Quitting Alcohol

[DroptineDC18]

Back up after a month. 9 months here. How y’all doing?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Back up after a month. 9 months here. How y’all doing?

5 months feeling great.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

New to the forum and stumbled on this. It's encouraging to see guys realize drinking just drags you down. I've never known anyone better off from it.

That’s the whole thing, it just wasn’t adding anything positive to my life. Spending money, poor performance in my workouts, being dehydrated, etc.

 

[OregonSteeler]

Glad to see this thread back on top. Still dry since the new year and planning on staying this way. I was able to get through a seafood and wine festival, Memorial Day weekend, bear hunting, good friend's birthday party, and many other "drinking events". For me, the social pressure (pressure on myself, not from others) is hardest to overcome. I am so thankful all of my friends and family are supporting me and leave me to my own choices. I'm a bit nervous of all the summer activities and adventures we have planned with friends but I feel that I'm continually up for the challenge.

Side note, I also went right to more sugar when I stopped drinking. Before I had a soda maybe once a month if that. I went to a couple sodas a week. I've now cut that down significantly and looking to tackle sugar overall next. Hoping that if I focus my efforts on cutting out sugar in my diet, I won't even think twice about having a drink.

Keep it up everyone, absolutely love the support here for people actively working to cut alcohol out of their lives.

 

[robtattoo]

17 months, 4 days for me.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

Glad to see everyone doing well. Can't say I miss drinking at all these days. The money saved is pretty sweet too.

Will be two years next month.
My 28th birthday is tomorrow and I feel more excited about the two years of sobriety milestone next month.

Having shoulder issues, so I'm working on getting an older bow setup with a mouth tab for this season. Hoping I'll have the shoulder rehabbed, but if not I'll still find a way to bow hunt.
Not too sure I'd be that motivated if I still drank.

 

[schmalzy]

Love seeing these new responses. Keep it up guys.


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[Christopher.Reed]

2 months and 2 days

I haven’t craved a drink in a month but damn if I haven’t been craving sugar. I’m like a crack head for cherry pepsi so apparently I traded vices, on the bright side it’s a lot easier to hold myself to two soda’s a week than it was to hold myself to two beers.

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[RhinoKel]

2 months and 2 days

I haven’t craved a drink in a month but damn if I haven’t been craving sugar. I’m like a crack head for cherry pepsi so apparently I traded vices, on the bright side it’s a lot easier to hold myself to two soda’s a week than it was to hold myself to two beers.

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100% getting off sugar is WAY harder than alcohol in my opinion. It’s easier to feel the negatives of alcohol as they’re So acute. Sugar is way more subtle.

 

[survivalistd]

Agreed on the sugar. But once you get over the cravings for sugar and are able to quit it also, the.n you really feel great. Sugar is so so bad for us!! Congratulations on making it this far..

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[OMF]

No @chlanoue, it's DEFINITELY not good for you. Broccoli is good for you. Alcohol is not. Like it or not alcohol is a toxin. There are no health benefits from consuming it.

 

[Duckhunter14]

August 1st will be two years for me. I had a similar epiphany. What good does this do for me? What is this getting me? I didn’t need it for social situations, I didn’t need it to relax or escape reality, I was just drinking because everyone else did. After a few months and social situations where I’d usually drink I stopped feeling weird about it and my buddies were all very respectful. I don’t miss it at all now, love saving money and honestly just feel bad seeing how many people can’t go without it, it’s become so main stream in our culture you’re considered “weird” for not drinking. I’ll continue to be a total weirdo and feeling 100% and in control at all times. No more gut issues, no more hangovers. If it’s something you’re mulling over, put it down and don’t look back. It feels very freeing.

 

[Gobbler36]

Love this thread I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time unfortunately its feels very difficult to get the wife on board and it becomes a rub in our relationship anyone dealt with this ?

 

[TheGDog]

If you happen to have any amount of G.E.R.D. (Acid Reflux)... Your esophagus will thank you for stopping.

 

[CRJR45]

Love this thread I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time unfortunately its feels very difficult to get the wife on board and it becomes a rub in our relationship anyone dealt with this ?

I've not dealt with it personally , it would make it harder . Stick to your guns , it can be done though .

 

[eamyrick]

Love this thread I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time unfortunately its feels very difficult to get the wife on board and it becomes a rub in our relationship anyone dealt with this ?

I’m 9 years in. My wife still drinks but she does not have a drinking problem and rarely has more than a glass of wine or a couple beers. I fully support her having a drink. There are lots of folks who can have a few. I am not one of those people.

 

[robtattoo]

Speaking of sugar. One thing I've noticed in the last 3 or months (related or not, I don't know) is that I can no longer drink coffee. It gives me the worst stomach pains. So I've been substituting my coffee with cups of tea (English guy, English tea. Milk, 2 sugars)
I used to take my coffee black with no sugar. In fact, until i quit coffee I hardly used processed sugar for any reason at all! Since i switched though, I'm CRAVING sweet like never before! I still hardly drink soda (maybe 1 a week, which is still about 50 a year more than I've ever drunk) but i cannot go more than a few days without ice cream!
I'm actually getting fatter since i quit drinking 3-5 bottles of whisky (+ beers) a week.

Any tips on giving up sugar?

 

[ScottRK]

any amount of G.E.R.D. (Acid Reflux)... Your esophagus will thank you for stopping.

“Over time, GERD causes your esophagus to become inflamed, increasing your risk for a condition called Barrett’s esophagus, a known risk factor for esophageal cancer that affects the tissue of your esophagus. Barrett’s esophagus typically does not cause any symptoms beyond those associated with GERD and can therefore often goes undiagnosed”

Quite a few sources on line about this.

Had a guy I worked with that had this. Died at about 55.I don’t know any other history on him.

 

[Billogna]

Speaking of sugar. One thing I've noticed in the last 3 or months (related or not, I don't know) is that I can no longer drink coffee. It gives me the worst stomach pains. So I've been substituting my coffee with cups of tea (English guy, English tea. Milk, 2 sugars)
I used to take my coffee black with no sugar. In fact, until i quit coffee I hardly used processed sugar for any reason at all! Since i switched though, I'm CRAVING sweet like never before! I still hardly drink soda (maybe 1 a week, which is still about 50 a year more than I've ever drunk) but i cannot go more than a few days without ice cream!
I'm actually getting fatter since i quit drinking 3-5 bottles of whisky (+ beers) a week.

Any tips on giving up sugar?

I can't really tolerate coffee anymore either. The caffeine has me geeking out big time. I can only handle about a half cup anymore. I've switched to teas and water in the morning now. I had the same problem with sugar. Candy, ice cream, soda... you name it I was into it BAD!! TONS of water and fresh fruit is what helped curb the cravings for me!

 

[hunt1up]

I'm up to 287 days. I keep a spreadsheet for workouts and I just keep a little tally of days since I quit. I figured I'd keep track until I hit a year just as a sort of mental goal.

I started trying to get into actual fit shape around the time I quit drinking. I'm down 35 pounds this morning over 9+ months. 220ish to 185 currently. Looking to go a few more and just focus on muscle and being mobile for the mountain hunting. I haven't been in this good of shape since I played high school sports almost 20 years ago and the #1 reason I'm finally to this point is stopping drinking.

The newness of not being hung over, even 9-10 months later, hasn't worn off. I still wake up and tell myself, "Wow, this is way better!"