No alcohol for 30 days..

knittnponder

It's funny to see this post this morning because my husband and I just made an agreement not to drink for the next 30 days. Today is day one. For me it's just a need to refocus and be a little more intense about weight loss. I've gotten a bit off track and have just been spinning my wheels for awhile so it's necessary.

ElizabethRoad

I am a huge binge drinker

Have you considered AA? Honestly, you're binge drinking, you don't know what to do without alcohol, you are endangering your health by drinking while on your medication... this sounds like a problem.

Coco_puff901

I've been wanting to try the same thing... I love to have about 2 beer or 2 wine about twice a week, but I also agree it throws everything off, plus I always want Cheese & Crackers if I have wine !
With the exception of 1 event I have to go to, count me in for 30 days ! I'd love to watch everyones progress and check in with a group !
This has been something I've wanted to do for a while !

jstrandquest

I'm not able to commit to 30 days, but will commit to 2 weeks starting today. Final exams loom & I promised my boyfriend a night with champagne and martinis after my exams are over. ;-) I'm a wine drinker -- a glass (or two, or three, or four) -- or a beer or two -- with dinner. But, I'd not really been tracking those calories accurately until discovering this web site last week. So yeah, I just discovered how much I've been drinking.

I used to struggle with the not wanting to piss off my friends thing too and discovered that my social anxiety (masked by drinking) wasn't really about alcohol as much as it was about having something in my hand. So...I'd order one beer, drink that...and then refill the empty bottle with water when no one was looking. It seemed to help me safe face in social situations, save money and calories. And I never got a DUI.

I'll revisit this commitment again in 2 weeks. Thanks for tossing this out as a possibility. It's something I've considered doing, but didn't want to go it alone!

lisalis626

I gave up drinking on January 1st -- until my birthday on April 20th. Now, of course, I've had a few beers here and there but no where near as much i would have drank in the past. By here and there, I'd say in the past 3 months I've had maybe 5 or 6 beers/cocktails. I haven't noticed a difference, but I'm still trying to figure out what's the best method to lose those lbs for this body of mine. I just know that I'd rather eat my calories rather than drink them. Alcohol definitely played a huge part of how I got to my current weight. Good luck! Being the designated DD isn't that bad

pigpentw

I have tried the no alcohol on weekends and have always failed. I am not a big drinker but I am a social drinker. Here is what I do and did. I work out and burn at least 500 calories Saturday and Sunday morning this give me the ability to have a few drinks. I keep those few drinks to ONE Vodka Ceasar and then I have vodka flavored water and a shot of lemon or lime. I just figured why should I give up something I enjoy when this entire diet thing isn't just about losing weight it is also about trying to live the rest of your life with a new healthy you.
Good luck

prism6

I stopped heavy drinking Jan. 3rd..... have obviously lost weight,digestion is better,haven't had a Tums ib 77 days,sleep better with actual dreaming,skin is better,have more energy...other than that I noticed no difference :}

Articeluvsmemphis

it is possible to just not drink alcohol at all. I don't. maybe get new friends who enjoy a healthier lifestyle. IMO

DannyMussels

I usually do a few months of no drinking jan-may.

So far this year I had a solid jan and feb, but have gone out 4-5x in march and haven't really progressed or seen a loss. I'm chalking it up to the partying (which goes hand-in-hand with eating out).

I think I'm cuttin it down to once a month, mostly cause im visiting toronto this weekend, then next month is my birthday.

I think drinking is something I should do on occasions, not just random weekends.

If I was 15lbs less, I feel I could drink more often, but I'm still 2 months from my goal.

1_Happy_Camper

I was curious to see if you were joining the challenge and pleased to see you didn't lol.

Me neither. sorry, but a man has to have some priorities.

eshamy29

@ Nicole 325 AMEN!! IF they are your friends they will want you to be doing better and not worse, they should motivate you and not pick on the fact that you have stop drinking.

photogmama

I am in with you! Great job! Anyone want to start a group so we can support each other?

TheNewo

I have so been there! The good news is as you get older binge drinking really loses it's appeal, your friends will come around too (for the most part, there's always an exception). Any way just get a diet soda, or water in a bar glass. They'll never know, and you'll be surprised to discover how much you didn't miss out. Not to mention how nice it is to wake up without a hangover.
good luck -you got this

Smuterella

I'm in. Aside from one day where it is my bf's birthday. Should we start a group?

PattyfromToledo

I don't think you are doing this for your friends anyway so if they can't be supportive then how good of friends were they? You have listed a few reasons already why it sounds like a good thing that you aren't drinking. You have a boyfreind that isn't... all the more reason to be supportive to him. Give it a try...

cyclerjenn

I stoped for a month at the begining of the year and I lost 5 pounds and had more energy with no other changes in my diet. I did let me my best friend pull the "if you were my friend you would come to the bar with me" and I was right back to drinking. Also my boyfriend always has my favorite beers in the house so it does make it hard. I do have plans to stop again and just drink on special occasions. I wish you the best of luck.

Trigrl83

No alcohol for 3 days is a great idea. I think that you will get used to not having alcohol in your life and you might possibly stop binge drinking on the weekend. No good can come out of drinking too much. Replace the time drinking by doing things for you! Save the money spent on alcohol to get a massage, buy new skinny clothes, enjoy a fro yo. I find there are better places for my money to go than booze. Good Luck!

halobender

I'm in. Aside from one day where it is my bf's birthday. Should we start a group?

I think the group is called AA.

In all seriousness, I think taking 30 days off is a good idea. That way when you come back to drinking it will, hopefully, be easier to limit yourself. I'm still working on that; I didn't drink for a week and then St. Patrick's Day hit ... and I maybe over did it a little bit.

I still have half a bottle of whiskey, but, eh, after that I could probably see fit to drop it for 30 days ... I'll just be a week behind y'all

AllTehBeers

I enjoy drinking but I only drink once a week. I count it as a cheat and work hard the rest of the week. I also work out during the day if I know I'm going to be drinking later on that night and eat very clean. It works for me so finding your balance is important to adapting habits for a lifetime.

Smuterella

I'm in. Aside from one day where it is my bf's birthday. Should we start a group?

I think the group is called AA.

Been there, done that, not an alcoholic. I just like booze. :-)

Seriously, group anyone? I need 3 people if we are going to do it.

katie133

i stopped drinking alcohol completely,.. i feel great.. last week i had two glasses of wine at an event and i was really bloated after

emilynicole02

I don't like going out sober- I'm just not into the whole bar scene anymore. So I'd rather not even go out at all I just really don't want to piss of my friends. My boyfriend recently stopped drinking (he used to be a huge partier) and he tells me how happy he's been since he's quit.

ALSO- I'm on a medication that I'm not supposed to even drink with- but I don't really want to tell that whole story to my friends

If pissing off ur friends is your worry- then that is silly. If your friends are really your friends then they will not get pissed and realize your priorities are in a different place

True that! PLUS think of how much money you will save!

Megclark37

Awesome responses, thank you everyone!
I honestly think a huge part of it is growing up.. and starting to understand my priorities.. my friends are out of control and some of the things they do absolutely disgusts me.
They drink Thurs, Fri, Sat night probably from 8pm-2:30 am. (this is a NORMAL weekend.)
Every other week they decide it's a great idea to start drinking at 1:00 in the afternoon.. come on... really? And it's not like a couple drinks throughout the day- it's power hours and case races.

I want to expand my friend group- but it's hard when I'm so used to be being around people like this- I'm graduating college in a year and I want to start making better choices before I'm thrown out into the real world.

Megclark37

TO LISA AND EVERYONE ELSE INTERESTED:

yes yes yes, I'm in (if you find more people please message me, dear! )

neverstray

I'll try. Although, I like my alcohol. I'll try hard. Only exception is my birthday is in April. But, the rest of the month is great.

Llorraine11

girl i been doing it for weeks this my 5 th week .. its so hard .. i have 1 more week to go .,, and i go out every weekend and i am dying honestly.. its been so hard:( but i swear everyone tells me u lost so much weight u look great and that keeps going

lsteen

I've given up alcohol and have noticed a huge difference. Not just to my health and body, but to my attitude as well. It's not just the calories you drink at the weekend, its the chips and cheese or kebab you eat when youre drunk, and then the crap you eat the next day to make yourself feel human again. I still go out but I stay sober, and I have a much better night. I dont spend a fortune, I dont make a fool of myself and I dont spend my Sundays wanting to die!

ccnjc4e

I drink like once a week...I was trying to look for a good alcohol that I could mix with spring water and I found Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, I mix it with water and a little bit of fresh lemon and IT IS SOOOOO GOOD and it does the trick alcohol is supposed to do! lol

I am 24 it is not realistic for me to completely cut alcohol out just like I wont cut out pizza or any of that because then once you start drinking or eating that stuff again the weight is going to come right back on.

This is good!! Lifestyle change, and substitutions.

I am not a drinker. I have two little boys, and I am married. My family has alcoholism so I stayed away from it anyway.

bcattoes

I'm not trying to be harsh or anything, but even if you do keep it up for 30 days, what do you think will happen when you start it up again after that month is up?

This is my thought too, and why I never gave up alcohol during my weight loss. But, if you are prone to binge drinking giving it up temporarily as a means to drinking more responsibly could be a very wise decision.

As far as diet is concerned, if you don't replace the alcohol calories with anything else then you will probably lose faster because you'll have a bigger deficit. If you do replace them, then you probably won't lose any faster.

Llorraine11

so true