Dry January - 2022

[Greenbank]

Yes, your suggestion that 100% ethanol "sucks moisture from the air" is particularly misleading, considering that you wont get there with just heat and you wouldn't use industrial ethanol in foodstuffs.

I'm not quite sure why you are taking personal umbrage here?

Maybe I'm just being overly grumpy but your post looks like a point by point correction of mine but is actually pretty much agreeing with most of what I said (although I'd agree that my phrasing of the ~95% ethanol limit was clumsy/incorrect).

On the other two points I can't see the difference to what I said and what you're saying, but your post comes across as somehow correcting me. If I was female I'd be holding this up a shining example of mansplaining.

Anyway, it's the straw that broke the camel's back and so the simplest solution is that I'll take some time away from here as this place just seems to be riling me more and more.

[citoyen]

As has been said before in this thread (see the last point in this post: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=117948.msg2577735#msg2577735), for some it's not just about avoiding alcohol, it is important to also avoid drinks that are associated with alcohol.

Indeed, it's not just drinks-associated-with-alcohol that are the problem - it's also the situations-associated-with-alcohol in which you drink them (as you said in your earlier post: "It's not just about the alcohol content, it's what the drink represents.").

This piece touches on the reasons:
https://www.verywellmind.com/dangers-of-drinking-non-alcoholic-beer-63665

(I'm agreeing with you/backing up your point, by the way.  )

[citoyen]

They initially referred to it as a 'non-alcoholic gin'... until it was pointed out that breached EU regulations, at which time they started to call it 'Distilled non-alcoholic spirit'.  Mind you, that was before they went mainstream.

Ah! Didn't know that, but it probably explains why they are so touchy about using the word "gin" anywhere in their marketing copy. 

[citoyen]

To get back on topic, I've not had a great week... I'm not beating myself up about it though. I just feel that right now denying myself a small pleasure is not helpful. And it's not like I'm getting hammered, just the occasional evening beer. Which I know is not really the point.

[ElyDave]

Yes, your suggestion that 100% ethanol "sucks moisture from the air" is particularly misleading, considering that you wont get there with just heat and you wouldn't use industrial ethanol in foodstuffs.

I'm not quite sure why you are taking personal umbrage here?

Maybe I'm just being overly grumpy but your post looks like a point by point correction of mine but is actually pretty much agreeing with most of what I said (although I'd agree that my phrasing of the ~95% ethanol limit was clumsy/incorrect).

On the other two points I can't see the difference to what I said and what you're saying, but your post comes across as somehow correcting me. If I was female I'd be holding this up a shining example of mansplaining.

Anyway, it's the straw that broke the camel's back and so the simplest solution is that I'll take some time away from here as this place just seems to be riling me more and more.

That was certainly not my intent, and I have no idea whether you are male or female. I was coming at it purely from the chemical engineering perspective of the distillation process.  As I said with the non-alcoholic versions I'm simply guessing.  It's easy to misinterpret intent without a face to face conversation, guilty of that myself.

[Geriatricdolan]

Repeating the same misunderstandings about avoiding alcohol isn't really helping.

OK...

My thinking is that if you replace something you enjoy with something else you also enjoy, because it tastes the same, then the new habit is more likely to stick... whereas if you don't replace it with anything, or you replace it with something you don't enjoy, then the old habit will inevitably come back.
It did work for me, although I was a 10-15 units a week bod, so not really heavy on the bottle.

But if this is a taboo topic, then I'll shut the xxxx up, so I'll make the guy with the polar bear avatar happy

[Polar Bear]

Eh?

[SteveC]

Not planning to go completely dry but once we go back to work I'm aiming to cut my drinking back significantly.

This is what MrsC and I are aiming for. She wants to start losing weight again, which is a major driver. And we still won't have any of the usual social activities, of course. The last weekend in January is usually involves a weekend (or at leat a night) away from home for instance.

The plan is working so far. Since the beginning of the year we have only had drinks on Fridays, Saturdays and Wednesdays, which was the original plan. On Wednesdays MrsC has a Cornish class via Zoom, which is quite hard work and involves a lot of talking. Before Christmas that was one of our regular drinking evenings. On Thursday morning, MrsC said she'd prefer to cut out Wednesdays as well. We shall see. To be honest, I'm not sure how bothered I will actually be now.

[barakta]

Eh?

I think he's referring to ElyDave whose icon is a polar bear... Just to be confusing and it's not you.

[Paul]

I know some people consider it cheating but I've found that low alcohol beers have helped fill the gap between tea/coffee and sugary soft drinks.

I had a 0% Doom Bar Amber Ale last night. It was exactly right. It was close enough to beer and far enough from tea/juice to feel like a treat.

I had a Tesco not G&T (0.5%) tonight and didn’t enjoy that as much. But still, it was a break from tea etc.

[sojournermike]

Eh?

I think he's referring to ElyDave whose icon is a polar bear... Just to be confusing and it's not you.

And PB should get an ElyDave avatar;)

I’ll ‘confess’ to a couple of glasses of champagne tonight as Mrs S finished her 2 year’s masters in Occupational Therapy this afternoon, just in time to start her new job on Monday. Thought I should buy her something to 🎉

[ElyDave]

Mine is based on my status in the house, as the sole carnivore, and my attitude to cold.

Plus, polar bears are cool 

[Paul]

Adios, half way point!

[TimC]

Still in, though I nearly relapsed last night. Had a really low moment and just wanted to give in and get wasted. That's a real rarity for me, Dry Jan or not. I resisted, but as much because I couldn't be arsed as through any feat of willpower. This lockdown is affecting me far more than the first, probably because of the weather.

[Polar Bear]

Mine is based on my status in the house, as the sole carnivore, and my attitude to cold.

Plus, polar bears are cool 

I might have to reinstate my previous avatar.

[Geriatricdolan]

This lockdown is affecting me far more than the first, probably because of the weather.

Definitively the weather... during lockdown 1 I had a whale of a time... now not so much... but then again, this morning the sun came out, 7-8 degrees outside, on the bike, I've even spotted a few daffs ready to bloom, the world is a nice place again.

Winter is much worse than a lockdown, I tell ya...

[TimC]

It's snowy, dull and miserable here. And about 1º. And it's going to piss down this afternoon. And Boris is still PM. The world is definitely not a Nice Place.

[ElyDave]

+1 to that, I was looking forward to actually leaving the house this weekend, but it's absolutely sh1T out there

[Geriatricdolan]

It's snowy, dull and miserable here. And about 1º. And it's going to piss down this afternoon. And Boris is still PM. The world is definitely not a Nice Place.

Well, there is definitively a correlation between alcoholism and bad climate/weather, whereas the correlation between alcoholism and government imposed curfews and restrictions is less clear.

I think Dry July would probably be more successful and it sounds better too

[Paul]

It's snowy, dull and miserable here. And about 1º. And it's going to piss down this afternoon. And Boris is still PM. The world is definitely not a Nice Place.

But if you get wasted all of those things will still be there and you’ll have a hangover!
Really well done for hanging in there TC.

World’s not all bad: somewhere out there is a forum kid’s bike which may still be putting a smile on some yoot’s fizzog.
 

[TimC]

It's snowy, dull and miserable here. And about 1º. And it's going to piss down this afternoon. And Boris is still PM. The world is definitely not a Nice Place.

But if you get wasted all of those things will still be there and you’ll have a hangover!
Really well done for hanging in there TC.

World’s not all bad: somewhere out there is a forum kid’s bike which may still be putting a smile on some yoot’s fizzog.
 

Still in. And yes, it's great that the old Peugeot is still doing its stuff! Unlike me, but I hope to actually get out at least to the shed for a bit of Zwifting tomorrow.

[bairn again]

My 2nd weekend is out the way and today is my day 14.  One bottle of 0.5% wheat beer consumed yesterday when preparing dinner.  Slight pang for a glass of red wine when I sat down to dinner yesterday but the moment passed.  There's none in the house anyway.   

Id not use the word "easy" but its been more straightforward than Id envisaged.   I just didn't know what to expect having got myself into some poor lockdown habits.   

Its the perfect time for me to be doing this - the multitude of excellent pubs and restaurants in Edinburgh being closed right now is inadvertently a great help.   

Having near enough reached the half way mark I'm confident I'll do the whole month and will figure out a plan for the rest of 2021 after that. 

I think that I'm more likely in future to go dry for a fixed period, maybe not quite a month but I reckon I need at least a week to embed the habit.  I'm not sure I could stick to something like "Saturdays only" anyway.   

I do feel significantly better especially in the mornings though still zero weight lost despite the zillions of calories the app tells me Ive avoided! 

Hope y'all are faring well. 
 

[ScumOfTheRoad]

I had a glass of red wine last night, which was the end of a bottle from the previous night. Plus a few shots of cherry brandy left over from Christmas.
I am realising that having a bottle of wine available will mean I will start on it. If it is not in the house then I can go without.
SO lesson to be learned - try not to stock up.

[Regulator]

Day 19 and three weekends (the most temptation filled time for me) down.

I'm even beginning to consider extending it beyond January - or going for a Dry Lent (17 February - 3 April).

[Geriatricdolan]

Day 19 and three weekends (the most temptation filled time for me) down.

I'm even beginning to consider extending it beyond January - or going for a Dry Lent (17 February - 3 April).

Yeah, no point to drink if pubs are still closed... and they won't reopen until probably April