Quitting the booze...what to do in the evenings?

[Els2020]

I have found over the past 2 years, drinking has taken up more and more of my time and can be quite problematic. I don't feel the need to drink everyday, and I'm not dependant on it but I can't seem to stop at one drink and I also regret it the next day.
I simply don't enjoy it anymore. It's more of a habit/ boredom thing. Chasing the initial buzz you get from it.
I've made the decision to get rid of alcohol from my life for good.
Im wondering what to fill my time with in the evenings/ what to drink instead that's going to fulfil me enough to stick to this?!

Would love to hear suggestions

I do drink sometimes, but this thread popped up in most recent so I hope it's okay to post here anyway! I love a mocktail when I'm not in the mood for booze. There's a gin replacement called "Clean" that I love. The one in the green bottle is my favourite, it's botanical! That mixed with Fever-Tree Spanish Clementine tonic water is gorgeous. Tesco do a nice NA mojito that also mixes well with the Clean stuff!

I have a hand painted gin glass from Etsy, I fill it with ice and mix it up! It feels really satisfying!

I think myself don't try and replace it. Keep busy, do stuff, just drink normal things like tea, water etc. That's my view.

I am the same, I completed a puzzle in a week couple weeks ago, it kept me busy in the evenings. I am also interested in making a miniature garden house type thing I have seen on amazon

I don’t do the no alcohol stuff as I drank for the alcohol, not the taste, so I’m not kidding myself. I stick to Diet Coke, lemon and ginger tea, turmeric tea (if I can get it). I have long baths and go to bed super early. I don’t really recognise myself anymore! 😂

I help the Dcs with their homework. I often do life admin as well. Before Christmas I did all my christmas cards for the first time ever- and on time.

I bake sometimes or batch cook. My house is never so clean as when I am not drinking. I also plan house and garden projects.

What do you normally do while drinking alcohol in the evening?

I used to do jigsaw puzzles

used to like an AF fruit cider

I watch TV and actually can remember storylines now.
Also in bed for 8ish.
My danger point is 4/5 o'clock so I have cbd drinks which I have and feel like I am doing myself some good not harm. Plus it's become routine, I needed a new one to replace the boozing.

There are so many things. Until I stopped drinking every day from 3pm, I honestly didn’t even realise there was a whole nighttime world out there of people doing things besides drinking wine. 😂

Join the gym. Go to a class. In the summer, go take a walk or go for a run or go to the beach for a swim. Listen to podcasts. Do an online yoga class. Go to the cinema or watch a film at home. Read books. Learn a language.

I started training for a long distance multi day hike, so I did some of that during the day, but some of it in the evening because was summer. I’d listen to podcasts while cooking. My daughter and I would go to the cinema. I’d go to a sound bath. I downloaded Duolingo and started to re-learn Spanish because I had a holiday booked to Spain (I also planned my holiday). I did some reading (quit lit and just the pile of books I had piling up). Honestly, I also just went to bed! I used to stay up till 11pm a lot of nights finishing the last of the wine and now many nights, if the kids are in bed, I’m in bed by 9:30pm too. I’m getting all the sleep I wasn’t getting when I was drinking stupid amounts.

As for what to drink, what do you like? For the first year, I had an AF beer every night while making dinner. I was not a beer drinker so this felt like a new habit for me that worked really well as a distraction. I rarely have them anymore. More likely to have a herbal tea or kombucha, but it did the job when I needed something in my hand. You might enjoy something else, so worth trying different things.

That's what did it for me @mindutopia . The time you get back. Drinking makes me lethargic so i told myself it was 'giving myself the gift of time'. (And literally so if you consider that excessive alcohol consumption usually shortens your life span).

I happened to turn over to one of the Ben Fogle shows, where people go off grid. A man who used to be alcoholic went to live in (I think in Iceland). This man commented with a wry smile about when he stopped drinking ; 'There are Sundays... did you know that?'. I loved that.

I love AF drinks tbh. I drink alot of alcohol free sparkling wine- my favourite is the Sainsburys own brand. I also love ginger cordial with ginger ale.

There's tons you can do, cards, origami (don't laugh), films, study, books, evening strolls, radio, exercise.

Any friends you can rope into a board game? I have marble solitaire but also cluedo and a few others.

Lots of nice drinks as well like tea, herbal, or as pp said a chilled drink with ice. I'm not allowed to drink and do tons of other things as well due to meds, haven't missed it so far.

This.

I don't drink alcohol, went off it aged 40. I drink herbal teas, a huge variety of them. That's how I spend my evenings 😊

In my experience that is only a concern for a few days when the effects of the change to your habits are strongest. Be good to yourself for that time, get yourself nice alternative drinks that feel fancy, or for me fancy snacks or something helps. After you've broken the habit the "what do I do with my evening" feeling (for me at least) totally disappears. Good luck, it's a good move that will make you feel better.

I went and checked my game stash after this thread 😁

So I have dominos, cards (there are solo games), marble solitaire, pirates gold, cludo and some Christmas quiz cards.

There are tons of things you can do @Els2020, just take it easy first few days 🌺

Really positive move though as a lot of us don't realise how frequently we drink

Grown up soft drinks like Belvoir and sparkling water. Or alcohol free beers/cider. You will then reduce your requirement of having a drink out of habit and now I just have the occasional tea. Netflix, reading, even your phone if it helps distract you in the early stages.