Any other non-drinkers?

lannebenoit120
lannebenoit120 Posts: 1 Member
in Motivation and Support
I recently stopped drinking alcohol, partly for weight reasons but for other health reasons too. Now I find when I am in social gatherings where there’s alcohol, I feel self conscious about not drinking and I chow down on more junk food than usual! Then of course the next day, I feel guilty and gross.
Any other non-drinkers here? How do you deal with the social aspect of it?
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Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I don't drink (I tried, I don't like it), and I don't know and don't care what others think about it, if they even do.
  • Margee1965
    Margee1965 Posts: 24 Member
    I don’t drink too none drink liver damage I don’t mind others drinking round me if let friends come too house the drink it don’t both me my health more important I do what’s best for me if want drink zero coke on night it still enjoy I don’t need alcohol too go out you can have gd night with out it least wake up with clear head next day ..... think drinks so over rated used too much in life now ask u self do you really need it too enjoy I self or get by every day x
  • andreaen
    andreaen Posts: 365 Member
    Try having diet sodas or other drinks instead when other people drink. Often there are alcohol free options too like alcohol free wine. I have gone to a party once with only juice without mixing in the vodka and no one noticed. They just thought I was hella good at mixing drinks since you couldn't even taste the alcohol lol. If everyone else is drunk you just have to act a bit silly and they won't think twice about what you are drinking
  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
    Not for 32 years, here. I still end up at social occasions once in a while where most are drinking and I am not. Practice in that helps. A nice looking noncaloric non alcoholic drink like sparkling water with ice and lime is a really good prop. Find or take nonlethal snacks too, maybe a veggie tray. Buzzed people are convivial in the pre-sloppy stages and funny if a little sad in the later stages. Knowing I really, genuinely, wholeheartedly do not want to be buzzed for all sorts of good reasons is the key.

    Plus, buzzed people are not super observant, they're busy doing them. You do you :) and you will be fine.
  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
    Plus you can get a hella contact high off buzzed people I find, which is a little dangerous for those of us with addictive disorders, but since your reasons for laying off the booze are health and weight related ... relax and enjoy!!
  • Tankiscool
    Tankiscool Posts: 11,105 Member
    I stopped drinking socially in over a year, partly due to focusing on loosing weight and partly due to just being bored/sick of it. Honestly I have lost friends because of it and I am completely fine with that, I don't want to be with people who need alcohol or have to go to bars every weekend to have fun.
    But when I am at social events like weddings or what not I just drink water. I think of it this way, Id rather look good and feel good rather than feel like *kitten* the next day because to me time is precious.
    Now I may have a glass of nice whiskey a few times a year but that's because I enjoy it rather than just going out to have fun.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,534 Member
    I didn’t drink for several years, a big weight loss help. Now I’m kinda like Tankiscool, I have about 1 drink a month. Doesn’t interest me much. There are a lot of times living a healthy lifestyle when we just have to go our own way.

    Bring your own, diet soda, seltzer, no alcohol beer, anything that works. Set yourself up away from the snacks. Or, bring your own.

    Toughen up. Weight loss can require a thick skin sometimes.
  • mortuseon_
    mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
    I'm not teetotal but it's very rare that I drink, maybe a few times a year at most. I generally just avoid the social events, although I am a fan of Seedlip as a G&T replacement (virtually no calories with diet tonic, as well)! I think there's also alcohol-free vermouth available on Amazon, AND cocktail bars will often make mocktails (though they will obviously have a certain number of calories). There are choices out there :)
  • aggiumma
    aggiumma Posts: 4 Member
    I've never been much of a drinker, and it's never bothered me or hindered me socially. My parents can't drink much either and it's never been an issue for them either, so I suppose I grew up thinking it's normal not to drink around drinkers. My parents used to throw a lot of parties at our house and it was always amusing to see others drink to excess while my parents just had a good time drinking water and sodas.

    Anyway, I do what my parents used to do - just drink water and have fun having conversation and listening to music and what not. Ironically, I married a guy who can drink a lot. He's toned down a lot since being with me though.
  • stthemary
    stthemary Posts: 7 Member
    I'm not a drinker, never have been. I never liked the taste, and saw my exhusband throw his life away for it. My bff doesn't drink either, so it's never been an issue for me really. If someone offers to buy me a drink, I get a soda.
  • OliverRaningerVegan
    OliverRaningerVegan Posts: 349 Member
    i dont like drink alcohol.....not my taste. not sexy
  • makinemjellis
    makinemjellis Posts: 91 Member
    I’ve also recently cut down on alcohol. I haven’t stopped completely because honestly I really enjoy beer but I try to limit myself to one or two. And typically when I’m drinking a lot, it’s cheap beer, so I figured I’d rather save those calories for actual food or good beer.

    So far I haven’t had anyone really question it. When I do drink, I pace myself a lot more so a single beer may last me 30 minutes where as before it lasted 5.
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    Never drank alcohol. The tastes just repulses me and the few sips I have had have made me gag. Could be psychological could be physical but I am not eager to find out.It has never bothered me the not drinking. I have a water, soda or a juice when others have a drink. When I was a student my friends joked I got drunk on orange juice. Basically meaning I just go with the flow. I know what I encounter and to be honest in those days it meant I took care of a fair few friends when things were getting a little out of control
    I'd go on pub-crawls with my mates. Always knew where we'd ended up and who with whom. People checked with me stating "please tell me I did/didn't do xyz" It was great fun. I mean really I always knew that it was me that was having the fun vs the alcohol.

    I never ended up eating much junk because I'd have so much other stuff to drink, I still had a great time going out (really alcohol is highly overrated there) and I loved to party at times.
    These days no partying as I grew out of it. I still don't drink and I still prefer being sober, in control and having lots of fun.
  • makinemjellis
    makinemjellis Posts: 91 Member
    @lannebenoit120 there’s an organization called Better Drinking Culture that you might find helpful.

    https://betterdrinkingculture.org
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I have never been an alcohol drinker really. I have not found in my adult life that anyone cared that I was not drinking alcohol.

    I just get a non-alcoholic drink I enjoy to sip and chat like anyone. I don't park myself next to the snacks.
    I don't go to bars or hang out with people whose goal is to get drunk. I don't tell others what to do but I don't enjoy being around drunk people or super loud places. I have a mix of friends who drink and don't drink I guess.
  • aliblain
    aliblain Posts: 175 Member
    I don’t really drink anymore, save a glass of wine for a special occasion. I find that no one really notices that I don’t- I just go order a sparkling water or a soft drink and I guess people assume it has alcohol in. I’m late 30s now so don’t really feel the peer pressure to drink anyway.
  • owieprone
    owieprone Posts: 217 Member
    I gave up 'normal' drinking over 10 years ago. I occasionally drink one particular liqueur (at home, it's not available in pubs), but generally stick to soft drinks or non-alco Erdinger. I quickly stopped being bothered by other people's perception of my not drinking when i realised they were the one with a problem and i didn't care if it was a drinking or attitude problem. Once you've got your alternatives and know which pubs have your preferred non-alco versions, let your mates know so they can put one in the nights roster of pubs to visit. If it's a do at a mates i always take my own drink (hard and soft) so they don't have to worry about it (they also never get it right lol; i don't drink wine, they know this, always get me fake wine).
  • orekosi3485
    orekosi3485 Posts: 354 Member
    I'm a non-drinker. It takes a lot of discipline but, over time, your feelings will catch up with it (even in social scenarios).
  • SamskiB
    SamskiB Posts: 211 Member
    I only drink once every few months when my best friend comes down to visit me or i go to visit her. That's like my big blow out.
    Other than that, i don't drink at home (i don't see the point of sitting in the house getting drunk when you're just going to go to bed after) and i'm not really fussed about drinking anyway, i'm not a fan of feeling drunk and i get really terrible hangovers nowadays so i try to avoid drinking alcohol as best as i can.

    Suppose i'm a social drinker but i'm only a social drinker for one set of circumstances :smiley:
  • huntersvonnegut
    huntersvonnegut Posts: 1,177 Member
    I enjoy a beer or sip of whiskey on occasion, but those times are getting further and further apart.
  • JoAnna4731
    JoAnna4731 Posts: 115 Member
    I really enjoy GOOD beer and fine wine. But in my 40s, even one drink just makes me feel like crap. I’m a migraine sufferer, and certain alcoholic drinks trigger them, especially in hormonally elevated times of the month, so I have to be really careful about what I drink and when. Nobody seems to care that I’m not drinking. For those of you who have made a difficult decision to part with alcohol, I congratulate you!
  • Urbancowbarn
    Urbancowbarn Posts: 97 Member
    edited April 2018
    lannebenoit120 wrote: »
    I recently stopped drinking alcohol, partly for weight reasons but for other health reasons too. Now I find when I am in social gatherings where there’s alcohol, I feel self conscious about not drinking and I chow down on more junk food than usual! Then of course the next day, I feel guilty and gross.
    Any other non-drinkers here? How do you deal with the social aspect of it?

    I don’t drink alcohol because I don’t like to drink alcohol, but I’ve noticed that when socializing other people are taken aback if I don’t drink. For some reason it makes them uncomfortable? And they are constantly trying to push a drink on me —to stop that I usually have a glass of water/seltzer with a lime and others assume it’s alcoholic. :-)
  • SalinitySally
    SalinitySally Posts: 258 Member
    Random comments:

    ~ No one has cared if I'm NOT drinking since I left college. However, the local culture here is not typical of most places re alcohol, and I've had to ignore people who've given me disapproving looks for having wine with my dinner. Good enough for Jesus, good enough for me. Don't want to drink? Don't. The same people who've shown disapproval have acted shocked when I've been offered alcohol and have declined. I guess they think it's something you must lose resistance to.

    ~ A lot of these posts suggest people drink just to get drunk. Not me. I love gin&tonic or a frozen margarita or a couple glasses of wine (occasionally a beer) but I'm not interested in being drunk. I don't like the taste of whiskey but otherwise alcoholic beverages taste pretty good to me.

    ~ I don't drink often, mostly because of the empty calories, but also because I fear a return of pancreatitis. Not worth it.

    Cheers and do your own thing.

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