Dry August/January - a month of not drinking!

It's actually better if he cheats and you resist since it shows even more willpower on your behalf. Well done, would have been easy to backslide here.

Tuesday 19th January

I stayed late at work today then met my husband at the cinema to see Creed. He was driving, and we went to Five Guys instead of a resturant for dinner, so no occasion to drink. Despite the cinema now advertising "local ales" in bright lights, which is quite alluring. We always try to time our arrival at the cinema such that we minimise how long we wait in the foyer, as we both have impulse-control problems when stood around staring at bags of sweets. Beer is just one more temptation to avoid.

Wednesday 20th January

Another gym night tonight. Boxing twice a week feels great so we're going to try to keep it up this year. Gym nights preclude alcohol, so right away that will mean two alcohol-free nights each week. This doesn't sound like much, but once you're in the habit of drinking daily it makes a big difference.

Thursday 21st January

We had no plans tonight. I can tell something is still up with my husband, but he's getting better at hiding it from me (or thinks he is, anyway). I don't believe his unhappiness is related to alcohol, but honestly, I do wonder if towards the end of last year, drinking in the evenings may have become a coping mechanism. It's getting much easier to resist drinking now because both the habit and cravings have been mostly broken, but on evenings like this where we have no distractions, it does suddenly start to look appealing again.

Anecdotes from elsewhere

When I was at my friend's brithday last weekend, she said she would never commit to doing a dry month simply because she knew she couldn't do it. She doesn't consider herself an alcoholic, but she gets such enjoyment from going to the pub with her boyfriend after work most nights, she sees no reason to deprive herself. Much like me, she is a habitual drinker.

I previously mentioned a colleague at work who is doing Reduced Alcohol January, which entails two alcohol-free days each week. She and her husband have not particularly stuck to this, but, she told me, they are doing quite well. For example, Tuesday was supposd to be alcohol-free, and while they failed, they only had half a bottle of wine each plus a couple of beers. That surprised me. For my husband and I, a couple of beers plus half a bottle of wine is what I would consider a heavy-drinking night. Tunrs out my colleague and her husband would typically get through a bottle of wine each.

What I mean is, if I consistently have two alcohol-free days each week, this will add up over the course of a year. A month isn't long enough to recognise long-term benefits of abstaining, but I'm sure having a few alcohol-free days each week would be a significant improvement over drinking literally every single night (which is always a risk when things become habitual).

Right now, as my 'dry' months have shown me, my drinking pattern is chaotic. Some weeks I'll drink on 3 or 4 days, and others I'll drink every day. By December I was drinking much more frequently. Dry January has an obvious benefit here, cheat days or not: it has broken the habit of daily drinking.

Friday 22nd January (cheat day)

I had some internal debate over whether to make this day an exception or not, after not feeling great about my earlier cheat day. I decided to allow it. We visited my parents and went to their local ale pub. I had three half-pints, which was enough for me to enjoy myself and share the beer-tasting experience with my family, but not enough for me to feel tired, queasy or 'drunk'. After the pub we went to an Indian restaurant. My dad and my husband continued drinking lager, but I stopped at this point. I also turned down the glass of port my dad offered after we got home.

This may sound like a failure, but for me it feels like a success. It's difficult to moderate my drinking when I'm with my parents, because they themselves drink so heavily, and drinking is a central part of their evenings. Being able to participate and enjoy it with them without drinking in excess feels good. I also learned from my last cheat day that just because I've given myself a 'day off' doesn't mean it's a good idea to drink to my limit. In fact, I probably need to re-assess what I previously considered to be my upper limit.

Saturday 23rd January

My cousin's 9th brithday party in Brimingham. There were a few kids and a lot of adults, and lagers circulating for the grown-ups. We stuck to J2Os. This was no occasion for heavy drinking so there was no social pressure.

Sunday 24th January

We had people round today from lunchtime til almost midnight. Again, we had a guest who requested a glass of wine, and again, my husband opened a bottle and shared it with her. Later in the evening, I went to get a couple of Becks Blues out of the fridge and my husband said what he really wanted was a proper beer. I asked him if I should get him an ale instead. He hesitated, then said it was up to me. So he ended up with a Becks Blue.

My husband has now had 4 'cheat' days, and I've had 2. For me there are no more cheat days scheduled, so if any turn up it is officially a slip.


We are definitely saving money. It's difficult to quantify exactly how much, but I think we must easily spend upwards of £200 a month on alcohol (factoring in grocery shopping, drinking out in pubs/restaurants and our quarterly wine club).

*** looks at Qetesh

I was really looking forward to this response.

Sweary?

Still only had one beer. But I have a feeling I may drink something today.

Heavy day, Ba'al? Mine has been. We're going to miss our reporting deadlines at work and I should have stayed late, but I needed to get to the gym tonight having failed to go on Monday. Flat battery in my car and flat tyre on my bike left me with a 3 mile walk home from the office. Now we won't make boxing class anyway.

Luckily our Brewdog Nanny State has arrived, and it's pretty nice, but I would love some wine right now...