Alcohol Free Days (part 2)

[Neil_1]

Hi folks

April is fast approaching and as a result of the start of a new month I'm going to get off the grog again.  Made it through in February - just that little bit tougher in April though - cause there's a couple more days to get through!!  🙂

If any Beyond Blue poster/community member who reckons they'd like to give this challenge a go with me, I'd LOVE to hear from you on this thread - it'll all commence on Tuesday, so prior to then whoever is interested in trying this, just make sure you've got no more alky-hole in your home cause that'll remove any temptation.  Just a first tip I guess.

No dramas at all if there's no-one, but I just thought I'd put this out there for anyone who is thinking that now might be a good time to have a bit of a 'dry-out'.

ALSO, if any one "does" come on board, again absolutely no dramas if you drop off at some stage.  It's the process of giving it a go is the main thing.

Cheers beers (for a couple more days anyway!)  🙂

Neil

[Vera55]

Thank you Neil. I feel officially welcomed now and it means a lot to me. I live in country Victoria so it can be challenging to have a support group. Services in regional areas are very stretched.

So thank you. I have read so many of the posts here and it's great to have this support. 

[MaryG]

Hey Neil,

great to hear you made Day 1. I can't just drink water. I have to go for something harder. My choice at the moment is diet coke. Here's to Day 2!

Mary

[Neil_1]

Hi Mary, Vera, Jo, Scorch, Matty and others

April 1st has passed and giddy up, I'm hoping a number of others have all breezed past with day one complete.  It was a bit rocky there during the arve, but I dug deep and drank green tea! 

Cheers with anything but alcohol !!  🙂

Neil

[guest75]

Im not sure if this is cheating or not.  But i am giving up coke for the month, which is my biggest vice, but each morning when i get to work I have a can of Red Bull...is that cheating?  Rest of the time i drink water (No coffee, tea or anything)

[Vera55]

I think if we can have tea, coffee and whatever else besides alcohol that gets us through the day is totally ok. We all have gut busters of sorts and I too am focusing on water. Might give green tea a go too.

i don't know why I have energy today but I have just cleaned out my wardrobe. Feels good. 

And I really liked one of the posts discussing food prep so I am putting together a bit of a menu too for easy eating. I am going to focus on healthy spreads and soups for now. Really simple. I am going to start with pumpkin soup because they are in season and zucchini soup. Next I will make some spreads like pesto, mushroom and chilli and something sweet. Some days I can only manage toast so at least I will have something nice to put on it.

fellow travelers, may the universe work in our favour on day two of our joint adventure.

[Neil_1]

No harm in Red Bull, I don't think.

[MaryG]

Day 3

I was thinking before that it's a bit like being fit. You know when you take a break from exercise and fitness for a bit maybe because of a holiday or something and then it's like you have to start all over again. It doesn't seem any easier at all. But I guess because you know that you've done it once before that you can do it again. 

That's how it feels now. I've done this before so I can do it again. It's tough though.

Mary

[scorch]

Vera, your talk of food made my mouth water!  I haven't had breakfast yet, so now I'm craving a pesto dish.

Day 3 has started.  Yesterday the weather was dark and cold, I really felt like curling up in front of the fire and having a couple of G&T's. I ended up playing cards with hubby to distract myself.

He thrashed me. lol.

[Vera55]

Yes it was quite miserable here yesterday too. 

I think for some people the concept of abstaining is really hard. I also think there are so many other things that are going on that timing is paramount.

i think if I could enjoy a couple of beers a day or limit myself to a glass or two of wine then I would continue to enjoy the alcohol experience.

but what happens to me is I enjoy one glass then I want the whole bottle. Or only drinking after five becomes 4 then earlier still.

so having it out of site and out of mind works for me. It frees me up to do other things. How are others finding it?

[CrashCoyote]

Hi Vera,

I am glad to hear you are going strong, like many others posting. Today is day four without any booze for me but I am concerned about tomorrow night. End of the working week (so I feel like I deserve a reward) and dinner with a lady friend at a club. I can't remember the last time I went out for dinner and didn't have at least a glass or two of wine. But.............I'm hoping to report on Saturday that I drank the club soda. My confidence 24hrs out from dinner is 70/30 I will abstain. We'll see!

Regards, John.