The booze-quittin' buddy thread!

[Kevoffthetee]

Day 2 was a nightmare. My eldest was a complete PITA all day and my youngest is starting the potty training and life in a big boys bed. Also Newcastle were playing (badly) and I had errands to run before preparing my bike for this morning.

Suffice to say I didn't get a chance and there today has started badly as I didn't get out. Now we are getting ready to go school shoe shopping and if yesterday was anything to go by it'll be mental and I'll be needing a drink so need to stay strong.

We still have 3 bottles or quality red wine, several bottles of Budweiser, 2 bottles of vodka and I've got 2 bottles of single malt.

Should be a doddle

 

[david k]

Day 2 was a nightmare. My eldest was a complete PITA all day and my youngest is starting the potty training and life in a big boys bed. Also Newcastle were playing (badly) and I had errands to run before preparing my bike for this morning.

Suffice to say I didn't get a chance and there today has started badly as I didn't get out. Now we are getting ready to go school shoe shopping and if yesterday was anything to go by it'll be mental and I'll be needing a drink so need to stay strong.

We still have 3 bottles or quality red wine, several bottles of Budweiser, 2 bottles of vodka and I've got 2 bottles of single malt.

Should be a doddle

I like to drink at home as a relaxer and as a reward for a busy week or for doing some jobs etc. Breaking that cycle was the best thing to stop the cravings as they are mental and psychological rather than physical.
Find a new reward, I like coffee, have different types and have decaf so I don't have too much caffeine, try an Xbox or anything that fills the void
I also tried saying I will only have a beer if I go the pub, at the end of a difficult week I sometimes cannot be bothered getting ready so wouldn't bother, I gave myself a barrier, I also go the pictures a lot now, another good distraction

 

[Spinney]

I did a dry January the year before last (and managed 29 days!).
This time I'm not going to try completely dry, but to stick to Fri/Sat/Sun only - over the course of 2015 I got into a habit of a glass or two every night, which is not good.

 

[Kevoffthetee]

I've just been given a huge boost. The usually manly banter with the lads at the cycling club turned to everyones over indulgence over the festive period and how they were planning to loose weight.

All of a sudden we now have a large group on a slimming plan and a bet on who can safely loose the most weight. we are all signed up to myfitnessPal and linked to one another, there is a minimum calorie intake and also a disqualification if anyone struggles on a club run due to bad nutritional planning.

The bet - 1 alcoholic drink per participant to the winner at the end of the month 'back to drinking' bash at our local

There'll also be some other rewards we haven't worked out yet but it'll evolve around club ride performances to encourage people not to starve themselves.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The New Scientist did a short informal study here and found some short term benefits of giving up for a month.

However, it's not necessarily all good, I've read elsewhere but can't find links right now: Mainly it depends if you return to high levels of drinking afterwards. Problem drinkers may sometimes use short periods of abstention like this as a means to convince themselves that there is no problem.

 

[PaulB]

As I bimble around the forum I note that there are several of us quitting the demon drink in the new year. So I thought it might be productive and encouraging for us to share experiences.

I'm quittin' because I've had a series of rotten colds since September that have really put a dent in my fitness, and therefore in the new year I want to get back to my ideal weight and fitness, and beer, wine and spirits will not help me achieve this.

Also the wine I like to drink is probably slightly beyond my means, so my pocket will also benefit from not buying booze.

What's your motivation?

UPDATE

The following list of folk are going sober! At least for January anyway...

@SimonJKH
@bromptonfb
@ColinJ
@BigonaBianchi
@Custom24
@Broughtonblue
@david k
@vickster (from Jan 18th)
@martint235
@MickeyBlueEyes
@Steve H
@WellyWonkey
@Brad123
@Easytigers
@mooseracer
@Spinney
@Dave 123
@Smeggers II
@4F
@Andrew_Culture
@The Jogger
@speccy1
@mattobrien
@DooDah
@AndyRM
@edindave
@mickle
@eck
@nickyboy
@Freds Dad
@Fubar

Have I missed anyone?

Yeah, me. But it's no problem for me as I've done this successfully for 18 out of the last 19 Januarys. I couldn't do the millennium one as my mother died on Christmas eve and we couldn't bury her until the 6th Jan so I felt I had to drink at the wake.

 

[busdennis]

wasn't planning to make regular posts to this thread and was planning to use a degree of will power but after suffering one of my worst hangovers in years and losing a days cycling I need to come clean. on non drinking days this week I was pleased with 4 in the bag, so why did I drink 4 days worth last night. MUST DO BETTER

 

[mark c]

I done the dry January last year and i,m doing it again this year so roll on the 1st of February. Although last year i did not notice any difference in my health or well-being so this year is for the hell of it .

 

[Blue Hills]

It might seem kinda counter intuitive, but i find having a good Spoons nearby (i have a really good one) helps cut down. I haven't had any alcohol in the house for a while. If i fancy a nice pint and a contemplative look at cylechat or whatever, i just wander out. Drinking at home is a killer in so many ways as it tends to go hand in hand with snacking. I was going to quit for january but have decided to just limit it to 1 or 2 nights a week of very moderate tippling. Test that iron self control

 

[PaulB]

I also think if you're going to do a month off, it would be better picking a non winter month. I always do January anyway as penance for the excess consumption over Christmas but as my mother's death hit me over the millennium, I did a full Lent instead in 2001 and noticed the weighted loss associated with zero alcohol really helped with sport. There are more events around once they days get longer and like everyone else (probably), training rides/runs also get longer so the sacrifice becomes more beneficial. Additionally, it's said your skin benefits from the rest you're giving your body but if that rest is spent in your heated home/car/workplace, as it will if you're doing a dry January, then you neutralise that benefit to some extent so it's almost certainly better to maximise those undoubted benefits by doing a spring/summer dry month and your reward will be greater.

 

[albion]

Well, it has been a month without booze for me now. It has been very easy, much
as expected.

For me, it is different. The good dry weather, with I assume low pollution, means I feel well and energetic.
My thoughts are already on whether I should allow myself sociable drinking next xmas.
I guess if I have had a few physical bad days near then, then it has to be a no.

 

[mattobrien]

26 days gone, 5 to go. Not that I am counting...

 

[nickyboy]

I'm only a weekend drinker other than special occasions so this January being a 5 weekender rather than the more common 4 has hade it drag a bit. Having said that, just this weekend to go. I doubt very much I'll have a drink on Feb 1 with it being a Monday. Rather wait for the following weekend.

Must be my 15th dry January on the bounce. As usual I feel no different. Sleeping the same, energy levels the same. Maybe lost a pound or two but that's about it

 

[busdennis]

well January started ok but turned into a disaster this last week so short term goal is one week

 

[Blue Hills]

My january switch off never happened - blame my local spoons london beer festival which i was forced to attend several times in the interests of contemporary social research. But i have moderated. And no alcohol in the house. And the myfitness pal android app is showing results. So not too bad overall.