No Drink January

[guywhofishes]

thanks guys

yes - I THINK it's more for the challenge.... to make sure I still CAN quit - ha ha

I have noticed the last year or so that around 3:00 I was looking forward to toddy time - which to me indicates the booze was interested in taking the wheel

galwholikesherwine is joining me - so that should make it a lot easier Thumbs Up

I was also hoping it would help me lose some holiday weight - but I am guessing I might instead eat my way through the temptation to have a toddy like Ahab

sigh...

I am hoping it's not as hard as chew - I still want a chew 20 yrs later - every time I walk outside

 

[Kurtr]

In July I decided I would cut out beer from my diet. I drank 2-4 beers 3-5 days a week. Since July I have had 5 beers total, honestly they dont even taste good anymore. I basically replaced my nightly beer routine with yoga. I decided to make this change to try to manage my chronic pain, and it has paid off ten fold. I have lost 35 pounds, back down to my high school weight with little effort, pain has decreased significantly, and my energy has sky rocketed. I had always thought yoga was for the hippy, granola crunchers, but it is intense and beneficial.

You can do it simply by removing the temptation. Finish the bottle of booze or case of beer and dont go buy more. Why does it need to start on the first of the month?

You got this

Yoga is no joke its amazing what 20 minutes will do for you

 

[Captain Ahab]

I’d do it with you, but I think I’m going to Lake Winnipeg in about a week and I want to slop down some LaBatts Blue.

 

[2400]

Got started late (yesterday)

Any useful tips/hints?

The thought of it has me feeling sad.

Do you want to quit or just slow down?

I'm in.

If the thought of a month without booze truly makes you sad, then this is a good "dry run". Haha.

Honestly, you can certainly do this. If I can, you can. Try to keep yourself busy. It's a lot to take in, all at once. If they bother you, change the things you do, and the places you go. I needed to quit playing pool, when I quit drinking. Now, years later, I could go back to the bar, and not drink. But why would I? The stuff that I thought was hilarious, when I was drunk, turns out to be mostly irritating when sober.

I have to admit, when I quit, I thought I would never have fun again. That couldn't be further from the truth. I never look over my shoulder when a cop passes me now. I never have hangovers. I never blow too much money at the bar. It's all upsides now.

If you're going to quit drinking though, do it for yourself. Don't do it for someone else. Eventually, they won't care about it as much as they initially do. You're the only one you really have to answer to, on this earth.

Jaykay

Well said, I agree if I can do it you can too.

Depends what you drink. If it's beer get something in a can or bottle that replicates the shape. I used that canned Walmart water once. The other option is to get it all out of your house if you just don't want to drink it. If it's not in my fridge I won't drink it.

If it's not there you can't drink it. When the urge hit's find something to do right then.

If it is hard to give up then there could be a problem with your drinking.
Sometimes old habits die hard or old habits could be a problem if looking into it a little deeper.
Not judging at all.
Like everything else it takes willpower to overcome.
You can do it!

Not judging either but those are true words.

Take in a couple of AA meetings you might want to quit forever. The plus side is more bullets, tackle or maybe a new boat. You'd be surprised how much is spent on booze and misc shit.

There is a lot of good advice here.

On Thanksgiving I had 30 years of sobriety. I had enough Thanksgiving Day in 1989 and decided I just couldn't do it any longer. I have no idea what you need to do, I went to AA. That saved my life and life has been pretty good ever sense then.

If you want to now more feel free to ask I'd be happy to help if I can.

 

[Bfishn]

I'd probably wait and start Feb 1st, its the shortest month ;:;boozer

 

[Bed Wetter]

Only a month? Pussy... ;:;boohoo

I’m at 7 months and counting. Decided I’m going to do a year, give my liver a good rest. Physically I feel fantastic.

 

[cavedude]

I did a sober October this year with some friends and it was just what I needed. I'll still have a few beers each month but a lot less than I used to. You can do it man.

 

[johnr]

I’m drinking an ice cold Stella right now, fucking tastes great.

 

[skywalker]

I drink when I'm away deer hunting and other than that I only have a couple of beers at Weddings. Just too much at stake if you have 1 too many. This is coming from someone who used to really put them away.

 

[risingsun]

Less filling !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rowdie]

Tastes Great!

 

[Srputz]

3 years dry in March. Don’t even miss it anymore.

 

[7mmMag]

On October 10th it was 1 year since I had a pop. I used to drink 1-2 20oz bottles of Mt Dew everyday. The first month was really tough but now I will have a little craving every so often but thats it. A person doesn't realize how additive that crap is. And I feel way better at the end of the day now. I used to feel sluggish and rundown now I feel way better. I did some calculations a while back to see how bad pop (mt dew) is for you.....1 20oz bottle has 77 grams of sugar and if you drink 1 a day that equals out to 28,105 grams a year. 1 gram = .0022 pounds. So 28,105 grams equals out to 61.96 POUNDS of sugar in a year. I used to put at least 62 lbs of artificial sugar into my body every year.....thats fricken disgusting!!

 

[thriller1]

thanks guys

yes - I THINK it's more for the challenge.... to make sure I still CAN quit - ha ha

I have noticed the last year or so that around 3:00 I was looking forward to toddy time - which to me indicates the booze was interested in taking the wheel

galwholikesherwine is joining me - so that should make it a lot easier Thumbs Up

I was also hoping it would help me lose some holiday weight - but I am guessing I might instead eat my way through the temptation to have a toddy like Ahab

sigh...

I am hoping it's not as hard as chew - I still want a chew 20 yrs later - every time I walk outside

Ive been really thinking about trying this as well. However, if it is as hard as quitting Copenhagen I dont think I could do it. I dont think i have another fight like that in me. 15 years later my teeth water anytime i get a whiff of Copenhagen. I use to smoke for awhile too. I'm like most. The smell of cigarette smoke now gags me and i couldn't imagine smoking again. Copenhagen? Id snort that off a hookers ass if i could.

 

[Bed Wetter]

I’m gonna elaborate more than I care to here, but here goes.

I’ve been getting into decent physical shape and was on a diet of sorts. Garbage in = garbage out. Decided I ought to cut out garbage. 15 years of drinking near every day got me thinking alcohol ought to take a rest. I’ve always had an ‘off’ switch, it was just a shitty routine.

Then I started coming across guys who’d had alcohol destroy their lives and their families. I’d hear things like:
- “my best friend drank himself to death by 45. Chose the bottle over his business, wife, and kids.”
- “you wonder why an alcoholic can’t just stop drinking. An alcoholic wonders how you’re able to go all day without drinking.”
- “I’ll never quit drinking, even if it kills me.”
- “my first wife was an alcoholic...”

When you go down the rabbit hole and catch a glimpse of the utter misery and destruction in an alcoholic’s life, it’s really eye opening. I’m not an alcoholic and can’t relate, but it made me realize that my ability to simply not drink, with virtually no effort, is a gift that I’m wasting every day that I’m drinking. Imagine possessing a super power and never using it... because you’d rather hang out and drink beer.

So I quit drinking, for now anyway. Im back to my high school pants size but now I can run like a mother fucker.

 

[Kurtr]

I’m gonna elaborate more than I care to here, but here goes.

I’ve been getting into decent physical shape and was on a diet of sorts. Garbage in = garbage out. Decided I ought to cut out garbage. 15 years of drinking near every day got me thinking alcohol ought to take a rest. I’ve always had an ‘off’ switch, it was just a shitty routine.

Then I started coming across guys who’d had alcohol destroy their lives and their families. I’d hear things like:
- “my best friend drank himself to death by 45. Chose the bottle over his business, wife, and kids.”
- “you wonder why an alcoholic can’t just stop drinking. An alcoholic wonders how you’re able to go all day without drinking.”
- “I’ll never quit drinking, even if it kills me.”
- “my first wife was an alcoholic...”

When you go down the rabbit hole and catch a glimpse of the utter misery and destruction in an alcoholic’s life, it’s really eye opening. I’m not an alcoholic and can’t relate, but it made me realize that my ability to simply not drink, with virtually no effort, is a gift that I’m wasting every day that I’m drinking. Imagine possessing a super power and never using it... because you’d rather hang out and drink beer.

So I quit drinking, for now anyway. Im back to my high school pants size but now I can run like a mother fucker.

this all coincides with getting the 6.5 creedmoor it does change lives

 

[raider]

willpower... good luck guy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVKtxHTcnho

 

[Square_Hammer]

I'm trying to quit or atleast cut back alot. I just ordered this to see if it will help with the cravings. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GYZ9TVW/?tag=nodakangler10-20
Has good reviews so worth a shot.

 

[thriller1]

Not to make light of the situation. I'm afraid if I quit drinking I will slim down, start thinking more clearly, have a new outlook on life only to fall prey to hot single Asian women, single moms within "X" amount of miles from me, and now, the infamous SINGLE BIKER WOMEN.

I may just stay within the safety and serenity of Milwaukee's Best Light......

 

[sl1000794]

I've been a beer drinker since HS graduation 50+ years ago. Made wine for 30 years ago and was a bottle for dinner every night after 6 beers. Quit the beer 3 years ago and moved on to margaritas and T & T's. Then I went to really strong booze drinks. It all caught up to me last February when my liver function numbers went thru the roof. For the 2 liver function blood tests my range was 0-40 for one and 4-44 for the other. My numbers were over 100 for both tests. Dr said I needed to QUIT DRINKING for at least 3 months and let my liver re-gererate. I DID. No alcohol for 3 months. I have never been a soda/pop drinker. I drink ice tea when out to dinner and at home I drink Crystal Light lemonade. Since I have a lemon tree in the back yard I usually add a fresh squeezed lemon to each half gallon of lemonade. Worked for me and my numbers were in the middle of the range after 3 months.

Good luck!