Dry January and beyond

[BulldogMumma]

I couldn't find a dry January thread so thought I'd make one.
I've posted on the alcohol threads before but never see it through. This year I'm determined to do dry January and even beyond.
My drinking has really crept up lately and I know I need to address it. I lost my mum this year due to alcohol and I don't want to go the same way. I've been using alcohol as a crutch since losing my mum but now's the time I stop relying on the wine and take back control.
Anyone else who wants to join me are more than welcome, would be good to have some buddies along the way x

@Fundays12 gosh your most recent post resonated with me. When we had our eldest she was diagnosed with a medical condition in her first year. As a result no one is our very able family felt “confident” enough to spend any time alone with her. Still wanted us to visit regularly though. Our second has ADHD. That was basically the death knell on our relationship with our wider family we hardly see them anymore and when we do they are vocal about how loud he is, how much energy he has and (one of my favourites) asking when we are going to medicate him. Asked in front of him.

It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with. More so given we helped siblings with babysitting and school pick ups galore when their children were younger.

Just sending solidarity. I used to think a lot of my drinking was caused by my dysfunctional family but now I realise it was a means of escape. Not that it helped. It merely postponed dealing with the pain.

Gosh hope that wasn’t too heavy for Monday Morning… day 7 here and I’m feeling good, despite the above! Back to school and work and can’t wait to get back into our normal routine!

@CandyLeBonBon ha ha!! pavlovs dogs!! Yes this is me! My mind just lights up like Ting! WINE! with certain prompts.
I have a cold and feel pretty rubbish but know i would feel worse if I had been drinking

Morning all - Day 6 lets go.

Am I a dopamine junkie? That swops one addiction/ obsession to another....maybe

I'm off to get more of a sadistic dopamine fix shortly by attempting to exercise again after months and months of my gym membership just eating away at my bank account and nothing else

Thinking of cheesy gym motivational one liners "no pain no gain" "the gym is my playground, strength is my game" "get fit don't quit" 😂hilarious love a gym quote especially when I'm a complete beast at the moment but day 1 has to start somewhere, no time like the present and all that, long term gains and hopefully I'll float out of there

Catch up later well done getting this far all :)

Still here. Sleep shot to shit. think I might have diabetes :( lying awake hour after hour I realise the tops of my feet are roasting hot ... and perhaps the desire sink three or four pints a night could have been thirst-driven.

I'm sleeping like a baby. My problem is wanting to eat continuously😏
It's just greedy, I'm not actually hungry, so throwing myself into housework to distract my belly.
Day 6 for me and so far, so good. A couple of wobbles, but nothing horrendous.
I'm being 'kind' to myself at the moment, eating more crap - cake, sweets, crisps than I normally would, but the start of week 2 will be the cut off point for a crap diet.
Then start of week 3 will have me work more on exercise with the hope that by the end of January I'll be AF, eating a good diet and taking regular exercise.

Watch this space....🤣

If you seriously think that, get yourself to a pharmacy, I'm pretty sure they'll do a thumb prick straight away for you.

Worth a check x

We have just been incredibly unlucky with both being fairly useless and self centered.

Neither could I even when she visits all she does is talk about the "girls" and how they did X and Y and you can't do this with "boys" (the boys never get invited). My 12 and 8 year old boys have got to the stage they say hello, speak briefly to her then disappear as they can't be bothered listening to her talk about the girls and ignore all there achievements. It's actually horrible as all 3 of my boys are very academic and excel in school that way but it never gets recognised or acknowledged. She then has the cheek to try post on face things like share "I love someone with Autism and ADHD" on Facebook (my oldest has both). I felt like writing under it if you actually got to know your Autistic/ADHD grandson you would realise he would absolutely despise an attention seeking post like that and then asking her does she want an award for loving her grandchild who happens to be nuerodivergent!!

Sorry rant over 😅

Thanks for sharing. It's the most horrible feeling to know that your family have turned their back on you and your children when you need them most. I just cannot ever imagine doing that to my kids and will support them as long as I am here to do so. My sister is actually very helpful now that she has moved back to the UK but has her own family to and she only recently moved back.

It's taken me a long time to do the same. It still hurts though. I drink at times to escape to but it doesn't help anyone long term. I have pulled myself back from my mum recently. Christmas really showed where her priorities are and they are not and have never been with her children or grandchildren unfortunately.

Please get checked asap!!

Day 6 today.
I've been sleeping badly since starting DJ. I have to say I had a really awful dream last night.
Absolutely shattered back to work today and kids back to school.

Day 6 and back at work. Feeling OK at the mo but finding the evenings beginning to drag.

I'm sleeping well, although I do generally so haven't noticed a difference. But I always struggle to get up in the morning at this time of year, whether I'm drinking or not. Thank heavens I'm not giving up coffee - that would be so much harder!

Had a 0% Guinness last night, which was lovely, but it spoils my appetite slightly as it feels like a meal in itself, despite not having that many calories in it.

Day 6 already - 19.35% of the way there after today! 😃

Day 6 here. Slept better last night - thank goodness. Bought some milk thistle this morning to help with the detox.

Still slept badly! I intended on getting up at 8 when DH brings me tea, but I fell asleep again til 9:20! Weird dreams and all.

I'm doing okay although I need to shake the 'is this it? Is this how it's going be?' - feeling. I am getting quite bored in the evenings.

In better news, I do appear to have lost a bit of weight!

Well I have an unexpected day off work - DD's school is closed due to the snow, luckily I have a supportive boss.
I'm doing lots of housework to keep me busy- I have to say my house has never been so clean since I stopped drinking so that's a positive 😂.
I've found I've been going to bed early, if I watch tv in bed I don't think about wine, I'm sleeping fine at the moment too.
I'm keeping up with the water today, I'm almost a litre down. I think I've lost weight but it will be water weight because I've not had my head out of the chocolate 😂

Can I join please? Was waiting to see if I made it through the weekend before committing but I (well, we, DH is joining me 😊) did it!

We have a weekend away booked for the 31st Jan (Country house hotel place with Michelin starred restaurant - a lovely gift from relatives for Christmas) so I'm determined to get through until then and don't want to crack beforehand!

Yesterday was bloody tough. The bad weather meant our plans were cancelled so by about 2pm we were on the sofa in front of the fire watching a film and craving a glass of red!!! It was a long day!

Not a fan of alcohol alternatives so just sticking to tea, coffee and water (with the occasional orange cordial thrown in to mix things up a bit).

The next few days will be fine as we never really drink Mon - Thurs anyway but another weekend of cold weather and no plans looms on the horizon!!!

Not feeling any benefits just yet. Agree with a PP who says they feel boring! I have never really drunk to excess and haven't been drunk in years but I love a glass of wine whilst cooking and another couple whilst watching TV - it is hard to break that habit!

Well done @Starlight1984 for getting through the weekend!! It’s tough especially if you’re used to drinking indoors.
I get what you mean about the boredom you gain back so much time from not drinking and unfortunately we don’t know what to do with ourselves 😂 I usually try and get some early nights especially on the weekend when cravings will be higher!! Be so worth it if you and your partner make it to the 31st you may even find you don’t want to drink or you end up drinking less than before on your trip away.
good luck

Thanks @TimeForNosecco !

And yep we were in bed by 10pm all 3 nights over the weekend and even that felt late 😂I think our problem is we don't really go out very much (apart from maybe to the pub on the odd weekend but maybe once a month if that) so our "normal" is opening a bottle of wine and binge watching something on Netflix or putting on a film. Just need to get out of that mindset somehow!!!

Hopefully it gets easier as time goes on!

I am recording on Try Dry and I do feel a little sense of achievement when I enter a "dry" day so that helps a bit. I would feel like I'm letting the app down if I caved 😂

Yeah I fully get what you mean, my partner goes down the pub a fair bit but his doing DJ also he now wants to hang out with me on Friday nights! 😂 I quite like being on my own now.
But yeah I’m the same be in bed by 10, maybe try some AF alternatives? I’m personally not a fan I’d rather have a hot chocolate in the evening.
haha keep it up you can do this!!

Same!

I kind of understand why people make fancy AF cocktails or drink AF drinks from wine glasses. All part of trying to trick your brain that you are actually having a proper drink.

But for me personally it's pointless as it's the hard hit of alcohol in a glass of wine that I want!

@Starlight1984 , yes I agree. I think that's why I can't stand AF wine. There's something about the combination of wine with alcohol that hits the spot. AF beers and gin, on the other hand, are great, and I don't miss the alcohol as I wouldn't normally drink the alcoholic versions.

Another run today, which felt good after being stuck indoors yesterday. Will make a curry tonight to go with the beer. I'm on UnLtd IPA at the moment, but may try Becks Blue next as it gets very good reviews.

Saying that I actually like the corona AF beers I had those in the summer when I had a dry spell.
But yeah unfortunately something about when the alcohol hits and it’s only the first drink you really get that from but I’ve never just had one!!

This is my plan as well. Introduce a bit at a time and then hopefully the week is enough time to build a habit before moving on to the next one. Something like that anyway! Although secretly I'm hoping not drinking will mean I lose weight without trying - sadly no sign of that so far though...

Oh God, I've just realised, Ive been cooking and haven't given having a glass of wine a passing thought😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

Sorry, just had to share my moment of joy😇

First day back at work and definitely had to resist having a drink when I got in. Pure habit. Day 6.