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

shaggydoo

gabriel1980 wrote: »

Yes please, what do I have to do?

You're on the list

Just shout out your AFDs so 1/19 or 2/19 3/19, etc and if you can mark them in red it's really helpful.

shaggydoo

ElusiveLucy wrote: »

Can I join please? I've done 6 AFD so far this month. Let myself down last night as I had said wouldn't touch a drop Mon-Thur.....oops

do you want to set a target or the rest of the month for AFDs and I'll add 6 to it.

shaggydoo

satchmo1 wrote: »

I have lost 10lbs since Christmas. I aim to lose another 7lbs by the end of May to get me out of the 11st range.

That's Totally Brilliant

:T:T:T:T:T

shaggydoo

February:

= 7 Days AF

= 14 days AF

= 21 days AF
= 28 days AF

= 29 days AF

= target achieved


Alcohol Free Days
Alex 11/25
Barny1979 10/24
CathyBird 7/15
CountingPenniesClaire 9/23

DansMam /25
DebJay 11/29
DizzyImp 8/25

Effyb4 4/14

ElusiveLucy 6/?

Gabriel /19
Gien 7/21
Honey Bear 11/29

Mackeroo 4/12

Maggie 5/15
Maman 9/10

NewMe 5/20

Piggles 5/18

Poppety /17
Pricey 7/22
Satchmo 11/29
SandyPan 7/21

Shaggy 6/17
SmallHoldingSister 10/24
Smiley_77 11/29

StuPotStu 5/29

WBF 6/14
Yellowmonkey 8/15

Alcohol Low Days

Shaggy 9/21




Everyone Welcome! It's never too late to join....

Please highlight your AFDs in Red

Don't hesitate to let me know if I've made a mistake!

Honey_Bear

Well done to everyone who has managed to lose weight. I'm rather hoping that cutting out sugar for Lent will result in a bit of weight loss but if it doesn't it's not the end of the world. The sugar cravings after I gave up wine have lasted a full 18 months and I'm desperate to crack that.

gabriel1980 wrote: »

I think the wine nights are easy enough to avoid, but it's just Friday and Saturdays I'm going to miss. I know it's only for a month though.

Any tips of breaking the habit of drinking would be appreciated!

The simplest way to break the habit is not to carry on with the same behaviours that are part of the it, so I'd second Maman's idea of changing what you do on Fridays and Saturdays. If that's too difficult for any reason, such as not having the support of the people you share Fridays and Saturdays with, then the key is to find a drink that you can enjoy enough so that you don't feel deprived.

Some people find a soft drink they enjoy enough, but I found tomato juice with Worcester sauce too acidic for a whole evening and fruit juice too sugary. All tooth-rotting colas are all out as far as I'm concerned but they might suit other people. My compromise, and it's worked for 18 months for me, is B3ck$ B1u£, and there are plenty of other alcohol-free beers and lagers to choose from. Some people find drinking AF beer or wine too tempting to be enjoyable, as in fact, AF wine is for me.

I have absolutely no idea if I'm an alcoholic or was dependent on alcohol - my drinking was a bad habit. Alcohol wasn't making my life better, being AF does. That's a good enough reason to stop drinking for a day, a month, or a year in my book.

ElusiveLucy wrote: »

Can I join please? I've done 6 AFD so far this month. Let myself down last night as I had said wouldn't touch a drop Mon-Thur.....oops

Hi there Lucy! :wave: Good luck with it!

12/29 please, Shaggy.

Sandypan

10/21 for me tonight, declaring early to avoid being tempted later. Looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning refreshed rather than hungover!!!

piggles1

hey all

I've been struggling a bit and was too embarrassed to post I kept thinking I'll have a couple of days AF and then I'll be right back in the game, but it didn't happen. I forgot all about limiting ALDs to 4 units which was a good idea, and I forgot about saying 'maybe tomorrow instead'. So I forgot all of it and drank too much

I did manage a couple more AFDs so I'll have a smiley now, but I've been drinking every other day which wasn't my intention. Well, except obviously it became an intention.

I've applied for a place to move to but not sure I'll get it. I don't suppose that matters, because I've already got the heebeejeebees about it. It's in a block, and I have the luxury at the moment of not being in a block at all. So I'd be suddenly lumped in with lots of other people around and about. Not shared, I mean neighbours and communal this and that. I dunno, I'm nervous about it.

It's not very pretty either, and I really wanted one of the coloured ones but they've not come up. It needs to be somewhere I like for a long time because my MS has progressed more than it should have really, and it would do me good to settle.

That was the reason for last night's nearly 7 units. A busy head and decisions to make. Although I did feel like it washed away all the crowd of worries for a bit, they're back today.

I've also got some trouble getting any mental health support at all. Would it be the same wherever I am anyway though, because what I have is not easy or quick to treat.

The parcel never arrived by the way and is reported lost.

Sorry I haven't replied to posts, you've all come up with good ideas to limit consumption, I just fell by the wayside and got to pick myself up and try again.

7/18 AFD please shaggy ooh a smiley! I've done something right.

cathybird

gabriel1980 wrote: »

I guess I do have quite large wine glasses. Usually three glasses full uses up a bottle.

I must have smallish ones! It takes me up to five.

Re distraction techniques, a substitute drink can help - I find ginger beer makes the craving go away, or even something like grapes. Quite often when I think I want a drink in the early evening I'm actually just thirsty.

cathybird

piggles1 wrote: »

hey all

I've been struggling a bit and was too embarrassed to post I kept thinking I'll have a couple of days AF and then I'll be right back in the game, but it didn't happen. I forgot all about limiting ALDs to 4 units which was a good idea, and I forgot about saying 'maybe tomorrow instead'. So I forgot all of it and drank too much

I did manage a couple more AFDs so I'll have a smiley now, but I've been drinking every other day which wasn't my intention. Well, except obviously it became an intention.

I've applied for a place to move to but not sure I'll get it. I don't suppose that matters, because I've already got the heebeejeebees about it. It's in a block, and I have the luxury at the moment of not being in a block at all. So I'd be suddenly lumped in with lots of other people around and about. Not shared, I mean neighbours and communal this and that. I dunno, I'm nervous about it.

It's not very pretty either, and I really wanted one of the coloured ones but they've not come up. It needs to be somewhere I like for a long time because my MS has progressed more than it should have really, and it would do me good to settle.

That was the reason for last night's nearly 7 units. A busy head and decisions to make. Although I did feel like it washed away all the crowd of worries for a bit, they're back today.

I've also got some trouble getting any mental health support at all. Would it be the same wherever I am anyway though, because what I have is not easy or quick to treat.

The parcel never arrived by the way and is reported lost.

Sorry I haven't replied to posts, you've all come up with good ideas to limit consumption, I just fell by the wayside and got to pick myself up and try again.

7/18 AFD please shaggy ooh a smiley! I've done something right.

Piggles1, fingers crossed that one of the nice places you were hoping to get does come up in the near future. Sorry to hear about the parcel - I don't know why it's always when you really want these things for support that they get lost in the mail!

I wish they would pull their fingers out over the mental health support.

Re the units, do you know, I think the main thing is that you've come on here to talk about it! And 7 AF days is pretty great - over half of the days of the month so far - I've got 7. So actually, well done you :j:j:j

cathybird

I was doing some tidying up round the house today in the hallway and as part of it shifted some of the wine I keep stored under the staircase to the other place I store wine (a big vat thing in the living room). I didn't feel remotely tempted to open a bottle tonight (which is good) but I did think it might be nice this weekend. It would be the first wine I've had since last year - I've only had spirits this month on the days I have drunk anything. We'll see though - I might feel differently by tomorrow.

I usually need three days to get through a bottle, so I guess I would be saving some for later in the week. Unless it turns out to be not very nice, in which I need one night to drink half a glass and the rest goes in the freezer!

I also packed up some spirits into the cardboard box I took all the wine out of, so they are neatly packed away in the pantry now and maybe I might feel less inclined to drink them as a result. Though in fact tonight I didn't feel very inclined. I've said it before, and will no doubt say it again, I think it's because of this thread.