Cutting Down Alcohol Thread

maman

Itisme wrote: »

Well, I've been drinking every day... but I did manage to most days drink less than sometimes, even changing my main drink to a lower ABV one. So while in one sense I haven't been doing well with this, in another sense I (mostly) have. I've had a few slip-ups where I've drank more, and I do still want to cut down in general, but just thought I'd update on here what I've been up to.

Another thing I'd like to add, even though I know I've been spending more than I should have been recently, the most recent time I went out I didn't buy a drink in one expensive bar I went to (where I knew the drinks weren't even always that nice), sometimes temptation might have got the better of me, but I didn't let it, and at least twice this month when I was out I had at least one soft drink as well as alcohol (not including water, which several times I've had as well, although would like to do that more too).

It's a start itisme, that's what matters.


Some of us choose to cut down by having some alcohol free days as they're easy to quantify but you can have a similar result by drinking less every day if that's easier for you.


Obviously you joined the thread with the intention of trying a few AF days. You can still do that but when you're ready. It's not a competition.:)

cathybird

Itisme wrote: »

Another thing I'd like to add, even though I know I've been spending more than I should have been recently, the most recent time I went out I didn't buy a drink in one expensive bar I went to (where I knew the drinks weren't even always that nice), sometimes temptation might have got the better of me, but I didn't let it, and at least twice this month when I was out I had at least one soft drink as well as alcohol (not including water, which several times I've had as well, although would like to do that more too).

An expensive bar with not very nice drinks definitely sounds like a place to avoid! Well done Itisme, any cutting down is good. I used to take breaks from drinking and then when I went back I never drank much to begin with but because it was daily it would creep up over time, which is one of the reasons I almost dread the idea of drinking every day now - there seems to be almost no way to stop it being excessive. But if you can cut down, as maman says, that's good.

cathybird

21/21 for me today - it seemed to take ages this month. It was a big month for friends and there were a number of celebrations. I'm glad they're done with, actually.

fatrab

Morning everyone!

The wee one's party was great but there was quite a lot of alcohol consumed, so yesterday was a bit of a write off - absolute waste of a day and not something I plan on repeating very often. I don't (or should I say didn't) get hangovers but yesterday I felt rough.

2/5 School nights
22/28 AFDs
16/28 TAFDs

Next drinking day will be 22nd Sept, so the next 4 weeks will be AF. I'm not going to allow myself any drinking days until then.

Also, I'm going to start Slimming World this Saturday....

maman

I'm not going to use Bank Holiday as a reason for drinking.


I'm not sure about the SNC this week but I will aim for 4 please Shaggy.

Like sukey, I'd like to achieve a 14 day smiley and anything beyond that will be good.


13/10 AFDs please.

fatrab wrote: »

Next drinking day will be 22nd Sept, so the next 4 weeks will be AF. I'm not going to allow myself any drinking days until then.

That's an ambitious target fatrab but you know it's achievable. I think it was HB that said it can be easier once the decision is made.

fatrab wrote: »

Also, I'm going to start Slimming World this Saturday....

Good Luck, hope it suits you. I wasn't a big fan of the meetings (friendly but very Happy Clappy:() but stuck it out to achieve the outcome. If you go just once and hear the introductory explanation and get the books then you can go it alone if you want to. You should find it very easy without needing to worry about accommodating booze. Is Mrs Fatrab going to join in?

fatrab

I've suggested it to her but I'm not getting a very positive response... Will see how she feels on Saturday. I'm doing it and if it works and she sees results she'll be more inclined to join in. She tried the Cambridge plan a while ago but didn't stick to it.


Something needs to change. We both agree that our current weight is unhealthy and we don't want the wee one growing up thinking obesity is normal! We're both active, it's just our diet that let's us down. Going shopping tonight for some healthier meals. I found in the past if I bought 2-3 days worth of healthy food at a time I was far more inclined to stick to it. But every time I did a weeks worth of shopping I'd slip by day 4 and end up binning half of it!

Barny1979

18/24 AFDs today

Honey_Bear

I managed to lose 800g this week, so that's a start.

And yes, I honestly believe that making the decision is the key to success. It's a bit like studying - making the decision to sit down and do it is much, much harder than actually doing it, I realised after a year of struggling as a mature student. (Sometimes I think I've made the decision but apparently haven't because it doesn't stick.) Having said all of that, the temptation to drink has honestly gone - I very seldom give it a second thought now. It took a while though and if I thought I could drink occasionally I know I'd be back where I started, and that was a bad place so there's no real temptation any more.

I'm going to have to watch the Adrian Chiles programme on iplayer. OH isn't a bit interested.

27/31 please, Shaggy.

Green_Karen

Watched the Adrian Chiles program tonight. Bit confusing as everyone seemed to be in admiration of his ability to stop drinking therefore wishing they could be like him. However, he was sacked for having a problem with alcohol and was drinking well in excess of 100 units per week, so I think maybe things were toned down so that the public can accept it.

cathybird

Morning all, 22/21 for me please. I missed the Adrian Chiles thing, but from what Green Karen says maybe it wasn't all that good? ...