Giving up alcohol...

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Replies

  • SparkleShine
    SparkleShine Posts: 2,001 Member
    I'm another one that says try Melatonin. My son has taken it for years, as directed by his neurologist. Has has autism and was a terrible sleeper. It only took a couple weeks and he was going to slepp and not waking up at night.

    I take it usually a couple times a week myself. It doesn't give you a groggy feeling in the morning either.
  • cavewoman15
    cavewoman15 Posts: 278 Member
    IMHO, a couple glasses of wine a night isn't a problem, either psychologically or in terms of health/fitness. just log it and you are good. however, i think two things might give me pause. 1. if you can't sleep without it, there might be better options (e.g., more exercise helps me, reducing stress). 2. if you are removing nutrition from your diet so you can fit in your alcohol calories that might not be best, either.

    good luck! maybe cut to one glass a night for a few weeks and see how it goes. if it's really hard, you could probably talk to your doc about different options.
  • Gioooo
    Gioooo Posts: 301 Member
    i love my wine. would never give it up :)
  • lesliev523
    lesliev523 Posts: 366 Member
    Not dependent on it. I think I will continue to lose weight at a good rate if I stop. Just seems like wasted calories.


    Thanks for the good ideas! I will do some more research. I used to be meds for insomnia, but I hated how I felt when I took them.

    I will eat more before bed....maybe that will work.

    I dated a guy several years ago who did not drink at all so therefore neither did I. What I realized was that after a few days or weeks I felt great. I was like you - 1 or 2 glasses of wine, maybe a little extra on the weekends but I honestly was amazed at how much better I started feeling in the mornings when I got up. I dumped the guy but still don't drink (well, most of the time anyway). Give it a few days to adjust and see how you feel. You might even sleep better.

    Have you ever tried a supplement called Melatonin? It is something your body naturally produces to regulate sleep cycles. It helped me some. Mostly I think they just helped me relax so I could fall asleep. You can get them just about every where (Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart, etc.) Working out around 6:00 - 7:00 does the trick for me as well. Good luck to you.

    I actually tried Melatonin last night.... I did sleep a little better than normal. I only woke up a couple times, but fell back asleep. But, I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning!
  • lesliev523
    lesliev523 Posts: 366 Member
    If you can't sleep without alcohol, you're developing an addiction. That's more of a reason to give it up than for weight loss. Please take some time to really look at yourself and get some help.

    Umm... whatever. Thanks for being judgemental. Trust me.... I am well aware of what addictions are. I have a friend that I stood by with her addition to both drugs and alcohol. Not quite the same.
  • lesliev523
    lesliev523 Posts: 366 Member
    Thanks for all of the supportive words.... and screw off to the judgmental people out there.

    Several years ago I was diagnosed with chronic insomnia, and I have tried all kinds of meds to help. You want to talk about addiction, that is the stuff one could get addicted to.... One to two glasses of wine does not make an addiction, but it is a habit.

    So again, thank you to everyone that was supportive in their recommendations. I appreciate it. I will keep trying Melatonin. I will maybe try to cut the tablets in half, since I woke up so groggy this morning. And I will also try to push through a few weeks and see if it gets better over the next little bit.
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
    If you can't sleep without alcohol, you're developing an addiction. That's more of a reason to give it up than for weight loss. Please take some time to really look at yourself and get some help.

    Umm... whatever. Thanks for being judgemental. Trust me.... I am well aware of what addictions are. I have a friend that I stood by with her addition to both drugs and alcohol. Not quite the same.

    It's not being judgmental at all, it's the truth. If you can't sleep without drinking alcohol, what else would that be?

    Good luck to you, I am recovering alcoholic, I have been sober for 64 days, and I have never felt better.
  • knittingbandmom
    knittingbandmom Posts: 190 Member
    [/quote]
    I actually tried Melatonin last night.... I did sleep a little better than normal. I only woke up a couple times, but fell back asleep. But, I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning!
    [/quote]

    Hmm. Can you maybe try half the dose? I'm not sure what form you have it in. I always get the kind that you put under your tongue and let it dissolve. I also try and take it an hour or so before I go to bed. Hang in there. You will get it figured out. I hate when I have problems sleeping and the older I get and closer to "the change" the more I wake up at night :(
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    Not dependent on it. I think I will continue to lose weight at a good rate if I stop. Just seems like wasted calories.
    You need to re-evaluate this bc your OP had "red flag" written all over it.
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    If you can't sleep without alcohol, you're developing an addiction. That's more of a reason to give it up than for weight loss. Please take some time to really look at yourself and get some help.

    Umm... whatever. Thanks for being judgemental. Trust me.... I am well aware of what addictions are. I have a friend that I stood by with her addition to both drugs and alcohol. Not quite the same.

    It's not being judgmental at all, it's the truth. If you can't sleep without drinking alcohol, what else would that be?

    Good luck to you, I am recovering alcoholic, I have been sober for 64 days, and I have never felt better.

    Congrats on your sobriety.
  • TheChocolatePrincess
    TheChocolatePrincess Posts: 137 Member
    Ibuprofen PM, Tylenol PM, 2 Benedryls, Ambien, et al.

    I typically medicate on a nightly basis and drink on weekends.
  • geordiegirl27
    geordiegirl27 Posts: 307 Member
    I also used to find I only slept if I had a couple of glasses of wine following a medical trauma. I still dont sleep brilliantly but leaving a few days a week without a drink I now sleep no worse but I feel better for not drinking as often.

    I would say if you're wanting to give up from the calorie point of view cut down and maybe have a few days of no alcohol.

    I enjoy a glass of wine or a beer so I'd never give up completely but I like to keep it in moderation from a health point of view.

    Good luck with getting more sleep with less/no wine.
  • mandypizzle
    mandypizzle Posts: 633 Member
    It is DEFINITELY a waste of calories! I use to do that too. I quit and am SO glad I do. Now I only have it on special occasions.
  • Rosered3333
    Rosered3333 Posts: 171 Member
    The first 10 days will suck. You need to replace the alcohol with something else, tea is a good idea, because drinking wine might be your bedtime routine.

    Once you get through the first 10 days, you'll probably find that you sleep better without alcohol than you ever did before.
  • geordiegirl27
    geordiegirl27 Posts: 307 Member
    If you can't sleep without alcohol, you're developing an addiction. That's more of a reason to give it up than for weight loss. Please take some time to really look at yourself and get some help.

    Umm... whatever. Thanks for being judgemental. Trust me.... I am well aware of what addictions are. I have a friend that I stood by with her addition to both drugs and alcohol. Not quite the same.

    just wanted to add (forgot on my last post) that I dont think you're developing an addiction, I can totally sympathise with you as I have had the same problem over the past 4 years and not sleeping is horrendous, some nights I am awake more than asleep and somehow having a couple of glasses of wine has helped but like you I wanted to stop using empty calories. Since I have been on holiday I've slept better and just hoping it continues. Its bloody awful and I hope you manage to get some restful sleep. good luck x
  • sailorsiren13
    sailorsiren13 Posts: 460
    I have pretty much given up alcohol and have noticed the times that i do drink i sleep worse. I have been eating fairly clean and low carb mainly watching my sugar intake and have been sleeping much better than i have in a long time. my body is "telling" on me according to my hubby so no matter how relaxing or good certain things make me feel giving them up is even better in the long run. Melatonin is your friend. :flowerforyou:
  • Titanuim
    Titanuim Posts: 331 Member
    Why don't you try a challenge like Dry July as motivation for not drinking for a month. It is not long and will help see if alcohol really is helping you get to sleep.

    I have always suffered from insomnia and love a glass or 3 of wine. I don't think alcohol is great for inducing a great sleep cycle really as I know that the quality of my sleep is better if I haven't been drinking.

    Any way I have decided to give up alcohol for a month. Firstly for the fundraising side (http://www.dryjuly.com/). Secondly as an experiment to see if it has an impact on my weightloss.
  • lesliev523
    lesliev523 Posts: 366 Member
    Thank you again for the supportive people. And for those of you that think I have a drinking problem, whatever. I said one to two GLASSES.... not bottles.

    I have been prescribed all types of meds for my insomnia, and for anxiety.... I choose not to take them because they are MUCH worse than a glass of wine. They are highly addictive with all kinds of weird side effects. I won't do that.

    Melatonin works sort of, but I wake up very groggy from it. I had someone message me to try half the dose I was taking, and I am going to try that. Thank you for being supportive and not judgmental.

    Those of you who have jumped to the conclusion that I am an alcoholic... I find it interesting that you would automatically assume that. Not one of you messaged me privately out of concern. Not one of you tried to get to know me to see if perhaps I did have a problem. Not one of you would do what a normal caring human being would do if one was concerned over another persons well being. Instead, you judged me publicly.... did that make you feel better about yourselves? I certainly hope so.

    I have learned my lesson to not pose an innocent question on the forums.
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
    Thank you again for the supportive people. And for those of you that think I have a drinking problem, whatever. I said one to two GLASSES.... not bottles.

    Those of you who have jumped to the conclusion that I am an alcoholic... I find it interesting that you would automatically assume that. Not one of you messaged me privately out of concern. Not one of you tried to get to know me to see if perhaps I did have a problem. Not one of you would do what a normal caring human being would do if one was concerned over another persons well being. Instead, you judged me publicly.... did that make you feel better about yourselves? I certainly hope so.

    I have learned my lesson to not pose an innocent question on the forums.

    You're WAY over reacting...wow.

    If you want to quit drinking, then quit. If you don't then don't
    Nobody jumped to any conclusions. You yourself said that you NEED 2 glasses of wine every night in order to sleep. Does that make you an alcoholic? idk.

    Do what's best for you, but when people give you suggestions, don't get all defensive about it.

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