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.

I’ve bought strawberries and ice cream for a treat tonight 😀

@Goandygoare you just having a lick of the stock cubes and a sniff of the tiramisu?!?! 😂😂😂😂😂

Thanks @Sonnetshe was extremely strong, hated booze too. So it’s another massive reason I need to quit. Don’t want her looking down on me being disappointed. 🥹 Cabt wait for the holiday. Will be for my husbands big birthday. Tenerife for a week in a villa. How has your day been? Was it you going to yoga? I went this morning and this evening!!! Trying to keep myself out of trouble of course.

I was tempted by rum and raison icecream today.

But had banana split instead. 😇

A good day thanks @wecandothis2025
heavy day in the office … but fizzy water and strawberries and ice cream managed to hit the spot.
no exercise though but planing a run and dog walk tomorruw and it’s my yoga and cold water swim session on Friday 😀

I read today that alcohol slows down your metabolism. That your body is so busy metabolising the alcohol it puts fat burning on the back burning. Something I didn’t know at all! And a real motivator for me.
Day 4 done - a couple of years since I’ve gone this long without a drink

Morning all. @wecandothis2025 you are an inspiration staying AF with everything you have faced this week. Tenerife will be amazing!

I slept really well last night- all the way to 5.30 which is unheard of for me. I'm off work today so might make the Dcs a cooked breakfast before school.

Hope everyone is well and fine.

Morning all,
pleased to hear you slept well @FeelingLessTired
i had been sleeping well but not last night. Work worries keeping me awake but I’m better equipped to deal with today being AF.

4 days under my belt !
And 1 pound down on the scales , might be a fluke but I’ll take that 😀

today I will not drink

Good luck everyone, stay strong

Morning!
@Sonnet 4 days is great, and the fact that it's a long time since you went 4 days is even better. Yes, true that about the body and metabolism. I'm feeling much lighter, but I always do when I'm af.
@wecandothis2025 I laughed with my sister that I felt a bit woozy after the tiramisu. It was delicious though !

Well, another weekend approaching - usually my danger point when seed is planted but I'm confident that I will not drink.
I've already got 2 af weekends under my belt. Like you @Sonnet it's been many years since that's happened. 1 weekend yes, 2 - not in a longggg time.
We're winning 🥇

Definitely we are winning!

Just popping in briefly to say that I have also started to notice a difference to my bank balance. Usually by this time of the month I am perilously close to my overdraft. This month not so much. And that can only build up. I hate to estimate what I spent on alcohol but averaging out realistically it's probably about £10 a day. (taking into account a weekly pub trip etc). What an unbelievable waste of money.

I'm thinking I might get a long-overdue haircut at the end of the month. (I joke about my 'annual haircut').

Onwards Friends!💪

@FeelingLessTired omg, yes to a healthier bank balance.
On a Friday after work, I'd think nothing of £60 on alcohol - not to mention the take away the next day ( which was always rubbish btw).
I always find my bank balance rarely moves because I don't actually need anything ( I don't supermarket shop like I used to either - sick of inflated prices 🥴).

Hey ladies! What are gorgeous day! Hope you are all doing well on your journeys!

that’s funny @Goandygo😂😂 I hope it was lovely! It’s hard to find a good tiramisu these days!!

Im on day 7 now. I’ve got no energy or motivation at all today?! Anyone felt like this around the 1 week mark? Craving sugar like mad too! Trying to curb it but finding it difficult. There’s the constipation too, I’m going every two days if that and I drink lots of water and eat plenty of fibre. 🥴

well done @Sonnetkeep going

Hi all, can I join please?

I hope it's ok but I've read through the whole thread and @Goandygoi'm in a similar position to you - last Friday I went out with my friend and her friends. I'm trying to lose weight atm so I didn't eat much before I went out (stupid, I know, but I foolishly thought I wouldn't drink much). I don't think I drank more than I have done multiple times before, but Friday night it hit me different. One minute I was 'just a bit pissed' and the next I literally couldn't walk. I remember being physically unable to stand and walk and I fell over multiple times. My friend and her friends had to carry me to the car and got me home safely, but honestly I wouldn't have been able to get home unaided. I hurt my ankle (still hurts, but getting better thankfully, but a reminder of the night) and have a massive bruise on the side of my leg. This next bit is really embarrassing (I've named changed to be on this thread) but I wet the bed during the night. That's never, ever happened to me before and DH said he's never seen me that bad before (he was actually very kind about the whole thing 😳). But I feel like that was my rock bottom.

Anyway, normally after 2-3 days I would be back to thinking it's ok for me to have wine again, but I've been so anxious since then. Google tells me I had alcohol poisoning due to the coordination and incontinence issues I had, which if that's true absolutely terrifies me. It's been 6 days now and I, like @Goandygohave no desire to drink, but I know that won't last forever.

I'm not a daily drinker, but I do drink far too often - at least 3 times a week 🙈 and I find it hard to not want another every single time I drink.

You’re are in the right place here @paintcolourchart - these mumsnetters are so strong and wise
Ive only got 4 days under my belt, but I’m keeping on keeping on

I’m easily irritated today . Is this par for the course on day 5?

im concerned about my first weekend @Goandygo . I have yoga, swim and sound bath (solstice event) planned between 6.30 and 9.30 on Friday evening. This is something I would normally do, but I would currently be wondering at what point could I fit in a glass or two of wine and then congratulating myself that it had only been a “light night” 🤦‍♀️
I think I’ve mentioned that I entertaining in quite a big way on Sunday. I have deliberately left a lot of things to the last minute as a diversion tactic for Saturday evening 😀

@wecandothis2025 i didn’t realise you are just ahead of me on this journey, how did you cope with your first weekend ?

your lack of motivation could be due to the weather ? I’ll let you know when I get to day 7 🤣

@paintcolourchart yes, pretty much the same scenario ❤️
I understand about how you feel it might change - that this feeling of not wanting to drink may not last forever. I've been there so many times, and so many times it should have been my rock bottom, but it wasn't.
This time is different for me. If I were you, I would just take it one day at a time. When the wine witch does come knocking, be ready. Have something in place - a list of the reasons you want to call it a day, a list of the benefits of not drinking, a list of other things you can do.
But Just For Today - don't drink.

Also, be kind to yourself - no negative self talk. Speak to yourself how you'd speak to a friend.It's an addiction and it happens but we can live a different way, a better way I'm thinking.
Keep posting here, too - we'll help the best we can.

@wecandothis2025 day 7 already - seems like yesterday we met 🤣
Your lack of motivation might not be alcohol related - you've been through a lot recently. Might be your body telling you to have a rest.
The sugar craving yes. I eat more chocolate when I'm abstaining but I'm happy to do that. It's better than wine.
( Can't help with the other business sorry. Regular as clockwork here).

@Sonnet weekends are difficult aren't they. Let's face it, it's when the rest of the population gear up for drinking ( most of them ), and we might feel left out somewhat.
Other times when I tried to give up, the thought of an af weekend was so scary. But, I actually enjoyed them. Got lots done, slept well, ate well, treated myself with money saved and on Monday morning, actually felt terrific, instead of feeling like death warmed up.
I know you're hosting and that's an extra challenge but get those af drinks stocked up.
I think you can do it.

@Sonnet how old are you ? ( just asking regarding the irritability issue - menopause?)
I always say that my body is a temple. My sister says since the menopause hers is a haunted house, with creaky joints and the ghost of an angry woman.

welcome @paintcolourchart !

I recognise a body of a haunted house and angry woman, @Goandygo !

Re the weekends..... they can be tough. But I always find on the Sunday evening at least i am not cursing myself for wasting them through either drinking or hangovers. Dear Lord how many weekends have i wasted....

Last year though during an AF period [this time it's for good, not merely a phase] I used to wake the DCs early on a Saturday morning and take them, and hot chocolate and we would go and watch the dawn at our 'local' beach. (One I have to drive to). Granted that's about 4 am this time of year and equally granted this year my Dcs are teen-aging rather harder than last, but it was quite effective. There is something magical about driving through the dawn..... we see barn owls and foxes and I can usually be persuaded to go through the 24 hour McDonalds drive through for hash browns.

Hey @sonnetyes! Not that much ahead of you! I came here exactly a week a go when my nan passed away. I had thought about doing this ssooooo many times. This time I had to do it. I knew It would only get much worse if I carried on drinking. Relying on it more than ever. I wanted to grieve in a good place, not half cut or wishing the day away so I could drink again. I wanted to feel the real raw emotions and be able to do deal with them, feel them properly. I had decided a long while back that I wanted to stop, this grief and loss just gave me a much better reason to start. It was quite unexpected in a way because going through so much hurt would have tipped someone over the edge and gone the other way. I decided the evening we knew she wasn’t going to make it, that I would only drink a bottle over a 6 hour period. I didn’t want to be feel terrible the next day and wanted to try and keep a clear mind. I had decided that evening would be my last night of drinking. She passed away the very next morning. I didn’t know how I would get through my first day or even if I would, but I did and I’ve really surprised myself. Yes, I suppose at day 5 I was moody and irritable.

@Goandygoregular as clockwork 😂😂 I used to be but this week has been terrible. Added flaxseed and chia seeds to porridge this morning so hoping they will have some benefit by morning!! 💩💩😂 Great advice to the newcomer as usual. Hi @paintcolourchartall I can say is just keep posting. Like @Goandygo said keep yourself as busy as possible over the weekend and do things you wouldn’t normally! We went to a safari park on Sunday and had a great time. All the walking around geared me up for a good sleep that night. On Monday me and DH went to the cinema in the morning! Treated ourselves to malteasers and other goodies. I bought the book This Naked Mind - Control Alcohol by Annie Grace and am slowly reading that. You can do this.

Thank you all for the lovely welcome and the non judgement ♥️

@Goandygoyes, I've had times which should have been a wake up call/rock bottom but this time feels different to me too. I'm going out to a craft group this evening, it finishes at 9pm and then I'm home ten mins later. Normally we would split a couple of bottles of wine afterwards when I got home seems crazy really doesn't it.

It's funny you say about your body being a temple. I'm so against additives and artificial ingredients in food, cleaners, cosmetics etc. I've changed everything I used to use and I'm a real label reader, but when it comes to alcohol (well, wine) I just don't seem to register it in the same way, or even care, when it quite literally is a poison and a known carcinogen.

@wecandothis2025i've read the Annie Grace one, and the unexpected joy, and alcohol explained (this clearly isn't the first time I've tried to get a hold on things!). They are very good, and all make sense but for some reason it just doesn't properly sink in. Definitely time to get them out again now there has been a mind shift I think! So sorry to read of your loss, you are doing so well pushing through without alcohol ♥️

@paintcolourchart welcome and congrats on deciding to make a change. Like you, I just felt something in me click that it was time for me to change.

there have been hard times, but every day I simply commit to not drink today.

i am at 5 months today - should feel happy but woke up grumpy and cannot shake it off. Going to buy new trainers now in the hope that will give me a lift.

@wecandothis2025 and @Sonnet keep it up!

@FeelingLessTired your early morning trips sound great - think I’ll take a run out to the local beach early morning this weekend to try to find some calm energy.

at least I’m just grumpy - not grumpy and hungover!

Nobody has mentioned this, but sober sex is taking some adjusting to ….

@Seenoevil33 🤣🤣
Apparently, sober sex is better. But I wouldn't know - we sleep in different rooms.

I've just given my duty free cigarettes ( all 9 packets) away. Now I know I mean business, because all the other times I've 'given up', I've always kept them in a kitchen cupboard, just in case.
I won't buy them here ( I'm too tight), and I always have to smoke when drinking wine, so that's it - finito, terminado, over and out.

@Goandygo well done you - smoking is so hard to give up - I don’t think I could have given away packs when I smoked! It’s amazing though what we can do when we put our minds to it.