Reply With QuoteI've been alcohol free for 14 weeks now. I usually go alcohol-free for a month once or twice a year but this time I haven't been interested in having a drink, so I haven't. It must be 1968/69 since I last went this long without alcohol.
Eddie
Hi all
Haven't had a drop of alcohol this weekend. Not even a glass of wine
Just sat here thinking when was the last time I went a full weekend without a drop
Amongst those of us who like a drink on a weekend when was the last time you did it ?
Andy
I've been alcohol free for 14 weeks now. I usually go alcohol-free for a month once or twice a year but this time I haven't been interested in having a drink, so I haven't. It must be 1968/69 since I last went this long without alcohol.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I thought you were getting a bit grumpyOriginally Posted by swanbourne
I thought you were getting a bit grumpy
^^^^
I pretty much drink everyday when back in the UK, however I am dry at work for 5-6 weeks at a go.
I took a weekend off in summer 2009 and haven't touched it since.
Eddie
Will you stay off it or see what happens ?
andy
I've cut right back on the booze recently and aim to stop completely. Just got bored with it.
20 years ago I could drink all weekend and feel ok on a Monday
Now it takes me 3 days to get over it.
It really ain't worth it
I packed in boozing in around 1990 as I awoke one saturday morning and recalled driving my car on the pavement as I couldn't keep it on the road!! (Could hardly keep on my feet either!)
Normally the binges were a blank the following day but it hit me like a sledgehammer that I was going to kill someone so I packed in!!
I then packed in smoking in 2006, I'm now three stones heavier!! (Flippin' harder to stop scoffing than smoking or drinking!!)
Keep up the good work everyone!!!
John
I've just had a month off booze for the 1st time ever.
Ended the drought last night in style.
Today, I feel terrible.
There seems to be a lot more people just not bothering with alcohol. I chose life over the park bench over ten years ago. Never give it another thought now, never miss it, in fact the positive side of not drinking alcohol at all far, far outweighs the negative.
Used to drink 4-5 times a week during my single days. Now its down to 4-5 times a month. Mostly as my wife doesn't drink. Don't miss it much. I can still have it whenever I want and always have a designated driver with me!
A few months ago I was on a weeks course of antibiotics with which alcohol was a no no, so that was the last time. I only drink wine with my evening meal, have not had a beer in 6 months now.
The young in particular - alcohol consumption among the under-25s is (I believe) on long-term decline.
I've never been an especially heavy drinker, but a while ago I decided to try going for a month without alcohol. Managed it without a problem and then went back to occasional drinking.
However, I have always been significantly overweight, and having succeeded in going without alcohol for a period gave me the impetus to try regulating my calorie intake. Since December, I have lost 3 stone 6 pounds, and have moved from "Very Severely Obese"(Wikipedia)/"Morbidly Obese"(NHS) to "Severely Obese"/"Obese".
I've still a long way to go to get to "Normal" weight, but if I hadn't first proved to myself that I could easily go without alcohol, I might not have got this far...
I think I´ve drunk every day since my late teens, so far no noticable ill health effects and although I´m probably a stone or so overweight for my height (approx 180 -185 lbs and 5 ft 9 inches, and now mid forties) I eat well and exercise whether it be swimming, running or cycling practically every day.
I no longer drink to the blackout stage, I´ve been there for certain-partly a coping mechanism for the daily grind, but I can´t really imagine life without booze as I like the feeling it provides.
I think I need to now introduce the occasional "rest" day to provide some degree of moderation, with an eye towards the long term.
Good for you.
I stopped drinking on 5 December 2013 and have felt generally much better as well as losing weight.
Stick with it!
Almost alcohol free since my 4th kidney malfunction in the autumn of 2012.
It took +30-years, and +16 minor operations to realise that if you put rubbish in, you will get rubbish out.
My diet has changed for the better as well.
No more chips, greasy pies, and all you can buffets (rubbish in = rubbish out)
On the plus side, Coca Cola is only 70p per can in my local - so I have a slow but steady surplus of cash to spend on hobbies.
My weekly alcohol intake would be lower than average (generally a few beers at the weekend), but I can't remember going a full week were I didn't have at least one drink.
Must be 15+ years.
If I'm having a beer at home I would always have nibbles too, which ballooned my weight up a few stone.
Stopped the nibbles, and my weight is back down to just over 10st.
I haven't been drunk for ages (as others have said, when you get a little older it literally isn't worth the days it now takes to get over it) but I do drink at home a lot (a cold beer in front of a film is the perfect end to the day!). I realised a few weeks ago that I was drinking 3 cans (Carlsberg 440ml 3.7alc) every single night and that this was in danger of becoming 4 cans per night.
Anyway, I went alcohol free for a week and my word the difference in my energy levels was amazing! I'm back to drinking at home again but I limit it to 3 cans max and I have at least one day off in between. I'm sort of on holiday now but come the new term I plan to only drink (in moderation) on weekends.
I sometimes take a few months off .. it really feels so good. I sleep a lot better especially. But vodka martinis are one of life's irreplaceable pleasures, so I always return.
I did manage over a year without a drop but returned to social drinking to be 'sociable' as I found not doing it didn't make me feel out of this world but was hard work at gatherings.
I now have a gin or two daily and occasionally add another 4-5 big ones on.
I have to say this thread motivated me to have a dry weekend. Still feel the same so pimms O Clock later me thinks
RIAC
Which led me to develop the BBD (Big Brown Dinner) theory of Trip-adviser reviews - people who give terrible restaurants high ratings simply because they pile the food up like pig-slop and at the end of the night, everyone feels so full they might be sick = 5* regardless of what the food tastes like.
Wow!! TWO whole days?
I did January alcohol free for Cancer Research (Dryathlon) in 2014. I figured it'd be easy as I don't drink much, but I must admit after a couple of weeks I really fancied a beer!
As it was for charity I stuck with it and really enjoyed my first drink in February.
This year I had a 'low alcohol February' as I was skiing in January and knew I couldn't got a whole week in a chalet in a ski resort without a few drinks (and also I thought it a bit much to ask people to sponsor me all over again).
Did it make me feel better or did I lose loads of weight? No, not really, but as I say I'm not a big drinker anyway...
M
I did dry January a couple of years ago and found it surprisingly easy. Driving home from the pub when it is pouring with rain or snowing, and watching everyone else wobble towards night buses, was also rather nice.
As a rule I don't drink from Sunday lunch until Thursday evening, but for now the weekends always involve alcohol - perhaps I shall have to have a go at the dry weekend
Since the wife got pregnant and obviously since the baby was born (perhaps 2 exceptions).
Really have lost interest.
My alcohol-free weekend has lasted since 2001. I was a weekend drinker, the equivalent of 6, 7 pints over two evenings. I woke up a bit fuzzy from a few pints the night before, decided I was really fed up with losing half a day to that sort of thing and stopped the booze. I've hardly touched a drop since. Mind, when I do take a sip (last time was five years ago to celebrate my mate's wedding - half a glass of champagne) my throat seems to close up a bit so I wonder if I developed a proper intolerance to alcohol as such.
That is bloody fantastic! It's a great start, so keep it up.
You can still drink after you have dropped more weight - but it is easier to watch your overall intake when you aren't adding a large amount of calories each week with alcohol. It is surprising just how many additional calories you can add in a month with either regular daily drinking or weekend binges.
I rarely drink these days. Maybe a few times or so each year. I do enjoy an evening out with friends an over indulging from time to time, but I never feel the need to do it on a more regular basis.
It's just a matter of time...
Haven't had a drop in 8 weeks or longer. Actually can't remember last time I drank. Although,it was this year. Since we had our daughter this year Ive cut down at first to avoid a hangover and now just don't miss it.
Have a drink every day but rarely, if ever now, get drunk.
After consuming 'my quota' I just don't want anymore, whether it's on holiday (when it's all inclusive and always available), an all day wedding, Christmas, etc, etc ....
Don't know how people start early in the day and just then carry on but I know plenty that can and do!
What gets me is how they're up next morning like a spring chicken ready for more.
I'd be rough as a****oles for days.
Last edited by GIB984; 27th July 2015 at 23:17.
Chaps
I am what you would call a slightly heavy moderate drinker.
I usually drink half a bottle of wine most days with the odd malt whisky and G&T added in for good measure.
My wife and I (she drinks a similar amount to me) decided to embark on a "dry July" because it was allegedly good for ones health not to drink for a month and that we would feel better for it.
We feel no different and think the whole exercise is a total waste of time, however, we will abstain until the last day and then treat ourselves to a nice G&T.
Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.
Regards
Mick
My thoughts exactly Mick - look forward to that G&T
I see due to work most uk folks that retire here
Most of them are fup organ wise from prolonged drinking through their life
The locals started picking up just after the financial crisis
I have a beer once or twice a week sometimes i go weeks without one
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