The Cutting Down / Giving Up Booze Thread (Part 14)

Barny1979 wrote: »

9/25 AFDs today, GNR was hard going, not sure I will do it again, probably stick to five and 10ks

:T full of admiration that you did it. Well done!

stepuptothepl8 wrote: »

Please can I join you? What do I need to do to log (the relatively few) AFDs that I have? I've been conscious for a while that I'm drinking out of habit more than anything. The end of a stressful day at work, or because it's Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday.. you get the idea. I could do with losing some weight, so it can't hurt there either. Does anyone have any tips for me? How do I break this habit?

Welcome Step up to the Pl8! :wave: To log the number of days just decide how many days you don't intend to drink this month (adding in any you've already achieved so far, obviously) and post it, in red, bold and if you can a slightly bigger font, so that Shaggy can add you to her list. Then post daily - if you only post on days when you didn't drink that doesn't seem to help. Somehow knowing that you have to post every day seems to help with resisting temptation.

I think I'm right in saying I'm the only person posting at the moment who's stopped drinking completely, but I wouldn't advocate that unless you really, really want to stop altogether. Most people seeem to want to moderate, and if that's what you're aiming for good luck with it and you'll be in good company here. I tried it, but I never got the hang of it, but other people do so it is possible.

I found reading this thread and then going back and reading the previous ones really, really helpful. Along the way this community has come up with a lot of really helpful suggestions that make it a lot simpler to change the habit of drinking, which some of us have found trickier than we'd anticipated when first tackling it on our own.

My personal best bit of advice is - find a non-alcoholic drink that you enjoy. It took me a few weeks (or months, I can't remember which) to find the right one for me, B3cks B1ue, which someone else mentioned on the previous incarnation of this thread. From then on life has been much simpler for me.

Good luck with it and keep posting!

Barny1979 wrote: »

9/25 AFDs today, GNR was hard going, not sure I will do it again, probably stick to five and 10ks

Woo hoo! Well done Barny for achieving it, especially if it's your last full marathon.

11/30 please, Shaggy.

Honey_Bear wrote: »

I think I'm right in saying I'm the only person posting at the moment who's stopped drinking completely, but I wouldn't advocate that unless you really, really want to stop altogether. Most people seeem to want to moderate, and if that's what you're aiming for good luck with it and you'll be in good company here.

That's what I love about the tone of this thread these days. I love it that it embraces both cutters down and givers up and there's no judgement. I think it's testament to you HB that although you've chosen to give up you don't lecture the rest of us to do the same.:A

Honey_Bear wrote: »

My personal best bit of advice is - find a non-alcoholic drink that you enjoy. It took me a few weeks (or months, I can't remember which) to find the right one for me, B3cks B1ue, which someone else mentioned on the previous incarnation of this thread. From then on life has been much simpler for me.

I've never found a soft drink that I can say I really enjoy as much as an alcoholic drink. I need to qualify that though as I know I wouldn't enjoy a gin and tonic with breakfast!!:D When I analyse it, it's all about breaking habits. I used to associate the end of every day with a reward of opening a bottle of wine. My goal in cutting down was to keep alcoholic drinks for weekends and social occasions not an every day occurrence. What I needed was to break the habit of having a drink in my hand at home on a 'normal' evening. To begin with I drank copious amounts of water in a wine glass but now I mark the end of a day by putting my feet up with a cuppa. It's the same when I get home after being out for an AF evening (driving etc.). I used to open a bottle and neck it very quickly. Now I just put the kettle on immediately, determined not to waste an AF day.:)


No drinking planned for today. I anticipate the next one will be DH's birthday on Thursday. I need to clock up a few more days quickly as starting the month with a short holiday hasn't helped.


3 AFDs please Shaggy.

shaggydoo wrote: »

Morning :hello:

I've lost 2 pounds - only 24 more pounds to go

Shaggyx

2lbs is excellent Shaggy. I've only managed to shift a couple of pounds since my holiday in June. I keep trying but life has a habit of getting in the way.:o