Those who drink no alcohol, please talk me through the benefits..

[alcoholfreelifeforme]

DH and I have never been massive drinkers, but we have definitely gone through phases of drinking more heavily. It always seems to be around the time we have a 2 year old 😅 and this is our third, but we seem to have a hard time of it and feel things are tough and we’ll always drink a bottle and then some usually abojt 3 nights a week.

I know on a Friday at work I am thinking of the drink waiting for me at home. Sometimes I will have it before the kids have gone to bed, so I can look forward to feeling tipsy after they have.
This is probably the only time I really crave a drink.

Whenever I have 1, I always want another one. I can never stop at 1. I can mostly stop at 2, sometimes I want more. The day after I just feel shit! Full of anxiety, self critical, moody, short tempered with the kids, the list goes on..

So we’ve decided to go 99% alcohol free with the exception of a glass on Christmas Day.

Anyone else done this? Please help motivate me! What did you notice improved for you?

My health improved. My stomach thanks me daily for not being irritated. I’ve said goodbye to headaches in the morning. My sleep is better. My purse is much happier.

The best thing is, I have all those benefits and very quickly I don’t even miss it.

I lost weight, can drive every evening if I need to, my skin is better, my blood pressure is down, it’s rare to wake with a headache, I feel as though my days have more space. Honestly wish I had stopped years ago. I didn’t go to just one a year straight away, although I have less than that now. I decided that if I wanted to, it was ok to share a half bottle of Prosecco with DH, or have a glass with friends. And now I don’t want to at all. It’s brilliant, not drinking.

My whole life improved massively when I gave up alcohol in 2016. Within 6 months I was thinner, with brighter skin and eyes, the grey puffy face had gone, I slept well, had bags of energy and my zest and lust for life returned. It truly changed my life and I’ve never looked back. People that see photos of me now to then say that I look 10 years younger now.

I think the benefits tend to become a lot more apparent as you get into your mid 40s, certainly once you hit 50, and especially so for women. Friends of mine who are/ were big drinkers said menopause and alcohol were not a good combination and I’ve seen the same thing mentioned numerous times on here too.

I’m in my 40’s and find I just can’t tolerate alcohol the same anymore- 1 glass is my limit now! I don’t think about it during the week but I do still have the odd glass over the weekend which i think is more social conditioning than me actually craving it. I don’t really drink other soft drinks so generally it’s tea or water, but have started having a tonic water with a slice of lime and tricking myself it feels like a treat in the same way.. there’s some really expensive non alcoholic mixers that keep popping up on my FB feed- they cost more than a bottle of gin so that’s a no from me!!!

agree with the above though, skin much better, sleep soundly, digestion improved, less moody..

Any time you see something you'd like to buy for yourself but aren't sure how to justify it- you just say "well I don't drink so think of all the money I'm saving" 😄
(It works for fancy earrings, not for cars!!)

I gave up drinking except for Christmas Day and odd events, about 20 years ago. For me the benefits were not having a 3 day migraine/hangover after drinking. Other benefits were not arguing as much with husband- we both get arsey when we drink and had already come to an arrangement whereby only 1 drank at a time. I didn’t lose weight and for me there were no other real benefits, but I didn’t drink as much as you, only when we went on nights out, I was just a social drinker. I did also realise that I hate the feeling of the alcohol going into my body- by that I mean, I get a really odd feeling that feels like it is travelling down my legs. I also don’t miss going bright red the moment I drink alcohol and feeling sleepy!

Thanks all.
great to hear how you’ve benefited!

Tonight’s the first Friday we haven’t opened a bottle, yes already, so we’ve had a 75p bottle of peach and passion fruit fizzy water from Tesco with dinner and it was surprisingly good!
I already feel a good night’s sleep ahead of me. Feeling positive right now! (Long may it last)

It made my sleep SO much better! Sleep actual hits the spot now but it took a few weeks for my sleep to catch up I think. My skin is much clearer, my stomach is better generally, my anxiety is nothing compared to last year, I can drive anytime, my periods are now regular, it saves money, no weight loss for me but it’s also reassuring knowing my liver will be healthy.

I wasn’t drinking loads, about a bottle of red over the whole week, sometimes 1 and a half.

I last had a glass of wine on Boxing Day, felt like shit and haven’t drank since.

I wouldn’t say I’ll never have one ever but it doesn’t even cross my mind nowadays.

I found breaking the ritual/habit harder than the giving up alcohol so used to have trip to drink instead. Don’t really bother with that now either really.

My skin improved hugely, my mental health improved, sleep improved, I can drive when I’m on holiday / in evenings, I choose restaurants for food not for if they have the kind of wine I like… it was really hard when I first gave up but I’m now 6 months in and can’t see myself going back. I thought I would just do it for 6 months as a “test” - but the benefits really are huge. The only downside is now realising how much of my health, money and time I wasted drinking for so many years!!

When you don't drink alcohol you notice how much shite comes out of people's mouths with alcohol. You also notice the ones who get aggressive. I have a fear of one family member as she gets so aggressive when drunk. Look at how much money you save. Think about never having that awful " kill me now" vomiting hangover. Lastly console yourself that you are way less likely to end up on a ward with a Stage 4 liver being spoken to about a Do Not Resuscitate order.

Lost a ton of weight. Less paranoia, more centred. Less critical of myself.

My mood is more stable.
I used to drink to excess and always felt guilty and a shit human being .
Not drinking means I feel less bad about myself.

I’ve saved money.

My weight has gone down.

I don’t waste precious time on the weekend being hungover or spending unnecessary money on takeaways etc for hangover food.

My anxiety has gone down because I’m not thinking about things I said or did whilst drinking.

The biggest thing for me was how it freed my mind.
There's no debating who's going to drive or should we get a cab. There's no build up to the time when it"s 'acceptable' to open a bottle. No having to make a conscious decision not to drink in order to have alcohol free days. Or the associated feeling that I was depriving myself. No reflection or regret about not having stopped at 'just a glass'.
Being a nondrinker makes life so much simpler (and healthier). I love it.

I’ve really cut down on alcohol over the summer and without changing diet have lost three kg ☺️ I’ve had a small glass of pinot grigio with lunch today and it’s given me a headache so I’m regretting it now. Not sure if I’ll ever give it up completely but it is definitely benefiting me to have cut down.

It’s great. You’ll sleep better, your skin will look better, your mood will improve (it’s a depressant), your wallet will thank you, your breath will smell better, and you’ll never have that nagging feeling that you might have embarrassed yourself at an event you were drinking at.

Honestly, getting to the point where you can take or leave alcohol is the nicest feeling. Enjoy!

I have got to the point where I can't handle the anxiety anymore that wine causes me to feel.
I don't know why drinking wine makes me feel so anxious, but it does. Both during the evening itself but even worse is waking during the night (after drinking wine) feeling horrendously anxious and then feeling anxious all day long the next day.
I personally don't understand why wine causes anxiety. I'm talking 2 large glasses, not a whole bottle.
Anyway, that alone has been reason enough for me to stop drinking it.
I now think "Do I want to subject myself to anxiety this evening, wake in the night feeling anxious and then spend all day tomorrow feeling anxious?". The answer is always no, so I no longer drink.
Last had a glass on NYE.

I'm teetotal and always have been. Never acquired the taste and never been bothered. Benefits from my perspective:
I look younger than friends similar age who drink; my skin is brighter and less lined (I don't use expensive products either) and if they smoke too then the difference is really noticeable.
I drive to events and drive home so keep myself safe and can leave when I like - no expensive taxis.
My nights out are cheaper than a drinker - so more cash for other things like holidays and treats.
I can have a great time on a night out and never have to worry about it in the morning as I can always remember what I was doing!
I hate being ill (not that anyone enjoys it) and I never go to bed worried about waking up feeling ill.

I did dry January nearly 2 years ago when Daughter was pregnant with our first grandchild as I was basically on call , now I don’t bother , I’ve asked our local club if they would provide non alcoholic drinks but they said no , so one can only get Diet Coke/pepsi or Kopperberg

I love waking up ready to face the world

Woke up this morning, 9.5 hours sleep, god I feel good! I’m being playful with the kids, I ate cereal with raisins instead of a bacon sandwich, DH feels great too! I think this is the life for me.
It makes me wonder why we’ve been drinking as we have, I guess it’s become a habit, and we’ve needed more over time to feel tipsy. It’s totally true it is a depressant, and my god why have I not realised this. I totally resonate with the PP mentioning the wine anxiety in the middle of the night. I feel that 5 years ago I felt different on alcohol, less anxious and more enjoyable, but now I feel very different on it. And I am really enjoying this feeling, so much so I cannot understand what we were doing, and feel everyone needs this realisation!

The unexpected joy of being sober (book) was recommended on a thread I saw. Very interesting read.

I only drink on a Saturday night.

I often wonder if I should follow suit and give it up. But I don't have all these mid week ailments like some people report. Because it's just the one evening.

I feel a bit tired on a Sunday as alcohol does interfere with sleep. But apart from that it doesn't interfere with my life.

I just bloody enjoy red wine as a treat on a Saturday evening