No More Chardonnay for me! My booze-free Diary

examplesno1fan

Good Luck on your journey. Have you read Mrs D is going without? (New Zealand blogger) I made a personal decision to give up alcohol completely last year. I was an at home drinker at least two large glasses of white wine a night. Havnt had an alcoholic drink for nine months. I've noticed an increase of alcohol free drinks popping up in th supermarkets etc but sometimes a lime and soda is just the ticket!

Honey_Bear

cavework wrote: »

Now every time I feel like a drink I watch this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ASTxrSskA
Hope it helps
xx

Well it helped make me laugh and that's exactly what I need right now, so thank you Cavework!

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

Hey there, great diary well done you! I'm on Belle's challenge too. Its really helped me.

PPLS I didn't realise there were others doing Belle's Challenge - good on you for 'coming out!!'

Chardonnay wrote: »

Day 14 and I feel great today! I am so happy to say that I feel better than I have for a long time. I know that may not be the case every day so I'm making the most of it

The exhaustion and tiredness should start to gradually disappear after the first two weeks, Chardonnay, at least, that's what happened to me. Someone on the GU/CDA thread told me it was a reaction to the cut in sugar consumption and I totally believe it. I thought I didn't eat a lot of sugar because I don't eat biscuits, cakes, puddings or sweeties, but of course in my drinking days, I was getting through quite a bit - have you seen how many calories there are in wine? :eek: and *wowsers*


My actual sugar consumption rocketed after the first two weeks because I desperately needed to be able to get on and do stuff, and now, six months later, I'm doing 'Sugar-free Lent.' (I allowed myself a binge yesterday, but that's another story.) Interestingly, I actually lost weight very slowly, although I was eating all butter Twinks Hobnobs like they were going out of fashion.


I'm going to PM you about anxiety with my solution for me, but I'm not suggesting it's the only solution - just that there is one that would be perfect for you, but you've got to track it down.


As to Red Bull, I don't do caffeine after 2pm, much as I love it. I actually love it more than I ever loved wine but I get very jangly on too much and can't find a decaffeinated that tastes good enough, so I just ... don't. I always know when I've had too much because I can't get to sleep that night and I love my sleep!


Honestly, after 14 Days, you've passed the most difficult phase. Huge, huge congratulations!

Chardonnay

examplesno1fan wrote: »

Good Luck on your journey. Have you read Mrs D is going without? (New Zealand blogger) I made a personal decision to give up alcohol completely last year. I was an at home drinker at least two large glasses of white wine a night. Havnt had an alcoholic drink for nine months. I've noticed an increase of alcohol free drinks popping up in th supermarkets etc but sometimes a lime and soda is just the ticket!

Hello! :hello: Well done for not drinking for nine months - that's brilliant! :T

Yes I have started reading Mrs D's blog. She's great - very entertaining and inspirational. I find that reading blogs really helps me. I've noticed that there are a lot more alcohol free drinks available too now which is great. Thanks for the tip on lime and soda too. You've just reminded me about that drink. I used to drink it with vodka but think it would be even better on its own

Chardonnay

Honey_Bear wrote: »

'The exhaustion and tiredness should start to gradually disappear after the first two weeks, Chardonnay, at least, that's what happened to me. Someone on the GU/CDA thread told me it was a reaction to the cut in sugar consumption and I totally believe it. I thought I didn't eat a lot of sugar because I don't eat biscuits, cakes, puddings or sweeties, but of course in my drinking days, I was getting through quite a bit - have you seen how many calories there are in wine? :eek: and *wowsers*


My actual sugar consumption rocketed after the first two weeks because I desperately needed to be able to get on and do stuff, and now, six months later, I'm doing 'Sugar-free Lent.' (I allowed myself a binge yesterday, but that's another story.) Interestingly, I actually lost weight very slowly, although I was eating all butter Twinks Hobnobs like they were going out of fashion.


I'm going to PM you about anxiety with my solution for me, but I'm not suggesting it's the only solution - just that there is one that would be perfect for you, but you've got to track it down.


As to Red Bull, I don't do caffeine after 2pm, much as I love it. I actually love it more than I ever loved wine but I get very jangly on too much and can't find a decaffeinated that tastes good enough, so I just ... don't. I always know when I've had too much because I can't get to sleep that night and I love my sleep!


Honestly, after 14 Days, you've passed the most difficult phase. Huge, huge congratulations!

Hi HB! Thanks. Hopefully my body will settle down and get used to life without alcohol! I feel tired today but that's down to having a late night last night. I agree that the amount of sugar in booze is shocking. Empty calories too.

I guess it's natural to replace one "habit" with another and we have to get through the best we can and not try to do everything at once. Well done for doing sugar free Lent! I can't imagine doing that at the moment but as we say, one thing at a time!

Thanks re the PM. I have replied

Yes I need to be careful with caffeine too. I generally don't drink caffeinated tea or coffee after about 11am because it disrupts my sleep. I love caffeine too but I do actually quite like the decaff tea and coffee I've discovered so that helps.

Thanks! :j

Chardonnay

So, the curry last night...another social occasion done and dusted with no alcohol

I have to be truthful here. The first hour or so was a bit of a nightmare for me. It started because they didn't sell Becks Blue or any other AF alternatives, just soft drinks. That threw me a bit and I ordered a Coke, which I didn't enjoy one bit. I spent the first hour obsessing about another social occasion next week which I'm a bit nervous about and told myself there was no way I wouldn't be able to drink and I would have to have a couple. I even told me sister in law I would probably drink. But then I started thinking "but I won't just want a couple and if I can only have a couple it will be worse than if I don't have any at all. And I'll feel really rubbish the next day". See I'd been telling myself I don't have a drink problem, but I do don't I? I don't want to stop at two drinks! It's all or nothing for me I'm afraid! Then we talked about the holiday and I said that I might drink on holiday. Round and round it went in my mind and I wasn't really concentrating on what people were saying.

I said to my husband about it and luckily he is fully on board with me not drinking now and told me that I shouldn't drink as I would regret it and that he was really proud of me.

The really odd thing though was that I didn't want to drink last night and knew I wouldn't? OK, I was driving but could easily have left my car there and stayed at my brother and sister in law's and had a few but that never even crossed my mind. I was worrying about the future, not the present! Somehow, I got over this, and do you know, I really enjoyed the rest of the evening! I wasn't in a rush to go and had such a lovely chat to my extended family, who I don't see often. I've said before that I'm quite shy really and was worried how I'd be without my "prop" but I found it easy to socialise and probably had a better, more interesting conversation that I would have if I was drinking!

My drinks selection was a bit of a problem - two Cokes and a Tonic water and I didn't enjoy any of them. But thanks to examplesno1fan's suggestion below, I'll go for a lime and soda next time. We were in the restaurant from 6 until 10 and left at the same time as everyone else. I drove us home, listening to music and chatting and thought how great I felt and how rubbish I would be feeling right now if I'd have drank. Not just ashamed of myself but hazy, headachy and "not with it".

We got home and hubby fell asleep in front of the TV (he'd had 3 beers). I felt full of life! Amazing really! We went to bed about 12 and I read my book for a while and then went to sleep, feeling really proud of myself.

I will do this. I just have to start living in the moment and stop panicking and projecting into the future.

Off out now for a lovely - hangover free - walk with my dad and husband and a nice coffee and cake by the river in the sunshine. Spring is coming!

Have a great day all! Day 15 for me!

Honey_Bear

Morning Chardonnay! Well done on last night, and I so recognise obsessing over future events where you think you'll relent and allow yourself to drink! I worried for months that I would actually take that first sip but somehow never have and those thought patterns pass. More importantly, as I discovered that I could cope without booze, the temptation to think myself back into drinking diminishes. This is about creating new habitual thinking, I suspect. I'm so pleased your OH is totally behind you - it helps, massively, to have the support of those around us when we're a bit tempted back into old behaviours.


We went out to a celebration dinner a few weeks ago when some friends wanted to treat us, to a really lovely restaurant that we all like. They don't do any AF drinks, other than sugary soft drinks and I have to say I think it's a massive mistake. The Arts Centre, locally, doesn't either, and we go there almost every week, sometimes twice. Occasionally I have a softie, but they just make me feel sick, so that's money that I would be very willing to spend that isn't going into their coffers. The reality is that because I don't drink anything in those situations, OH drinks less and we come home earlier. No problem as far as I'm concerned but not good for the businesses.


I did very much want to both have a drink and get drunk this week but fortunately I knew that it would only make me feel worse, so I didn't. Seven months in, I'm not sure how I would have coped with trauma in the first fortnight, so I'm glad that kind of temptation is something I can rationalise out now. *relief*

cavework

Hi again , this is a lovely thread and it's great to hear how everyone is getting on.
Your all pretty amazing people
Yesterday as usual I drank a whole bottle of wine while watching the Emmerdale omnibus BUT now it's non alcoholic wine and a whole bottle has just 26 calories! (£2.50 from Morrisons)
Could not believe the difference , I actually remember the whole story line..
Glad you enjoyed the video .. I'm sure it was based on me although I have never hit someone on the head with a ....... as far as I can recall.. or have I ?
xxx

Maryland_Cookie

Well done Chardonnay, gosh I could've written your post. I love a drink, but when I'm out socially I can't moderate, can't say no and not have an off switch. I did dry January, then fell off the wagon beginning of Feb, which made me feel so poorly I've not had a drink since.

I know how you feel about looking to the future and worrying, I'm the same, but am taking it one day at a time. I also read a lot of sober blogs wgich helps me. I''ve had a weekend without the booze, had a couple of social bits and bobs but feel ok. It's lovely to wake up at the weekend and feel good to go not hanging my head in shame. Keep posting, we can cheer eat other on x

Chardonnay

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Morning Chardonnay! Well done on last night, and I so recognise obsessing over future events where you think you'll relent and allow yourself to drink! I worried for months that I would actually take that first sip but somehow never have and those thought patterns pass. More importantly, as I discovered that I could cope without booze, the temptation to think myself back into drinking diminishes. This is about creating new habitual thinking, I suspect. I'm so pleased your OH is totally behind you - it helps, massively, to have the support of those around us when we're a bit tempted back into old behaviours.


We went out to a celebration dinner a few weeks ago when some friends wanted to treat us, to a really lovely restaurant that we all like. They don't do any AF drinks, other than sugary soft drinks and I have to say I think it's a massive mistake. The Arts Centre, locally, doesn't either, and we go there almost every week, sometimes twice. Occasionally I have a softie, but they just make me feel sick, so that's money that I would be very willing to spend that isn't going into their coffers. The reality is that because I don't drink anything in those situations, OH drinks less and we come home earlier. No problem as far as I'm concerned but not good for the businesses.


I did very much want to both have a drink and get drunk this week but fortunately I knew that it would only make me feel worse, so I didn't. Seven months in, I'm not sure how I would have coped with trauma in the first fortnight, so I'm glad that kind of temptation is something I can rationalise out now. *relief*

Hi HB! Thanks! It's good to hear that you had the same sort of thought patterns as me. I guess it's all part of the process! I agree about the habitual thinking. When you have been drinking for years - 30 in my case - it is bound to take some time to change those thought processes. I guess it's ok to want a drink, or feel deprived, as long as you don't have one! I hope that one day I won't obsess about it too much and you have given me hope that I won't. To be truthful, I think I'm spending less time thinking about it already but the social occasions are always going to be the hardest for me.

I agree that it's a mistake for venues not to stock decent AF drinks. I do think more and more people are waking up to the dangers of drinking to excess. Plus, even if you aren't abstaining completely, what about if you are driving? I don't like soft drinks much either and very rarely drink them at home. That's one reason why I've not fully committed to not drinking alcohol before, because the thought of drinking Coke all night makes me feel sick, like you! I don't like sweet drinks. I've always preferred dry drinks with a bit of a kick, so that makes it difficult. Still, we can only hope that the choice of AF drinks gets wider with time.

You have done so well not to drink this week HB. I guess the temptation will always be there when you have been floored by such bad news but as you say, it would only make it harder to deal with the next day. Seven months is really amazing and you should be so proud of what you've achieved. I've said it many times, but you are such an inspiration to me and I'm so glad that you are supporting me on my AF journey! :T

Chardonnay

cavework wrote: »

Hi again , this is a lovely thread and it's great to hear how everyone is getting on.
Your all pretty amazing people
Yesterday as usual I drank a whole bottle of wine while watching the Emmerdale omnibus BUT now it's non alcoholic wine and a whole bottle has just 26 calories! (£2.50 from Morrisons)
Could not believe the difference , I actually remember the whole story line..
Glad you enjoyed the video .. I'm sure it was based on me although I have never hit someone on the head with a ....... as far as I can recall.. or have I ?
xxx

Thanks cavework It's lovely to have your input on here. You are an inspiration too!

Ah, i panicked when I first read your line about the wine! I was like, NOOOOOOO!!!! But was very relieved to read it was the non alcoholic variety 26 calories too! That has got to be a huge bonus! The amount of empty calories in regular wine is just shocking! I opened a bottle of AF bubbly from Sainsburys on Friday as I felt like a treat with my takeaway. That wasn't bad actually. I only had one glass but it still felt like a treat. I've got some Bottle Green Elderflower and Apple juices in the fridge so I might try those too. It makes you so much more adventurous when you're not just tucking into the wine!

Ha ha! That made me laugh! I love the video and will replay it from time to time just as a reminder of why I don't drink