The support thread for those trying to lead an alcohol free life - Summer 2026

[Lavrander]

Hello and welcome!
This thread is for anyone who is trying to live an alcohol-free life. It was first set up by @drybird and has grown into a safe, supportive space to share thoughts, ask advice, swap experiences, or simply check in as we give up and keep off the booze.
There’s no judgment here – just encouragement. Whether you post every day, once in a while, or just read along quietly, you’re part of the group. Many of us have found this thread invaluable, whether brand new to abstaining or years into AF life.
Wherever you are on the journey, someone here will have been there too. Don’t be shy about posting – we love celebrating successes of all shapes and sizes, and we’ll support you through the tougher times as well.
The only thing we ask is that your aim is complete abstinence. If your goal is moderation or a break, there are a couple of really good threads on this board that will be a better fit. That doesn't mean that slips don't happen, and we'll support you in picking yourself back up and carrying on.
So climb aboard and join the shipmates (as well as our dog mascot Sid!) and see how good alcohol free life can be.

Hello all. Thanks for the new thread.

Thanks for the new thread @Lavrander

Thanks @Lavrander

Thanks, Skipper @Lavrander.

Glad to see that Sid got to test his sea legs, @REP22. Sorry to hear about the lurgy.

I had an infuriating experience earlier. We are away just now, and popped into Aldi to get groceries. I went to their 'Low and No Alcohol' shelves, and picked up 2x 4 packs of what I thought was AF fruit cider. I've had different flavours of it before and they were 0%, and quite pleasant. More like pop than cider, but fruit ciders always are. Anyway, I was happily drinking the third of the cherry ones, when I said my husband might like it and offered him a can. He's diabetic, so I always check the sugar in drinks, and when I checked the label it was 3.4% proof. Why put it with the 0% stuff, identically packaged, on the Low and No Alcohol shelf??

Ahoy there, shipmates and thank you Lavrander for dropping anchor into a new thread.

Thank you @Lavrander I’m still here, still sober, still loving every picture of Sid! Love, hugs & best wishes to all.
IWNDWYT

@Lavrander thank you ☺️
@ShyMaryEllen that is annoying but don’t let this bring you down. You’ve got this!

I have discovered elderflower cordial! Never had it before but one of the podcasts I listen to the host says she likes it with fresh mint, squeeze of lime, ice and soda water. So refreshing and delicious! A way to use up some of the mint in my garden 🪴

Checking in on the new thread. Thanks @Lavrander. 👋🏼 👋🏼 👋🏼 at @ShyMaryEllen@WendyWagon@Onewildandpreciouslife@FiloPasty

I'm not down about it, but I am annoyed. If I'd given some to a child, a driver, or someone with medical or religious reasons not to drink, anything could have happened. It doesn't taste alcoholic, so the chances are the recipient would have drunk them in all innocence, as I did.

I've emailed the store manager, as I think it's quite a serious oversight on their part. My point is that the alcoholic version looks identical to the AF, and is put on the shelves where other AF drinks are advertised. The rest of the cider was in a different place altogether.

@ShyMaryEllen good that you’ve emailed the store manager. Really frustrating that they look so alike and like you say, it could have had some dangerous consequences. I’m glad this didn’t set you back on your journey

@ShyMaryEllen that‘s really annoying, and as you said potentially dangerous.

You can feel proud of yourself for not falling into the fuck it spiral after having some alcohol!

I actually thought about this in the supermarket earlier, some of the AF stuff is so similar and close by, it would be very easy to pick up the wrong stuff!

Maybe it should be like the gluten free - deliberately separate?

So I had the dreaded lunch thing. It was fine!!. No one said anything! I was really on edge, it felt frosty but that could just be my nerves. I was sweating! But it seems like I'm ok..I'm sure there has been gossip but no consequences..just my pride I guess..and I'm grateful for the kick up the bum. And if feel like I've had such a lucky escape.

I've been eating so much rubbish, I'm going to make en effort to eat something vaguely nutritional tomorrow. I've been taking vitamins, extra B1 and 12, fish oils..I'm super hydrated - hasn't realise how dehydrated I'm just used to being. And my skin is looking a bit better. Less dry and blotchy. I'm hoping the grumpy evening mood will ease now I can stop stressing. What a horrible few weeks it's been! I'm super proud of myself though..previously I'd have numbed my way through it with a million glasses of wine. I'm amazed!

Bloody well done @Franksnidebottom
I did a fair few embarrassing performances at work dos but it does keep me on the straight and narrow thinking back to them.
Tomorrow's chip paper!

Your skin will thank you I promise.
Sun, fags, booze are the biggest facial agers.

Anyway, morning all.

@Franksnidebottom that’s great to hear, am so happy for you! Now it’s time to stop stressing and look forward.

Now I’m past 30 days I finally stepped on the scale. I needed to as I also need a kick up the behind. In last two months I’ve put on 13 lbs. Last weigh in was just before Easter and my drinking increased at that time and then had a 10 day all inclusive holiday with amazing food, mini bar replenished daily in room and open bar at pool with branded spirits, wine etc. I went crazy. Then the last month since I’ve stopped drinking I’ve been eating a lot of sugary treats and generally not making the best choices but I did give myself grace as giving up alcohol is not easy!

Now I am going to commit to daily weigh ins to average weekly weight loss and tracking my calories. I already exercise quite a bit and that’s the one thing that hasn’t stopped for me as I love how I feel when working out /walking.
I need this stone shifting!

Happy Friday everyone

Morning!
Am so pleased you got through the lunch @Franksnidebottom. I so agree with you on being dehydrated. I used to remark even on my non drinking days how thirsty I was and how it must be the work air con 🙄

I take a glass of water up to bed and it's still there when I wake up!

Ive always been very good with sun cream but unfortunately booze and fags not so much. And I used to spend so much on skin treatments. I'm hopeful that's staved off a lot of the early collagen loss and now I can still go to the skin treatments and have it add some value rather than preventing the worst!

I've had some terribly embarrassing work do's. It is indeed tomorrow's chip paper. I don't think anyone remembers but me.

It will be so much easier to commit @TickleMeElmo1when you're not trying to soak up the night before. You can do it.

Thank you for the new thread @Lavrander - Sid is standing ready for swabbing and cannon duties!

@TickleMeElmo1 please try not to get too downhearted about the weight. Your body is still going through a period of readjustment and hopefully will soon show better results. You are doing so, so well. You're doing exactly the right thing by giving yourself the grace to enjoy the sugary treats in preference to the booze. I love elderflower cordial too! It's very refreshing. M used to make her own - I was once in hospital for quite a time. DDad brought me a big bottle of the home-made stuff to enjoy and one of the nurses put it in the ward fridge. I was moved to another ward a few days later and forgot about the cordial. I still wonder if it was discovered subsequently at any point and assumed to be the world's largest troublesome urine sample.

@ShyMaryEllen I too am deeply annoyed on your behalf. You are right to complain. That could have been the spark that tipped someone finally over the edge of no return. Some people might think it's "only" cider. But it's not, it's really not. Hope you get a positive response.

@Franksnidebottom that's great to hear about the lunch; I'm so glad that it was alright. Hold your head up high and be proud of yourself - you have braved the storm. So many cannot do that. x

@WendyWagon is right - freedom from the slippery chains of the booze brings so many rewards, both physically and otherwise.

Sid is still enjoying the memories of his voyage. Here he is aboard his craft, about to encounter some seals. Practically family - though Sid is no swimmer. He does love a fish supper however.

Strength and courage as we head into the weekend. If you are needing of distraction at any point; Sid and I have just finished watching "Dear England" on the BBC iPlayer. A four-parter about Gareth Southgate's time as England Football Team manager. It was very, very good. x

@TickleMeElmo1 you are doing so well! I remember your first post, just after mine. And look at you now!

It‘s easy to replace the alcohol with other treats, and for now I reckon that’s ok. Whatever gets you through this and out the other side.

However, something that has helped me a lot over the past 3 weeks is intermittent fasting. So I stop eating after dinner and don’t eat again until breakfast (sometimes even lunch) the next day. It’s stopped my evening snacking, and taken my mind off drinking (especially at the weekend).

@Kakkilakki I’ve been intermittent fasting for 4 years now. I love it as I’m not usually hungry in morning but it’s my choices of food that have let me down recently hence needing to take a look at my calories just to get me back on track. I usually do 18/6 with a few longer fasts thrown in - those are usually 42 hour fasts and allow flexibility at weekends . I don’t go on fad diets and it has worked for me for many years now

@REP22 that water looks so inviting!! Your cordial story made me chuckle 🤭

@Lavrander I have noticed my skin feels better. I do drink a lot of water though, always have. My job involves a lot of talking and I always have a water bottle by me. I try not drink so much at bedtime as no fun having to get up for toilet middle of night . Opposite to you, I was rubbish with sunscreen on my face! Have become better lately and always wear SPF50. I signed up to beauty pie and got some nice face products from there and been looking after my skin better

@Kakkilakki forgot to ask, how are you getting on?

Great, thank you for asking! I’m really enjoying actually living my life instead of feeling hungover most of the time. I look and feel so much better already, and it it so refreshing to not be constantly thinking about alcohol all the time. Planning trips to the shop to get more wine when I‘d rather just stay home, trying and failing not to drink too much because I have something important on the next morning and the self-loathing that came with that, the secrecy of pouring a third glass for myself when everyone else is still on their first etc etc.

I do have a big holiday coming up that I am a bit nervous about. We‘re going with big drinkers, and the last time I was around big drinkers I ended up drinking. I really want to keep going with this AF life.

Oh I just realised I‘ve changed my name since the last thread 😂 Previously known as village idiot.

Just catching up, it's been a difficult week with the continuing problems of my mum's poor health. No real temptation to drink, it's the sort of situation that would always have felt 'beyond drinking' even when alcohol was my go-to 'solution'.

Really fed up with the weather going rubbish again after the glorious sunshine. It's making me feel depressed, it feels as though it will be autumn before we know it and the potential of warm days will have passed and hardly been realised. I'm back to wearing a coat to go out.

@Kakkilakki - I was wondering why your writing tone seemed familiar but I didn't recognise your username! I'm glad you are still here with us. It's such an ongoing and daily inspiration to see how well shipmates old and new are noticing benefits and rediscovering the many joys in life and health that we uncover when we can put the bottle down and keep it there. It's so, so hard - but so very worth it.

We will all be rooting for you for your holiday. Please don't allow yourself to believe any whiff of "missing out" or "spoiling the fun" by not having a "real" drink. Far from it - you will be enhancing your pleasure and future memories of your holiday by not caving. I don't judge others for their drinking choices - far from it. I just choose to be there - in the moment - with something different in my glass. Think of all the holiday mornings, lovely breakfasts and different joyful birdsongs you will fully enjoy instead of being holed-up in your room with a pillow over your head groaning "uuurrghhh... f~~~ing kill me now...." until lunchtime. I bet you've paid enough for your holiday - you deserve every pleasure from it, unanaesthetised by grog. 💖

@PhantomOfAllKnowledge - I am so sorry to hear of your mum's ongoing ill health. It must be very draining for you. So often people ask "How is she?", which is only right and fair - but never go on to ask "How are YOU?". The life-admin ("Sadmin") can be relentless. The grey weather can make it seem even worse as well. I'm no fan of the high heat, but I am with you in the dismay of the current gloom. The only saving grace I could draw yesterday was that the grass seeds were less likely to trouble Sid's ears as the grass was so wet. Scant comfort. There are more warm days to come. Look after your lovely self. 💐