The Brave Babes Battle Bus - On Their Way To Spread The Festive Cheer, Without The Beer!

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm mouse.

I have an obsession with drinking, I can't have a drink, not just one..... it has to be more. Always more.

So, I got on the Bus, this Bus, full of Brave Babes who will help and support me all the way. Come say hi, grab a seat and a . We're a real mixed bunch that share one thing without any doubt - alcohol abuse.

And if you want to read about our history, it's HERE

See you on the Bus xx

Ah, 's ok, I don't really need advice as I have a cunning plan. "Run, run, as fast as I can" is my plan. People will call me Gingerbread Girl.

Or maybe not.

silly when I gave up smoking I thought about it all the time. I would stop, then start, then stop, etc. Eventually I just gave myself a stern talking too, as if I were a child. I said to myself "I don't care how much you stamp and scream, you are NOT having one!" (Mad I know). After that it was much easier. Each time the thought came into my head I said "No" and it went away.

I do a similar thing with the drinking. It's not exactly the same because I do still drink on occasions but it gets me through the day. I make the decision in the morning, don't think anything further than that day and each time the thought comes in I tell it "No" and go find something else to do. As I said, it gets easier the more you do it.

MrsJH don't worry about the amount of sugar you are eating at the moment, your body has been used to having lots of sugar, you can wean yourself off it later. I used to think I preferred savoury until I cut down on wine, then I started craving sugar. Now I find wine very sweet, even dry wine. I have switched to low fat crisps and drinks and am trying to eat sweets at least 'in moderation' rather than scoffing it all at once .

Saf just talking to your sister about her alcohol intake will be helping her to face up to it. If you can keep talking, after a while she may decide she wants to cut down and you will have lots of advice for her on how to do that. You could make a new year resolution to be more 'healthy' and that might encourage her to cut back. But at the end of the day, this has to be her decision and all you can do is be there for her if she wants to talk.

Blossom you are fab! Well done, you have managed to avoid picking up the first drink, and that's all you need to do really .

Mouse where to start? I think you need to get an emergency meeting with your GP as soon as you can. The tingling arm and dropping sensation don't sound good to me. I've absolutely no medical background whatsoever but surely you need more tests to get to the bottom of this.

Is it possible to get some respite, even if DH takes time off to look after nemo? You really need to rest and if you can't sleep, a good cat nap or doze on the sofa may be enough to recharge your batteries.

Theala I think ma is a runner.

whoah!!!! lightbulb moment extroadinaire here!

i thought pregnancy made me crave sugar - i'd never been into sweet stuff and suddenly i wanted to inhale whole packets of biscuits and ate puddings i would have gagged at pre-pregnancy.

your post has just gone ding-ding-ding in my head faire as i realised it was because i wasn't drinking alcohol it never occurred to me.

It's funny how we can suddenly make sense of stuff saf

Incidentally, my drinking increased after I stopped smoking. Trying to fix one craving with another, much?

Take away the alcohol and I start stuffing food.

Why can I not be addicted to things that are good for me?

yeah would be wonderful if apples gave you a buzz of some kind

Yeah, same here Faire. I also started drinking a lot faster. It's that "reward" thing, isn't it? Like you need some sort of reward for just getting through the day. For a while there, I had to have something sweet as soon as I got home from work every day. Now I have switched to having a cup of decaff coffee, which is still not great but hopefully less damaging to my waistline.

I'm getting much better at listening to my body instead of trying to fix my feelings with food or booze or anything else.

It's simple really if you just take it right back to basics and think, what do I really need right now.

With me it's usually that I'm thirsty or tired. Or cold - what's that all about . I do feel an urge to hibernate around this time of year.

ma is most definitely NOT a runner but it made good reading. I commit every year to doing the 5k Race for Life and start "training" in about March by doing the Couch to 5K. I start by being able to jog for about a minute and build up to jogging the whole 5K in around 35 minutes. I think "look how much fitter and slimmer I am. I must keep this up" and then I stop until the next year and it starts all over again.
I have been battling the demon tonight and won this round. Sitting in the kitchen with a hot chocolate to avoid my usual spot on the sofa where I will crave a bottleglass of wine. its been tough but I made it for today.
Mouse for God's sake get some help and get yourself sorted woman!!

Ooops, sorry ma but, to me, that's really good going. Sure you and Theala must have similar running interests though? Who else were you talking to about this because either I remember a running conversation, or a dreamed it .

Well done with the hot choc, you're doing so well. Is this all part of gearing up for the new role at work? Must be a heck of a lot easier to deal with it all with a clear head.

hi faire yes, there is someone else who runs, can't for the life of me remember who it is though.....

I think bafana runs. But maybe I dreamt that too.

Well done ma - hot chocolate sounds great for a November night. Isn't it funny how the physical place you sit can affect your habits so much.

Hey all

Busy busy here so not been about.

mouse please look after yourself my friend, I do worry about you!!

I totally identify with the sweet tooth since quitting drinking, mine scares me . And the kids hide all their chocolate now - which they never used to .

I stopped smoking after I stopped drinking, and I did it the same way, everyday I made the choice to not smoke or not to drink - in fact to do neither, and it made it so much easier than dithering over it every day. I actually take my hat off to all the controlled drinkers, because I think that that takes willpower far far beyond what I have.

ma. I also think of you as the runner of the thread,, you certainly inspired me to do it. Am now running 20 mins without Stopping!!! Given I could barely run the length of myself 8 weeks ago - that is a major achievement for me.

Big meeting at work tomorrow so better get some kip.

Sleep tight bb's
Bafana
Xx

Hey everyone, hope you are all well today on this blustery day, yuk horrible out there. Well now on day 4 no booze and no fags ( only smoke when I drink) people think this is odd but just seem to go hand in hand. Should be feeling great but just feeling really stressed and cannot sleep. ( lots of money worries I suppose this could be it) Seemed to strike a nerve yesterday about the sugar craving, glad to hear this seems to be normal and will pass.
Mouse sorry I am new here so do not really know what your health problems are but really sounds like you need help.
ma well done last night, I feel for you, also did the hot choc thing, I sooooo wanted to drink last night it almost became an ache . using TV and studying Italian simultaneously as a diversion, seemed to work.

Ciao blossom! Well done on Day 4; that's fabulous work. I'm not surprised you're not feeling great at the moment, tbh; it'll take a while for all that gunge to work its way out of your system. I usually only start feeling the benefit of not drinking 4 or 5 days after stopping. But oh, the lovely sleeps when you do. :)

Bafana - twenty minutes in pretty good going! It's all up from there. Good luck with your meeting today.

I'm starting Day 1 of my 16 week training program today. I measured myself this morning, and my weight isn't too bad, but my fat levels are 37.5%. How can this be? I'm like a big bag of wobbly fat! No wonder I've been feeling so bouncy lately. Anyway, have lovely wobbly days, babeses.

Today I will not be drinking.

blossom do you like puzzles? at one point when i was super stressed about financial ruin looming over me (and pregnant so couldn't drink) i would sit with the telly on whilst doing sudoku and crosswords at the same time. the three at once was just about enough to keep my mind distracted enough to stop panicking maybe it works on alcohol cravings too x huge well done on day 4 btw.

theala i try to go more on fat levels than weight too! it changes really quite quickly on me so i'm sure you'll see an improvement really fast. i believe 25-30% is about ideal for me but i'm not in that bracket right now finally seeming to lose a bit of weight though which is good, the worm has turned hopefully.

Swallow I do like crosswords and Sudoku and anything else to keep me busy, it is a very good strategy, had forgotten about it until recently, but been too busy getting pissed up and spending money on I do not have. Yesterday was horrible, bloody bailiffs turned up, so wanted to drink to dull the panic , . Beginning to think giving up drink right now is not the best time

blossom hang in there. you are doing brilliantly to do this under such financial stress. The sleep thing is a bugger when you are not drinking, mind goes round and round in the wee small hours.
What were the bailiffs after? Can you get back to your advisor or bank for more support?

What happened with the bailiffs blossom?

Saf, excellent, well done! How are you losing weight? I've been trying for ages, but still have the same extra stone hanging around my middle. Someone asked me if I was pregnant the other day. :(
So, this running thing is kind of a last-ditch attempt. I figure if not drinking and eating sensibly, and exercising like a madwoman can't shift it, I'll just give up and change my name to Ms Blobby.

Hey ma hopefully managed that situation and come up with a payment plan, just waiting for the next thing now. Can really understand how people top themselves over money, it is like a being attacked by a pack of wolves. you fend off one and then another takes it place. Also DP being really cold? Sorry to rant how self indulgent

it so IS the best time blossom. it's pulling your head out of the sand (which is always distressing initially) about the financial mess but that's a blumming good thing - maybe it will be just in time? maybe keeping it buried in there (and spending a fortune on booze to keep it buried) would have broke the camel's back. hang in there! sending big hugs and encouragement your way - you can do this - the drinking, sorting the money etc etc. you can do it i know you can!

i really theala - it wasn't shifting at all no matter what i did it seemed. i'm still drinking so it's not that. i'm exercising but not much more. i fancy a very fit man who is flirting with me so it may be somethig magical transmitting to my tummy as i worry about how white and fleshy i am these days and whether i'll ever be able to face taking my clothes off in front of a younger man with a bloody six pack

meant to say i really don't theala

sorry if that's WAY tmi!

:o New Man diet is the best diet around. Not quite as effective as the Misery Diet but infinitely more fun.

Saf thanks for your words of encouragement. oooh about young bloke chatting you up.