. I was at a celebration lunch yesterday and of course there was champagne - a glass for the toast and then help yourself. I had a lime and soda with a ton of ice and wasn't in the slightest tempted by the champagne. Also, I could concentrate on the conversation instead of being on edge trying to get a few refills before it was all gone.

Slinking back in shame. Had an awful summer alcool wise. Was invaded by family, caught Covid, was SO tired. Fell off the wagon big time. Didn't get drunk, but drank perhaps daily. Sleep has gone awol, feel bloated, have put on weight, eye bags back. So... AF day 2 here. Again. Starting from zero. Again. I know that I'll be better like this. All my hard work, positive thinking and sport, down the hatch hole.
So I'll keep you informed, will be working very hard to get back to where I was.
Proves that work in progress never ends.
Having to stay strong for myself. x

@Nowstrong take heart, you know the way.

I've had a week of solo parenting and I can see that I've backsliding a wee bit. Night cap on Friday, then on Sunday deliberately bought a couple of bottles of beer and drank them, then another night cap on Weds. Overall no harm done but I can see how it goes up and boom suddenly daily drinking, after all this good work.

Today I'm not going to drink.

I love the thought of being able to have a drink every now and again. But I think it might be like sitting on a hillside - the view's lovely and at first it feels comfortable but you're constantly having to make an effort not to slide down. Then every so often you slip a bit and you get more tired and before you know it, you're sliding down and you can't stop. At the moment I'm on the level ground at the top but it's so tempting to have a look over the edge. (Not sure the analogy entirely works but you get the idea!) @BezMills Well done for being able to recognize the signs early enough!

Well done @HorrorFan81 and enjoy your holiday!

@BezMills I'm like you and @Nowstrong in that I've been sliding back and having a drink or two every few days recently. Sorry to hear you've had Covid Nowstrong! Don't beat yourself up (remember the thread title?) and hope you feel much better soon.

I was meant to be dry for a couple of weeks but caved on Tues eve and shared a bottle of fizz with dh, then had a small glass of red. Felt ok the next day, my tolerance is back up (doesn't take long does it?). I totally forgot I'm going to an event in a city tonight with a group of friends and we've booked a hotel so we can all drink! There will be lots of peer pressure, but it's lucky in a way I'm on-call for work (over the phone only but will need to be coherent and be able to think straight) which will help me stick to getting mildly tipsy then going on to soft drinks. It's meant to be 29 degrees, too, and I can't drink in that heat as it wipes me out and I want to dance the night away!

Have a good weekend all x

Yes I was always on edge in those situations! Weddings, socials where there was free fizz or wine. I'd be looking out for refills and wondering if anyone had noticed i was drinking faster than everyone else 😐

Yeah I'm a scary fast drinker. That first Friday pint barely touches the sides and I'm on #2 by the time my friend is 1/3 down

Absolutely same