Calling Time on Wine - the next 100 days after the first 100 day reset | Thread 3: Continuing to support and navigate together.

[needastrongone]

As promised, a new thread.

As the title states, this is the third thread. It started for those of us who wanted some support and a safe place to navigate a 100 day alcohol reset. Most of us on the thread wanted more time and space than Dry January to fully reset and maybe reflect more on our relationship with alcohol than one month.

What we also found was the most wonderfully supportive and uplifting set of folk, all with the common intention of being AF from January for 100 days. A few blips along the way for some (including me at the beginning) but for those that have, we’ve tried to understand why they happened and most of us have continued to be AF going forward and managed 100 AF days since January.

We are going for another 100 (we all liked the idea of breaking being AF into chunks of time) and I don’t think it matters one bit if new folk want to climb on board and start from here, we can all offer a friendly and non judgmental place here.

Happy Friday all ✨

@MidnightMoon24 good luck for our second weekend!

@IjustbelieveinMe congratulations on reaching 150 days (and on no longer needing to keep a precise count!). I relate to some of the family stuff but wishing you a happy belated birthday x

Day 8 today and still don’t feel like drinking. I’ve spoken to a couple of people about it now, but avoiding inviting anyone out for a drink at the moment. My supportive husband is now pulling dry Friday sad faces, which is helpful. I don’t think he thought for a minute that I’d stick to it after the hangover passed!

Hi all
Hope your Friday evening is going well! @DaftPenguin you've done amazing this week and it's a great feeling isn't it when you don't fancy it, what I did with my DH at first was encouraged him to still have a drink if he wanted so that he wouldn't get a face on ! But in the end he started to do it as well as I think it bored him having a drink on his own!
I've got a bottomless brunch tomorrow I'm half dreading it and half looking forward to it! I've already planned for DH to pick me up so I don't have to hang around waiting for everyone to finish or have to wait for an Uber, i'll let you all know how I get on !

Good luck today @PeacheyPeach , let us know how it goes! xx

Morning from Aus everyone, I'm on day 37 now and it feels very much like the new normal, and my tummy is much flatter than it was 37 days ago! No more bloating. Not prefect mind, just better 🤣 A friend brought a bottle of champagne over last night to celebrate her daughters 18th, she was staying here to give her daughter the house to herself with her friends and I did feel a bit bad for not sharing it with her, but I just said I'm on a huge AF streak, and then made a fuss of her opening it and popping the cork and poured a glass for her and DH to toast. All was well :) take care all xx

Morning all ❤️
went to a bottomless brunch last night I haven't really looked forward to it, mainly because I didn't want to explain myself about not drinking, there was one person there who acted in a big shocked manner and was a bit annoyed that I wasn't drinking but I kind of expected that, as we usually are the big drinking buddies when we go out, but I just said how I was giving it a break for a bit and kind of shut down the subject!
I realized how I didn't need a drink to have fun, because I was being me, I wasn't hiding behind a few glasses of cheapo wines, I enjoyed my meal whereas before I would barely eat as I just wanted to drink but I enjoyed my food, and drank non secco which was sparkling and tasty.
I laughed loads , had two mocktails as well danced and sung my head off, I was no different to how I would have been on another night out, other I can remember everything, I didn't let myself down and I came home feeling fresh, I'm up this morning feeling great

@QldGCandproud that’s so encouraging, I would find that really tricky, sounds like you handled it perfectly!

@PeacheyPeach that’s amazing, I really really hope I reach that point. The next one will feel easier, too.

All good this weekend, bit of a quiet one. I bought some AF rosé prosecco to see what it was like, and to see if it would encourage DH to have the drink he keeps grumbling that he’s not having (why?? Just have a beer 🙄). It didn’t, but it wasn’t bad and it’s on my new list of AF options.

@QldGCandproud that was lovely that you still made your friend comfortable and not awkward about having a drink and your coming up to 40 days that's awesome you must be feeling fantastic xx
@DaftPenguin thank you, I feel like I've gotten through the hardest part now , I don't feel like it will be as hard next time, it's actually other people's reactions that is the hardest thing to navigate,
If you have enjoyed the AF processco, I think the Tesco AF one is lovely it kinda scratches the itch if you fancy a drink it actually tastes like cava!
It sounds like your DH only likes to drink when you are drinking, so maybe in a few weeks he'll have gone off it all together aswell!!

Evening all, another weekend done alcohol free! Well done @PeacheyPeach sounds like you handled that very well. Interesting how the ones who are shocked the most are the ones who used to get bladdered with you.. it’s like their drinking buddy is gone ☺️ truth is we can still have a good time just without the after affects!! Day 159 ticked off.. 1517 units of alcohol saved, 105.1k calories saved!! Wow. Just wow.

Morning all
Hope you all had a fabulous weekend,
@therockingbird well done love you have done amazing, do you feel so good about yourself and your will power, all those units and calories saved and think of all the money you must have saved also, absolutely amazing 😍
Start of a new week , hope everyone is feeling good xx

Morning.

@PeacheyPeach - I think you did brilliantly on the bottomless brunch, what a positive experience to learn from and take forward. Another HUGE tick in the box. Awesome! I do think once you’ve got over the barrier of telling folk, that’s a massive step forward. It’s often no big deal to them anyway, and it’s only a few folk (like your friend) that raise any objections, and that probably because you are no longer sort of validating her choices or behaviour I would suspect.

Well done @QldGCandproud , you still made your friend feel special, that’s the main thing.

Awesome @therockingbird, I bet you hardly recognise yourself from January 1st when you started all of this 🤣

Ticking along here - I’ve found a nice sparkling orange juice from Marks and Spencer that I’m quite enjoying while making dinner (when I have become fed up of water/juice etc and used to reach for wine), it’ll be fine for a few days then I tend to find I need to find something else. I’m still on my hot chocolate in the evenings while watching TV.

@therockingbird that really is amazing! You’re doing so well.

@needastrongone ohh sparkling orange juice is a good idea. I have some belvoir ginger beer at the moment (it was on offer), I might try the sparkling orange next.

I’m actually finding it a bit odd at this stage that I still genuinely do not want to drink. I think about it and it makes my stomach clench. I don’t know how to explain how not like me this is! I didn’t think I was a big drinker overall, but my sleep is better, I’m noticeably less bloated, and it has been so good to have two full, hangover free weekends.

Morning all.. 23 days until the HALF A YEAR stage 💪 almost £2k saved .. but the one thing that’s priceless is the clarity! I definitely have far more energy and motivation to tackle problems instead of avoiding them, also waking up feeling mentally sharp rather than sluggish is such a great feeling. @needastrongone the fresh faced look doesn’t go unnoticed, interestingly those who don’t comment are the ones who need to try it. I did a teams call yesterday 20+ senior managers-looking round the squares on the faces it was quite obvious who needed to try the reset. I’m not judging anyone but there is a ‘look’ and once you know it’s hard not to notice. Makes me wonder how bad I must have looked!!!

@therockingbird I know I can’t believe we ll have done SIX MONTHS!
the longer I’m away from it ( wine) the less enticing it is for me. I haven’t had a craving in months now. Really starting to see the benefits now. I know though that even now I still couldn’t just have one glass

Morning all checking in on day 60 for me, chuffed to bits!!
@SwiftyFifty your right, the more time you have away from wine it doesn't have the same appeal, but wow you guys getting through nearly 6 months that's just awesome, @therockingbird the morning wake up is great now isn't it, that sluggish, headachy sickly feeling isn't there, why would we even want to have that back it's crazy!I
I definitely noticed in myself that puffy faced drinker look, I hated seeing it, I can feel my jaw line again!

@needastrongone well done on just carrying on, thank you for the suggestion as well , love a sparkling orange,that in a big glass full of ice ooo I need to try it!
And your right about my friend, it's almost like it offends her that I'm not drinking, it reflects on to her that she never has a break from it, but in the next breath complains about the menopause, high blood pressure, anxiety, poor sleep which probably would be slightly better if she stopped her wine!
@DaftPenguin two weekends already under your belt that's amazing, how are you feeling about carrying it on? it's amazing how quickly your body and mind can form new habits, and it actually starts to heal itself from what alcohol has done its so good to have that reset

Also enjoying the jawline benefits! (Rest of the body not so much but oh well...) It's true - I do wonder how obviously rough I must have looked every day...😞

Same @SwiftyFifty I’m fully aware it would never be one so therefore it’s none. I tried and failed in the past to moderate. Not possible 😩 some people can and that’s great (for them). I did manage to curb my wine nights back in 2022/3 but it crept back up to daily drinking. It wasn’t so much going out and drinking - more at home alone knocking back the wine. Far too dangerous! I got gifted a very expensive magnum of champagne in April all in a posh wooden box lol it’s become a display feature in my lounge.. I know if I open it, it’s game over. I quite like the reminder sitting there staring me in the face bizarrely.

Hi all xx
Hope everyone is getting on ok x altho I'm not fancying alcohol at all at the moment, I feel like I've just replaced it with chocolate, I'm even having ice cream which I never have, . I'm thinking I need to reign this in now and perhaps set myself a healthy eating routine, think I need to capitalize on my will power I've got going on! Anyone else doing a diet as well and have you got any nice meal ideas!

Hi @PeacheyPeach I think you are about a month in? I would definitely not diet yet. It took me months to stop rewarding myself with treats. First three months I ate a load of chocolate and only in the last month or so have I started to watch what I eat. Up to you of course but I found it easier to just juggle the one ball at this stage. Hunger and thirst were always a wine trigger for me so if you replace it with sugar it’s a lot easier to resist!

Morning @PeacheyPeach I was the same with sugar cravings in the first few months. I was suddenly eating sweets and chocolate. It's not too bad now I've got in the habit of having overnight oats and make a fruit salad for snacking, but if I fancy a treat then that's fine.
I'm on day 157, can't quite believe it. I've not lost any weight but I feel so much healthier.

Hi everyone, just checking in. Realised today that, while it was on the Friday that I made the decision not to drink, my last drink was two weeks ago today. 14 days in the app. I’ve been so inspired by this thread and plan to continue with this. We have friends over this weekend but they’re not big drinkers, so no pressure there, and a meal out that I’m driving to. It’s actually a perfect weekend to ease myself into being sociable AF.

i did have an anxiety wake up this morning, which I’m a bit disappointed about, I was hoping that these were just down to the alcohol. It wasn’t fun, but to be fair it didn’t compare to the hangxiety angst and when it wore off I could get on with my day, instead of feeling shocking.

Morning all hope everyone is doing ok x hope you're all looking forward to a nice weekend xc
Our cancelled Sunday lunch is happening this weekend, I feel so much more confident after my non boozy bottomless brunch last week, I know I can confidently socialize with out drinking, also in my head Im thinking it's going to be a Sunday, I have school runs and school activities happening on the Monday that I need to be prepared for, so im going to make sure it stays as a lunch and it doesn't creep into the evening and people staying late , ( that usually happens because we keep topping people up with wine !!)

@SwiftyFifty @Icecreamhelps I think the
sweet cravings must be the bodies way of replacing all the sugars from the wine and alcohol possibly? I think I'm just going to gradually introduce better food choices instead of it being a full diet I don't think I'm in the head space yet! Well done on how far you have come as well nearly 160 days that's what xxxx

@DaftPenguin hey two weeks that's your hardest part done ! It becomes so much more of a easier habit to keep to ( in my opinion anyways!!) well done you're doing fab, great making plans and also preparing yourself so you not under pressure also, sorry that you had an anxiety wake up, it's horrible but as you say the flip side was that you don't have it for the whole day like a hangover x

@DaftPenguin I still sometimes wake up with some mild anxiety nothing compared to when I was drinking though. I've noticed my heart rate spikes aswell just before I wake up so it could just be my cortisol surging. It soon settles
I've got the weekend all alone, got quite a few odd jobs planned that are weather dependant. I'm going to cook myself a nice meal tomorrow and relax and watch a movie then finish my book. Im not planning on going anywhere as it isn't often I get the house to myself.
@PeacheyPeach enjoy your Sunday lunch, I love meal times now my taste buds have come back and I enjoy my food much more plus the conversations are much better, I've become a much better listener now I'm not tipsy or towards the end of a evening drunk.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend x

Morning all.

Ticking along here nicely still.

I am actually really pleased as I’ve just had the results of some blood tests back and they are all excellent, including my liver function. A year ago my MCV (mean corpuscular volume) was high, as was GGT. Both are well within normal ranges. One of the main reasons for going AF was health, and I know I feel so much better, but clearly I objectively AM so much better.

Not that I’m going to starting throwing the wine down my neck again or anything, but our changes are meaningful lovely thread friends!

A weekend alone in the house is something I’d actually pay for @Icecreamhelps - enjoy 😊