The Giving Up/ Cutting Down alcohol support thread - number 13

cathybird

Another day for me where it wasn't an AFD but I quite quickly reached a point where I thought "that's enough" and am now getting ready for bed not remotely drunk and feeling clearheaded. Still room to cut back but such an improvement, definitely thanks to this thread. Unheard of in ye olden days, not in fact all that long ago.

Sandypan

Morning all, finally managed to beat my target so 18/15 whoo hoo! With this in mind would like to aim higher next time even if it is only by 2 and set a nice even 20 for May please Shaggy. Thank you once again for keeping count and although I don't get chance to post very often, I read everybodies posts and am inspired to keep going.

On the weight loss front after rejoining SW again I've lost 6.5 pounds in 2 weeks and not drinking as much as had a massive impact on that. Friday night I did succumb to a glass of wine with dinner, which inevitably became 3 but the next morning I measured what I had in my wine glass and realised to my horror that I had had 18 syns just in wine, bearing in mind you are only allowed between 5 - 15 a day!!!!

Hope everybody enjoys their bank holiday weekend, sun is shining here, at the moment.

smiley_77

AFD 31/31 for me please Shaggy.
I went out last night which I hardly ever do any more. I enjoyed chatting to people but all the time I was wishing I was drinking even though others were not drinking.I it is clear that although I can do afds when I stay in, afds in the company of drinkers is a challenge.

Honey_Bear

cathybird wrote: »

Another day for me where it wasn't an AFD but I quite quickly reached a point where I thought "that's enough" and am now getting ready for bed not remotely drunk and feeling clearheaded. Still room to cut back but such an improvement, definitely thanks to this thread. Unheard of in ye olden days, not in fact all that long ago.

I think we're so programmed into believing that we should be all-or-nothing, that success is a win-or-lose thing, totally one or the other, that we forget that steady changes to bad habits are probably a much better solution in the long run. I know it don't feel quite right for me yet, and I'm not really sure I'm ready to stop being disappointed in myself for over-indulging, whether it's chocolate or was the booze, but CathyBird, what you've said has been really helpful for me this morning. Every single time I don't over-indulge, or practise a litle self-discipline, is a massive change from where I was not too long ago. It take time to put the juggernaut into reverse.

Sandypan wrote: »

On the weight loss front after rejoining SW again I've lost 6.5 pounds in 2 weeks and not drinking as much as had a massive impact on that. Friday night I did succumb to a glass of wine with dinner, which inevitably became 3 but the next morning I measured what I had in my wine glass and realised to my horror that I had had 18 syns just in wine, bearing in mind you are only allowed between 5 - 15 a day!!!!

By goodness, that shows just how easy it is to put weight on because of booze. Isn't it ironic that people try to stick to really strict diets but think that a couple of drinks wouldn't hurt?!

smiley_77 wrote: »

AFD 31/31 for me please Shaggy.
I went out last night which I hardly ever do any more. I enjoyed chatting to people but all the time I was wishing I was drinking even though others were not drinking.I it is clear that although I can do afds when I stay in, afds in the company of drinkers is a challenge.

It's an important thing to know about your own preferred drinking habits, Smiley - what makes you want to drink, and what makes it easier not to. Do I read that right, that you feel more tempted when you're out with people who are drinking booze, even though there were others there that weren't?

1/31 please, Shaggy.

smiley_77

Honey_Bear wrote: »

It's an important thing to know about your own preferred drinking habits, Smiley - what makes you want to drink, and what makes it easier not to. Do I read that right, that you feel more tempted when you're out with people who are drinking booze, even though there were others there that weren't?

1/31 please, Shaggy.

Yes Honey Bear I find socialising difficult even though I was with people I know.I really missed having a crutch. I don't like fake beers or wine so that doesn't really help me. As i haven't been out for ages I hadn't really tested this out.

I am going to do30/30 for JuneShaggy.

ManPants

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Barbados. My memories of it are somewhat tinged by the fact that when we arrived there we had a Cape Verdian stowaway on board and were told that we wouldn't be allowed to leave without him. He hopped ashore one evening in Bridgetown intending to go AWOL so I followed him and eventually realised I was going to lose him if I didn't get some help. I found a couple of guys in uniform and explained the situation and moments later realised I'd let myself into a whole new heap of 'Oh oh ....' Fortunately the immigration officer who'd been dealing with us appeared about three seconds after my next 'Seriously, Oh Oh ...' moment and the situation was resolved. We left that night having been told that if Immigration had a working gun boat we'd have been escorted out of their waters. A few days later Martinique's population increased by one. I suppose nowadays we'd be accused of people trafficking. It was a long time ago but I've never been that tempted by the Caribbean since.

30/30 please, Shaggy.

My Goodness Honey Bear! What Adventures! Were you sailing around the Caribbean?

Well I am pleased to report that I finished April with 7/30 AF which - clearly - isn't great but picked up a lot from my initial trajectory.

Haven't drank for 5 days straight now! :beer: This afternoon I'm having a country pub lunch and drinks with a group of friends but have nominated myself as "driver" to avoid that slippery slope of "I'll just have a pint" which with me ends up unconscious, injured or a complete nutter!

Oh yes and I have a new name too. From one of my South African friends who said once "{insert name}, you need to pull on your ManPants and just get on with it".

Big Love.

M.P X

New_Me

I'd like a target of 10 days for May please Shaggy. Thanks for keeping track

Dizzy_Imp

Hi everyone :wave:

Ended April with a glass of wine and a single measure of my home-made damson brandy, but it has been particularly stressful this past week, so I'm pleased with the fact I got to 27/30 with only one very mild hangover

May is off to a good start. Ginger beer for me while DH had a cider. It did smell nice as it was a peach fruity one, but I stayed strong. So 1/28 for me please Shaggy - thanks for running the thread again this month xxx

CuppaTea

On holiday at the moment. 1 afd please shaggy.

Honey_Bear

smiley_77 wrote: »

Yes Honey Bear I find socialising difficult even though I was with people I know.I really missed having a crutch. I don't like fake beers or wine so that doesn't really help me. As i haven't been out for ages I hadn't really tested this out.

I am going to do30/30 for JuneShaggy.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not that brilliant at socialising, and most of the time I probably don't enjoy it that much - drunk or sober, Smiley. However, on balance I genuinely enjoy it more now, sober, than I did in the final drinking days, when I found myself dreading going out because I knew I'd get drunk, probably do things I would regret in the morning, upset friends and then feel dreadful the following day. It helps that I've found something I can enjoy but in the early days a couple of tomato juices with a hefty dash of Worcester sauce got me through most evenings. The whole sober thing takes a bit of getting used to, so good luck with it, because this is honestly such a simpler, more straightforward way to live.

ManPants wrote: »

My Goodness Honey Bear! What Adventures! Were you sailing around the Caribbean?

One of the many, many jobs I used to do was working as a stewardess on motor yachts. It was in the late 1970s and early 1980s and it sounds a lot more glamorous than it was, but the fabulous part of it that I wouldn't have swapped for the world was that we were paid to travel and at least half of the time we didn't have guests on board. By the time we reached landfall in Barbados when we had Daniel the Stowaway on board we'd just crossed the Atlantic and were making our way up the Caribbean towards Florida where we were due to pick up our first guests. It all went a bit pear-shaped, we had a bit of an adventure and were about 10 days late for the first charter. It's got to be one of the best jobs in the world but it's not for the faint-hearted.

Oddly, I hardly drank in those days but we spent Christmas Day in English Harbour, Antigua drinking rum punch and I went to sleep listening to a steel band playing on deck on one of the other yachts through the porthole next to my bunk. Magical.

Well done on the seven days in April. That's seven you can rack up and be extremely proud of, and five in a row is a big deal. Being the designated driver is a brilliant way to avoid drinking and not have to explain to anyone why you're not indulging.

OH loves, loves, loves the fact that we never have to order, wait for and pay for taxis at the end of an evening, and that we can come home after a party 50 miles away. (I find as I get older I'm turning into one of those people who prefers to wake up in my own bed.)

Love the new name.

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

Hi everyone :wave:

Ended April with a glass of wine and a single measure of my home-made damson brandy, but it has been particularly stressful this past week, so I'm pleased with the fact I got to 27/30 with only one very mild hangover

Impressive numbers, Dizzy, and if the hangover reminded you of at least one of the reasons you would rather not drink, it was worthwhile. I certainly don't miss them.

My weight is creeping back up. Stern measures are required.

2/31 please, Shaggy.