No alcohol for 10 days and no positive changes?

[Konstantine8364]

I had a very boozy December, Christmas and then a week skiing early Jan, so I thought I would have 2 weeks off drinking alcohol. Everyone bangs on about how much better they feel when they don't drink, but honestly at 10 days in I feel exactly the same. Was wondering if this is normal?! Am I being unreasonable and expecting too much after a short period?

I would usually drink on average around 3 bottles of wine a week, spread over 5 days. I don't drink mon and Tues to give my liver a rest.
I do a lot of exercise whether I drink or not and haven't noticed I have more energy. Skin exactly the same. Energy levels the same (although worth saying I am pretty high energy naturally, as is most of my family). I eat pretty healthily most of the time, mostly salads for lunch and mostly home cooked meals eg this week I've had veggie chilli and rice, seabass and stir-fry and cod with rice and asparagus and I don't have any digestives issues. I do eat out once or twice a week and would have whatever I fancy, but I don't eat cheap takeaways or fast food.
I know I should drink less, but I absolutely love wine and when I get no benefit from not drinking it makes it very hard not to!

It is very interesting what alcohol even 7+ units per week can do the the grey matter of the brain. I did drink significantly more than you before I quit - 1/2 a bottle of wine most night and 'out out' twice a week, with only 1 or 2 nights off. It was having a substantial impact on my MH. So I quit a few years ago.

So many women I have spoken to over the years said even though they didn't drink massively, stopping all together did improve their mental sharpness.

For me, I did see some physical improvements within about 6 weeks and mental ones in 3 months

I went without alcohol for three months one time and found absolutely no different between keeping to moderate drinking (more like one bottle of wine a week or about ten units or less) and not drinking at all, other than the disadvantage of not being able to enjoy the odd glass of wine with food.

But drinking say over 20 units a week as I might do on high days and holidays I can definitely tell the difference, also having more than 3 units at a time can affect my sleep. I would say try to cut down, and if you can't moderate yourself cut it out altogether.

Shouldn’t a healthy liver be doing all the work without the help of lemon and cayenne pepper? Not a doctor but I never really understand these tips when a healthy organ is already built to do the work.

Also I love lemon juice but the dentist commented that it affected my teeth enamel when I was having it regularly.

10 days out of a 80yr lifespan? Not a huge length of time is it?

Your normal intake is 20 units a week over uk guidelines for safe consumption though.

People who have good drinking habits don’t have to set rules around their drinking.

If you have a three bottle limit and 2 days off rules it is for a reason. Chances are the rules get broken a lot and you don’t acknowledge or realise this.

Having a salad whilst drinking a bottle of wine is not being healthy. Just don’t have the wine. There’s no need for it.

I haven't for a minute suggested it will fix a liver🙄.
The OP was asking for tips on what might help her practically as she is reducing her alcohol.

But starting with a hot water drink with lemon and cayenne wakes up your system if it is sluggish and hydrates you.
Also adding a little good quality Atlantic salt can aid overall hydration too.
The minerals in good quality Celtic salt doesn't do you any harm.
A sluggish system can reflect poorly in your skin looking dull.

OP, I suggest you google yourself.
MN is more often full of nasty keyboard warriors rather than constructive advice.

Upping your hydration is always good to help flush out your system.

You can't drink tea or coffee with nice food, and all soft drinks except sparkling water taste disgusting.

Are you young? The body works ferociously to keep you healthy when you are... I could bounce back pretty well as a young 'un... I could 'run off a hangover' whereas now that would end me... 😄

But it generally takes longer for the body to make notable changes - if two weeks off is easy, why not try four weeks and see if you feel different? Just in the spirit of scientific enquiry?

It's not just about the liver - the brain takes a beating from alcohol, and insulin resistance is reduced by 25% after 30 days off (roughly, of course)... But would you take, say, paracetamol or ibuprofen in those quantities as a regular thing, if you didn't have to? It's all a stress on the body.

Not castigating you, everyone has to make their own decisions.

Ten days is no time at all. But I regularly give up drinking for extended periods, like Lent, and last year I didn’t drink from September 1 to Christmas. Did I lose weight? A bit but I was counting calories. Did I sleep better? No. Skin? No difference I can see. Feel better overall? Nope.
But I’m sure it’s good for me not to drink, even if I don’t feel any better.

I've been contemplating starting a similar thread OP. For a long time I've been drinking 2-3 double VCs (50cl) Wed-Fri evenings and 3-4 glasses of wine Sat/Sun afternoons. I drank a lot more over Christmas/New Year but reduced day by day over beginning of Jan until all booze in house was used up.

Last drink was 10 Jan but my sleep is no better and I wake up having to remind myself that I didn't have anything to drink the night before. Not hungover as such, just groggy and congested.

Following the suggestions on here with interest.

You're getting away with it because you're young. At that level of drinking you will age far faster than you should and will have the face and health you have earned at 40+ - but by then you will be drinking a lot more anyway.

No amount of healthy eating or exercise can stop actual poison (which is what alcohol is) from making you die younger than you should and damaging your body.

And yep, I do enjoy the odd drink, am not tea total, but I'm not in denial about the realities of booze.

And 10 days without alcohol should just be another Tuesday, not something you're counting down while salivating for the next glass of psychoactive toxin.

You actually sound a lot like an alcoholic in the early stages.

Well it’s only been 10 days.

It might feel like a lot but it’s not much time for the body to change. It can take several weeks to see changes to skin, sleep, weight or mood. For me, it was around month 3 when I felt myself become more confident, less anxious and more happy! My skin proved around the same time but my weight only went down when I combined it with a diet.

For sleep, it can take months because the body has stopped making as many sleep hormones and has been relying on essentially being sedated.

The most immediate effect people experience is explained by a lack of hangovers (even minor ones) which is often what’s actually causing the lethargy and anxiety. If you don’t really get hangovers you won’t see that immediate change.

Lemon juice and cayenne pepper will not be doing anything to your liver. Water is good for you, in general, so if adding those things to it encourages you to drink more water then go for it.

If your skin is unlined at 60 years old then you probably fell lucky genetically.

10 days is great but 100 days would be better. The changes are incremental, gradual and can be subtle but I guarantee they will come. Your whole body will thank you.

Agreed, the lemon juice and cayenne water is known to be complete pseudoscience. Any doctor recommending it shouldn't be listened to (if that's even true, obviously) 🤨

Your brain relied on alcohol to knock you out, so it takes time to "unlearn" that habit and regulate sleep naturally.

Reduced cancer risks, reduced diseases risks, every moment not drunk just objectively a better person to be around, less likely to slide into alcoholism without noticing, less likely to exasperate mental health issues either not known but already there or those that might develop (both independently, and even as a result of alcohol to start with), saving money . . . . . .

Were you drinking to an extreme? No and it wouldnt be the end of the world. But even then, you are still getting the above benefits to varying degrees. If they aren't worth it, and you are happy about any risks, that is a choice you have to make and decide on.

Snap.

I used to drink 2-3 bottles a week... two glasses most nights until about 18m ago, when I added up the units and was horrified! Plus I felt I 'needed' them to relax and get to sleep. I felt fine though.
I gave up for a month and then allowed myself wine at weekends only. At first it was quite tough going but after a couple of weeks I adjusted.
Now I still allow myself weekend wine, but often have one small glass and don't bother with more...amazingl how long a bottle lasts now!
Holidays I'm more free about it but now my general rule is no wine (I never drank anything else) on a school night.

I don't look better, but I'm half a stone lighter and yes my sleep IS better:) And I know my liver is better for it. More importantly I don't feel like a functional alcoholic any more..which 3 bottles a week pretty much is.

I'd re-read your last sentence again. Why is not drinking very hard for you? Not drinking does have health benefits even if you don't immediately see them. You know it and you have put yourself on a schedule to give your liver a break as you say. With that knowledge why is it hard to not drink? I'd really examine the answer to this question. You are drinking a lot. Could you drink a glass or two on occasions only or at the weekend. Why 3 bottles and why on a schedule? It speaks to a bigger problem in my opinion.

@Coalyif your friend is really a dermatologist then they’re trying to sell you collagen. Collagen is broken down into its peptide amino acids when digested and used by the body for whatever it likes… not just more collagen. It has not been proven to have a single effect on skin.

Also the liver is not affected by lemon juice and cayenne. Lemon juice is just sugar and ascorbic acid which is digested in the intestine and cayenne pepper will raise metabolism by about 5calories but that’s it. Neither has any effect on your liver which filters toxins… not lemon juice and vegetable powder.

Have you been drinking that alone?
Does your DP still drink that much?

If your life is boring with alcohol, maybe you should look at other ways to make your life a bit more interesting?
I drink myself so I’m not trying to preach, but I’m not ‘bored’ without it. A couple of glasses of good wine enhances a meal out for me, but I think if your life is boring without alcohol then it’s probably your life that’s the problem.

Part of my motivation is not just health in itself but I added up the calories and I was easily drinking 3500 a week (that's 4lb a month) and literally pissing away almost £100 per month.

I probably drink a bit over the recommended limit (which IMO is stupidly low) and more so at Xmas. By the standards of some of the puritans on this site I am probably a raging alcoholic.

I always give up for January, and it makes absolutely zero difference to my life and feeling about myself other than now and again I miss a drink while watching telly. We've got almost 2/3 through dry January and it's hardly been any effort at all.

Make of that what you will - it probably says more about me and has little relevance to anyone else.

From your lifestyle description it sounds like you eat healthily and get plenty of exercise and alcohol is your only vice. 3 bottles of wine a week probably isn't going to do you as much damage as an unhealthy diet or sitting around in a chair watching TV all day.

The problem is when consumption starts to creep up to more if you are stressed. So always worth keeping an eye on your consumption and maybe consider trying out some ways of reducing alcohol content, like low alcohol wine for example. Even if you get something 2/3 the strength that is still helping you lower consumption while still being able to enjoy the wine.