Calling Time on Wine - 100 Day Reset | Thread 2: One Day at a Time - Together

[therockingbird]

Welcome to Thread 2 of Calling Time on Wine 100 Day Reset 🍵

If you’re here, you’re doing something genuinely brilliant. This reset isn’t about perfection, shiny lives, or pretending it’s easy. It’s about choosing ourselves one day at a time, even when life keeps lobbing chaos our way.

We’ve already proven we can sit with hard evenings, bad days, stress, boredom, celebrations, and still not reach for wine.

Thread 2 is about keeping the momentum going, supporting each other, being honest when it’s tough, celebrating the wins and remembering why we started when motivation wobbles. Clearer heads. Stronger bodies. 💪

So pull up a chair, grab your tea, water, or AF alternative, and keep going. You are not doing this alone - and you are doing so well. 💛

It feels so good ticking off day 25 on my app! I am proud of myself for getting through 25 days (and four weekends) sober. To go from 70 units - sometimes more - a week to 0 feels like a big achievement.

Onwards to 30 days! Night all!

Morning all. We are in the last week of the month so imagine by next week we will be in our second month. If we decide to crack on that is! Finally I have lost 2.5 pounds since Jan 1st. Just what I needed to keep me on track. I have a liver scan and bloods next weekend and although I’m not too worried, I am a bit and will be really annoyed if there hasn’t been any improvement in bloods ( raised alt and ast)
Skeeo is so much better- I’m getting a solid 6-7 hours every night. I can go back to sleep if I wake.
I feel tired though by early evening and have been going to bed early. I’m not springing around like I was the last time but I guess I’m five years older.
Like another poster, I am getting headaches most afternoon which stops me from going sugar free ( good excuse!) as I know they would be worse!
I am peeing a lot! Maybe that’s where the weight loss has come from.
I don’t dread Mondays anymore though and the internal wrestling and bargaining and all the rest of it has gone. That makes this all worth it.

Morning all, day 27 and I’m kicking my week off on my exercise bike right now. Surprised at how consistent I have been with my exercise this month, without going silly/overboard with it!

Feeling nicely prepped for a busy day of work after doing some work yesterday, and it feels good to be going in feeling fresh and organised.

Have a presentation to deliver to about 100 people this afternoon. Public speaking is not exactly comfort zone stuff for me so I will be ready for my brain to tell me I deserve a glass of wine when I get home!!

Have a great week everyone, and welcome @19Laura88!

According to my watch I had over two hours deep sleep last night (compared to the 3-25 mins I would usually get) and for the first time in a long time I actually feel refreshed. I'm an incredibly light sleeper at the best of times (my husband is only semi joking when he says he's never seen me sleep - I wake up if the dog gets up out of her bed downstairs) so to actually sleep and not doze feels great.

Morning all. Day 26 here. Not feeling particularly rested as my sleep wasn’t great. I also had a dream that I had an Aperol Spritz and was disappointed in myself for drinking. I don’t even like Aperol Spritz 🤨

Also, thanks to the 5:2 diet I lost another 2lb last week, which means my total weight loss since 29th December is 11lb! That leaves me with another 10lb to go to reach my goal.

I’m finding having a weight loss goal alongside the 100 days not drinking is really helpful - it’s an extra motivation not to drink, which is good when I really want a bottle glass of wine. I’m also finding the 5:2 diet very easy to stick to.

Morning all. Day 27 for me.

@SwiftyFifty congrats on the 2.5 lbs! Any loss (or even staying the same!) is a great motivator as opposed to the fuck-it button when buying shifts! Hope the bloods are good when you get them back. I’m considering going private for a fibroscan but it’s £300 plus. Maybe.

@GreenCherries good luck with the presentation - at least you’re not going in hungover or with hangxiety - I’ve done that on the past and was sure people could see it which made the anxiety even worse!

@freshstart2026 I had a rubbish sleep last night too. I think I’m going to sleep too early - last night was 930pm. I’ve suffered from insomnia for decades (times when I was genuinely only getting 1-2 hours a night for weeks on end) so sleeping 5 hours from 930ish to 230am is actually a “good” sleep for me but leaves me tossing and turning the rest of the night and letting the intrusive and depressing thoughts consume me for the rest of the night.

But hey ho - I’m up now and no hangover or regrets - just a thumping headache. Think I need to up my water intake.

Happy Monday everyone ❤️💐☕️

We are in the last week of the month so imagine by next week we will be in our second month. If we decide to crack on that is!

Thanks @SwiftyFifty - such a good thought!

Good luck with your presentation @GreenCherries! Is there another way you could reward yourself afterwards - buying yourself something nice maybe?

The fibroscan van was touring recently and doing free scans - might be worth seeing if it's still going, even if it's a bit of a drive

Morning all! Happy Monday!

Not so happy for me because I have caught a stomach bug my kids have had. It's not terrible (it wasn't for them either) but my stomach is gurgling away and I feel quite queasy. Hopefully it will pass quickly.

I've just looked up the fibroscan van and there are no dates for 2026 yet @Notbwinetimeitsmyprimetime @Youdontseehow -

britishlivertrust.org.uk/information-and-support/love-your-liver/roadshow/#dates

Well done on the weigh tloss @freshstart2026 and @SwiftyFifty - I have been meaning to loose 5kgs since I have had kids but I was pretty lean before I had them so I am still mid range on the healthy BMI scale (ie. I am not unhealthy and neither do I look overweight). This leaves me slightly lacking in motivation to do anything about it. It does mean that loads of my clothes don't quite fit property (especially smart trousers for work) so I should make the effort. I haven't weighed myself this year as I didn't want to get fixated on weight when I needed the sweets to get me through the cravings but I think I will weight myself tomorrow morning and bite the bullet to get the extra weight off.

Hi all. Just a quick check in from me on day 27. I had an uneventful sober weekend, managed a meal out on Saturday evening with just soft drinks and even the Friday evening danger zone was surprisingly fine. I can't believe the end of dry January is in sight, such a good feeling seeing those days ticked off and the money adding up.

I have been reading lots about the effects of even moderate drinking and it's really motivating me to continue. I think I have honestly just outgrown being drunk and it doesn't serve me anymore as I mostly get drunk at home and it's purely a habit rather than fun, so I'm looking forward to carrying on into February and maybe beyond, who knows?

Hello hello 👋. I’ve been a lurker up to now but thought I’d pop up and introduce myself.

I’m a binge drinker, rather than an every night drinker, but I’ve made some baaaad decisions when pissed and had too many hangovers, so decided to try Dry January and followed this thread.

I’ve found it surprisingly easy, my head is SO much clearer, and I have stopped craving my one glass of wine on a Friday night (which was a habit). However, what I haven’t done is attend any ‘social occasions’ where I would normally drink yet.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to carry on until I’ve had several social outings under my belt as a sober person. This will be the real challenge for me. I suffer from anxiety and, like many of you, I don’t feel like myself unless I’m pissed and making a tit of myself 🙈🙈🙈. It really is food for thought.

Not sure where this journey is going to take me, but I’m glad on it with you guys doing the same in the background.

This thread is amazing. It is definitely the only reason I’ve been able to reduce drinking so much this month.

My plan is to not to be completely AF, but to only drink on very special and rare occasions. I haven’t quite defined these yet, but they will be less than 2 or 3 days of the month. I’m hoping this will be for at least this calendar year, if not for longer.

Like many PPs, I had fallen into an unhealthy pattern of drinking practically every day at home; a glass after work, another one while cooking and often a third after dinner. Until fairly recently I had a very stressful job, but that is no longer the case, so I don’t even have the excuse now of needing to relax/recover from the day.

I thought my monthly book club would be my downfall, but I managed to get through our meeting last week wine-free and it was much easier than anticipated. I’ve also come to realise that much of the pleasure I thought I was receiving from wine actually comes from conversation and convivial environments.

Anyway, thank you to you all for helping me and congratulations to us all for reaching the final week of the month!

5 things I gained by giving up alcohol

You didn’t gain superpowers.
You lost the bullshit tax.

Here are five things I gained by giving up alcohol.
Not vibes.
Not gratitude porn.
Mechanics.

ONE. SILENCE.
Not peace. Silence.
The constant background hum of anxiety, negotiation, and self-justification finally shut the fuck up.
Turns out half my “thoughts” were withdrawal whispers.

TWO. TIME THAT ACTUALLY WORKS.
Evenings stopped evaporating.
Mornings stopped feeling like punishment.
Same 24 hours.
Radically different output.

THREE. EMOTIONS WITH EDGES, NOT FOG.
Sadness without panic.
Anger without explosion.
Joy without dread about tomorrow.
Alcohol didn’t numb emotions.
It scrambled the signal.

FOUR. SELF-RESPECT THAT DOESN’T NEED DEFENDING.
No more internal court cases.
No more “I deserve this” speeches.
I stopped betraying myself nightly, so I didn’t need to perform confidence.

FIVE. PROBLEMS I COULD ACTUALLY FIX.
Most of my “issues” were alcohol-inflated.
Remove the chemical chaos, and suddenly the problems were specific, boring, and solvable.

Here’s the part no one sells.
Sobriety doesn’t give you more.
It stops taking from you every day and calls it relief.

That’s the trade.

I’ve also come to realise that much of the pleasure I thought I was receiving from wine actually comes from conversation and convivial environments.

Completely agree with this statement @ReadEveryDay. I'm starting to realise that all of my adult life, any form of fun or socialising has involved alcohol so my mind equates alcohol with fun but I'm starting to see that just hanging out with my friends fills my cup and we have more meaningful catch ups rather than silly tipsy nonsense.

Morning all.

Feeling a bit despondent today. Quite apart from the fact that the promised snow this week has turned into endless grey skies and rain, I’m back on the 5 am waking, and actually got woken up this morning by a headache worse than any I’ve had in a while.

I’m doing everything I bloody can to see physical and mental improvements - eating well, exercising, plenty of water, sleeping - so why do I still feel so gnarly and knackered?

Sorry everyone, just needed to have a tiny pity party of one today - I don’t expect anyone else to crack out the tiny violins!

Hope your week is going well.

Sorry to hear that @EnjoythemoneyJane. All I can suggest is to keep pushing on and to focus on the positives - imagine if you were waking at 5am with a hangover, you’d feel so much worse! When it comes to mood the miserable weather doesn’t help. Let’s hope the endless rain stops soon.

Day 27 here - it really feels the days are stacking up now. I’m both pleased and somewhat alarmed that we’re almost at the end of January already.

I’ve not managed to book my blood test yet - am hoping to get it done this week. It’ll be interesting to see the results for my liver especially. I will share them on here when I get them of course.

I’ve started doing a word or number puzzle every day to try and sharpen up my brain. I do feel it’s a bit foggy from years of alcohol. I also need to restart what someone suggested at the beginning, which is to focus on (or write down) something I’m grateful for every day. I find it really helps my mood.

Morning.

Ah @EnjoythemoneyJane I’m sorry you feel crap. Doing all the right things, and especially not drinking and still feeling pants must be so frustrating. Have you had the general stuff checked? Iron, Vit D etc? Are hormonal changes a factor? I agree with @Raindancer101 that you’d feel even worse drinking - hold onto that when it gets tough.

@freshstart2026 - I have regular blood tests. I haven’t got the next lot booked until end feb, but I’ll post them too and am interested in seeing the changes after nearly 2 month’s alcohol free by then.

Welcome @MysticHalfWitch , let us know how the socials go without the drinking.

@Notbwinetimeitsmyprimetime - I carry my phone for the most part! It’s got a case, but that’s it. I don’t race with the phone, apart from if I was doing a marathon, then I use a small bum bag with my gels etc too. There’s some great shorts out there now though that have excellent phone pockets - New Balance do a great pair. Theres much more expensive brands too like Soar. I went on the treadmill this morning, couldn’t face the weather and I usually do face the weather!

It was my birthday yesterday (very low key, by choice - it’s never been my thing and particularly so this year). Funny how my triggers have changed. In the past, I’d do Dry January, with a caveat that I’d have a drink on my birthday, but it didn’t cross my mind yesterday. But having a really crap day, it definitely would cross my mind to drink.

@2026x I get you re the temptation to drink the night after you’ve had a drink. I moderated last year quite successfully, but I got so tired with the internal fight with myself not to pour a drink the day after I’d had a drink. This urge would start to subside after 3/4 days, then I’d have a drink because I’d agreed with myself in my head I’d drink twice a week, or whatever! It got so tiring the internal mental battle that having a total break seems much easier.

@EnjoythemoneyJane are you taking vitamin B? Alcohol drains B vitamins (while you are drinking), and stopping drinking suddenly exposes that deficit as your body tries to rebalance.

From ChatGPT -

Symptoms B vitamins help prevent
After stopping alcohol, low B vitamins can contribute to:

• Brain fog, confusion
• Anxiety, low mood
• Tingling or numbness in hands/feet
• Fatigue and weakness
• Poor balance or coordination
• Memory problems

@needastrongoneagain I didn't have a drink the day after my slip but the thought was there. I wasn't seriously considering it but it was a Sunday so I had the whole 'oh well, you might as well have another drink tonight and start again tomorrow' thought process 🙄All good reasons why I am not ready to drink at all - these are not normal thought processes than normal non-problematic drinkers have. I expect alcohol never enters my DP's thoughts unless someone is literally offering him a drink. Then he might say yes or he might so no and then the thought would be gone again. Happy Birthday for yesterday 😘

Yeh I keep having horrific headaches. Had one that has lasted 48 hours now and counting. Its really getting me down.

Ive started on the Vit B, drinking loads of water. I dont know whats going on.

@amibeingaknob I’ve had the same off and on and it’s very frustrating. It might not be alcohol related at all and just the start of a cold or sinus infection ( think mine was sinus)

Thanks everyone - appreciate your kindness when I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself!

I’ve got vitamins coming out the wazoo, @needastrongoneagain & @2026x - feel like I’m blinking rattling. But I’ve only recently added a B complex with thiamine, as I’d read (maybe on here?) that it’s good for liver recovery. So you may be right - feeling generally crappy could be a function of chronic vitamin deficits, and it’s probably a bit much to expect my body to bounce back in less than four weeks after years of almost daily drinking. I always kidded myself that my diet was keeping me healthy, but I’m sure it’s virtually impossible for food to adequately replace the vitamins and minerals the booze is leaching from your system.

One silver lining of it taking this long to get to a physically better place, is that I know I’ll definitely be thinking twice before sliding back to all my old habits!

@EnjoythemoneyJanethats a great attitude - using this experience as a reason to stay off the booze 💪

Anybody anticipating getting questioned once we are in Feb and still not drinking? Every other person seems to do Dry Jan but 100 days is a bit different! I’m just going to say ( if I HAVE to explain myself) that I feel so good I’m carrying on for a while.
The fact is mentally I am feeling quite good but physically I’m exhausted despite sleeping deeply and for way longer than usual. I think everyone I have ever interacted with in my life is appearing at some stage in my very erratic dreams ( people from years and years ago not recent! )
Luckily I have a fairly empty calendar for February! Not sure if it’s winter, age or the giving up booze but I have become almost ( happily) hermit like! I used to be a party animal!!!

@SwiftyFifty if anyone asks me I'm just going to say I don't drink

Yes I've had this thought @SwiftyFifty . I'm wondering if people will think I'm pregnant....it's a fair enough assumption for people that know me as the only time I abstain is for pregnancy, and I'm knackered all the time. If I didn't know better I would wonder if I was pregnant 🤣