It is a good feeling Christine and as the weeks gone on it had got easier. We had a Jubilee Street party on Monday and one of my neighbours brought some home made rhubarb wine. It sounds disgusting but it was gorgeous. Of course I had one and then had another, and another. One's never enough for me - I have to finish the bottle. So it's best not to start.

Good luck and stay strong all xxxx

I'm sure you all know how weirdly scary it feels to stop or severely limit intake!

I have never seriously tried to stop drinking because I "don't see the point" but my weight has really started to bother me the last couple months and I know it's from moving in with my boyfriend and partying/eating fast food, usually late at night since that's when he gets off work. I recently started logging my calories again and it's not my eating that's really the problem, I do extremely well during the day (when I'm at work) and don't even think about eating. But like you've all said, I spend the entire drive home from work thinking about that beer or cocktail! Then after I'm drunk I'm just starving and I don't care if I down an entire carne asada burrito and half a pint of ben and jerry's...

Now that my temporary employment is drawing to a close, and summer is starting, I can already envision lounging by the pool all day, drinking Coronas and sipping margaritas, eating fried and barbecued food to my heart's content while I just get bigger and bigger...I'm already disgusted by the alteration in my appearance when I look at pictures of myself (omfg is this what people see when they look at me?!?) but I'm terrified of changing my lifestyle because I /love/ drinking so much. It's not just not drinking, it's completely changing my whole existence: all my friends and activities and ways of relaxing involve drinking. Where am I even going to start??

I just know it's not an option not to [lose weight] because I'm going to be in my best friend's wedding and her mother, who's making all the dresses, snidely remarked that she'd "have trouble getting the zipper on" my dress during the fitting last weekend...I was mortified, all the other bridesmaids are like sizes 2-8 and I feel like a house. I've always been thick but lately I just feel so down on myself, physically and emotionally. Working on one should make me feel better about the other but I just don't know how to stick with anything, I'm so flaky! Maybe checking in here will give me something to do because drinking water right now instead of cracking cans is seriously depressing.....

NO :drinker: = :sad: :brokenheart: :grumble:

I think you have to decide if you like booze more than you hate being fat. It's as simple as that for me. I LOVE the beer but I hate hate hate my belly.

Hi all --

I just spent a weekend with my sister who stopped drinking altogether in November, and is doing really well. She feels great, is working out other ways of dealing with anxiety and other fun emotions, relaxing at the end of the day, getting happy with friends -- all the stuff we do with alcohol. I have found her inspiring!

I will continue to work on cutting back, but if I can't keep it where I want it, I'll seriously consider joining my sister. She calls this "doing research"!

In any case, it sure is nice to have those calories for food :happy:

Day 5 without a drop... Don't think I've done that in four years since I turned 21. It was pretty bad the third day, pounding headache, but now it's mostly mental. I'm bored, in the habit of having my hands occupied when I'm just sitting with friends, trying to remind myself this will pay off. Optimistically shooting to stay sober until July 4th but I really want to drink at the fair the day after tomorrow, even though I know it will turn into a debacle. Besides just being around all that fair food is already going to tempt me... Should I call it a free day and workout extra Friday? Ah, the ways I validate my dependency.

Welcome to our new members! And well done to all those managing to cut back - or to cut it out! It's amazing how we can manage it when we finally decide to, isn't it. I'm coming up to 6 months completely alcohol free after years of resisting the fact that I needed to. My philosophy was that I know I 'should' give up (or cut back, but I knew that wouldn't be an option for me), but I enjoy my wine and I just don't want to do without.

It's pretty much second nature to me now, except for the odd occasion when I wistfully watch other people sipping their wine and I can just taste it trickling down my throat.............

And boy, has it made the weight loss so much easier - unbelievably so! I couldn't have lost what I have and still been drinking.

So, I'm almost halfway to goal and halfway to the alcohol-free year I committed to, and I've decided that I'm fine to keep going until I reach my final goal. Which means I'll probably be going until around March/April next year.

But the scary part for me is what happens then. I really don't want to be wine-free for the rest of my life - I enjoy it too much - but I don't want to end up back where I was, so I think I'm heading for an even bigger challenge when I do hit goal than I had in giving up!

Good luck to you all. Hang in there - it is worth it and it does get easier!

Christine

where did you all go?!?! Opal how you doing with the no drinking?
How is everyone, how you all doing?

I no longer drink during the week!!! AND..... it's Friday night and I have not had a drink for a week!

C'mon guys, let me know how you all are!:drinker:

I'm still here - still alcohol free and still logging daily and losing weight steadily. It's just coming up to 8 months (this week) since my last glass ( well actually many glasses) of wine on New Year's Day, and I genuinely don't miss it. I have the occasional twinge if I'm with others who are drinking, but that's about it. However, I don't know if that's because I've never said the abstinence was forever. If I thought I'd never have another glass of wine I don't know if I'd find it quite so easy. As it is, I expect to hit my goal weight around Feb next year, so that's going to be crunch time for me!

Helenoftroy - it sounds as though you've got it sorted. Do you find it easy keeping to weekends? That seems to be the obvious way to go when I'm ready to start again.

Welcome to sheen8r and kath2bfit. Good luck on your journey. As you can see, it is possible!

I'll be honest, it's hard some nights. It's the idea that I drink wine to relax and in the evening I love a glass of wine but I am losing weight by not drinking and it's become a bit of a competition with myself, some type of control that I know I have with wine.

I also don't want to admit it was a problem but I'm not sure how I would feel if someone told me I couldn't drink ever again.

Glad to hear how well you are doing Opal. That is fabulous how long you have gone!

Well done to everyone else for joining this group and getting a tackle on any wine/alcohol dependency.

I'll give this a go. Like many here the 'nightly glass +' has become a ritual and it would be good to cut it out. Also in the coming months there will be several nights when work will involve being in bars all night, and if I stand there supping I'll be getting loads inside me. And I don't want to be 'that guy' who always has a glass in his hand. I've loved alcohol in all its myriad forms for decades so it is a bit of a change of gear but at the end of the day it's just a substance.

Well guys how you all doing? Esp Vacherin and Opal!!! Coming up to your year, only 5 weeks ish to go! I'm back to trying not to drink during the week, got into some bad habits and put on 10lbs! God I hate my dependency!
Help!

how you doing opal24? two more nights? I often wonder how you are doing. I'm cutting right down in the new year, to once per week. On a Saturday I think.


WHO'S WITH ME?!?!?
:drinker: :happy:

oh my goodness!!!!!
WELL DONE YOU!!!!! That is phenomenal! Absolutely fantastic!
Let us know what it's like, how it tastes etc. How much weight have you lost through it etc.
:drinker: :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:

I'm in too!! This is so daunting, but it must be done...my beloved drinks are holding me back from my fitness goals - and its time I switch priorities! So glad to have found this one!

day two done!