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Original poster

would anyone like to try a dry January with me?

411 replies

coppercolouredtop · 30/12/2018 17:50

i really struggle with not drinking daily.

i have tried before and cheated. my dp hates how much i drink and i would like to try and see if i can do a month without and see if it breaks the habit a bit.

i can easily sink a bottle of wine plus a cocktail and still want more. i go two days without simply because i work nights two days a week.

i am getting fat. i am choosing drink over food. i am reliant on treating myself with alcohol almost daily.

i can give up anything else really easily - smoking? stopped with no help when i decided to stop.
put a box of chocolates in front of me and i can take a couple and leave the rest.
open a bottle of wine and its gone. and i want more and i dont get hangovers so there is no incentive to stop!
ive gained 6lb recently and i know its booze - dp and i used to work same hours and i moderated a bit better when he was around but now im not.
i know he hates what i drink and the annoying bint i become after the third glass.
i have lost motivation to do anything. i dont get up early. i cant be arsed to do much anymore ( i know i am depressed which doesnt help. and i think i depress the people around me)
despite being quite outgoing and bubbly i have no friends and no social life. my kids are grown up and dont see me much. i moved to a village i dont know 4 years ago and know not a soul. i also got pregnant which i was ecstatic about but then found the baby had a disability that would have been life altering for me and her, but i always felt being a mum kept me going and motivated and now my life feels completely empty and hollow. im in a job i hate. with a partner who doesnt like spending much time with me. my kids are gone, i have no friends here and alcohol fills the gaps.

ive decided to try and get to grips with that one problem and bin the booze for a month to see if it makes any difference to anything. (waist line would be good!) i never used to drink like this.. (though i did smoke about 3 cigarettes a day)

does anyone relate? anyone fancy giving this a go and supporting each other? im going to find it extremely difficult but i want to try it.

OP posts:
Omgineedanamechange · 30/12/2018 18:06

I’m doing dryish January. It’s both DH and my birthdays this month, so we’re allowing ourselves one bottle of wine on our joint birthday meal out. We usually drink a lot, mostly at weekends. Can easily sink three bottles of wine between us in a night.

We had a dry month in August last year, and found it surprisingly easy, although disappointingly didn’t lose an ounce, didn’t feel any different, and didn’t save a single penny due to going for days/meals out to replace our usual pub visits.

Still, I’m sure my liver will thank me for another months break. I’ve downloaded the app, and it’s just pinged at me asking if I’ve stayed dry today (I have).

Woohoo1 · 30/12/2018 18:09

Me! I’ve just been on a weight loss thread so dry January goes hand in hand with that. Like I said on the other thread I’m a lone parent and wine and crisps are my company in the evenings. Good luck

Original poster
coppercolouredtop · 30/12/2018 18:10

theres an app?

OP posts:
BBCK · 30/12/2018 18:12

Will join you as DH and I have decided to ditch our “habit”. I’ve done it before and didn’t lose weight but got a lot more housework done in the evening as I had to try and take my mind off it.

Omgineedanamechange · 30/12/2018 18:15

theres an app?

Yup, it’s not bad either, called, imaginatively enough “dry January”

orangecushion · 30/12/2018 18:21

I have sent you a message copper

Sunshineandflipflops · 30/12/2018 18:28

I do dry jan most years. Last year I had just found it my husband was having an affair and was quite poorly so I didn’t want to drink anyway but this year it will be more challenging!
I have got into a bad habit of a glass or two of wine a night after work so need to break it, for my mental and physical health!

maximumcarnage · 30/12/2018 18:30

Dry January? Good lord. Alcohol is the ONLY thing that'll be getting me through January! Good luck to everyone else though.

LegoMonkeys · 30/12/2018 18:35

I've decided to do dry January (but start on the 2nd as I'm going out for lunch on the 1st and still count that as the Christmas period).
Like others have said, it's a bad habit I've got into to open a bottle of wine in the evening or order a glass when I'm out for dinner... even if I go at 5.30 with my 2 yr old 😮
I also need to stop eating so much crap food.
So count me in Grin

Original poster
coppercolouredtop · 30/12/2018 18:37

ah max dont sway me! i am very weak and i need people to join me and tell me i CAN do this not make me feel its ok if i dont - im very very weak willed these days where i used to be absolutely resolute ! ive gone very soft and need a bit of steel back!

OP posts:
karala · 30/12/2018 18:38

I'm going to do it too - I drink every day but don't get pissed so manage to persuade myself that it's ok although I know it's not.

Original poster
coppercolouredtop · 30/12/2018 18:39

thank you lego we can do this! is only a month! x

(im hoping after a month i will go "and what was the fuss about" and do a dry feb march april may and break it in june when i go to mexico all inclusive! and when i am a size 10 obvs!)

my plan is to get to the gym more and drink less.

OP posts:
LegoMonkeys · 30/12/2018 19:06

I started doing exercise classes two evenings a week in the summer so will be continuing that. What do you do at the gym, Copper?
Don't lose your willpower! I will be checking up on you! And feel free to hassle me too!

Woohoo1 · 30/12/2018 19:09

Does anyone have any ideas with regard to home exercise!? I’m a lone parent NO help in the evenings so no running gym once dcs in bed! I need to do something in a small sitting room that won’t annoy my lovely neighbours.

maximumcarnage · 30/12/2018 19:10

Ah ha, I see. Well I tell you what then, lets say...this thing that looks suspiciously like a wine glass filled with Rioja, it's actually Ribena. And this bottle I am drinking from a brown paper bag? Yeah that's totally water. And this slur? An unexplained but coincidental minor speech impediment.

LegoMonkeys · 30/12/2018 19:13

Woohoo, do you have space to do a kettlebell workout? You need a bit of free space to swing them for some moves, but not necessarily as much as you'd think...

Or just get some handheld weights and google a program to suit your level?

Woohoo1 · 30/12/2018 19:14

Can I get kettlebell videos on YouTube!? I’ll look into it!!

Original poster
coppercolouredtop · 30/12/2018 19:15

lego i find the gym hard going as i work shifts but i make excuses all the bloody time.

i have a great gym at work i can use at any time.

i used to run and was up to 5k outdoors and really enjoyed it.

i pay stupid money £40 !! for banatynes and should get my ass to classes

OP posts:
Deepfriedchips · 30/12/2018 19:18

I would like to join. I also need to exercise.

Grumpbum123 · 30/12/2018 19:21

I’m doing dry January. I need to for my mental health

LordPickle · 30/12/2018 19:23

I relate. I think I drink because I'm unhappy but alcohol doesn't help. I'm planning on a dry January too and I'm a frequent drinker as well. I'd love some support to stay teetotal because if I can do a month then I don't need it at all.

confusedandemployed · 30/12/2018 19:25

I'm going to try. I only drink a couple of times a week max, but I make terrible food choices when hungover. I'm also returning to 5:2 from the 2nd so I'm hoping the booze free month will kick start my weight loss.

MissyMoooo · 30/12/2018 19:29

I'd love to join you too. I just don't know if I can live without my crutch, even though I know I have too. I drink every night too :(

NaturalBornSinner · 30/12/2018 19:35

I'm in. For both mental health and financial reasons.

I've been feeling really low for the last month due to a break-up and have been drinking to try and numb the sadness and loneliness. It only works in the very short term and then makes me feel much worse, so I want to see if going a month without makes any difference to how I cope with my feelings.

I've also been massively overspending for a few months and need to reign it in before it gets unmanageable. So I can't really afford to drink all month anyway!

I've reading a book called Mindful Drinking at the minute which is about cutting down alcohol in the long-term, but it recommends you start with a 28 day complete break to get yourself out of the habit of automatic drinking. It's a good book, would recommend it.

maximumcarnage · 30/12/2018 19:35

Should probably mention I’m not very good at food either. Love any meal with a sauce. Any kind of fried chicken. And anything where the risk of heart attack is very likely after a bite. I think the only reason I’m not the size of the Hindenburg blimp is I do occasionally make the effort to exercise.