[Drinking] Alcoholic/like a beer or two too much?

[Bry Nylon]

Fantastic effort, very well done to you! That's a great achievement! An inspiration as so many on this thread are.

How are you getting on yourself?

 

[METALMICKY]

Really hope this fella gets to unloved the demon drink!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

View attachment 116139

Really hope this fella gets to unloved the demon drink!

After the Aus cancellations they’ve just announced a string of US festival dates so he must be making progress? Hope so. I understand he was 15 years sober; wonder what made him slip?

 

[Stumpy Tim]

It gets on my nerves every January when the people I know who drink the least take every opportunity to tell you that they're doing Dry January...

Not doing it in any self-righteous way like some of those in Dry January. What this thread has shown is that there are plenty of people out there who used to drink and now don't.

I´m struggling to understand why people doing Dry January are self-righteous or get on your nerves? What works for you may not work for them, and hence having a month off is their way of controlling things. On top of that, having a designated month off hugely reduces the peer pressure element of drinking, especially if you´re not the only one in your group of friends doing it.

Personally, for the past few years I´ve done Sober October and Dry January. It really works for me as I have no intention of giving alcohol up, but these two months are a constant reminder how easy it is not to drink and how your friends will normally support you when you´re not drinking.

I guess what I´m saying is don´t knock other people´s choices when it comes to how they decide not to drink. If this thread shows anything, it´s how much easier it is when other people support your attempts to curb drinking

 

[Happy Exile]

How are you getting on yourself?

Doing good thank you, 57 days without alcohol today in no small part because of the support and inspiration of this thread. Have had some days of huge temptation but non-alcoholic beer and checking in and reading here is helping with those.

 

[father_and_son]

Doing good thank you, 57 days without alcohol today in no small part because of the support and inspiration of this thread. Have had some days of huge temptation but non-alcoholic beer and checking in and reading here is helping with those.

Well done. Great result and hope you manage many more and reap the benefits.

 

[Bozza]

I find setting 'drinking days' is a new thing for me now. I know I'm not going tee-total forever, but I also know I can have the odd blow-out - and setting dates really helps. What I'm finding is that I'm building them up as these amazing 'beer nights' - and all they're ending up to be is normal nights where I feel a bit squiffy, then feel like crap all the next day. A great way of putting me off booze!!

That sounds broadly where I am now.

In September, I had 24 dry days.

I've drunk two days this month so far, with both being on Saturday evenings - one when we visited friends for dinner and the other when we had friends to us for the same.

Looking at the rest of the month, it looks likely that I won't have another drink (not unless I can tempt [MENTION=600]Bry Nylon[/MENTION] to get on it at the Everton game anyway...)

 

[Normal Rob]

I think I've achieved what I wanted also. Yesterday whilst cooking and eating Sunday lunch I had 2 ales. Not 2 bottles of red. Total alcohol intake Friday to Monday - 4 beers, 2 glasses of red. Happy with that.

 

[Happy Exile]

Well done. Great result and hope you manage many more and reap the benefits.

Thank you.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

It’s 1 year since I started thinking about my drinking / using this app. 322 days without alcohol, no alcohol since 1st of January. To be honest- not drinking at all has been much easier than it was trying to reduce the amount I drank, as the latter involved pretty much daily decisions and internal grappling, where as just stopping is relatively simple - once you’ve taken the one big decision.

I’m pretty sure I’m a different person after 9.5 months of 2019, but I think I’m still on the way out of it mentally / physically as I did a solid 25 years drinking to varying amounts. Also I’m not sure I’ve really found my feet as a non-drinker, as so much of my social life revolved around me drinking, and I haven’t really got my head around what’s next..

 

[narly101]

Sober October keeps on giving - 14 days without a beer now. I won't say it's getting any easier, although the AF ales and lagers help. Ship Full of IPA is my new favourite.

Onwards to the 31st, and we'll see what happens. Well done to all those and their giving up/abstinence - hats off to you all.

 

[chaileyjem]

It’s 1 year since I started thinking about my drinking / using this app. 322 days without alcohol, no alcohol since 1st of January.

I'm about 450 days AF now. I was similar to you. I found it easier to just stop rather than moderate and after the first few months - which were hard - you settle into a normality, the cravings fade, and for me the expected pinch points - pubs, football, christmas, parties, holidays - come and go and you end up coping.
At first i drank a fair bit of AF beer - better than you think these days - although even that novelty has started to tire and i'm fine with tea, calorie free coke/lemonade/lime&soda, water and back on Bovril at the Amex. I run a fair bit too which only started about 4-5 months ago but obviously easier if you're not feeling enveloped by a alcohol induced brain fog. As a result i've also managed to lose about 2.5 stone which in itself makes you feel better, and forgive me - look better (well i think so which motivates you to keep going. But as for what next ? I don't know - not looking too far ahead. But no plans to go back.

PS: Good luck everyone, those moderating, those stopping or those just popping in to these threads from time to time for advice. Hope its going ok. Lots of good , inspiring stories here.

 

[Bry Nylon]

It’s 1 year since I started thinking about my drinking / using this app. 322 days without alcohol, no alcohol since 1st of January. To be honest- not drinking at all has been much easier than it was trying to reduce the amount I drank, as the latter involved pretty much daily decisions and internal grappling, where as just stopping is relatively simple - once you’ve taken the one big decision.

That is a fantastic effort and huge source of encouragement and inspriation. Plus, what you say about stopping altogether and avoiding the daily decisions and internal grappling that cutting down brings certainly resonates with me.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Doing good thank you, 57 days without alcohol today in no small part because of the support and inspiration of this thread. Have had some days of huge temptation but non-alcoholic beer and checking in and reading here is helping with those.

Great stuff Happy Exile. Can't believe you are at 57 days already. I haven't tried any AF beers yet - I've just stuck to soft drinks or water so far but I might try some out to mix things up a bit.

 

[Knocky's Nose]

Also I’m not sure I’ve really found my feet as a non-drinker... and I haven’t really got my head around what’s next..

This is one of the biggest hurdles. Alcohol can play such a big part in everything you do it's like a death or divorce when you just stop on a sixpence. You end up being a bit lost for what to do with yourself.

My 'filler' was Heineken 0,0. I suppose it's the smokers equivalent of picking up a fake cigarette

Well done to everyone on here, by the way. Some inspiring people, for sure.

If you're following this thread wishing it could be you cutting down, but you feel it's not possible - it may not be right at this point, but with decent support and some people to bounce off (this thread is a start!) you can do it.

If it's too daunting to quit forever, just aim to quit for a month or two. Give your poor body a rest and let it repair. I cannot tell you how much better you'll feel...

 

[Happy Exile]

Great stuff Happy Exile. Can't believe you are at 57 days already. I haven't tried any AF beers yet - I've just stuck to soft drinks or water so far but I might try some out to mix things up a bit.

They can be hit and miss. Some of the lagers taste a bit boiled but there's a few 0% pale ales that I've enjoyed!

 

[METALMICKY]

After the Aus cancellations they’ve just announced a string of US festival dates so he must be making progress? Hope so. I understand he was 15 years sober; wonder what made him slip?

I have to admit I wonder the wisdom of those festival dates? Why put him under any pressure to stick to a schedule ? They don't need the cash and to be fair they have toured Hardwired pretty much everywhere whether stadium or arena and it was the Aussie fans who lucked out.

As to what tipped him over? Maybe Lars was planning St Anger 2 and the return of the tin can snare drum ;+

Jokes aside the signs were there. Saw them at the O2 in Oct 2017 and he looked fine and lean and healthy. However, come the Twickenham gig this June it wasn't just the additional facial hair and longer haircut. His face looked puffy and he looked fatigued. Knowing that he had relapsed made it all the more poignant seeing him last week in the S&M2 concert movie performing The Unforgiven III all on his own.

 

[Wilko]

I´m struggling to understand why people doing Dry January are self-righteous or get on your nerves? What works for you may not work for them, and hence having a month off is their way of controlling things. On top of that, having a designated month off hugely reduces the peer pressure element of drinking, especially if you´re not the only one in your group of friends doing it.

Personally, for the past few years I´ve done Sober October and Dry January. It really works for me as I have no intention of giving alcohol up, but these two months are a constant reminder how easy it is not to drink and how your friends will normally support you when you´re not drinking.

I guess what I´m saying is don´t knock other people´s choices when it comes to how they decide not to drink. If this thread shows anything, it´s how much easier it is when other people support your attempts to curb drinking

This. I do dry can and stoptober (annoying term) every year. I do it not to be self righteous at all but as a reminder to myself that I do not need to drink. I know I am going to drink a fair bit over Christmas and so a bit of time off now will not do me any harm!

 

[BBassic]

Haven't had a drink since the 4th October now. Ten days feels pretty good but it's my girlfriend's birthday this week and I've got a gig on Sunday so I'll be knocking a few back for sure and that's OK.

Slowly, slowly coming to terms with the fact that, for now at least, tee-total isn't something I'm able to do and that is also fine. I'm taking pride in knowing I'm way down on where I was (no more lunch time nor post-work sessions) and my work with my PT has got me in better shape than I've been in in a fair old time.

Congrats to everyone else in here making those milestones or discovering things about themselves. It's nice to know we're all on similar journeys.

 

[Bozza]

Haven't had a drink since the 4th October now. Ten days feels pretty good but it's my girlfriend's birthday this week and I've got a gig on Sunday so I'll be knocking a few back for sure and that's OK.

Slowly, slowly coming to terms with the fact that, for now at least, tee-total isn't something I'm able to do and that is also fine. I'm taking pride in knowing I'm way down on where I was (no more lunch time nor post-work sessions) and my work with my PT has got me in better shape than I've been in in a fair old time.

Congrats to everyone else in here making those milestones or discovering things about themselves. It's nice to know we're all on similar journeys.

Able to do or want to do?

I think I’m perfectly capable of going perma-dry, having had over 200 consecutive dry days earlier this year, but I don’t want to.

I’m now considerably more selective as to when I drink. I’ve broken the “sitting at home, I'll have a few drinks” cycle that I was firmly stuck in previously.