The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Braving The Wine Witch & Her Alcohol Free Autumn

[Mouseface]

Hello

I’m Mouse one of the Brave Babes who ride on this wonderful Bus, called Gerald, along with all the Opal Fruits wrappers and of course Barry The squid.

We all have a wise variety of life experiences and experiences with alcohol too. We’re not admirers of hang overs and we certainly don’t do judgey pants!

We’re here to ride along with you, when life is pants but also when it’s not as well and you my want to celebrate that bit too much!

So find a seat and come take a ride. I’ll link the previous and also the very first link and the reason we’re all here.

*Mouse

Read this article this morning aimed at millennials but still relevant for us all. Maybe it will help get through DJ if we post links to blogs/apps etc. so that they're here for babes to access quickly?

Dry January article

Ma I would say go out and get blown but that sounds rude so I won't

I need to join, drinking has crept up and I now have the fear after a night out last night, spoke to far too many people and can hardly remember getting home
Drinking at home has crept up too so im hoping for a dry January and cutting down to just a saturday night after January. Feeling horrible right now

I'm not on Day 7!

I feel A.m.a.z.i.n.g!

Eye whotes look bright! I feel fresh, i feel alert!

*whites

Lastname's got the 'BOING' Yah!!

Summer, welcome, you are among friends and we have all done it, no judgement, only support.

Hi all, back on the bus here too. Been drinking far too much every night for years and years. Did 265 days dry September 16 - September 17 and everything improved massively. Lost 37lbs, came off my blood pressure medication for the first time in 10 years, sleep improved hugely, anxiety improved, did loads of exercise and looks and felt 10 years younger. Managed to have 5 days off a week from September to December and then have drunk every day in December apart from 2. Have put on loads and loads of weight, feel absolutely huge, bloated, my blood pressure is through the roof, my teeth are furry, sleep is all over the place and feel like shit. I had 2 weeks off over Christmas and instead of entering 2018 feeling refreshed and ready to start the year, I feel tired, sluggish and pissed off with myself. Day 1 complete so onwards....I plan to have at least January off but ideally would like to carry on until the end of February and go from there. I have signed up for a half marathon at the end of February and have absolutely no chance of training for it if i am drinking.

welcome summer and welcome back lulu
This weather is utter shite.

The weather here is horrible. I took the dog for a walk and got soaked, and then had to take the kids with me into town to buy important stuff to post to DH in the sandpit. Now binge-watching Grey's Anatomy and hiding from the children! It's important to keep my stress levels within manageable parameters....

How long has dh been serving yorkshire? I have the utmost admiration for military wives and spouses.

the only thing is----i seem to be eating loads today......xx

It's coming for 18 years. Goodness, that makes me feel old

Thats my Kitchen decluttered and cleaned. So much energy without a hangover! I've defrosted and cleaned out the freezer, cleaned out the fridge and caught up on the washing mountain.
lastnamefirstfirstnamelast
Unfortunately I seem to have replaced wine with chocolates.
Luxury
I have opened up a "Very" account and finally after five years in Scotland, bought myself a very lively warm and waterproof coat. A proper bit of luxury there. 😁

Thank you Baking for the advice re only buying a certain amount of drinks. Sounds like a plan for after DJ. Sweet yes I can see how 10k will be doable now I am back to work and walking to and from station for 20mins each way. Thanks for the encouragement. Bernie yes I was doing slimmers world before and it did help to Log the food and drink. I hope to lose a stone at least in 3 months. Summer I think your plan for after DJ also sounds good ie limiting drinking to one night per week but these plans will have to be trial and error for me as the problem is really just not being able to stop after the first one as per endof and I may have to give up completely. One can but try!

Ooo can I join you?
Day 2 AF here for me.
Have been experiencing horrible anxiety over last month due to work stress.
Have FINALLY managed to get DH on board with not drinking- hoping this will make things easier. We have been drinking far too much at home for a while now. I have asked DH to go to AA as it was getting ridiculous but he's resistant.
Anyway we are all full of good intentions for now

Hello all

I only had a glass of wine last night and have a small one left for tonight which will hopefully mean I can get to sleep. Beyond that it's AF all the way!!

I did find it hard to get to sleep on only one glass but I know in the past if I have gone cold turkey I have had nights when I literally haven't slept at all.....

Well done those who are already feeling the benefits.

Evening all - gosh there are so many people today, I can't keep up! Waves to the bears :).

So day 3, I was up at 6am (after a surprisingly long and deep night's sleep - most unusual), over to my client (a 90 minute journey) and into a day of meetings. At 2pm after coming out of a productive meeting, I had an overwhelming urge to drink a nice cold beer, which has followed through all the way until me getting home, when it has now surprisingly totally gone away.

Am now in bed with my pjs on and a cup of redbush tea to hand and now looking forward to my book, a bit of TV and a snooze.

I still look like shit but at least other things are improving.

To answer a couple of earlier questions -

• Water - yes I think we get used to a level of dehydration and we need to rehydrate...I am also feeling really thirsty at the moment;
• The bingeing - what drink/s do you binge on trust?

i have successfully stopped drinking wine and all spirits as of 2013 and then I moved back onto beer after a year of no booze in 2014. I do have an off switch on beer but the reason I'm here is that i have picked up a bad habit of daily drinking which I want to knock on the head for now (and a weight gain to go with it)!

x

last really hope to be following you in feeling amazing by Saturday (my day 7). At the moment my skin looks and feels like sandpaper, my eyes are bloodshot, my face is puffy and red and I generally look like shit!

Great work on 7 days :). x

Right, so Christmas has been put away, (inside the house anyway, I'll do outside when it stops raining). A module marked, dog walked, twice. Proper, healthy breakfast and lunch taken, and now I'm not feeling desperately hungry, but will have something small.

Day two did come with a couple of twinges, but nothing too bad. Day 3/4 are often bad for me because wine is my reward .

Welcome Smiled, of course you can join

Mint I'm imagining a very jolly bright yellow waterproof (Sou'wester too) for you 'lively' coat

Evening babes and bears 🐻. Well done to you all for getting through.
I'll be honest, I struggling this evening. I've been for a run/walk (re doing week 6 of Couch to 5k) and usually follow that with opening a bottle of wine, whilst cooking dinner. Feeling a little tearful but sticking to the ginger cordial and water 😕. Really want this to get easier. Sorry for being a downer.
Roll on bedtime .....

Minute by minute *Bernie, it will pass.

It will pass Bernie - stay strong. I had the same today - the urge to stop at the garage to get a 4 pack of Heineken on the way home was mad, but I walked right past. Big hug and well done on the running. I need to get back out on Saturday. Haven't run since November because of a chest infection (which I drank through FFS). x

Goodness Bernie, you have my heartfelt admiration for going for a run in this crappy weather. Would it help to concentrate on how good you feel after the run, and how it's better than that swimmy head, not really present post-wine feeling? That's been helping me get through, really concentrating hard on how the wine actually makes me feel. Good luck.

Can you have an early night Bernie to hide from the wine? I think not sitting downstairs where I would usually be drinking helped sometimes.

Otherwise good luck to everyone else and well done for stopping.
Trust is today your first day AF? Am cheering you on.

SweetLathyrus not heard it called the Boing before, I like it!. Yay Last enjoy your boing!

Ma love the sound of that Christmas chai.

Hello to everyone else!

Berniebear My triplet bear.

Don't worry it's totally normal and it won't be like this every day. I actually have a weird zinging feeling in the soles of my feet!! Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Grab yourself a Becks Blue or something nice and distract yourself with singing?

I have been looking at holiday porn. With all the money I will save I can afford a lovely holiday and with all the weight I will lose I will look fab in my holiday clothes!

So will you!!

Hello lovely old babes and shiny new babes! I am jumping back on the bus to join you all again after a couple of years falling in and out of the sidecar. (Name change too - I was broken before, but slightly more positive now ).

I have had one of the wettest Decembers on record... but feeling fully committed and positive for a Dry Jan. Six days is my longest dry, apart from when pregnant, for probably two decades. I can do better than that, right?

Sending lots of motivation to all for us to achieve what we want to this month!