OP, you might find this NIH website useful:

https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/

exactly with you OP with the same realization. last week was the first where I did not drink at home. So, one drink at a happy hour wednesday and one glass at dinner out friday. i bought a lot of my favorite seltzer and dark chocolate as my treat instead. the other thing for me was asking DH to join me--if he wants a drink he'll make himself his bourbon, but not to open or suggest wine, which is my weakness and he's definitely supportive.

Hi OP. I'm currently pregnant with my third and have been doing a lot of thinking about how I want to handle returning to drinking once baby is born. Pre-pregnancy, I probably qualified as a binge drinker - 4-5 beers at a happy hour or weekend out, 1-2 bottles of wine shared with my husband over dinner. I didn't drink every night, but didn't necessarily avoid it either, so on random Tuesdays DH and I might share a bottle of wine just because. I have a high tolerance, so I certainly wasn't falling down drunk, but I wasn't hopping right out of bed the next morning either.

After my second child was born, I found a definite creep of consumption to where I was starting earlier on weekends (i.e., 5pm while making dinner turns into 4pm on the porch turns into 3pm while the game is on, etc.), and having a couple glasses of wine frequently during the week. I cut back to no weeknight drinking before I became pregnant with this current pregnancy, but now want to affirmatively reduce overall drinking after 3rd baby is born.

A couple things that have helped me in the past are finding my "currency," to borrow from a parenting phrase I've seen on this board. For me, the amt of money we spend on wine and beer is substantial (DH is a big drinker too) and I want to curb that. I also want to be able to get back into a regular exercise routine, including on the weekends, which will mean making sure I get to bed early and get quality sleep. If I remind myself of those things, it can be easier for me to slow down and/or not start drinking in the first place.

Finally, I think mindfulness helps too. I'm not big into it generally, but being more aware of how each sip tastes and how it feels once you start to feel the effects, can help me slow down. If I drink too fast or in an excited/anxious state of mind, then suddenly I'll just be chasing some mythical standard of "relaxed" or "pleasantly buzzed" that either doesn't exist or that I left in the dust 1 or 2 drinks ago.

Hope any of this helps. GL to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped drinking because it gave me headaches. For a while I really enjoyed making myself other "special" drinks. I love sweet things so various juices and spritzers in a wine glass worked well for me. It let me keep some of the ritual without the alcohol since I quit around the holidays.

After a while I gave up the juices too and then I actually lost a few pounds so that was its own reward. If you are a heavy drinker you will likely lose, too.

Oh, and I was also drinking heavily at times. My brother is an alcoholic. I am actually glad about the headaches because, now, in retrospect, I could see myself easily crossing the line. But even light drinking became physically unpleasant before that happened, so I guess I am "lucky".

OP here and I wish I got headaches. I feel fine after, but maybe it's because we tend to buy the better stuff now than we did when we were in our 20's. Lol. By the way, my sister is an alcoholic too, so yeah, I can relate on that front.

Finding substitutes helped me. "Fancy" gourmet sodas, the "Honest Ade" drinks, good iced teas. Something I looked forward to drinking, so I didn't miss that component of drinking wine or beer.

Good luck, op. I also found myself drinking very regularly, and I needed to make some changes to break what was really a habit at that point.

I like to do a Dryuary or a Dry-tember every year. It is a nice reset. You know how long it is going to be, and it is easy to explain!

Anonymous wrote:I stopped drinking because it gave me headaches. For a while I really enjoyed making myself other "special" drinks. I love sweet things so various juices and spritzers in a wine glass worked well for me. It let me keep some of the ritual without the alcohol since I quit around the holidays.

After a while I gave up the juices too and then I actually lost a few pounds so that was its own reward. If you are a heavy drinker you will likely lose, too.

Oh, and I was also drinking heavily at times. My brother is an alcoholic. I am actually glad about the headaches because, now, in retrospect, I could see myself easily crossing the line. But even light drinking became physically unpleasant before that happened, so I guess I am "lucky".

I stopped drinking because it gave me headaches. For a while I really enjoyed making myself other "special" drinks. I love sweet things so various juices and spritzers in a wine glass worked well for me. It let me keep some of the ritual without the alcohol since I quit around the holidays.

After a while I gave up the juices too and then I actually lost a few pounds so that was its own reward. If you are a heavy drinker you will likely lose, too.

No tips, just stop. If you can't, look into other resources and try to stay honest with yourself about why you are still drinking when you wanted to stop.

I also don't drink during the week. Not because I am dependent, but because like you, I found I was bored and using that to fill a need. It was a habit, not a dependence. After the first week or two, I don't even think about having wine after work anymore. I have some on the weekends. But I'm much more mindful of each drink.

Anonymous wrote:If the idea of not drinking for a while seems seriously daunting to you, then you should consider attending an AA meeting where you can get the support that you need.

If it's more a matter of wanting tips to get yourself on a different routine rather than coming home, kicking back and enjoying wine with dinner, then maybe you could start walking/working out as a way to relax.

Honestly I think it's a boredom issue more than anything else. Probably need to get some new hobbies.

I didn't realize I had a chemical dependency on alcohol until I became pregnant with my first. And I thought I was a pretty light drinker...probably 7 drinks / week.

Once I gave it up for over a year, I never went back to it the same way...but I don't think I could've done it unless I had a forcing mechanism like pregnancy.

It's about a billion times easier to maintain my weight without alcohol, and we save lots of money when we go out to eat.

Best of luck, OP.

If the idea of not drinking for a while seems seriously daunting to you, then you should consider attending an AA meeting where you can get the support that you need.

If it's more a matter of wanting tips to get yourself on a different routine rather than coming home, kicking back and enjoying wine with dinner, then maybe you could start walking/working out as a way to relax.

I did this about a year ago as part of a food "cleanse" with my husband. We gave up alcohol cold turkey for 45 days. I typically drank 1-2 glasses of wine about 3-4 nights/ week. I thought it would be harder but I didn't even notice it physically (more of a habit of going to the fridge when cooking dinner). Good luck!

Go to AA just to see if it resonates. Alcoholism presents differently in women than in men. Kudos to you for taking he reigns.

I've definitely been using alcohol as a crutch to deal with negative emotions and stress. According to those studies about alcohol/cancer, I definitely fall into the "heavy" drinker category for women of more than 7 drinks a week. . . I probably average 1-2 glasses of wine per day during the week and anywhere from 3-4/day during the weekend.

I'm not looking to quit drinking altogether, just a reset, if you will.

Any tips/advice?