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Really finding the NA beers is ticking a nice psychological box. Loving no hangover Saturday or Sunday, so much more productive.
The local Guinness 0.0% shortage isn't helping me, no-one has had it in stock for a week 😥
I made use of my Strava Lucky Saint 25% code this weekend (first time I've ever used a Strava Challange code)...
24 beers for 30 quid....
I've done the same, hopefully it'll see me through to the end of the month and bit beyond.
I fell off the wagon on Saturday. Went out for dinner, had a bottle of wine. Woke up on Sunday with a proper hangover. Previously I’d be able to drink a bottle of wine and pretty much be unaffected.
Going to try and last into mid Feb with no more drinking. The weight is very slowly starting to shift.
Still quite pleased with lasting 17 days without any alcohol.
Nearly in to the home straight, not really missing it here, and planning to keep it going into February a bit at least. Sleep is settled into a better pattern, weight coming down a bit as snacking reducing over past 4 or 5 days. All good so far..
I enjoyed the initial very dramatic weight loss (probably because about 2kg of it was just water retention from nightly beer and crisps over Christmas!) and am now just starting to notice a sustained downward trend, albeit very slow. Is nice to see <90kg on the scales more consistently, even if only 89.9kg 🙄
It's good though, I'm not consciously calorie counting, mostly just trying to avoid heavily processed stuff and not snacking. Tempted to keep going until at least March 2nd for my one and only CX race of the season, not that a couple of kg is going to make a difference plodding around a muddy field! 😆
I made use of my Strava Lucky Saint 25% code this weekend (first time I’ve ever used a Strava Challange code)…
Doesn't seem much of a deal - a box of x4 Lucky Saint is less than a fiver in Tesco (with a Clubcard).
The new Hazy IPA is damn good though.
How’s everyone doing? Reckon I’m going to carry on and see what happens.
I didn’t aim for Dry January, but to change my relationship with alcohol permanently. I’ve gone from a small drink almost every night at dinner, to one/two a week as a treat at the weekends. 4 drinks so far in January, usually with a special meal. I’ve also dramatically cut down on the associated snacks, so only 6 (small) packets of crisps across the whole of January including lunches and no large bags at all.
I’ve not noticed any real change in sleep, weight or…well, anything really, but hey ho. My HR, BFP and BMI were all good to begin with, so perhaps to be expected.
Cutting down on crisps deserves recognition. Tasty little buggers.
I’m still going, finding it relatively easy. Been just over 4 weeks now as gave up the day after Boxing Day. I do feel better and feel like the weight is starting to come off. Hoping to make it permanent as I’ve been trying to quit for years, I wasn’t a huge drinker but nearing the big 50 and even a few drinks these days seem to really affect me negatively.
Dry since the 1st and doing pretty well with it and being social .
swaped to af mainly Guinness and seems to be doing the trick .
ive 2 months to go but have a free token just in case something happens.
sleep better but still feel tired ( training more) and battery still recharging ... lost a bit of weight but diet not fantastic lots of eating out .(to work on that month 2)
dealing with work stress and load much better
this will be a long term change for me - I can still drink but will learn there are other options... I sure as shite don't miss the hangover
I've caved this week, an evening by myself in Newcastle so checked out a couple of craft beer pubs.
Have to say I didn't massively enjoy the pints, but unsurprisingly it's broken a seal of sorts and I cracked open the nice bottle of red I had sitting around this weekend ('to cook with' I told myself :roll:)
I need to experiment though because even after this very light drinking I noticed I wad feeling weirdly anxious the next couple of days, don't know if it's just a side effect of reintroducing alcohol after a couple of weeks off. Hope to get back on the waggon next week.
Still going here, and really feeling the benefit this week I think. Went to the craft pub on Friday and had 4 pints of their AF/LF 0.5%, and felt a bit skonky the next morning. But no temptation to have real beer.
Only downside is with friends over for dinner and mrs epic all drinking, hearing the same damn story for the third time gets a bit dull. Had to tell them to bugger off home when they started for the 4th time
Was all good till thu night, however have had a couple of gins, half bottle of red and a whisky, over the last 3 nights. Enjoyed them at the time, but crappy sleeps have reset my resolve. Habit has been cracked though, so looking forward to a few dry weeks till my birthday in February, then will have the odd one here or there, but not as part of my routine.
Ceilidh at Glenmore Lodge last night and I was on the Guinness 0.0. Normally, I wouldn't get on the floor without a wee "loosener" but I just thought WTF and cracked on with the dancing. Just as well really, as the band really needed a few experienced folk to help out with the moves.
We had a couple of friends over midweek though and, when asked what they wanted to drink, one asked for a white wine and the other a red. That means there's two partial bottles left and I hate waste so we'll be slowly working out way through them. However, the idea of using them for cooking is a good one. I might buy some venison today.
Had the four day dry-o-torium while away in Alicante. Just beer, no cocktails or wine. Enjoyed a fresh, cold beer in the sunshine and by the sea. Had no more than three (large beers) in a day. Did very much enjoy them tho. Sleep score and HRV headed back towards but not at previous averages.
Back Friday and back on moist-Jan. Shall make up the four days so Feb 4th finish for me. Then it'll be sticking to a beer after midweek / weekend riding and a few on a Friday night. Well that's the plan. But it is every Feb!
Still going here, had some Brooklyn 0.4% (might have been called Special Effects or something like that) with a meal out on Friday.
I deliberately declined to go to a gig with my mates on sat night on the basis I knew that would end my dry run for sure. Probably a bit counter-productive and missing the point really (going out but not drinking would presumably be more in the spirit of the challenge) but I’m kind of all-in now for this month.
I don’t feel any different but it’s nice to know all the exercise im doing is properly “banked” with a good nights sleep and not negated with 6 pints of lager several hours afterwards. Also it’s much easier to schedule my sessions when I don’t have to accommodate hangovers.
I won’t carry on teetotal and am going to see Todd Terje (DJ) at Manchester Cathedral on Friday with some mates so will call stumps then. For sure I don’t miss feeling rotten on a Sunday afternoon though and am definitely going to reduce my intake after this and be way more mindful of my consumption.
In many ways I would not mind being teetotal at all but realistically a huge part of my social life would probably just disappear (rightly or wrongly) so will aim to just reduce intake for now I think.
I’m still going since last May, away in Berwick the week before last that has included some epic solo sessions (including dogs) over the years. Bear Claw Nano brewery, The Curfew and The Barrels have all entertained me over the years and I have met some great people. The brewery was closed for a rest when I was there but I did visit The Curfew and had a Lucky Saint IPA. £3.60 for a small tin! I think a lot more pubs will be going out of business unless they wise up, a lot of younger people don’t drink much and people like myself would still drink similar amounts of alcohol free if it was reasonably priced and there was more choice. The localish micro pub and brewery tap where I’ve spent a fortune over the years hasn’t increased it’s offering for dry January at all - it’s provided grudgingly. There’s an interesting article in the paper today that discusses the weight loss medication available today and the effect it has on the desire for alcohol- some of them are so good they might help treat alcoholics. There’s a big investor also pulling out of alcohol investments as he thinks it’s affecting profits, quite ironic that one part of the drugs industry is reducing the profits of another part of the drug’s industry - that’s how I view the alcohol “industry” and”nighttime economy” now - pushers of drugs that they, and The Government, know are harmful to health and society. Rant over!
I fell off at a family hurdle.
My Mum (mid 70s) has taken a couple of falls and has been hospitalised for a couple of weeks now. Went down to to spend time with her and my Dad. And my Dad offered me a Dram in the evening, which is one of the few shared experiences we still get to do, and I wasn't going to turn him down.
It was lovely to see him taken away from the stress and anxiety for a short while. Not a "turning to drink" thing, but a father and son spending time together thing.
I guess the way I should approach this, is I should only have a drink of it's with my Dad.
I’m pleased with myself, only had one bottle of wine in January.
Found it fairly easy. I was worried that my alcohol consumption was making me dependent. However pretty happy to have had no pangs of desire. Fridge has plenty of beer and wine in and I’ve managed to ignore it. The bottle of wine I did drink was a planned works event that I kind of knew I was going to drink at. But for me, even just having a single bottle of wine that night was a major improvement.
It is about the change of relationship with alcohol. I’ll be doing my best to keep my drinking down to scheduled nights only. I have a planned night out in Feb so will drink no more than 4 pints. Will try to stay dry for the rest of the month.
I think I've drunk as much this month as I would've done in an average week in November. My crisp intake is down as well, and my mtbing is up. I'm honestly feeling better than I have for years, and I'm not missing alcohol at all. I've paired some decent beers with some properly tasty home-cooked meals, but the desire for a second bottle? Nope, not there.
However.
Spring is around the corner. Post-ride beer? Cold pilsener whilst tending barbie? They're going to be harder to ignore.
Well i've actually put weight on which is unfathomable - toppled back over the 100kgs. Friday night wine replaced by Zwift session, and Saturday pub replaced by weights. My fancy scales tell me my BMR has increased a fair bit.
Was at a birthday party in a restaurant with a big group of OH's friends most of Saturday afternoon. Started off with a couple of AF beers and then a water, then just decided to have a proper pint. Unexpectedly 1) it didn't taste very nice - could really taste the ethanol in it 2) it gave me a headache 3) kind of lowered my mood for the rest of the day 4) it was still enough to have me start thinking about drinking more when I got home, which I didn't. All of which has left me a little more likely to prolong some sort of blended abstinence/reduction strategy, especially as OH is also considering quitting completely.
Still going here although I'm out on the 1st on a day session so the good work will be undone!
That's a big issue with drinking for me, even one beer and your mood is subdued after about an hour and the only thing to combat that is either have another pint or go to bed.
"Spring is around the corner. Post-ride beer? Cold pilsener whilst tending barbie? They’re going to be harder to ignore."
Aldi sell a six pack of AF pilsners which are pretty decent. Definitely good enough to hit the spot on a warm day.
I'm still going too. I've not really had a desire for a proper pint as yet, and I've discovered Joker A/F is almost as good as the real thing, so much so that I'll be drinking much more of it at the weekends and enjoying the benefits of no alcohol
I fell off the wagon over the weekend. Winter camping with old friends. Went to the pub which had no AFB and that did for me. Drank a few pints (a few more than I meant to) and a bit of hip flask whiskey.
It could have been worse ...but I wasn't as well behaved as I could have been.
However I did get towards the middle/end of that session thinking 'why am I doing this it's not fun anymore' and that stopped me drinking, when I could easily (and would have usually in the past) carried on to make it much worse. That's definitely an improvement in attitude.
Committed to getting back on the wagon for a bit. I have enjoyed the progress I've made, the good sleep and the clear head. I've also lost a few lbs without really trying. Am also noticing my clarity of thought is loads better and I generally look healthier too I think.
I don't intend to drink this weekend to make up for last weekend's slippage..and also going forward more generally I think I've decided that the sensible way forwards is to drink as an exception rather than a rule, and also to limit myself as well as I can when I do drink.
I.e. if it is a special occasion then I'll indulge, but I won't get home on a Friday and open a beer out of habit.
I'm going to really have to keep in top of that though as it will be very easy to slip back into a bad routine and make excuses when there really isn't an excuse.
@mister-p Aldi here's rubbish, but I can get radlers and panache easily. Decent cold ice tea can work as a great substitute as well, I've found. We shall see...
However I did get towards the middle/end of that session thinking ‘why am I doing this it’s not fun anymore’ and that stopped me drinking, when I could easily (and would have usually in the past) carried on to make it much worse. That’s definitely an improvement in attitude.
Speaking from (a lot!) of experience I can very confidently say that this is the only bit that matters
I still haven't found a good AF Cider or Wine, so as a non-beer drinker, this does present a problem.
Still going here…found it surprisingly easy though Guinness Zero has helped me there…almost feels like cheating. Avoided pubs other than the usual post-ride ‘beer’ on a Weds night but still had AF. One thing that boils my piss is the profiteering in some pubs. We all know what a can of Guinness Zero costs, so why charge nearly £5 a can decantered into a glass when people are taking the AF option for whatever reason? 4 of us had post-ride cheesy chips and a beer on Sat - mine was AF yet my combo was the most expensive - grrrrr. Been sleeping better etc though the wheels will be coming off Saturday night!
I seem to have narrowed down my AF choices to Aldi pilsner, Corona 0.0 and GZ. All of which I actually now enjoy!
Agree with @el_boufador that slipping back is my 'default' after Dry Jan. Need to remember all the benefits before reaching for another beer. We tend do our big ride Saturday's now, so that's another good reason not to cane it just as it's Friday night.
Come on you lot! Carry on the sobriety- one day at a time, you will have more money to spend on bike stuff, more energy, no more waking up trying to remember what you did last night, greater clarity of thought and you will feel free! Leave the alcohol for cleaning your rotors and out of your bodies - if you get pressure from friends and family to start drinking again then that says more about their problems than yours…
I’m out tomorrow, going to be very interesting to see if I can just drink AF beer. Going out to watch the rugby then to a pool hall…..I’d normally have a good few Guinness while I was out.
I’m out tomorrow, going to be very interesting to see if I can just drink AF beer.
You can definitely just drink AF beer. You might need to focus on the health benefits and the clear head Sunday morning to help you with the determination to do so though.
My dry January had a blip mid month and so turned into moist January. Other than that one day I've managed pretty well considering I've found that I don't really like any of the 0% beers that I tried. Looking forward to a few light ales tomorrow though!
im a bit late to the party- about 7th jan i got some different medication, and was/am desperate for it to work so stopped the beer.
I saw a youtube with an addiction expert saying that 2weeks off your 'drug'was just the start, its a month before the effects wear off.
And at any time, if you start again, the behaviour triggers things back to where they were before
Im hoping that i wont start again, but i liked the taste of good ale.
Mrs el_boufador is out in the piss tonight which is good for dry januarying because my plan is to fiddle around spannering my bikes with a Guinness 0.0% or two.
Planning an early ride tomorrow maybe, then planning to not drink tomorrow night either
if you get pressure from friends and family to start drinking again then that says more about their problems than yours…
Easy thing to say it's their problem...but unfortunately...being realistic...it's societal norms.
And that means it is in fact a problem that teetotalers have to face into and deal with (hence the scale of the challenge)
Despite how much I think we'd all wish otherwise...
I haven't touched a drop not even an alcohol free beer. I haven't missed drinking at all .
I now have a tea drinking problem.
@el_boufador yes, unfortunately it is a societal norm in this country to regularly drink far too much, regularly. I know as I did it for fifty years. I challenge whenever I can that to celebrate, mourn, watch sport that it has to involve alcohol. The purpose of most hospitality venues and publicans is to sell as much alcohol as possible, hence two for one offers, happy hour and bottomless brunches. They don’t care and The Government don’t care about the impact alcohol consumption has on public physical and mental health and the cost to the country from associated public order offences, road traffic collisions and domestic violence. I use my anger at the lack of sensible policy and education for my determination never to drink again!!
Sitting here with a cider, my kids and a home made chilli, watching Star Wars Skeleton Crew. I’m happy. One of my two allowed drinks per week. I’m happy with this system - it works for me.
I’m over alcohol I think. Doesn’t agree with anymore.
A very successful month for me, and a great reset. Happy to have the odd one here or there, which was the ultimate aim, so happy with it.
4 more days for me to make up for our city break. Off for a ride later and it's so good not to wake up with any kind of hangover!
Well done to all- seems like most of us got what we wanted out of a months sans alcohol.
Oh and I know there's not many that like it, but I'm still a fan of Heineken 0.0. Fourth in my list, but still on there.
And at any time, if you start again, the behaviour triggers things back to where they were before
This is not my personal experience. I basically don't drink as I am on medication which places some stress on my liver, so consultant says don't. I used to drink a fair bit, beers in the week wine with weekend meals etc. But I do occasionally have one drink. This does not lead on to more drinks, or make me want to do the same the following day.
Peoples' relationships with alcohol vary greatly.
I didn't stop at dry January. Only have a handful of drinks throughout the year now at special occasions. Been like it for 6 years now.
Thank you to all who have read and commented on the thread. Hoping it’s given some folks a bit of a reset, or encouragement to ponder options.
Thanks IainC for starting the thread - it's been a good place to check in for some team spirit. I was out in the HopTub yesterday evening, but stayed on their AF/0.5% . I'm not sure if i don't feel ropey this morning, but presumably the chemicals in taht perhaps. I found after 3 pints I couldn't keep drinking it. I wonder if that would be the same with real beer, but you don't notice cos boozy.
Anyway, Jan is done, but I'm going to keep going mostly, we have a nice bottle of white that i might have a glass of with dinner tonight, but will keep the AF thing going cos i do feel better without, and sharper in the mornings
Good luck everyone with your next steps
Completed it mate. Unfortunately now have a hangover after meeting up with old friends yesterday.
Sitting here with a cider, my kids and a home made chilli, watching Star Wars Skeleton Crew. I’m happy. One of my two allowed drinks per week. I’m happy with this system – it works for me.
Pretty much where I've been since kids came along 20 years ago. Didn't have the time or money to get drunk - which never took much - and recover the next day.
I love nice ales, but am lucky I can stop at one. Quite often choose a decent low alcohol instead. Discovered yesterday the O.5% Jaipur is not a decent low alcohol beer though. I very nearly cried.
I went out on Saturday to watch the rugby and an evening in town with missus. Just drank Guinness 0%. Surprised myself to be honest. The missus ordered cocktails and I was tempted to get a whiskey sour but held strong. In a sports bar I did order some 0% IPA that was genuinely disgusting, forgot the name of it, but the bar had ran out of Guinness 0, does seem to be selling well.
I am going out on the 14th with my brother so will aim to drink normal Guinness on his round but get 0% on mine. Should be no more than 3 pints of alcohol then. My plan is to continue with the significant reduction for the year. No drinking on a weeknight and 5pm on a Friday isn’t the default time to get a beer out of the fridge and start the weekend binge drinking.
Since New Year’s Eve I’ve only had a single bottle of wine on one night mid Jan. In terms of benefits, not really noticed anything other than not having a hangover. No weightloss. No skin improvements. No better sleep. But I do think in my case I was heading down a path where the amount of binge drinking was unhealthy. At my age (51) I had to do something about it. I wanted to prove to myself that I hadn’t developed a dependency on alcohol. So in that regard it’s been very successful.
Everyone is finishing and I am just starting. I always do dry Feb as we're away skiing in Jan.
First weekend is always a little weird but I had some Leffe 0 which was pretty good (although did make me a little burpy). Just got some Brewdog AF Wingman to try, there was little choice in the supermarche this morning for some reason.
I'm like @W00dster in my drinking habits so always do a dry month just to reset
I have mentioned before that since DJ 2024 I kind of carried on not drinking (mostly - couple drinks on special occasions here and there so I don't consider myself teetotal. But certainly not weekly Friday beers or "reward" beers after very minor things.)
I actually went out to meet an old friend on Saturday night and I had 2 pints of IPA. I actually very much enjoyed it at the time, and was quite happy to stop at 2, go home and have a cup of tea and go to bed. No way I'd have been able to do that a couple years ago without feeling like another would have been good. Really nice evening.
Jesus though - I woke up Sunday and whilst I wasn't hungover or feeling physically off at all, I had absolutely zero motivation and was very restless, and craving a greasy breakfast roll. I had planned to go for a 50km XC ride on Sunday, and it took me until 11.30am to actually be bothered with it, after scaling back my plans 2 or 3 times through the morning and settling on some lazy local loops on my road bike for an hour. Very familiar feeling from before 2024.
Still not saying I won't drink again but after so long away it's wild how much it affects me just in terms of mindset from such a small amount. Kind of interesting as well.
I find this and it becomes a convenient excuse “ahh well, sack it off as I do t feel the best.”
Just thought I'd resurrect this thread as I have recently cut back on my drinking after my wife pointed out I was drinking a beer or two (or sometimes more) almost every night. The thing that triggered the conversation was when she found an empty bottle of whiskey in the recycling that I'd only been given a couple of weeks earlier (in fact, that bottle was still unopened – I had just finished the last bit of the previous bottle that I had been hanging on to until I got another as a present)! Anyway, no more drinking on a school night, but still having a few at the weekends. The difficult thing for me was always that I don't get on well with sweetened drinks (cordials, pop etc) and hot drinks don't feel refreshing, so I have always reverted to beer. So I thought I would try this Guinness 0.0 that keeps being mentioned and it's really nice – I can have a can and not want more (unlike normal beer that always makes me want another). Only on my second week of it but it's working well so far.
But I don't sleep any better or feel any more energised!
I had a pint in May and previously before Christmas. I have just lost any desire to drink.
I stopped drinking for about 8 weeks last year and it seemed to have absolutely no benefits from a health, energy or mind set perspective. Actually just took away one of the small pleasures in life -from both the 'buzz' and the social side.
Maybe that is just because I don't drink that much anyway - only really on a Friday and Saturday evening.
I stopped drinking for about 8 weeks last year and it seemed to have absolutely no benefits from a health, energy or mind set perspective.
Yes, I did that when we were trying to conceive some 17 years ago – I didn't touch a drop for about a year. I didn't lose weight, my skin looked no better, I didn't sleep any better, and I didn't feel any better in any way, shape or form. However, I do acknowledge that I need to cut down on my present consumption 😐
But I don't sleep any better or feel any more energised!
Same here, I was advised not to drink while I am on Amitriptyline for neuropathic pain, so I stopped.
I was expecting some difference but no--what's annoying though is the drug makes me thirsty!
The booze substitute for me is to have a glass of Tesco's apple juice and ginger mixed with slimline tonic water, the latter gives a drier sensation so less sweet, I did try Leffe zero but it was too full of sugar and Guinness zero is good but a whole can has me up all night needing the loo :-/ the joys of getting old!
Before I stopped, I was getting through a bottle of scotch every two weeks or so, I'd have a drop every night. I don't miss it.
You weren't drinking enough 17 years ago. I hit 18 months sober at the end of June. I don't even think about having a drink now, which is very different to wanting one for pretty much any reason before I stopped. Good day? Drink. Bad day? Drink. It all seems so ridiculous now.
Aaand I have just had a large case of Guinness 0.0 delivered 🙂
I stopped drinking for about 8 weeks last year and it seemed to have absolutely no benefits from a health, energy or mind set perspective. Actually just took away one of the small pleasures in life -from both the 'buzz' and the social side.
Maybe that is just because I don't drink that much anyway - only really on a Friday and Saturday evening.
Never post sensible stuff like that on the Dry January thread. You'll be accused of coming across all arrogant and stuff.
Aye, indeed !