200 days alcohol free- anyone wish to join?

[FeelingLessTired]

Several years ago, under another user name I did a 100 day alcohol free challenge and alot of people joined me on MN. It was before covid, so a long time ago!

I really appreciated the support and lasted 120 days in the end. ironically enough DH joined me IRL and he just continued on and has been teetotal since then.

I was reading Annie Grace back then (I think) and her recommendation was that if you slip, to then challenge yourself for double the time- hence I now wish to start and achieve a 200 day challenge.

I'd love some company if anyone wishes to join me!

I have a funeral today and plan to drink J20 with tonic water. The deceased was a good friend of DH's and although he was in his early 70s drinking definitely played a part in his extreme fragility over the past few years. He's been really ill for a good ten years I think.

I have set out a spread sheet with my alcohol-free savings. In the last week i have definitely reduced and have saved just shy of £50 already (since the beginning of April) as we have had a fair few dinners and lunches out. I look at what I would have drunk (sauvignon blanc here and there) and when i have not had it I add that cost to my spreadsheet. That does help to inspire me because COL is biting us hard right now.

Afternoon all.

Pity about the awful AF drinks @sonnet! Tap water as the best option? Ugh! You are absolutely smashing the not drinking at home, that is really impressive.
Your day with your DH sounds just lovely. I hope you enjoy!

Not a lot going on here. I went earlier to our Village fete. 10 in the morning and people were already deep in the Pimms and Real Ale. That would have been me just a few weeks/months earlier. I had a Mr Whippy WITH a flake.

DH is out with friends. The Dcs have been playing bananagrams and watching Spiderman on Netflix. My drink of choice today was bitter lemon with elderflower cordial and frozen fruit as ice cubes. Very nice indeed. I don’t have a lot of energy today. Hopefully tomorrow I will take the Dcs swimming or something. That is about it here!

Sorry- the lovely day with DH was to @Goandygo .

@FeelingLessTiredyes the visual tracking is definitely helping. It's the weekly stars that are more of a motivation than the daily ones actually. I was going to refresh the daily ones each month but actually I've decided I'm just going to keep adding to them each day (I've got plenty of amethyst from the bracelets!) but once I've reached a month AF I'll take out the two 'drink' ones. Have you had any thoughts on your visual tracking? I do recommend crystals if that's your kind of thing! Those stars were from Etsy and only £1odd each. You and I are the same with moderation, I have no odd switch either.

Your morning sounds great and very energising @Sonnet! Such a shame about the AF selection last night though. No home drinking since 14th June is amazing!

Hope you had a lovely meal out @Goandygo - how was the AF drinks selection?

I didn't actually do much today - we had a very chilled home/garden day today and I have to say I feel really engaged with DS all day which was lovely!! Makes me keen to keep on track as it's really not fair on him if I'm not. I did have a tiny 'I fancy a glass of wine' moment earlier but it's subsided now and I had a flavoured sparkling water instead which did the trick. Like @Goandygo I feel like I've had a personality transplant too - I can't actually believe sparkling water is satisfying me but it is!!

I've also got a drinking event coming up next weekend. It's an afternoon/evening thing with drinks and dancing. When I get there I know there will be 3 measures of the local gin sitting at my place at the table, but I will be prepared for it (I've already said to someone else that they can have mine). I know the AF drinks selection will be absolutely shocking so I am going to sneak my own in and just make sure I put a bit of extra money in the collection (it's a charity event).

Happy Saturday everyone!

Also I'm consious that everyone posting is doing really well, which is great of course! But just wanted to say if there any lurkers who have fallen off the wagon - you are still welcome here and definitely do post! I know I stepped away when I fell off, but actually that's probably the worst thing you can do. You'll be in good company here!

A great day was had by me - corona zero, af kopparberg then back to the sparkling water.
It's funny ( or maybe not !) how I only ever have 1 af drink. I've got quite a selection in the fridge too - they've been there for quite a while. Wine never lasted long.
@paintcolourchart great point about anyone who's fallen off the wagon. I know from experience it's the last place you want to be but the best place for you ( this doesn't always apply of course. It's a tricky one).

@GoandygoI’m the same, can only drink one AF and the others stay in my fridge for ages.

Day 70 today, I’m going on a birthday shopping/drinking trip this afternoon. We were all meant to be going on the train, but I’ve said i’m driving so now the designated driver.

Also the same with AF drinks. Alcohol- one was never enough. AF drinks- scratches the itch then it's done.

Congrats on 70 days @starlight128 !!! That is awesome.

I echo what @Goandygo and @paintcolourchart about anyone who is worried about checking in.

Day 15 for me.

Day 14 for me here. I'm currently reading Claire Pooley's book The Sober Diaries and it's both excellent and witty.

I am finding the Quit Lit very useful but it is making me rather obsessed with alcohol as a whole even at the times when I wouldn't even be considering having a drink.

I stopped drinking in the week (apart from during Covid when it fell apart) over 14 years ago, but continued to binge drink at the weekend. I also stopped smoking ten years ago but continued to vape.

Both Friday and Saturday night this weekend I've had a new AF drink - Pentire Coastal Spritz with Fever Tree blood orange Soda - that I am enjoying and saving as my weekend treat drink. I have also bought some AF gin and will try that in due course along with AF beer. I'm also keen to try the Sentia drinks as well.

It's also about changing habits so going up to bed earlier and reading. Changing up that time that I would be sitting downstairs continuing to drink wine and vaping. Both of which are off the table now.

@Kipperandarthur well done on Day 14 and that Pentire drink sounds lovely. I'll look that up. I want to try crodino ( af aperol), but it only seems available in large stocks and I don't want to waste money.

@Kipperandarthur just googled - great reviews for Pentire, only bugbear is the expense, but if you like it, I think it's worth it.
I see Tesco have crodino so I'll get some. I can see me drinking crodino with af fizz or blood orange type mixes. I imagine I could drink it in the sun or on holiday, which is a big step for me.

Hello! I bought DH the crodino for Father's day and it is nicely bitter as I recall from the sip I had.

I am also really enjoying my new evening routine of shower, and reading in bed. Currently with peppermint and licorice herbal tea. It seems so luxurious.

Phone call with family today in preparation for our big holiday trip.. DFather asked me how my fibromylagia aches and pains are going and I took the opportunity to say that I had learned alcohol can trigger flares (which it can, according to some articles I read) and so i have been off the booze for 2 weeks and feeling better for it. Our family are big big drinkers. My mother said that since her heart problems that landed her in hospital in january she has also scaled drinking well back so she will keep me and DH (and of course all our DCs!) company with the AF drinks and we will make up for it in ice cream.

@Kipperandarthur I am really in two minds about quit lit for me at the moment- for exactly the reason you said. Chatting with everyone on our lovely thread does not trigger me- it supports me (thank you all ) but quit lit can be a bit unpredictable for me. I am currently reading Laura McKeown's 'We Are The Luckiest' and I am very stop or start as i have to be in the right frame of mind. Being confronted in tv or films with the sheer ubiquity of alcohol is an issue for me though. I have to very consciously tell myself 'It's poison, why are they romanticising it?'. What a booze-saturated culture we are in.

Hope everyone is well and fine this afternoon. Thank you all again for being here with me. I really appreciate what we share together. ❤

Being confronted in tv or films with the sheer ubiquity of alcohol is an issue for me though. I have to very consciously tell myself 'It's poison, why are they romanticising it?'. What a booze-saturated culture we are in.

This is so very true and it's only when stopping drinking that you become so acutely aware of this. Alcohol is prevalent literally everywhere. Obviously you can see it first hand when you go out especially in the sunshine with people drinking outside pubs and similar.

But it's the way it invades your kitchen and living room via the TV that it then becomes quite astonishing.

Reading the things I am at the moment I also didn't realise just how harmful alcohol is. Of course I was aware that over indulgence is not a good thing. I have become aware of certain markers from the doctor that have shown up in tests etc, but when you read that there is literally no safe amount of alcohol that can be drunk it's a very sobering fact. But it's certainly not widely communicated unless you go actively looking for the reasons as to why alcohol is so bad for you.

When you consider how prevalent smoking used to be on tv and in films years ago and how seismic the change has been with regarding to tobacco usage, it just magnifies how far behind the world is regarding alcohol as a whole.

Just popping in to say I’ve tried AF gin today and it was lovely 😻 It also scratched the itch so I will be saving it for weekend treats

I'm the same with AF drinks @Goandygo - very occasionally if it's sunny I'll have two San pelligrino flavoured sparkling waters though (wild I know!).

Day 70 is amazing @starlight128! I read last night in the unexpected joy that it takes 66 days to form a habit, so you've crossed that point!

@Kipperandarthur I'm finding myself getting a bit obsessed with reading up about going AF too. I finished the unexpected joy last night and I've read quite a few things on here and also on Reddit as well, plus listening to the Claire pooly book while I'm working. But I am keeping on track so I figure it's better than being obsessed in a bad way? 😂🤦‍♀️

Also enjoying my routine of reading in bed with a herbal tea! I did start this before I properly quit but I do enjoy it. I don't read every night but I do most nights. I dehydrated my lemon balm leaves yesterday as they were beginning to look a little sad already, so they should last me a while now.

Good you'll have AF company on your big trip @FeelingLessTired - that'll make it a lot easier! I hope the AF drinks selection is good so it's actually fun to peruse rather than a chore to find the best of a bad bunch!

Interesting what you say about the tv romanticising it @FeelingLessTired - there was a section about that in the unexpected joy, and then they had another page about famous people who don't drink. It pointed out that a glamorous character in a tv show (I can't recall who and where from) was known for being sophisticated and successful and also drank large amounts each night and then slayed in a courtroom (I think) the next day. The actress who plays her doesn't even drink in real life!

Oh also, meant to add this photo - stolen from another thread but hopefully they won't mind!!

@paintcolourchart I didn’t know about the 66 day thing, thanks that’s interesting.

That is really inspiring @paintcolourchart , thanks for posting.

Morning all,
12 days done 😀
was hit yesterday , out of the blue, by a really down mood. Not sure why.

just feel bleugh…

it’s a nice enough morning though and I’m in the garden having a coffee. I’m working today but have blocked out an hour to go out for a run. I want to get back into running regularly.

wishing you all a happy Monday

Morning, folks !
Oohh, 66 days is interesting. I'm not far off that. Being sober already feels normal - ish to me, but I think it's important to not get complacent. So I won't !
Thanks @paintcolourchart for that quote. I think before when I tried, there was always a fear of missing out. Now I've changed my mindset and I'm concentrating on the positives. Too many to list.
Plus, it's just the Wine Witch trying to win. Even if I did drink, how would my day change for the better ? It wouldn't.
Even holidays, I'm excited to think I can holiday in a different way. It will be challenging. I booked a beach holiday yesterday for next year. Had a bit of a wobble as to what that will look like, but I've also decided this time to not think too far ahead.
@Sonnet I had a bit of a low mood yesterday morning, a bit flat again. Sometimes I just let it happen / accept it. Sometimes I'll do something to cheer myself up. But I find it passes relatively quickly.
Well done on 12 days - you're doing brilliantly.

Hope you both feel better today @Sonnet and @Goandygo

Day 16 for me. I am also feeling a bit low this morning. But i have alot of errands and so will crack on and see if activity makes me feel better. (Rarely does tbh).

Great to have a holiday to look forward to @Goandygo ! I am one of those people who always need a holiday to look forward to.

Hope everyone has a good day.

“Even if I did drink would my day change for the better”? Is a wonderful mantra that resonates with me
@FeelingLessTired sorry your feeling blue too , hope your mood improves x

@Goandygo I was actually thinking of listing my positives here, so here goes...! In no particular order:

1. Better mood.
2. Better sex (yes, really!!!! MUCH better).
3. Better relationship with DH - more actual engagement rather than just wine fuelled ramblings.
4. More money for other things in life which actually bring me joy and last longer than a bottle of wine (cliche, but true!).
5. Better engagement and bonding with DS (this is a big one for me!)
6. Weight management, well this is strange one. I definitely look like I've lost weight, 100% no doubt about it. But the numbers are still the same on the scale! As I said above, I am at the beginning of my cycle so maybe that's why the numbers haven't gone down but I think it is more that my body was having an inflammation response to the wine and that's why there now appears to be weight lost, even though there isn't. This alone is actually quite alarming, and shows me just how bad it is for me.
7. More time!!!!!
8. No mental gymnastics.
9. No morning regrets or wasted mornings/days afterwards.
10. I could go on but I'll stop here!

I'm on day 24, so very early days and like @Goandygo I'm trying not to be complacent. But I used to crave wine pretty much every other day. I used to drink ~25-30 units a week. I've tried abstaining many times before, but I always go back and yet something feels different this time. It's like all the things I knew about alcohol before have finally clicked and the desire for it has gone (mostly!). finally I see it for the poison it is and I've realised I don't need it. It isn't the reason for relaxing, or for enjoying something, and it usually takes things away rather than adding to it.

Well done on everyone's streaks!

I started on Wegovy a year ago and it has stopped my alcohol cravings, i used to drink a bottle of wine everynight and now i would maybe have one every two weeks.

@Sonnet @FeelingLessTired and anyone else feeling the same, sorry you're feeling down. Is this perhaps time to have a look at your treat lists if you have one and pick something from it? Maybe an experience one like going for a coffee and a cake or ice cream somewhere nice (and maybe a walk or some other physical activity to get the endorphins going). Then if funds allow something more tangible?

@paintcolourchart I'm sure we were separated at birth 🤣
Love your list.
I can add No Smoking, as I only smoked when drinking. Not many - it could range from 2 to 10, depending.
My friend says it's not a lot but I think it is.
Anyway, I no longer smoke.