DRY 17

[Loubilou09]

[This message is actually from Sober Sarah! She wanted this thread to start with links everyone will find useful. MNHQ]

If you're quitting alcohol for a brighter sober future come and join us here. A very welcoming bunch supporting ebach other every step of the way. smile
We have put together some helpful info and links, to help you do this Smile tiredofthinkingaboutdrinking.com

Tired of thinking about drinking, Belle's website filled with free stuff as well as subscription courses and an account of her four years sober.

joinclubsoda.co.uk/ Club Soda - to help you make the change you want.
www.sobersassylife.com Sober Sassy Life - A Selection of Articles, Blogs and Freebies to get you unstuck, and on the way to your Sober Sassy Life! Also has paid for courses.
thesoberschool.com/ - an online hub with the mission of inspiring and supporting women who are tired of feeling hungover

www.blogtalkradio.com/bubblehour - podcasts on a huge range of issues relating to addiction and recovery

www.smartrecovery.org.uk/ - an alternative to AA. Meetings nationwide and online.

Useful meditation or relaxation apps
www.headspace.com Headspace for calming the brain chatter
www.withandrewjohnson.com Andrew Johnson stop drinking app
Helpful blogs from people who are sober
sothisissober.com/ our own vxa's blog
www.alcoholfree2016.com our own Lily's blog
www.alcoholfree2016.com our own Lucy's blog
www.sobergrowing/blogspot.co.uk our own Sober Sarah's blog

All of these blogs contain links to loads of other brilliant blogs.

Sobriety counters
meetnomo.com/index.html
www.pilanites.com/streaks/

Hope this helps you ! Love Sober Sarah and Vxa

30km cycle late this afternoon, everyone had a glass of red wine when we got back... I soooo wanted a glass of wine, but I didn't, felt quite sad really, somehow.....

Wanted the glass of wine, but not the drinking....

Onwards.....

Hi everyone,

mini hope the weekend goes really well.

efc I'd love to hear about the changes you are feeling after 25 days... 25 days seems impossible to me.

BG you are amazing for being strong!

We are all on the IOW this weekend - DH is in the round the island sailing race. He has done it fora few years.... his work hire a boat and some experienced crew and a few of them can jump on and join in. When we got into our accommodation everyone was drinking and I had a glass of prosecco and feel pretty crappy about it. But I have DS with me so we are going for a bit of touring today. So, today is Day 1 and I have the perfect 'excuse' of Dry July which hopefully will see me through the weekend. But, there were some pretty drunk people coming back from various places only a couple of hours ago - and now they have to get up to go sailing for 12 hours. My idea of hell!!!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. x

Evening, hope everyone's having a nice weekend.

Main things I'm noticing- skin so much better- no redness on cheeks/nose. I feel a lot calmer. Not waking early feeling anxious about what I drank/did. Not having hangovers is amazing, mine were getting worse and worse.

I'm being kind to myself- not forcing myself to do loads e.g. Housework/exercise just looking after myself.

Day 27 today

Day 2 here. Got some Rawson's Retreat AF sparkling and it was quite drinkable- very dry. I feel like I have cheated somehow, but happy to go with it if it is AF! Funnily enough I was googling calories in AF wine and beer- never bothered with actual booze!

I hope to notice feeling calmer- just felt very tired today.

Hope everyone has a really good and not stressful week.

Hi ladies, can I join you?
After years of daily drinking all of a sudden the switch has flicked and I don't feel the need like I did.

Hi everyone, day 29 for me.

silvery i like af wine I know some people say not to as it's temptation but I find the opposite. I think over a weekend I save 2000cal not drinking!

doesntfit welcome have you got any plans in place for helping you? Look at links in front page I've used a lot of them and it really helps.

My new addiction is Love Island- not normally my thing but bit of mindless escapism is needed sometimes.

Yes mainly early nights and reading. Im fine if I go up and lay on the bed in the evenings , it's when I sit on the sofa watching every that I slip into the kitchen and drink wine like its air.
Most nights I'm alone as my husband works until around midnight. It's his nights off when I know I'm going to struggle. He is supportive but old habits die hard I guess

efc I love a bit of Real Housewives.

Hello there Doesn't. :) I'm a newbie also, nice to have a newbie buddy.

bad headache today which I assume is detoxing. I am resisting painkillers as I have a sneaking suspicion my liver is really not in great shape after years of boozing. Trying to drink water.

Out tonight with family.

Hope everyone is fine.

Day 20. Not missing it and 4lbs lighter. Keep up the good work.

I need to try Real Housewives my sister loves it.

cupottea weightloss is fab have you been dieting too or is it just not drinking?

I find my face isn't puffy anymore which is great and I'm 5lb lighter and I've not been able to exercise last 2 weeks so that's just down to not drinking/carb binging on a hangover!

mini how was your weekend? Was your concert one of the cancelled ones?

Morning all.

Day 4! had some wibbles when out at the pub with family, but ordered a lemonade and by the time I had that I was fine.

I am also hoping to lose weight- need to lose around 2 stone. I am not exercising at all, but just trying to not binge eat - no hangovers does indeed help!!!!

Insomnia though hit this morning!

silvery live on burgers and chocolate if that's what it's going to take to get you through.... being dry/sober is number one priority and for now has to trump everything else, everything!!

Be kind to yourself, look at the bigger picture..... I've lost almost a stone whilst eating more chocolate than I ever have in my adult life (and that's before the gallons and gallons of chocolate milk I have consumed)...

Onwards!

Morning

Hope everyone's ok. silvery it's weird at first being in situations where you normally drink- are your family supportive?

BG I've been having a bar of chocolate every night and even that is a fraction of the calories I'd put away with wine.

I had a long sober stretch last year but stopped for no good reason- started with the odd glass then creeped up- I'd been running a lot- then broke my foot and started drinking more and more.

I think to stop that again I need to focus on being sober for the benefits not like a punishment which is what I felt like last time.

Hi, thought I would give a quick update;
My husband had a day off yesterday, normally we would go for lunch and I would have a few large wines. Instead, I had a soft drink!!! We ended up with his family for dinner, my idea of hell, again that would normally drive me to drink but I didn't.
I'm so proud. Feeling wonderful, albeit tired as I can't sleep.
Hope everyone else is well

Hi all, old hand here with many name changes. After successfully doing Belle's 100 day Sober jumpstart class and going on to be sober for another 45 days after that, I foolishly thought I could moderate. Ha ha ha. After a couple of months of numerous Day 1 s with a week or two of sobriety after that before another lapse and yet another Day 1, (only one or two glasses of wine each time, but even so!)I know I can't!
Back on Team 100 with Belle and on Day 6 today.

Hi everyone

doesnt well done on not drinking. It's tempting to drink to put up with relatives but I think it makes their annoyance worse.

seeds keep going, I'm doing 100 day sober too, getting the emails and opening them everyday.

I'm ok here long day in work, I'm off tomorrow so would be a good excuse to drink but I'm in bed with a cup of tea catching up on Line of duty.

I'm re listening to the lessons and emailing Belle several times a day. Feel so silly having tried moderation, the last 20 years were me failing to moderate! Oh well the last 4 years have been much less boozy even if not totally dry some of the time

Doing 100 plus days feels so great, I really felt fabulous (was Sober Sarah back then)

Same here, creep back to making stupid rules around moderation.

I'm day 32 today and feel so well mentally and physically without drink I need to keep this going.

Hello...

Was wandering thru the AF beer aisle in my local Tesco and stumbled across Seedlip (www.seedlipdrinks.com/) which looks very much like an AF gin... Has anyone tried it - I thought it looked great and possibly worth a try until i saw the price at £26... Now standard spirits have tax of about £8 a bottle so I am struggling to see why this is so expensive when there is no alcohol to tax... for example Bombay Sapphire is usually £14-20 a bottle.....

Seems to be aimed very much at the luxury end of the market - but it was in Tesco rightbeside the £4 heinekin beers!!

Working in the spirits industry I read some of their blurb, and it does look high end stuff - just wondering if anyone has tasted it??

Intrigued and curious!!

Onwards.....

I've tried it once. It is an AF alternative to gin in that you mix it with tonic water and like gin it isn't sweet, but it doesn't taste like gin. Instead of juniper you get cloves and cardamon...it was actually very clovy in flavour. For the price, I'd give it a miss personally but I'm not a big clove fan. Whilst on the subject I mail ordered a box of 24 bottles of AMBAR gluten free and AF lager for £22.99. It is full of lagery flavour and both my DH and his DD have said Becks Blue doesn't come close to how good an AF lager this is. It is also 60 calories a bottle which isn't too bad.

I've not tried Seedlip but I find tonic water on its own is nice enough- especially a good brand like Fever Tree.

tinker let us know how the AF beer tastes!

Away with family this weekend. One of them really winds me up (family by marriage) I think I will tolerate him better without the red mist of alcohol- hopefully.

Enjoy your weekends everyone!

I am an old timer who pops up from time to time. I wanted to say Hi to seedsofchange but as this thread is almost full I have set up a new one - come on over. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/relationships/2973421-DRY-18?watched=1

Can I join you? Day 30 here... and already feeling the benefits