Dry January 2023 Thread

[Anonymous]

I'm in and have convinced my husband to join me. Will toss the remainder of my NYE wine bottle tomorrow for the reset.

During times in the past things that have made it more enjoyable are having a hot apple cider occasionally. I also put seltzer and cran in a wine glass and have as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My first DJ -- so glad this thread is here to help! I'm actually on Day 4 already, thanks to a bad post-holiday cold. Got a healthy head start.

I went to Total Wine today (on New Year's Eve no less) and bought 4 different bottles of N/A chardonnay. Did a tasting tonight and St. Regis definitely won. Not wine, but if you chill it well, close your eyes, pinch your nose and drink it from a big wine glass -- well, it's still not wine, but it will help get me through to post-dinner tea time.

My goal is zero alcohol until Jan 30, when good friends (and fellow winos) are coming to town. Then I'm hoping WaPo is right and I can choose to drink when I want, not every night.

I’ve done a no-drink period (40 days often)for many years. This year I did a “no drinking” challenge with a friend for four months. Doing it was pretty easy. Then I had a a drink at Christmas. But I’ve have been hosting family the past three days and find myself back up to two drinks a night and wanting it. I am bummed as I thought I’d have an easier time saying no, I’m good. I may go back to no alcohol except special occasions out or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay let's make a shopping list.

Sparkling waters
cranberry juice
Fresh lemon/limes
Mint and basil
Favorite tea- mine is Lady Grey for morning, Lavender-Chamomile for evening

What else?

Poppi sodas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m mostly with you; I’m visiting friends in my college town for one weekend, and I will be enjoying a few cocktails during that trip. But other than that, zero drinks inside my home or out to “regular” dinners.

This is me too. Other than friend’s 60th Bday, I’m going dry January and starting a new exercise routine on Monday!

[Anonymous]

I’m in and started dec 24. I realized I’m a gray area drinker (drink wine, 1-2 most nights; no outwardly terrible effects but it adds up; skin eight cancer risk money and sleep) and it’s important to stop and also hard. Alcohol is definitely addictive. I go 4-5 days and then I’m back to opening a bottle . Will check out naked mind as I think I need some tools.

[Anonymous]

I’m in. I’m also giving the reframe app a try.

[Anonymous]

I really don't need the lists of "wine replacements" though. And I wonder at the safety of that, in the longer term, psychologically for you folks who are leaning on that. No snark, genuine concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really don't need the lists of "wine replacements" though. And I wonder at the safety of that, in the longer term, psychologically for you folks who are leaning on that. No snark, genuine concern.

NP - I think of non-alcoholic drink replacements as acknowledging habits and helping people make healthier choices. For example, I love the taste of red wine, and I also enjoy the ritual of having a glass of wine in the evenings while I prep dinner. If I can instead sip on a seltzer, I get the same benefits of the ritual and avoid the downsides of regular alcohol consumption. That’s a net positive.

Another to way to think of it is not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Last but not least, we all having coping mechanisms. We all need comfort. Learning to find comfort in things like meditation, exercise, texting a friend, or, yes, your favorite seltzer in a pretty glass is great! It’s not realistic to think that human beings don’t need things to “lean on.” We ALL need things and people to lean on. Reducing or eliminating alcohol is partly about finding healthier things to lean on, IMO.

[Anonymous]

^^ PS - my favorite NA drink of choice are the San Pellegrino Momenti drinks. They aren’t very sweet but have tons of flavor. I like the pomegranate black currant the best, but the lemon raspberry is also quite good. Sipping one of those in the evening with my feet up totally meets my need to relax.

[Anonymous]

When I quit smoking, I carried around the cap to a Bic pen for weeks because I *needed* the feel of something cylindrical between my fingers. I didn't suck on it, but I would pull it out of my pocket and hold it like a cigarette when I felt the urge.

Harmless, and eventually I simply stopped doing it.

For me, NA wine is a similar transitional object. I'm hoping it will get me through a month of no alcohol by simulating the ritual and enjoyment I get from pouring a glass of wine at the end of the day.

If I choose to continue not drinking, I expect I'll stop buying NA wine at some point, because there are definitely better NA things to drink.

[Anonymous]

I realize that this is about alcohol, but I don't drink much anyway... However, I have a huge soda addiction that is very unhealthy. I drink 2-3 diet sodas a day and crave the sweet bubbly feeling so much. I'm doing a version of "dry January" to give up soda, and I am finding these alternative drink suggestions helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay let's make a shopping list.

Sparkling waters
cranberry juice
Fresh lemon/limes
Mint and basil
Favorite tea- mine is Lady Grey for morning, Lavender-Chamomile for evening

What else?

Welch's sparkling grape juices (red, white, rose) and Sparkling Cider
If they are too sweet you an cut them with another sparkling water. They have a good set of recipes https://www.welchs.com/recipes/drinks/

I also like ginger beer and there are a nice variety of mixed drinks for it https://spillingtequila.com/5-ginger-beer-mocktails/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize that this is about alcohol, but I don't drink much anyway... However, I have a huge soda addiction that is very unhealthy. I drink 2-3 diet sodas a day and crave the sweet bubbly feeling so much. I'm doing a version of "dry January" to give up soda, and I am finding these alternative drink suggestions helpful!

Deer Park's sparkling water helped me stop my diet coke addiction, which was always more about the carbonation and acidic zip than anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be six month alcohol free in January, I plan to stay that way too. I’m in!

104 days today for me! And I also plan to stay AF!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m in. I’m also giving the reframe app a try.

I am in Reframe and frankly, it's been life changing for me. But I needed way more than a Dry January. If you want to join my Dry January Challenge group the code is NC89IK. I've got two others from an IG group that are supposed to join. We are all alcohol free.