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.

@Perkuppaige well done on Day 11 !
Hope your energy levels improve.
I always find that when I abstain, I've more energy, I'm more positive and the laundry basket is empty.
And, absolutely yes to reminding yourself of the positive gains.
I did that yesterday actually when I felt a bit bored. Also, reminding myself that hangovers are boring.
Day 7 - I had a great weekend, got lots done, ate some lovely food and I'm ready for this week.
Hope everyone else is OK?
How are you @rubyflippers ?

Youre all doing great and doing all the right things. I came on mn pretty much every day at the start - was great for keeping up the motivation.i also had a huge number of very early nights - not sleeping (that was crap for 3 weeks).

i have also lost 21lbs in 18 weeks - some of it due to not drinking but I also started intermittent fasting (why not make things harder!). My stubborn belly fat went really quickly which I definitely put down to alcohol.

dh is on his af days this week and is hence very grumpy. I’ve posted before about the madness of trying to moderate and basically going through day 1 every single week - for now, he is stubbornly persisting. It frustrates me so much and makes me even more determined not to give him the green light to drink by joining in. Feel mean but I resent him greatly some days (even though I’m hardly an angel).

keep on going the rest of you - the early days are the absolute hardest and once you make it through those it is much much easier!

@Seenoevil33 ahhh, thank you for your lovely words, really inspirational. You've done so well.

I am moving onto day 3, @Goandygo, and your kind enquiry is keeping me motivated, as is the post from @Seenoevil33,so thank you both so much!
And congrats on completing your first week!

@Goandygo 1 week is a huge milestone - nothing will be harder than that first week so well done!

@rubyflippers i found day 3 and 4 hard but keep reading as much as you can- I scared myself silly reading about people with liver failure!

i also thought going out socially would be hard - so far found it easy - there’s usually at least 1 other person who decides not to drink and I think sober me is actually a bit nicer to hang out with - I do however tend to want to leave fairly early which probably annoys DH.

Hope all are well
Day 9 here. I've found ticking it off in the am really helps - like nope, don't even consider it!

Very trying morning this am, so instead of grabbing a bottle of wine at Waitrose I've treated myself to a fancy brownie for later, looking forward to it with a cuppa at the end of the day. Actually think it's more of an exciting treat then a glass of wine and daft I would have counted the calories for the brownie but not the wine which prob was worse 🤣.

Also tried a lime and mint San Pellegrino - had it in a gin glass over loads of ice, was such a treat!

Lime and mint sounds good! Also, great idea to plan different treats, too.
Day 4 for me.
5 til 6pm is my wobble time, but off to a pilates class so should all be fine.
Also, have a wedding in France to attend in 2 weeks and cannot put on an ounce of weight to be able to fit into my dress!
Hope your day gets better @Thepressuretofindaname

Hi all. I confess I am struggling - but my house is very clean as cleaning is my main displacement activity!

I am making one of my favourite meals for dinner - a lemony chicken broth with vegetables, herbed chicken meatballs, dill and rice.

I am drinking ALOT of sparkling water with lemon cordial.

best wishes to everyone.

Oh and today I put in for some overtime - hopefully a few extra hours a week plus not wasting money on booze means that our holiday account and my ISA will start looking a little more healthy!!!! That motivates me ALOT.

That’s ‘Very’ motivating watching those build up! Glad you and everyone else is hanging on in there.

Day 12 for me and so far I don’t even want to drink, just want my energy back and my brain to feel less foggy but I’ve been here before and know that this is all par of the course and probably the autoimmune playing a part too.

I started the 30 day experiment - did pay lip service to it several years ago but never followed through, this time it doesn’t seem like such a chore to do the daily activities and I’m quite enjoying journaling and hopefully reprogramming my brain.

@Thepressuretofindaname your brownie and tea sounds lovely 😊 much better than wine and a lot less harmful! I never really drank the fever tree mixers because of the sugar content but would think nothing of downing a bottle of wine! My new treat of an evening now is a glass of ginger ale and a bag of crisps and it feels like a real treat.

@Perkuppaige it's funny isn't it how somehow we can discount wine calories in our heads!

I find that once I have eaten dinner I'm fine for the rest of the evening. So I am eating earlier and going to bed fairly early. Tonight I plan to have a long bath and then do a full body moisturise afterwards. Little bit of self care won't go astray!

Morning all. Up bright and early but after a fairly unsettled night.

Have a busy day today but on annual leave. A medical appointment with DS and some life admin things I have been putting off.

Hope everyone has a good day!

Morning - My sleep is definitely disturbed at the moment, funny because I thought I didn’t have an issue prior to giving up, but I’m sure it will settle as time goes on and then I’ll be bouncing out of bed at 6am! Still, it’s great to not wake up without a hangover or the subtle lingering after effects that permeate throughout the week.

Here’s to a productive and calm day!

Morning, all.
Just catching up on everyone.
@Perkuppaige I'm sure your sleep will improve, and I agree - even if I don't sleep great, at least I haven't got a hangover and for that, I am ridiculously greatful ( if only I could control it, eh ?! ).
@rubyflippers you're doing great. You'll soon be in that dress. One day at a time, remember !

Day 9 here and I'm feeling good. All the benefits of being af are experienced by me pretty quickly when I abstain. Skin clearer, sleep much better, scales lower, etc.
I was very tempted for this evening (a sporting event on I'm excited about), but thought about it last night and I've decided against it.
For me, drinking is fun at the time but the next day is just not worth it.
Saturday is another hurdle as we're going away for the night ( dh doesn't drink, so it's not even a 'joining in' thing), but I'll tackle that when I get to it.
Have a great day, everyone.

@Perkuppaige I loved the 30 day experiment. It was one of the first things I did ( about 5 years ago now).

Day 11: my skin is looking better already, need to get into a better sleep routine though

@Goandygowe have just been away for BH weekend and I thought I would cave, but I didn't and was very pleased with myself on the way home

@starlight128 that's great - I shall take inspiration from you !
It would be nice to not be hungover coming home Sunday. I think I can do it. We're hiking so it's not like it's an event or anything. But we will eat out - anyway, I'll try my best.

@Goandygo I was dreading nights out without drinking but they really are ok. Once I start with a soft drink I’m ok and end up just sticking with it. Whatever you decide though at least you are making a conscious decision about it. Still progress.

Day 10 today and feeling good.
Watched my sporting event with Victoria and King prawn chow mein. Didn't miss the wine.
Today not a problem but I'm a bit antsy about the weekend. Not craving as such, just doing something out of the norm ( not drinking when 'on holiday').
I think too much 🥴

That was Vimto not Victoria - no idea who she is.

is anyone reading/listening to any quit lit books to help?

@starlight128 I've never read any quit lit, though I did once read the first chapter of William Porters Alcohol Explained and found it very interesting.
I'm a bit stubborn when it comes to Quit Lit ( no idea why).
Probably because I love reading for pleasure.

@starlight128 just realised my post was totally unhelpful.

Listening to this Naked Mind podcast at the moment and it’s definitely helping me to keep focused. Although saying that, Friday night is here and that sneaky, addictive voice reared it’s head earlier telling me I can just drink a bottle once a fortnight and this time will be so different to all the other thousands of times and I’ll be able to actually moderate! 😆

I have no intention of drinking though and although I’m still tired I already feel so much better on day 14 and looking forward to hitting the weekend without a hangover.

@rubyflippers hope you're still doing well - should be day 6 for you - in touching distance of that first week ….

only 61 more days for me to get to 200 - was chatting to DH last night and he said just carry on forever - you seem so much better without it! Wish he’d take his own advice cause I’m getting a bit cheesed off with the bad temper when he’s not drinking, followed my the overly positive and chatty days when he’s polishing off a bottle of wine!

Despite so many chats he doesn’t seem to be cutting down AT ALL and I can see a point in the future where it’s not gonna align with my wishes for life going forward. Bit harsh after nearly 30 years and also all a bit depressing.