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There's nothing better than a cool summer evening with the garage door open, a few worklights illuminating your Not always. Many of us in AI are getting a little older. We're not the 15-30somethings we were when we may have initially joined. Every now and again, that liver (or brain) may need a break. And you don't have to be a "heavy" drinker to participate. All you need is a realization that some time away from those potentially habitual comforts may be a good thing. A little time off may be the trigger you need in order to get a project from the honey-do list off the ground, or give your mind some clear space to think about things. Hell, saving that $10-20 a week may be just the ticket required for a nice dinner out with the SO. You don't have to be an alcoholic, or anything near it, to benefit from a little time off. So, why not join us here in AI in taking a little break from the sauce. Who knows? Take a few weeks to clear the head. And if the break grows into something more, or becomes that final push to trigger some change, great! And if not, that's all right, too! The point of it is whatever you make of it, and this thread is only as serious as you want it to be. Chat, set personal goals, or just check in every now and again. I'll keep this thread bumped as long as is appropriate to keep it out of archives. For myself, I'm going to throw out a personal  : No alcohol, period, until my birthday in mid-December. That's right, 11.25 months of sobriety. This is a very important year for my schooling, and for personal and social changes, and I need to be here 100%. I've got $40k in school money ($65k including GI bill benefits that would be due back), and my entire personal sanity, invested in this. It also helps with the weight loss, because my favorite type of alcohol is beer, and beer is basically bread in a can. What do we know about bread?
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Jan 2, 2019 12:40
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BEER MAKES YOU FAT?! I'm in! As of like right now I'm 97 days sober. I'll work to keep that up in 2019. I am not sure if I can toxx or not due to the terms of my janitorial contract... I'll look into it and get back. IWNDWYT.
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Jan 2, 2019 14:03
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Yeah, I'm in. I do it a couple times a year and my body always seem to appreciate it. Always feel a bit better, and my tums consumption goes way, way down. Not saying I'm going to get hammered Feb 1 (which also falls on a Friday) but let's do this. Adiabatic posted:BEER MAKES YOU FAT?!  I'm more of a spirits/highball drinker now and beer usually sits in my pantry for some time. Too bad I got some supposedly awesome polish beers for a Christmas present, which will have to sit there for a while.quote:I'm in! As of like right now I'm 97 days sober. I'll work to keep that up in 2019.
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Jan 2, 2019 15:20
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slidebite posted:Notice any big differences in your body? Huge. the one-two punch of working out and no alcohol means I can eat whatever I want, however much I want, and still have a flat stomach. Mentally it's like I've been given my weekends back. Used to I'd make plans to do stuff on the weekends then never do them because I'd go out on Friday and Saturday and be either drunk or hungover the entire weekend. Now I'm actually working on my cars, playing a metric shitload of piano, signing up for volunteer activities, and still able to hang out into the night if I want.
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Jan 2, 2019 15:49
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Hey-o. Ever since moving out I've been doing way too much drinking and lovely eating. No alcohol or weed for january! Good luck, friends.
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Jan 2, 2019 20:42
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Adiabatic posted:Huge. the one-two punch of working out and no alcohol means I can eat whatever I want, however much I want, and still have a flat stomach. That's literally the things I noticed too, especially with the eating. Back when I did the dry thing, I still ate poorly and didn't change my diet at all, still managed to lose weight along with my normal training. Cage posted:Hey-o. Ever since moving out I've been doing way too much drinking and lovely eating. No alcohol or weed for january! Good luck, friends. slidebite fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Jan 2, 2019 |
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Jan 2, 2019 21:00
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Sure, I'm in.
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Jan 2, 2019 21:47
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For most of 2018 I used (and still use) an app called Daylio to track my moods. It lets you customize five to ten (two variants of each five) moods, and you select one per day. Along with that, you click buttons about what you did, or didn't, do, and it makes pretty graphs and charts that correlates mood with events. For example, I have buttons that cover my standard daily activities: school, clinicals, bike, 3D printing, video games, meal prep, etc, along with a few other buttons indicating illness. I also added one July of last year for "drinking," and it's almost always correlated with a drop in mood the day or two days afterwards. Just, fun stuff. Daylio on the Play store Daylio on the App store. As far as I know, there aren't any ads, and it doesn't require dumb permissions. Just a nice, simple journaling app.
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Jan 2, 2019 22:44
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I'm in for January at least. May go back to the occasional beer or cocktail on the company dime after, but I want to be done with my drinking gin from the bottle on the couch habit. Trying a thing this year where I quit doing something that's making me feel lovely every month, because habits are made of consistency over time.
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Jan 2, 2019 22:46
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I'll be in as support. Right now, I have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (results of being former  ) that I'm trying to clear up with diet and exercise. Alcohol is prohibited because it, and poor diet, can lead to cirrhosis. I'd rather not have to get a liver transplant, so I've been dieting and exercising for the past two years. I got my official diagnosis last January and pretty much quit drinking then. I had some beer around my birthday, and then a pretty good amount over this holiday season. So, I'm in as dry. I might have a drink around my birthday later in the year and next holiday season, but other than that I don't drink. I'd rather not be staring at the liver transplant list in ten to fifteen years going "Well poo poo, if I didn't even like alcohol all that much, if I'd just stopped drinking..."
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Jan 4, 2019 06:47
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I’m in for January. Might go longer if I’m enjoying it.
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Jan 4, 2019 07:11
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Doing good one week in. Yesterday I was alone and on the computer slightly bored and did get some cravings. "Just have a drink, whats one or two going to do, you're doing good otherwise." but I stayed away. Waking up still sucks forever but I know it would've been worse if I drank.
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Jan 7, 2019 16:04
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Cage posted:Doing good one week in. Yesterday I was alone and on the computer slightly bored and did get some cravings. "Just have a drink, whats one or two going to do, you're doing good otherwise." but I stayed away. I have an issue getting to sleep after I quit. I think it's probably the fault of afternoon coffee but I find my brain so much more active around bedtime nowadays. Anyone else experience this? I've been thinking about trying melatonin.
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Jan 7, 2019 16:18
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Adiabatic posted:I have an issue getting to sleep after I quit. I think it's probably the fault of afternoon coffee but I find my brain so much more active around bedtime nowadays. Anyone else experience this? I've been thinking about trying melatonin.
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Jan 7, 2019 16:23
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Cage posted:Doing good one week in. Yesterday I was alone and on the computer slightly bored and did get some cravings. "Just have a drink, whats one or two going to do, you're doing good otherwise." but I stayed away. Same but after a week or two my sleep is so much better without it, it's insane.
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Jan 7, 2019 16:26
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Cage posted:I've been relying on forcing myself up earlier than usual so I'm more tired later. I don't feel like doing the whole "No tv/phone use an hour before bed" or whatever they recommend but that might be a good start if you can swing it? Melatonin works but I think if you still stimulate yourself it won't kick in? That's what I need to do then. I also sit in bed and read SA or watch youtube, which I need to quit doing.
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Jan 7, 2019 16:31
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I'm here to support everyone here. I haven't had a drink since 2014.
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Jan 7, 2019 16:45
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My sleep patterns all around improve after hitting the wagon, both falling and overall quality, takes a couple weeks though. For falling asleep, try not to do anything "exciting" or interesting the hour before. I actually find watching mind-numbing netflix on my tablet works quite well (a repeat of something I've seen), and can generally only get 10-20 minutes into something before I have to turn it off. Browsing the forums or finding something interesting is probably not helpful. I don't typically drink coffee after 9AM, but I'll sometimes have other caffeinated beverages during the day like coke zero (weekends especially), but I try to put the brakes on those after around 7PM or so. I didn't find melatonin does a lot for me, my wife calls them a placebo for her, but they're pretty harmless so worth a try. My go-to over the counter sleeping aid was usually diphenhydramine but they often kick my rear end in the morning so I avoid them. I have a script for Zopiclone which works decently well, but luckily I take them very rarely.
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Jan 7, 2019 20:11
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slidebite posted:
Melatonin can have great effect, but it's worth noting that they can gradually stop having an effect after 13 weeks or so. Zopiclone is great for troubles with falling asleep, but not if you tend to wake up during the night as the effect only lasts 4 hours or so (depending on age and liver function). Something that I've found be very useful is Alimemazine, which can be titrated by the patients themselves. Helps falling asleep as well as staying asleep. Some people feel knocked out the day after, but after proper titration a good dosage can be found. Obviously, finding the underlying cause is the most important factor as the medication should (in a perfect world) only really be used to restore normal sleep. But yeah, real world can be very different.
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Jan 7, 2019 20:44
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Also, melatonin is one of those things that had a paradoxical effect at higher does. One tablet doesn't work? Don't take two! That could keep you awake.
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Jan 7, 2019 21:07
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I've seen pills that are anywhere from 2mg to 10mg per single pill. That's quite the variance to find a sweet spot and might be one of the issues why I don't think it does well for us.
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Jan 7, 2019 21:20
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Good start, and I'm starting to unlink 'poo poo I need to relax' from 'gently caress it, I'm having a couple'.
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Jan 8, 2019 00:23
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I only had one night out last week and the temptation was there, but I held off. It’s a lot easier at home, so it’s been pretty smooth sailing. One more weekend and the month’ll be half done. We’ve all got this.
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Jan 8, 2019 03:21
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In for January. Been taking vitamin D and some B3? Definitely helped my mood and general effort. Except today, I'm worn out and ready for bed at 8:30pm.
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Jan 8, 2019 05:36
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I'll be rooting for everyone in this thread; I quit drinking almost 3 years ago on my 30th birthday. It's a special thing to wake up on the weekends and live life instead of nursing a hangover. Saves lots of money too - booze gets expensive once you start adding up the costs. The first couple weeks are tough, but your body and mind will clear up quickly after that.
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Jan 8, 2019 06:12
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I have a bunch of beer in the fridge that I've barely touched since the summer, so another month or six won't matter.
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Jan 9, 2019 16:14
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I’m not committing to the full month but I am gonna try for the first two weeks and see how it goes; that’ll be the longest consecutive period of sobriety I’ve had in...I don’t even know how many years, probably like 10 The first week was hard and if I’m being honest I didn’t make it on Saturday; I got to about 10:30 and decided i would quite like to drink so I did. But I haven’t had any since, and I’m finding that the second week has been easier than the first so far. If that trend continues maybe I’ll keep it up for the whole month, or my life It has been nice to come straight home from work without having to do the “do I need to pick up beer on the way home?” check. Been discovering a lot of decaf tea
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Jan 9, 2019 16:54
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It's all good, friend. A slippery foothold doesn't exactly mean you completely fall off  Only 9 days since last alcohol, but feel better already.
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Jan 9, 2019 23:55
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Better sleeps are starting to kick in for me now. 
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Jan 10, 2019 03:28
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slidebite posted:Better sleeps are starting to kick in for me now. Just hit 105 days and finally getting good sleep. Took me realizing that when I was drinking I was compensating with afternoon coffee and electronic devices late at night and I had to quit that poo poo.
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Jan 10, 2019 12:12
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OOPS
CommieGIR fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Jan 10, 2019 |
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Jan 10, 2019 15:46
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CommieGIR posted:We bought a new house, and we're mostly moved in. Now to sell the old house. Chat thread's thisaway amigo.
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Jan 10, 2019 17:14
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Adiabatic posted:Chat thread's thisaway amigo. My bad!
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Jan 10, 2019 17:37
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Adiabatic posted:Chat thread's thisaway amigo. What about chatting about abstinence things? I'm not giving up delicious beer, but I'm into my first full week of no sugar. Now that's a hard thing to define, since sugar is virtually everywhere, but my wife and I have been doing this intermittently for over a decade and this is our process -- If it has an ingredient list, then sugar or any sugar-rename (like high fructose corn syrup and the like) appears within the first 4 items, then it's a no-go. Keep in mind that the ingredient list must be by percentage, so the "most" used ingredients are at the top. This leads to some interesting things we can't have... Wheat Thins was one of our biggest surprises. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled alcohol abstinence topic. I'm with you in spirit. No pun intended. It would have been better if I intended it, because it was pretty good.
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Jan 10, 2019 18:06
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If I decide to keep going past January with the alcohol abstinence, sugar’s next on my list. I think it’ll be much harder than not drinking.
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Jan 10, 2019 19:50
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Dadliest Worrier posted:If I decide to keep going past January with the alcohol abstinence, sugar’s next on my list. I think it’ll be much harder than not drinking. During the first couple years of doing it, I experienced real withdrawal. It seems easier to do as time goes on. In the past few weeks, I've consumed vast quantities of sugary goods (my wife and I make about 35 pounds of fudge to send to family for the holidays and I swear, I eat a full 3 pounds myself). But once you flip the switch in your brain that says "Really, no more," it goes better for me than just thinking that I'll cut back. It's weird going through the ice cream aisle of the grocery store and not even looking.
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Jan 10, 2019 19:59
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Dadliest Worrier posted:If I decide to keep going past January with the alcohol abstinence, sugar’s next on my list. I think it’ll be much harder than not drinking. Quitting sugar soda was a fight and a half for me. Cutting out diet is going to be a nightmare, I get fizzy water cravings.
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Jan 11, 2019 10:34
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Liquid Communism posted:Quitting sugar soda was a fight and a half for me. Cutting out diet is going to be a nightmare, I get fizzy water cravings. Surely you could have soda water or sparkling mineral water instead. I haven’t really been feeling the vibe when drinking of late so I’ve cut back a heap but I’ll be cutting it off on Sunday as it is easier to not drink when my partner isn’t home like I don’t even miss it levels of easy. I think it’s hard when she asks if I’m going to buy beer most days.
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Jan 11, 2019 11:51
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Liquid Communism posted:Quitting sugar soda was a fight and a half for me. Cutting out diet is going to be a nightmare, I get fizzy water cravings. Yeah, I haven't gone that far yet. I still drink a diet energy drink per day... haven't had the urge to curb that habit, but somewhere in the back of my head, I know I probably should. But I'm not a coffee drinker and I need a copious amount of caffeine.
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Jan 11, 2019 12:49
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Well I'll last until the end of the month, I'm pretty confident of that, but a couple friends want to get together as soon as I'm done so that means the wheels on the wagon will probably fall off pretty hard 3 weeks from now. Re sugar: I have been terrible this season with sweet snacks, cookies, even chocolate bars which I rarely eat. Now that it's getting whittled down I'm going to try and make an effort to really watch but probably not cut out sugar. It is amazing though, the amount of poo poo junk food I've been eating since the beginning of the month has not resulted in weight gain.. which is probably a testament to the lack of even more calories through alcohol. If I can watch the sweets until the end of the month I'll probably be losing weight.
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Jan 11, 2019 15:19
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