No booze yesterday Christmas!

[oldwheels]

Cannot drink alcohol beyond about 4units per week (about 2 bottles of beer) due to medication as it would probably kill me by destroying my liver. Can't say it bothers me now and I have the perfect excuse in company for having no alcohol. Means I am completely fireproof for driving so get social invitations as " designated driver". Can be quite entertaining sometimes.

 

[Philh]

I haven't drunk for over thirty years, despite being a regular pub goer in my teens and twenties when I couldn't imagine not being a drinker. There came a point when I just lost interest in it and I don't miss it at all. I can go into a pub and stick to soft drinks or a coffee and I am never minded to drink alcohol. People who try and force a drink on you to "Be sociable" are a bloody nuisance and I end up being quite rude if they persist. If they're a non smoker I respond by trying to force a cigarette on them.

Very similar, I stopped 18 years ago. I used to drink for England and I just got fed up of not being able to do what I wanted to do, drinking just got boring. I have not had a single drink since then, not one ever. The difference in health and wealth is amazing.
I just tell people I am driving when they try and force a drink on me. Works everytime.

 

[Stantheman]

I haven't cycled since September and have been drinking far to much(I live alone) this year. I feel fat and bloated as well as very unfit. This time last year I was cycling daily and never felt better.

 

[bigjim]

From about age 17 to 25 I was a fairly heavy drinker. A nice drunk if there is such a thing. I then got a cancer diagnosis and was put on Chemo. I just could not drink after that.My body reacted so badly. Even now some 35 years later I get a really bad reaction if I overdo the alchohol. I like pubs, I like a pint or a couple of glasses of red. However that is my limit. I've also been quite happy to go for a night out and hit the dancefloor and have a good sociable laugh whilst sticking to a pint or two of tapwater. I've been a cab driver and DJ in my younger days and seen, plus suffered, the bad side of alcohol. I also don't think drunkeness is a good look as you get older.

 

[briantrumpet]

Very similar, I stopped 18 years ago. I used to drink for England and I just got fed up of not being able to do what I wanted to do, drinking just got boring. I have not had a single drink since then, not one ever. The difference in health and wealth is amazing.
I just tell people I am driving when they try and force a drink on me. Works everytime.

I guess I'm lucky that I haven't got 'friends' who try to make me drink. Since 2008 (I think) I hardly ever drink, but will drink the odd pint with friends in my local, the fabulous Bridge Inn in Topsham, and enjoy a glass or two of wine with friends when in residence in France. Total - probably about two bottles of wine, and ten pints, in a year. And I can enjoy each one. But I don't miss it in the least all the other nights of the year.

I haven't cycled since September and have been drinking far to much(I live alone) this year. I feel fat and bloated as well as very unfit. This time last year I was cycling daily and never felt better.

Drinking alone as a habit isn't a great place to be. I hope you can find a way to break the habit - cycling is good, if you can get back into that one, but it's been hard this year with all the rubbish weather. Maybe there's something else you can get into, or volunteering to help with a sociable group. Good luck - you're half way there by writing the problem down.

 

[bigjim]

but it's been hard this year with all the rubbish weather.

I agree and especially at the moment in my area. However I need to get out on the open air to lift my spirits and I always go for a long walk or even a small, very small, jog. It's so easy [even if it is raining] to throw a coat on and have a good walk. Keeps you fit and makes you feel so much better.

 

[briantrumpet]

I agree and especially at the moment in my area. However I need to get out on the open air to lift my spirits and I always go for a long walk or even a small, very small, jog. It's so easy [even if it is raining] to throw a coat on and have a good walk. Keeps you fit and makes you feel so much better.

Exactly so. So much better than a(nother) drink. And now the days are just starting to get a bit longer, it's a good time to find ways to enjoy the extra light, if you can. And I've always found that the days when it's been the hardest to wrench myself out of the comfort of an armchair are the ones when I've found exercise the most rewarding.

 

[subaqua]

I guess I'm lucky that I haven't got 'friends' who try to make me drink. Since 2008 (I think) I hardly ever drink, but will drink the odd pint with friends in my local, the fabulous Bridge Inn in Topsham, and enjoy a glass or two of wine with friends when in residence in France. Total - probably about two bottles of wine, and ten pints, in a year. And I can enjoy each one. But I don't miss it in the least all the other nights of the year.


Drinking alone as a habit isn't a great place to be. I hope you can find a way to break the habit - cycling is good, if you can get back into that one, but it's been hard this year with all the rubbish weather. Maybe there's something else you can get into, or volunteering to help with a sociable group. Good luck - you're half way there by writing the problem down.

The bridge was always a good pub . But I preferred the globe or the lighter . Last time I was there was for the wake of a good friend

 

[Gravity Aided]

I've the gout, so the most I was able to drink was a bit of non-alcoholic cider. Been like this for a few years, before that I was a bit of a heavy drinker, now that money can go toward cycling, and other more important things. I still go to Maggie's now and again, but just for boxty, or shepherd's pie.
And that's kind of funny for a fella whose Ma's family has kept pubs and inns for lots of generations.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Well done!

I've been sober for almost 3 years now and it's made a massive difference to my life. And it feels good. Don't understand why so many people feel so uncomfortable about it. It's not like I'm asking them not to drink - go get sloshed! Have fun! I just don't want to! I will still enjoy you being sloshed, as I did before.

 

[Diggs]

I've been cutting down (I won't say cutting out completely) The revelation I have found has been this, a 0% beer that actually tastes nice. Bavaria Wit (from Holland oddly enough) Probably as it's a wheat beer and has some flavour (rather than all the lagers). Available at Tescos

 

[ianrauk]

Its the opposite for me too @night cycler I only really drink in company, I find it easier not to drink on my own, there's just no real urge.

Sames as me. Find it very easy not to drink when I'm alone. I'm a bigger social drinker.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

I've been cutting down (I won't say cutting out completely) The revelation I have found has been this, a 0% beer that actually tastes nice. Bavaria Wit (from Holland oddly enough) Probably as it's a wheat beer and has some flavour (rather than all the lagers). Available at Tescos

View attachment 114009

You have just changed my life. Wheat beer is the thing I miss the most. Now if you can find a non alcoholic single malt whisky aged in peat barrels....

 

[Diggs]

You have just changed my life. Wheat beer is the thing I miss the most. Now if you can find a non alcoholic single malt whisky aged in peat barrels....

Glad to help, I hope you like it.
Now on to the whisky.
All I need is a plan, a recipe and.....about 12 years?

 

[briantrumpet]

The bridge was always a good pub . But I preferred the globe or the lighter . Last time I was there was for the wake of a good friend

Ah, but I'm allowed behind the bar at The Bridge (aka the Inner Sanctum). It's one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, especially as the criteria for admittance are a mystery.