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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:
Original poster
VanityWitch · 05/12/2020 10:37

I definitely think it's the ritual of drinking which is the draw, rather than the actual booze itself. So I'm still planning to go to the pub and drinking zero alcohol beer instead. Or a tonic water maybe. The fancy ones are nice on their own. People might be Hmm to begin with, but I bet that soon enough, they forget you aren't drinking real beer.

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Separatedandabitsad · 05/12/2020 11:06

I’m toying with this at the moment too (despite drinking half a bottle of wine last night). I have adult acne which is pretty bad...but I don’t think vanity is enough of a motivation for me in its entirety. It’s more my mental health that I’d do it for.

Are you planning to stay off the booze over Christmas @VanityWitch ? At the moment I’m just cutting down! During the first lockdown I was drinking like a fish so now I’m back to weekends only so I’m slowly cutting back ... I’ve been drinking so long it’s hard to know what effect of has on my skin but my skin is ‘bad’ at the moment. I drink A LOT of water with my wine & I find that helps a great deal with the puffiness etc.

Original poster
VanityWitch · 05/12/2020 11:39

Yeah, at the minute, I'm thinking of not drinking at Christmas. We don't actually have a massively boozy Christmas normally anyway, as we have young dcs, so it just isn't worth it tbh. Also, our only guest this year doesn't really drink at all and DH only drinks late in the evening as a rule, so Christmas Day drinking is unlikely anyway. I plan to be so full of turkey that I don't want to drink in the evening anyway Xmas Grin. (I don't think this is falling into the compensating for the lack of booze with food trap, as, let's face it, I was never going to eat like a wee bird on Christmas Day)!

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Original poster
VanityWitch · 05/12/2020 11:41

I also have acne (well acne rosacea, which is a version of acne). Alcohol is a well known trigger for it, and I'm finding I get away with even less now than I did previously...

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travailtotravel · 05/12/2020 11:57

I can't give up. Wine is part of my job! I figure, if I keep drinking, the rest of you will look better in comparison. One for the team, no?

Original poster
VanityWitch · 05/12/2020 12:22

Grin thanks @travailtotravel for your commitment to the vanity cause. We vain folk owe you a debt of gratitude. If I couldn't do my job without drinking, tbf, even I wouldn't give it up for clear skin. And some people look amazing while still drinking! I'm just a bit unfortunate with it, I think. Confirmation after experiments!

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BunniesBunniesBunnies · 05/12/2020 13:01

I had such bad skin before I quit. (Hormonal?) acne, not sure what was going on but it was horrendous. I rarely have spots now!!!

BunniesBunniesBunnies · 05/12/2020 13:02

@VanityWitch I agree some people look amazing drinking, I just sadly wasn’t one of them😂

Separatedandabitsad · 05/12/2020 13:50

@BunniesBunniesBunnies

Eek! You’re making me realise I really need to quit!!

@VanityWitch

As for people looking amazing who drink, I work with a lady in her 60s who drinks like a 21 year old, smokes fags & worships the sun and has the best skin of anyone her age I’ve ever seen! She eats well & exercises daily so maybe she somehow gets away with everything else!

Original poster
VanityWitch · 05/12/2020 13:59

Yes, some people are just very lucky I think. My granny smoked and drank and lived a long time, but she didn't age well. The other gran smoked but gave up in her 50s, never drank and looked a lot better and lived longer. So I wonder if I just have the doesn't look great for drinking gene! It's science. Look it up Wink.

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MsAnnFrope · 05/12/2020 14:44

I’m on a healthy eating plan which has no alcohol at all allowed. I’m only 4 weeks in but I’m not at all missing waking up with a hangover after 2 glasses of wine! I’ve lost weight as part of a healthier diet but I do think that is easier when not drinking too. Sadly, as I love wine but in my 40s I can’t be doing with the after effects!

Separatedandabitsad · 05/12/2020 23:32

It’s all about hydration . Lots of water

User258544 · 06/12/2020 00:45

I inadvertently ended up cutting down and almost giving up, less than 10 glasses of wine this year I would say, as I have a health condition and just felt increasingly blah after. On the good side, I have very few wrinkles, my skin is hydrated. It's a silver lining to my condition. You have to decide what your alternatives are to unwind then it is easier.

sugarlost · 06/12/2020 07:08

My acne is worse when drinking...I can get cysts. Too much sugar does not agree with my skin. I was not sute if drinks like vodka were better than wine and cocktails as more pure but just trying to stay away from it all. It's hard when your friends all drink socially but I think I can not drink long term because acne really affects my confidence.

Original poster
VanityWitch · 06/12/2020 07:51

Day three, in chateau witch. I'm ravenous. Wonder if it's booze (lack of) related, as normally Saturdays would be day for a couple of drinks. Seems unlikely, but noting it in the name of my ever so scientific experiment Xmas Grin.

Do I feel more energetic this morning too? I think I do. Usually I want as much time in bed on a Sunday morning as possible, but today I'm ready to go and make hot drinks for MrWitch and me. Haven't gone yet, obviously. I'm on MN instead, but I'm about to go.

In other news I had a Heineken zero last night and it tasted a lot like beer to me. So that's good.

Has anyone else started yet? If so, how is it going?

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Original poster
VanityWitch · 06/12/2020 07:52

PS: I haven't looked in a mirror yet, but I assume there is no glowing yet.

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Marmaladegin · 06/12/2020 07:56

Feel like I've found my people. I love a drink but it just doesn't suit me any more and I'm ready to trade it for looking and sleeping better. Here's to day 1!

Original poster
VanityWitch · 06/12/2020 08:04

Welcome marmalade Xmas Smile!

I also had a thought just now, while making the BrewBrew. I haven't had a night out since February, but in normal times, when the occasion calls for it, I can put away huge quantities of wine. Easily a bottle in a night, if I think about it, with absolutely no effort required. So, it's quite a strange thing, that I seem to have the constitution which means I can hold my drink as it were, but it seems to show on my face. Just noting again, in the name of science!

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Ynwa12345 · 06/12/2020 08:04

I gave up for a while (10 months) couple of years ago and then did it this time for 70 odd days. I drank less but I gave up smoking too 2 weeks ago. So 'needed' a vice. I have put on 2kg!!! I really want to stop for better sleep (didn't sleep well at all last night) I think it definitely catches up with you! I actually long for better sleep and losing weight! So yes here is to day 1 lol xx

Original poster
VanityWitch · 06/12/2020 08:07

Oh well done @Ynwa12345 on giving up smoking! That is a great achievement! And welcome to you too Xmas Smile.

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Separatedandabitsad · 06/12/2020 09:47

I’d say smoking is worse for your skin than drinking - although that’s probably because I drank again last night!! I agree about non alcoholic beer though-there are so many good ones on the market now, you’d hardly feel you’re not drinking alcohol.

Does your DH drink @VanityWitch ? Is he going to quit too?

Original poster
VanityWitch · 06/12/2020 09:51

DH drinks and has no plans to quit afaik. However, when I've quit in the past (pregnancy), he has ended up drinking a lot less without trying. He does think not drinking is a better choice and wouldn't try to convince me to drink just for the company iyswim.

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Separatedandabitsad · 06/12/2020 09:54

That’s good . I was just wondering how tempting it’d be. I find it easier to cut back now that I’m separated (silver lining I suppose!) as only I control what I drink. You sound motivated though so good for you!

Original poster
VanityWitch · 06/12/2020 10:00

I think, if he was someone who thought trying to quit or cut back on alcohol was stupid and boooooring then we'd have a problem! But he isn't like that. He doesn't enjoy the sleep disruption either and actually suffers it more than I do! He isn't as good at the big nights out with aperitif, wine and cocktails as I am though Blush.

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GeidiPrimes · 06/12/2020 10:00

It really does make a difference to your skin/face. I stopped drinking alcohol for different reasons, but I was still chuffed that I no longer looked bloated and my pores had shrunk. The craving for sweet stuff does subside after a bit.