Did anyone do dry January?

[whatisforteamum]

I always said jan was the worst month to ditch the booze.A latecomer to alcohol I didn't drink at all until I was 37.
Then I watched my units as I have an addictive personality.I would have 6 or 7 a week.
Now on furlough and much less stressed I've dropped to 2 units. I'm quite pleased tbh.
Did anyone bother to participate this yr or is that glass of wine the only joy this month.

Yes- but my motivation is to avoid migraine triggers. Plus I only drank when I went out to be social. do not find it relaxing and fun to drink at home with DH and DC!

I know @Watercoloursky !

I never drink beer usually but have had a few nonalcoholic ones this month

What do they do the wine to make it so disgustingly sweet??

Sparkling is bearable - just

I want something that enhances dinner - seafood pasta is not the same without a Sauvignon Blanc and I want a nice Rioja with my steak!

My motivating is having watched my BIL descend into alcoholism a few years ago, I now like to ensure myself that I can do without it every now and then, so tend to do dry January and the October one.
I’ve always enjoyed drinking and never worried about how much we drank, but it was a wake up call for us and I’m now much more aware of how destructive it can be if used to excess.

I am. 8 days to go!
Haven't missed alcohol particularly.

Itscoldoutthere that is a good idea.Ive seen so many people with real issues in the workplace.I never saw the appeal of getting a hangover at all.
Like others have said I probably will continue on my lower units indefinitely.

I do dry January every year, as well as dry February, dry March, dry April etc
In other words I’m tee-total!

Pourmethevino, sorry to be ignorant but what's the connection with the perimenopause? and isn't a glass or 2 of red been proven to be beneficial to post menopausal women?

No but have cut down quite a bit - mainly to try and lose weight

I inadvertently did Dry November as we were away for a few days at the end of October for my husband's 60th (in the UK) and came home to lockdown without any alcohol sticks in the house.
Realised when I was doing a toast on a Zoom call with friends during the first week of December that I hadn't had any alcohol for 5 weeks.
On the basis that I hadn't noticed, I figure I don't really need to do Dry January. Had a small glass of red wine with my OH last night. We opened the bottle last weekend and finished it off last night - a lovely Shiraz :)

@Crunchymum

Yep I'm doing it too. In fact hope to do 100 days (and then reassess)

My consumption increased during lockdown #1 and just didn't want to repeat the pattern. Am feeling much more in control (I am WFH / homeschooling 2 primary kids and have a disabled toddler) than last time and whilst life is utterly boring, at least I'm doing something positive.

Me too. Planning on not drinking till Easter.

I stopped on Thursday. So few pleasures in life at the moment.

@99victoria

I inadvertently did Dry November as we were away for a few days at the end of October for my husband's 60th (in the UK) and came home to lockdown without any alcohol sticks in the house. Realised when I was doing a toast on a Zoom call with friends during the first week of December that I hadn't had any alcohol for 5 weeks. On the basis that I hadn't noticed, I figure I don't really need to do Dry January. Had a small glass of red wine with my OH last night. We opened the bottle last weekend and finished it off last night - a lovely Shiraz :)

A bottle of red doesn't really last a week opened, it goes off after a few days.

I am - went a bit mad on NY eve and had a shocking hangover NY day - thought I’d give it a go along with couch to 5 K running programme. I was horrified when I calculated my units To realise I was consuming about 1600 calories a week through alcohol so weight loss was my motivation. I’ve missed it a bit at the weekends but my waistline is reducing so will moderate my drinking when Jan is over

I am and it will last until February 5th. My drinking crept up year so needed a detox and reset.
Not seen the amazing health benefits that I hoped for though. Maybe because I snack instead of drinking.

I was doing it but then caved after that awful COVID briefing on Friday. Hopefully that will just be a blip and then I’ll see it thru til the end.

No, I only drink at the weekends anyway, currently on the weekend quiz night with friends, past that I don’t tend to drink, so don’t feel the need to stop totally.

@Scrumbleton that's about 10 glasses a week isn't it? I wouldn't have been far off. Three glasses Friday and Saturday then a single glass on a week night or two, a glass with Sunday lunch. Easily done.
I plan to stick to no alcohol on a School night now.

Yeah, staying sober till the pubs open, so it'll be my longest time sober since I started drinking as a teenager.

I don't drink in the house anyway though unless it's a special occasion, usually around Christmas or my birthday.

I didn't have a drink for 4 months last year from the first lockdown until July.

@LApprentiSorcier

I'm still doing it, but not seeing the amazing health benefits I'd hoped for. Haven't missed alcohol that much.

The longer you go without a drink, the less you miss it, i've found.

Before last March i'd rarely ever been more than a week or two sober because i'm a regular pub goer. So to just stop all of a sudden last March was difficult. Especially in the nice weather we had.

I do miss the pub though (as they used to be, rather than the sanitised version).

Ya still on it! But my birthday is at the v end of January so will aim for that. Had a bit of a wobble today - a roast with no wine but am persevering!

User133847

I have to admit I was very tempted last night, because I was bored more than anything else. But there was no booze in the house and I certainly wasn't tempted enough to go out on a freezing night to buy a bottle of wine, so it came to nothing and I felt glad, this morning, that I hadn't given in. I do feel some benefit on weekend mornings. I rarely drank enough to have an incapacitating hangover, it was more a nagging grogginess and lethargy that lasted until about midday and an urge to stuff myself with buttered toast.

I gave up going to pubs some years ago, other than for a meal. I just got bored with them. Why sit in a hubbub with music you probably don't like, paying at least twice the price for a drink than you'd pay at the off-licence or supermarket, having to use smelly toilets and then make your way home or fork out for a taxi - versus a drink in the comfort of your own home - I stopped seeing the point. I might feel differently if there were any lovely country-style, roaring log fire pubs within walking distance of where I live, but they're all awful places playing ear-splitting dance music . So the pub is no temptation, not that any are open of course!

Started 30th Dec and still dry here. I do it every year and feel much better for it. I’ve lost all my Christmas weight, sleeping better, skin is better, saved money and my mood is far more balanced.

I was out in the snow with DD at 9am this morning and it was wonderful, I’d usually be sleeping off a hangover on a Sunday morning. I’m thinking about carrying on through Feb too.

Yes, but I'm under no illusion it will be a long term change and I don't believe in setting unsustainable challenges (which is why I don't join gyms!) .

I'll be enjoying a glass or two come February.

I used to have a couple of glasses of a weekend but since Wfh it became a glass a night too.

I'm doing Dry Jan, I do it every year. I also do Sober October. The other 10 months of the year, I will have a gin and tonic or a glass of wine if there's a reason to - and I can generally find a reason! I never drink if I'm working the next day though, I can't do my job if I'm tired and hungover.

I do it easily every January, but I'm REALLY struggling with cravings this year.