UKH

Mate asked me for beers tonight but went for an hour's blast on the mountain bike instead. Looking at quitting really, nice to explore different options to going out on the beers. It's just come to a point where I'd like to see how sobriety is, not knocking booze at all, done it for years but I want to see what a change is like.

My colleagues at work always seem bemused how I've managed afford several moderately  costly hobbies, climbing, mountain biking, diving, kitesurfing, boats, cars etc etc  when we are all on a similar wage.

The only difference - I don't drink. I've no problem with it, or any one else who does drink, just that I had better things to spend my money on. 

Given the choice of buying toys or pissing it down a drain and racking up another weekend I couldn't remember, the toys won.

Also, most of my colleagues don't understand how I can still do all the above, and more, in my 50's when they struggle to get out of a chair.

Yeah, that's great man, you're not really giving anything up, but rather gaining money and time to do what you want to do.

Exactly, you just swap one waste of money for another : )

You should go for it! Not sure what your drinking habit was like, and what you normally consume. Every Wednesday, I was documenting the Button Street Badger Band, and they and I would consume several pints of Guinness. I put on two stone of weight, then Covid happened. I stopped drinking and have lost two and half stone now weighing 9 Stone 5lb. My gains are money I can spend on my photography, but also my climbing, I regularly go climbing to train for outdoors. Keeps me in shape, and I no longer have sleep disruption from twitches, which is one of the signs of alcoholism. I feel better for it. So two years later, i'm climbing better than before. 

Due to a medical condition, I was advised to go from 4 bottles of red to 2 a week.  The nights when I don't drink, I sleep so much better.

You'll have to change at some point, so why not do it now. I used to drink heavily several times a week in my younger years and enjoyed it, but wouldn't dream of it now. It takes a full 4-5 days after a drink for the brain fog to clear, sleep quality and energy levels to return these days.

It was starting climbing 6 odd years ago that made me cut it out actually, I just preferred feeling energised and going climbing over suffering with another hangover.

Having seen a family member die of alcoholic liver disease in that period too, without anyone ever really realising he had a problem.....it's far too easy to push your body too far and once you do, it's very hard to come back from.

In my late teens and early twenties I used to drink like there was no tomorrow. Then a number of events including domestic upheavals led to what started as a gradual reduction in consumption to the point about twenty years ago when it dropped to about , at most, a couple of pints some weeks with a similar number of shorts or glasses of wine. I now find that a weekly pint of beer  is infinitely more enjoyable after a good, hard day on the hills.

The hangovers kill me these days, if I get proper pissed I'll be rough for 3 days....just isn't worth it... and even a couple of glasses of wine will see me feeling crap the next day.

I have the occasional blow out with mates (just twice this year) but apart from that I dont touch it at all. 

Go for it, just plan stuff to fill the voids. Enter sports events, join clubs etc.. then you'll be able to socialise with others on a friday night who also don't drink as they are racing the next morning. Fix some longer term goals too.

PS. Alcohol free beer actually tastes good now compared to 20 years ago.  

I choose to drink (occasionally and moderately) and I enjoy beers and whisky (+ some bourbons and ryes if they don't taste like nail polish remover)

But.. drinking doesn't suit everyone at all times in their lives. If you think stopping drinking for a while would improve your life... then why are you even posting the topic here? Go for it.

Try from now until Christmas to see if it works for you because that's what matters, not my opinion on drinking or anyone else's  -- do what works for you 

If you're going to go for it, please check back in and let us know how it's going.

Same age as yourself and I really like beer, CAMRA member, got a lot of good local pubs.

But currently 6 weeks into 12 weeks working in Khartoum where there is no alcohol and I'm losing belly fat very effectively with very moderate exercise (most weeks I can manage 4 hours of moderate exercise). It may be a bit skewed as I've given up snacking and cut sugar out but those two things were quite linked to the beer I think

I have no idea if I can or want to carry this on when I'm back home. Found a couple of low or no alcohol beers I like but the sugar content is higher than I'd like.

Good luck with it and looking forward to seeing how you get on.

Absolutely go for it.  All you have to lose is hangovers or feeling a bit sub-par.

I packed in drinking two years ago this month after a vicious, and fairly unwarranted hangover from red wine.  I’d found that as I got older, the effect of alcohol on my body was becoming more unpredictable and I often felt pretty damn rough after even a couple of glasses of wine.

Having been put off by the hangover in question, I just didn’t fancy a drink for the rest of the weekend, or the following one and it stretched from there.

Waking up feeling fresh is great!

Good luck to you too. I'd recommend reading the Freedom Model, can help to challenge the benefits of drinking and make it less attractive. I've also had the little book of big change recommended to me. Hope you can find a low or no alcohol beer that's not so sugary. I'll have a look to see if I can find one.

 

Thanks everyone for your kind replies, no hangover today and feel more positive.

I had an episode about 2 years ago. Realised how mad my alcohol consumption had become, had a few shakes after going for a week without it and so decided to give it a break 'for a bit'.

I didn't set out with a target but the week became a month, became several months, became a year. Loads of support from this forum, and I lost nearly 4 stone and knocked a sizeable chunk off our mortgage.

My tips would be don't try 'not' to think about alcohol. Think about it a lot but in an objective way. Read about people with stories to tell about alcohol. Don't set out with a year (or however long) in mind, just do it a day at a time knowing that you're not punishing yourself and that's its always there for the taking. And dont become a militant teetotal prick 😂 Be happy going out for a drink with your mates or partner, but sticking to tea, coffee or soft drinks.

If you set out for a month without drinking and only manage two weeks, then it's still two weeks you've not drank.

And if you do drink, drink the good stuff with people you love being with, and have a bloody good time. 

Good on you James! I started drinking when I was 28 and even now only drink one day a week and in moderation. Have worked with guys who would get plastered every single evening of the week simply because it was something to do. So pleased I never fell into that negative spiral of life as are far better things to do with the limited time we have.

You should try low alcohol beers. There's alot out there, and really good too. They're about 0.5% so no hangover etc.

Not for everyone but I like em. I sometimes come home on a Friday and knock a few back and in an odd sort of way it's relaxing and you feel like your getting away with something 😂. I am Abit mentally deranged mind you .

I thought your post was gonna read per night then😂. Don't know why.

Go for it mate. 

I'm certainly not teetotal but rarely drink, and when I do it's a special occasion or seeing an old friend I've not met up with in ages.

After about 25 the hangovers, anxiety end effects on my mood just stopped being worth it, never mind the money saved. 

I find if I can't be arsed with a drink but still want to socialise I'll just drive, removes the "Go on...just have a couple...." type stuff from friends. Then again if they do this are they really freinds? 

After two years of being very not sober on a rock in the arctic I have almost entirely gave up the juice (with the exception of a family gathering and a celebratory beer after a brilliant ski mountaineering trip).

Totally recommend it. The physical and mental improvements have been incredible and as others have said so has sleep. I wont lie, I do miss a cold beer on a hot day but have always found an alternative.

Kind of reluctant to post this but I'm on day 7 detox. I dont mean just giving up but medical induced full buhna with addiction counselling  the lot. No denying it's a drug and you dabble too much and your into the realms of addiction. Alcohol like any other drug is no fun in the end. It tortures you when wanting fed not because you want to drink but because you want it to leave you alone. Constant wretching, shakes and I mean holding the drink with both hands. Sometimes you keep bringing up the drink but you have to keep going until you absorb enough for it to stop. My withdrawal trigger was about 60-70. Drink drive is 22 Scotland. Until the detox I was told not to stop just maintain level. Although I had my last drink at 9pm it took till 2pm next day before I was below the drive limit. (Not driving). Although zero breathalyser it still takes a week to clear your system completely hence the week detox.

If anything just remember it is a drug. Might be legal but that goes for nothing. Might of been a bit personal here but just a warning.

I found when I got the wrong side of 30 that I passed a point where a hangover lasted a lot longer than the enjoyment of getting drunk in the first place. Not like an 18 year old student where an entire day of drinking would be followed by a grotty morning, but smiling again by lunchtime. Now a proper session (and my last was a wedding nearly a year ago), meant around 5 days before my brain felt engaged at work, sleep pattern back to normal etc. Hangovers were bad enough before but now with children its not like I can even just veg on the sofa...

That said I dont think I will ever be a teetotaller. I enjoy the taste of beer too much and in a typical week I will still have a drink with dinner a couple of nights, then maybe one night (usually a Friday) where I will have maybe 3 beers in the pub garden, sufficient to get pleasantly tipsy these days without risking a hangover.

I quit in November with immediate effect, based on the last of these threads. I haven't looked back, haven't really missed it, found an excellent range of AF beers are pretty widely available and feel massively healthier and more energetic. I can't recommend it enough..

Well done for posting, and good luck!

I don't really drink that much and rarely go out for beers these days, but have started exploring some of the low alcohol / alcohol free beers for home consumption.

Good luck, Sir, keep going and don't be afraid to ask for support here. Life will get better!