The FastDay Forum

[carieoates]

Greetings fellow fasters.
I would like to erect this tent for anyone who is going sober. This is not limited to sober for October its for anyone who needs some support during this time.

So I'm kicking this off with my pledge to stay sober for October. I will donate to Macmillan at the end.
So far I haven't had a drop since last Sunday the 28th sept. I'm a wine at weekends drinker. With the occasional midweek sip. But not now.

I've tried a very sweet nasty zero alcohol Sauvignon blanc from tesco. It was horrible. Sticking to cheapo carbonated 20p for 2ltr water with or without sugar free squash added.

Who's joining me and who doesn't know what the fuss is about as they're t -total anyway.

Good for you, Carrie! I'll post more later.

I'm not doing the sober for october but I can recommend Sainsburys alcohol free sparkling wine - £2.75 a bottle and very tasty.
Apparently 80% fewer calories compared with normal wine and no alcohol. I find it satisfies the psychological cue I have while making dinner I also seem to have to sip wine at the same time!

[carieoates]

I'm not doing the sober for october but I can recommend Sainsburys alcohol free sparkling wine - £2.75 a bottle and very tasty.
Apparently 80% fewer calories compared with normal wine and no alcohol. I find it satisfies the psychological cue I have while making dinner I also seem to have to sip wine at the same time!

Thanks very much. I usually shop in sainsbos, so will check it out. As long as it's not as sweet as that other awful stuff.
I've decided to buy booze anyway and put it away for xmas, have to hide from hubs though as he can only manage alco free on week nights.

I'm in - no alcohol for October then continuing with no wine but other alcohol allowed until Xmas.

Yesterday I had temptation in my way but resisted. Just thinking of all the calories I'm NOT consuming!

I'm in the don't know what the fuss is about. I'm not totally t'total but it has to be a really special occasion for me to drink.

I'm in. I'm abstaining until Christmas Eve. I'm not depriving myself of a glass or two of vino over Christmas.

I've not been drinking for a couple of months anyway and I feel all the better for it but I do miss a glass of red wine. I used to drink far too much and it will have done me a lot of good to cut back and let my liver have a bit of a breather!

[carieoates]

It's not easy sipping fizzy water when the hubs is Downing wine......
But having said that I'm not missing it, so there..........

It's not easy sipping fizzy water when the hubs is Downing wine......
But having said that I'm not missing it, so there..........

Not easy but we're made of sterner stuff - we can take it!

And we'll soon be slim and they won't!

Hiya, I'm in too, decided to go sober this month to get a handle on my drinking, which has been creeping up slowly. It used to be thurs - Sun but lately turned into a daily treat since I have had family visiting. I'm planning on drinking again after October, but less wine and 3 days a week max.

I'm missing it Tbh, hubby is still drinking so temptation is around, I've got into a habit of having a glass with dinner and sipping and chatting in the evenings, I'm determined not to break it though and my main challenge is not overeating instead (I hit the chocolate big time this evening) I'm drinking diet tonic water instead

@carieoates, this challenge of yours is very timely for me. I have been concerned with the amount of alcohol I have been consuming for some time now, years actually; wine and/or martinis everyday (several ) - well almost everyday because since starting 5:2 over a year ago, I have been alcohol-free on my 2 fast days every week with only a few exceptions for over a year. But that's it! Unable to stick another booze-free day in there.

This month there was an article in O magazine about something called Moderation Management which is based on a self-help cognitive therapy approach book and workbook called "Responsible Drinking". There is also a good forum (not as well designed and cool as this one ) but helpful. One of the part of this program is "working the 30"; being abstinent for at least 30 days straight before working on having a "normal" relationship with alcohol. There is also a quiz to decide if moderation is for you (rather than complete abstinence a la AA)

Anyhoo...not quite ready to do my 30 (several pre-planned events this month that I am just not prepared to explain to others why I am not drinking...so trying to do "By the Book" which is max 9 drinks per week for women, no more than 3 on any one day and 3-4 abstinent days per week.

So @carieoates et al, I am planning to start my "30" on Oct 25, near the end of this month going into Nov. Maybe some of you will still be t-totalling too. Will follow this thread with interest and recommend the Moderation Management (http://www.moderation.org) site if you're interested.

I have been concerned with the amount of alcohol I have been consuming for some time now, years actually; wine and/or martinis everyday (several )

Me too. I used to worry about the amount I was drinking (red wine, several glasses, every day). It did occur to me on more than one occasion that I might be an alcoholic or borderline alcoholic. I think it just became a habit more than anything like eating junk when sat on the sofa when watching TV. Once I settled down for the evening I'd open the wine and have a few glasses when watching the box. I just did it without thinking. It was more for pleasure and relaxation than an overwhelming, addictive desire for alcohol.

I have given up the booze several times before going for a month or so at a time or cutting out weekday drinking and just have a few glasses at the weekend. I haven't had a drink now for about 2 months and even before that I had cut right back (due to having gallstones and having a dodgy stomach most of the time). I feel so much better for not drinking and as much as occasionally I think that a nice glass of red would hit the spot, most of the time I don't miss it at all. There's oodles of booze in the house - the wine rack is full and I've bottles of whisky, gin and champagne in - but it's going untouched. and it's not even tempting me.

[carieoates]

Wow we are a determined bunch aren't we.
I just got into habits. Like you say. Glass of wine whilst sitting watching tv.
It's very relaxing though I find. But im also cleansing my organs.
Keep it up everyone.

[Tracieknits]

Well with all of the alcoholics in my family, including my mother, I need to be careful. Unless I'm on vacation, I only have a drink maybe every other weekend. I drank more when I was younger, and realized what a slippery slope I was on.

This is fantastic, what you are all doing

Wow we are a determined bunch aren't we.
I just got into habits. Like you say. Glass of wine whilst sitting watching tv.
It's very relaxing though I find. But im also cleansing my organs.
Keep it up everyone.

Spot - on Carie - it's about habits - when I was unhappy at work I slipped into a habit of drinking a bottle of wine nearly every night of the week - that's probably when I gained a lot of the weight I'm now losing. OH drinks every night so I think that "normalised" it a bit for me and once the bottle was open, that was it. We have a cupboard full of spirits here, a rack full of wine (another box delivered yesterday!) and there is a bottle of white open in the fridge at the moment. I can honestly say it doesn't interest me though - I am too "into" losing weight at the moment. (I'm sure I might manage a drink by 1 November though!)