6 Weeks No Alcohol = COMPLETE

[MissoulaSquatch]

I decided 6 weeks ago to change my drinking habits entirely, and I knew I had to cut it out of my diet/routine completely if I was going to see a change in behavior.  6 weeks is the amount of time it takes me to not just break a habit but to create new ones.

I can proudly say that as of 9hrs and 50 minutes ago, I completed a full 6 weeks without consuming one drop!

Cliff notes on what happened/what I learned:

The power of the word "NO" is a beautiful thing, and should be embraced.
Weight loss speeds up when empty calories are removed and replaced with good ones (more healthy foods!).
Not everyone you call "friend" is really a "friend"..you find out quickly when you do something like this who your real friends are.
Peer pressure still sucks.
Sober me can be fun!
Sober me likes to mess with drunk people!
Something needs to be done about this new obsession with tea..tea boxes/bags everywhere..
Never call this thing "sobriety" again..people don't understand the word's definition.

[shaar]

THIS IS AWESOME!!!!  I agree with you on the tea thing, I am drinking tons more of it as a replacement, and loving it!!

[MissoulaSquatch]

Oh, to be fair, I should mention what things will be like going forward: I am now switching to 2 drinks/week.  Drinks are defined by volume, which for me as a beer drinker is going to be "bombers" of beer.  For the uninformed, 1 bomber is 22oz..most of the beers I drink come in bombers hence that choice.  I was going to do 1/week but I decided that was a bit too strict and honestly boring, 2 is far less excessive than I was doing before but still gives me a bit more variety.  It's also a manageable amount that shouldn't negatively impact my goals as much as my old habits were.

Here's to hoping my first drink wednesday doesn't knock me on my ass..

[CrackerWatson]

Well done sir!

[MissoulaSquatch]

I drank a little bit last night to celebrate, my friend under poured me a lot, I don't think I even hit buzzed the entire time (I was at that place just between sober and buzzed..where you relax and get good at video games).

It was nice to have a drink again, but I did notice that it was much more anti-climactic than I was expecting..there was no ZOMG ALCOHOL moment..it was just another beverage to me..one that I need to take care in limiting..but just a beverage.  I need to maintain this mindset going forward and I think moderation will be easy enough to learn.  I'm actually a little bit bothered that my friend didnt take the rest of his beer with him when he left..I honestly don't want to keep alcohol around unless I intend to consume it right away..I think limiting how much is in my presence will help me continue with my goals.

Volume wise I came under my goal for the week, which is perfect.

[kathrynl]

This is so great! I'm thinking of doing this as a six week challenge myself. Love what you said about tea: I find when I try to cut out alcohol or caffeine the consumption of tea increases exponentially. 

 

Anyway, good for you. 6 weeks without alcohol is quite an achievement. Nice job!

[hoxton]

Good for you! I am about to embark on a diet that allows no alcohol, very excited/nervous, glad to hear it is possible!

[hybrid756]

Well done!! I am sure you're feeling much more awesome. I pretty much quit drinking alcohol since the new year - not health / fitness / diet related, just I've been working in a bar for over 2 years and it's put me off drinking altogether. So true about finding out who your friends are. Quality over quantity, I say! And the lack of hangovers is incredible. I wish you well with your continuation of partaking in booze as and when YOU want to!

[MissoulaSquatch]

Must be an industry thing..I too work in the restaurant/bar industry.

It was definitely a fun journey.  For those of you getting ready to embark on one, might I make a few suggestions.  Take pictures, weekly..front and side, then start lining them up.  I honestly saw differences each week in my appearance when I did this..it was amazing to see just how much of an impact it makes.

Another recommendation is use a big calendar to check off the days that you complete without drinking.  I have a giant white board calendar on the wall in my bedroom, I walk by it numerous times a day and I set up boxes that I checked off for each day I completed.  Seeing how far you've come is a great motivator to keep going.

Another thing I did which helped a lot in the first few weeks, is a custom screen saver for my computer.  It displayed my goal of not drinking every day (pretty much the equivalent to posting your goals on your fridge), but I also added pictures captured from my worst moments when drinking..so that I could see the person I don't want to ever be again.

I guess you could say, I launched a little psychological warfare on myself..I did whatever it took to stay focused on the goal at hand.  The real test now is to see how I brave the waters of moderation.  If I see myself slipping back to drinking 5-6 days a week, then I will go alcohol free again and extend the period to be even longer.  Whatever it takes to break the habit permanently, my chips are in.

[hoxton]

Thanks for the tips. Im also in the bar industry..

[Sam Ashen]

I did not see dreams in your Cliff's Notes.  Did you dream about going out and drinking?  That was my experience.  Or maybe I'm just a sleepwalking drunk.  :*)

[Tom Muscle]

Good job! This peer pressure sucks I know because I did the same experiment before. Get's easier though after a few weeks

[Xik]

Big congratulations on this. As a pretty heavy drinker who did a 'Dry January' I know how hard it is to go cold turkey. I'd just got into a routine - go home from work, have a drink (or five). I did a month dry for charity because I knew I needed some extra drive to stop, and I would have been really annoyed if I'd failed.

 

I'm with you on the anti-climactic thing. Since having my first drink about a week into February (work do) I've realized that actually, being drunk isn't amazing fun and I don't feel great coming down off booze either. Since that I had some drinks one night at LAN (drank so slowly I hardly felt it) and had a bottle of alcoholic dandelion & burdock a few nights ago just for the taste. No real drive to drink now.... habit broken!

[MissoulaSquatch]

I did not see dreams in your Cliff's Notes.  Did you dream about going out and drinking?  That was my experience.  Or maybe I'm just a sleepwalking drunk.  :*)

I did not..tho typically for me when I dream about something it means I've accepted it.

This week it's been N64 dreams (got a replacement one in on Monday)..so clearly my mind is on that right now, lol

Thanks for the posts everyone, I do have to say that adjusting to how people change in regards to this will be an ongoing battle.  I guess you could say I am still just truly amazed at how people's colors change when you go through big transitions.

[sumdawgtwigg]

Good for you! I cut it out completely a few months ago and have felt a ton better overall.