Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

Giving up alcohol for vanity?

403 replies

VanityWitch · 04/12/2020 09:24

So, I'm thinking of going teetotal, yes, for my health, but mainly because I am terribly vain and my skin is crap at the moment and my sleep quality is also crap. I don't drink much, as in, I tend to only drink at weekends plus one week night, so Friday, Saturday and Sunday or Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, for example. Usually one or two glasses of wine. Not bucketfuls, but not thimbles either! So I guess that is a bottle of wine a week?

I'm sure by MN standards this makes me either a raging alcoholic or a puritanical stick in the mud, but you know.

Anyway, I'm planning to quit as an experiment, to see if I glow!

Is anyone thinking of doing similar? Would anyone like to join me on here to document our journey to glowage?

OP posts:
ILookAtTheFloor · 19/02/2021 08:22

I'm 2.5 years in after giving up alcohol for vanity! I wasn't a big drinker anyway so it wasn't that hard for me.

I did it purely due to my skin regime. Bonus I'm TTC at the moment but it was all about the skin.

Hepzibar · 21/02/2021 11:02

The scales are finally moving in right direction! Half a stone gone since 16 Jan. I have been trying to do low carb too so that has likely to be the boost I needed

GingerLemonTea · 21/02/2021 18:01

I’ve finally lost 2 pounds after 7 weeks. Hard going.

Hepzibar · 21/02/2021 18:06

Ginger - isn't it just!

AlisonParker1 · 21/02/2021 20:24

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

GingerLemonTea · 27/02/2021 18:37

57 days in. Slightly tempted but holding on! Again no amazing benefits. My bank balance is healthier tho!

lockdownalli · 27/02/2021 19:28

I did Dry Jan and then due to a range of issues fell off the wagon throughout Feb. Bloody annoying as I had lost all of my Christmas weight.

So, back on it now, starting Dry March this weekend. I cannot moderate, but find being dry fairly easy once I am in the zone. Then something happens and I think oh I will just have a few drinks tonight/this weekend and then stop again. But I don't. I carry on drinking.

Also trying to eat better - less processed food and fewer ready meals Blush

I am just embarrassingly lazy.

HandleTheJandal · 24/04/2021 10:12

How are the vain quitters going? I will be a year dry in May - not that I drank much but I needed the extra energy and sharpness at the margins. I wish I could have had a parallel year in which my other self drank so I could do a proper compare and contrast lookswise after a year's abstinence.

PollyThePony · 24/04/2021 10:27

I've almost quit, not for vanity, but it has definitely improved my skin! I have rosacea and didn't think alcohol was one of my main triggers, but apparently it is Blush

I've had three small glasses of wine since 14th Feb. Didn't enjoy them and they are making my skin flare up a bit when I have them, so I'm giving it up entirely.

Not overly concerned about weight loss, but it would be a nice bonus. I don't want to have to buy a new wardrobe though, so don't want to drop several dress sizes or anything!

Last booze was one glass of wine on Wednesday. The next day my skin was showing it already! But not too bad. Been happily drinking my fake gin and tonic since then.

Hepzibar · 25/04/2021 07:50

Still here and still going in right direction.

Finally got hair cut and roots done which helps enormously.

Been on WW since last post, using the app - it's going well, weight slowly coming off. I've dropped 2 dress sizes since going AF on 1st Jan. My skin has improved, red blotchiness and puffiness gone.

This definitely feels better than drinking and the horrible effects of that on my body and health, so why would I want to go back. That's what I keep telling myself - I don't want to return to that person.

Chalcroft · 25/04/2021 18:51

I gave up because it was interfering with my sleep, giving me anxiety and making me feel exhausted. I have dropped a size and am able to sleep now. I don't think I will ever drink much again

LadyPeppermint · 25/04/2021 19:16

I'm still here! Stopped on 1 Jan to do dry January and continued mostly for vanity. Predominantly weight loss. I'm down almost a stone since then, but that's not just from cutting out booze - healthy eating and exercise too.
Hope the rest of you are doing well.

AsLongAsIHaveMyTea · 05/05/2021 07:39

How are you all doing? With lockdown I had a boozy few months then returning to work I’ve been having that dreaded glass of wine to “unwind”. I look like crap again - and I feel it too! It really does make a difference not to drink.

AsCoolAsKimDeal · 05/05/2021 17:23

I've done 14 weeks, lost no weight and don't look any better

happy97 · 10/06/2021 19:28

I know this is an old thread but I really need to refocus on this and need some insight/support etc. I did a month at the end of January but from late Feb it started to creep back up. I know I looked so much healthier when I wasn't drinking!

almahart · 11/06/2021 11:21

Me too. It creeps back doesn't it. Trying to resist white wine which is frankly mostly cheap and nasty

happy97 · 11/06/2021 11:31

It really really does creep back. It was the odd glass which then became a bottle again.

I looked so much healthier when I wasn't drinking, and my face wasn't puffy anymore.

AsLongAsIHaveMyTea · 11/06/2021 12:57

Yes I’m finding it really hard to cut out the two glasses in the evening, I look terrible

LadyPeppermint · 11/06/2021 12:59

I'm still going strong and not particularly missing it, but I do wonder whether my resolve will weaken over the summer holidays.

I've lost about a stone and a half, although that's down to healthy eating and exercise too. I just find that one good habit leads to another and not drinking makes me want to take on other stuff. My skin has always been good, but I can genuinely say that it's never looked better. Again, that's not just cutting booze, but part of an overall self care package spurred on by cutting booze and feeling good about myself.

I can see myself being tempted but also - I want to feel this good forever, and I think the pull towards looking and feeling great is stronger than my deaire for the odd glass.

But i have to thank the last couple of posters who have actually strengthened my resolve, which i could feel slipping a bit. I'm away this weekend and did wonder if i might have a sneaky glass but now I don't think I will. So thank you.

Hopefully those of you who have had a break can get back on the horse.

happy97 · 11/06/2021 13:15

I was almost 2 stone down, I was looking after my skin more (cleaning my face at night rather than the cba approach), drinking water and eating less carbs. I had cheekbones!

My resolve is rubbish at the best of times but even worse when it's sunny.

happy97 · 11/06/2021 13:16

@LadyPeppermint

I'm still going strong and not particularly missing it, but I do wonder whether my resolve will weaken over the summer holidays.

I've lost about a stone and a half, although that's down to healthy eating and exercise too. I just find that one good habit leads to another and not drinking makes me want to take on other stuff. My skin has always been good, but I can genuinely say that it's never looked better. Again, that's not just cutting booze, but part of an overall self care package spurred on by cutting booze and feeling good about myself.

I can see myself being tempted but also - I want to feel this good forever, and I think the pull towards looking and feeling great is stronger than my deaire for the odd glass.

But i have to thank the last couple of posters who have actually strengthened my resolve, which i could feel slipping a bit. I'm away this weekend and did wonder if i might have a sneaky glass but now I don't think I will. So thank you.

Hopefully those of you who have had a break can get back on the horse.

Well done! I'm glad these posts have helped you. Have a lovely weekend.
LadyPeppermint · 11/06/2021 13:32

Thanks to you. Right now i am exactly the same as you described and am enjoying my cheekbones 😂. I worry about losing good habits so honestly i am really glad i clicked here today. Have a lovely weekend yourself.

Hepzibar · 19/06/2021 18:27

Just popped on to say I'm still here too. No desire to return to drinking, loving the benefits too much. Eating much healthier and now lost over 2st, in size 12 for the first time in 7/8 years. A colleague even commented on my skin this week - and that's never happened in my life!
Now if only I could muster up the desire to exercise.......

lockdownalli · 19/06/2021 18:42

I fell back to drinking in April but have been dry since mid May.

My skin looks bloody amazing!!

Birkie248 · 19/06/2021 20:38

I posted on first page under a different name, but I stopped drinking wine after shortly this thread. I still occasionally have a gin or two, but no wine. My face is less puffy, I’m sleeping much better and crucially not berating myself the next day for feeling bad after 3 glasses of wine.