Alcohol
- Thread starter Sallybear
- Start date
MaccaMarsh
Full Member
Cold turkey.
I was drinking more or less every day at one stage, and cider too which is terribly high in calories/syns. If I was at home I'd crack the first of several cans as soon as I got in, or meet my other half in the pub for a couple on the way home. It's not like I was ever really drunk, but I did start to worry that it was just too easy to do.
At the beginning of this year when I rejoined SW, I decided to go cold turkey for a month to give my weight loss an early boost. Once I got to the end of January, I figured, why not do February too? By March I was starting to realise that drinking had been a habit, not a need. I sailed through my birthday in April totally sober - if anything it was more of a study of everyone else's behaviour than it was my own. You wouldn't believe the number of people who offered to buy me a drink on my birthday (a Friday night in our local) and then got totally offended when I asked for a diet coke. Some even said, I'm not buying you one if you're not having a REAL drink! Seriously! I found it all very curious. I had my first drink in June on holiday, and have drunk in moderation on holidays since, and at a handful of special occasions. Currently, the last drink I had was the end of September.
For me, it has totally been about realising it was just a habit that can be replaced with another (better) habit. And once I'd done that, I realised I don't miss it one bit. I've never felt better, in fact.
It might sound a bit drastic, and maybe not for everyone, but I am soooooo glad I've done it. I wouldn't say there haven't been adjustments, but I think the hardest part was trying to make people around me accept that I can still enjoy myself without a drink. It's been a real social experiment as much as anything else.
I guess it's a difficult time of the year to try to do it now, but maybe think about it for the new year? Perhaps start with one or two nights a week (if you drink every night) - and even look for something else that kind of tastes/feels the same in case you find it a struggle. Early on if I was craving a cider, I would have a pint of diet Irn Bru - its cold, it's fizzy, it's fruity, it's cheap in a two litre bottle, and its got no syns!
I was drinking more or less every day at one stage, and cider too which is terribly high in calories/syns. If I was at home I'd crack the first of several cans as soon as I got in, or meet my other half in the pub for a couple on the way home. It's not like I was ever really drunk, but I did start to worry that it was just too easy to do.
At the beginning of this year when I rejoined SW, I decided to go cold turkey for a month to give my weight loss an early boost. Once I got to the end of January, I figured, why not do February too? By March I was starting to realise that drinking had been a habit, not a need. I sailed through my birthday in April totally sober - if anything it was more of a study of everyone else's behaviour than it was my own. You wouldn't believe the number of people who offered to buy me a drink on my birthday (a Friday night in our local) and then got totally offended when I asked for a diet coke. Some even said, I'm not buying you one if you're not having a REAL drink! Seriously! I found it all very curious. I had my first drink in June on holiday, and have drunk in moderation on holidays since, and at a handful of special occasions. Currently, the last drink I had was the end of September.
For me, it has totally been about realising it was just a habit that can be replaced with another (better) habit. And once I'd done that, I realised I don't miss it one bit. I've never felt better, in fact.
It might sound a bit drastic, and maybe not for everyone, but I am soooooo glad I've done it. I wouldn't say there haven't been adjustments, but I think the hardest part was trying to make people around me accept that I can still enjoy myself without a drink. It's been a real social experiment as much as anything else.
I guess it's a difficult time of the year to try to do it now, but maybe think about it for the new year? Perhaps start with one or two nights a week (if you drink every night) - and even look for something else that kind of tastes/feels the same in case you find it a struggle. Early on if I was craving a cider, I would have a pint of diet Irn Bru - its cold, it's fizzy, it's fruity, it's cheap in a two litre bottle, and its got no syns!
Willbeslimjen
Gold Member
I have to say I have almost totally cut out alcohol since being on sw with the odd occasions like birthdays and special occasions where I have a drink. I feel so much better for it, often. Now if I am drinking at home I drink a low alcohol wine which is less syns and can hardly tell the difference maybe you could try that. In fact going to someones house for dinner on Saturday night and planning to take a bottle of it for me to have. Will be an interesting social experiment!
Happy Holidays
Gold Member
What do you drink? I like a glass or two of wine in the evening. What I found helped was getting a smaller glass, it holds 3.5syns worth & I don't feel deprived, or if larger is your tipple try the Czech ones from Sainsburys.
Happy Holidays
Gold Member
It's all in the mind, if I had a larger glass & didn't fill it, I'd feel deprived, but don't filling a smaller glass.
kimberleycandukan
Silver Member
there is no way I would go cold turkey. The thought of it makes me shudder.
I think you're very brave for trying it in the first place Macca and I admire you for making it a life change, but blimeyyyy, just no! lol!!
Sallybear my drink of choice is vodka and diet coke. I try to only have it once a week now- Friday or Saturday night. Costs me about 25-30 syns for 5-6 doubles. Which isn't bad. My problem is eating AFTER drinking so I've gotten in the habit of making a big batch of pasta with loads of veg and saving my HeA for when I get in.
Feels like a proper treat because you can have cheese on it, and you feel over the moon for not stopping at the chippy with everyone else.
Previously I was drinking practically every day but now I try to reserve my syns for the weekend.
Last week I drank heavily on 3 nights and ended up putting on 0.5lb and I was DEVASTATED. But I think its because on one of the occasions I raided the biscuit cupboard when drunk, and on the other I nicked a slice of my housemates pizza.
But all week I had been super good, made loads of recipes had on average 12 speed foods per day. Those incidents must have been my downfall.
Lesson learned and I went out on Saturday only this week.
You can do it xxx
I think you're very brave for trying it in the first place Macca and I admire you for making it a life change, but blimeyyyy, just no! lol!!
Sallybear my drink of choice is vodka and diet coke. I try to only have it once a week now- Friday or Saturday night. Costs me about 25-30 syns for 5-6 doubles. Which isn't bad. My problem is eating AFTER drinking so I've gotten in the habit of making a big batch of pasta with loads of veg and saving my HeA for when I get in.
Feels like a proper treat because you can have cheese on it, and you feel over the moon for not stopping at the chippy with everyone else.
Previously I was drinking practically every day but now I try to reserve my syns for the weekend.
Last week I drank heavily on 3 nights and ended up putting on 0.5lb and I was DEVASTATED. But I think its because on one of the occasions I raided the biscuit cupboard when drunk, and on the other I nicked a slice of my housemates pizza.
But all week I had been super good, made loads of recipes had on average 12 speed foods per day. Those incidents must have been my downfall.
Lesson learned and I went out on Saturday only this week.
You can do it xxx
Sallybear
Member
Thanks everyone for such a wide range of replies. Being in a circle of real ale drinkers and brewers and a great friend who makes real cider, since being on SW I have stuck to a bit of wine or mostly Vodka and coke, and have measured this so I can see how many syns have been consumed. BUT after a few Vodkas, and then a visit from my dad who brought some wine, all in help and support as I have just gone through a break up, anyway I ended up helping to finish the bottle. BUT at the end of the day, I haven't consumed any food I shouldn't have, mostly because everyone in the house is enjoying this with me, and there isn't really anything 'bad' to pinch when hungry. Always having a pan of something to reheat is the key. Next week I will drink less I know I will. Thanks for being here you guys!!
Samantha26
Silver Member
I'm the same, every weekend I'm socialising with friends. We usually get martini extra dry (2.5 syns) then add sugar free mixer...we mix half pink lemonade and half strawberry and kiwi to make it like cocktails, we add a splash of cherry or mango and passion fruit it really changes the flavour.
Last weekend we made up loads of smash pizzas and froze them, so we just have to take them out an cook them
emsuper
Full Member
Cold turkey all the way - I'm at 8 weeks and yes in counting - in that 8 weeks I've lost 1.5stone...
I have an Xmas night out weekend after next and I am looking forward to the hangover I must say!
- after a sh&it week at work or curled up watching a movie in the weekends is when i would have had a wee glass of wine.
100% mind over matter - tell myself "it's not NO! It's just not at the moment"
I have an Xmas night out weekend after next and I am looking forward to the hangover I must say!
- after a sh&it week at work or curled up watching a movie in the weekends is when i would have had a wee glass of wine.
100% mind over matter - tell myself "it's not NO! It's just not at the moment"
I was drinking most nights before SW, a glass of wine or two or a can of beer or a double g&t - not healthy weightwise or in any other way! In fact looking at my weight history I think that and moving in with my fully vegetarian bf (who doesn't like beans or certain vegetables ) were the key reasons I needed to join SW!
I found in the first couple of weeks I used a lot of syns on alcohol, but because I was being strict with syns in those weeks, I did manage to cut down a lot. I would put the wine I could have with my leftover syns in a measuring jug and when it was gone it was gone. I did find that putting it in a smaller glass and really taking time to savour it helped.
I started cutting down from 15syns a day and if I wanted other treats, some of the booze just had to go. 9 weeks in and I'm drinking much less - I hardly drink at home now, mostly a couple of times a week when I'm with friends or out for a meal or at a work do, though sometimes I do overdo it a bit then (5 glasses of fizzy wine and a cocktail last Saturday...). This is a massive change for me but it doesn't feel nearly as hard as I thought it would. So how did I get to that point?
When I saw the results I was getting I found that the joy of losing weight did compensate a bit for the loss of my alcohol - so it's about really focusing on what you want. Also I started to worry about my dependence on alcohol to relax - I was thinking if this is me at 27, am I going to be an actual alcoholic later in life, and do I want to have to give up alcohol completely at some point? I don't want that so I had to cut down before it got to that stage. (Oh, and a nice side effect - I've saved a fair bit of cash not buying so much wine too!)
Because my bf hates wine, it got too hard to have a whole bottle in the kitchen yet just have 150ml a day, so I just stopped buying it. I worry a bit about whether I will go back there one day and get too relaxed again, because I know alcohol will always be a big temptation to me. I just have to be bloody-minded about it and try and get rid of the habit.
Next, your body really feels the benefit of cutting down. My tolerance for alcohol has dropped massively in 9 weeks. If I have a few drinks in the evening now, I tend to wake up at 3am feeling really ill. That just brings home what I was doing to my health before.
Perhaps most importantly, I took some time to think about what alcohol meant to me and where that came from. For my parents, a glass of wine always signalled Friday night - so it had become my 'signal' that the working day was over and my means of relaxation every day - but at the same time, I could be doing other tasks while I had a drink, so didn't actually have to take time out for myself to relax and recover, which everyone needs to do. Secondly, when I moved away from home to London finally, having a beer in the week became a signal that I was finally being young and free and independent, so I sort of associated it with a lifestyle I wanted. I have to find new ways to deal with stress and other issues, and I'm slowly working on that. I don't think cutting down on alcohol long-term can happen without thinking about those things.
I find now that I am drinking less and more mindfully, I really really enjoy it - I spend a bit more for a nicer wine, smell it, sip it slowly, feel it warming me up... and then I want less than when I just gulped it down.
Let us know how you get on!
) were the key reasons I needed to join SW!I found in the first couple of weeks I used a lot of syns on alcohol, but because I was being strict with syns in those weeks, I did manage to cut down a lot. I would put the wine I could have with my leftover syns in a measuring jug and when it was gone it was gone. I did find that putting it in a smaller glass and really taking time to savour it helped.
I started cutting down from 15syns a day and if I wanted other treats, some of the booze just had to go. 9 weeks in and I'm drinking much less - I hardly drink at home now, mostly a couple of times a week when I'm with friends or out for a meal or at a work do, though sometimes I do overdo it a bit then (5 glasses of fizzy wine and a cocktail last Saturday...). This is a massive change for me but it doesn't feel nearly as hard as I thought it would. So how did I get to that point?
When I saw the results I was getting I found that the joy of losing weight did compensate a bit for the loss of my alcohol - so it's about really focusing on what you want. Also I started to worry about my dependence on alcohol to relax - I was thinking if this is me at 27, am I going to be an actual alcoholic later in life, and do I want to have to give up alcohol completely at some point? I don't want that so I had to cut down before it got to that stage. (Oh, and a nice side effect - I've saved a fair bit of cash not buying so much wine too!)
Because my bf hates wine, it got too hard to have a whole bottle in the kitchen yet just have 150ml a day, so I just stopped buying it. I worry a bit about whether I will go back there one day and get too relaxed again, because I know alcohol will always be a big temptation to me. I just have to be bloody-minded about it and try and get rid of the habit.
Next, your body really feels the benefit of cutting down. My tolerance for alcohol has dropped massively in 9 weeks. If I have a few drinks in the evening now, I tend to wake up at 3am feeling really ill. That just brings home what I was doing to my health before.
Perhaps most importantly, I took some time to think about what alcohol meant to me and where that came from. For my parents, a glass of wine always signalled Friday night - so it had become my 'signal' that the working day was over and my means of relaxation every day - but at the same time, I could be doing other tasks while I had a drink, so didn't actually have to take time out for myself to relax and recover, which everyone needs to do. Secondly, when I moved away from home to London finally, having a beer in the week became a signal that I was finally being young and free and independent, so I sort of associated it with a lifestyle I wanted. I have to find new ways to deal with stress and other issues, and I'm slowly working on that. I don't think cutting down on alcohol long-term can happen without thinking about those things.
I find now that I am drinking less and more mindfully, I really really enjoy it - I spend a bit more for a nicer wine, smell it, sip it slowly, feel it warming me up... and then I want less than when I just gulped it down.
Let us know how you get on!
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I too like a drink but now I don't drink during the week only at the weekend. I work on having my syns over the full week so usually have a few extra Fri and Sat evening for a few drinks and then cut back a little during the week. I still average out at around 13 syns a day over the week so that's what works for me. I'm certainly drinking less than I used to when I was having a couple of glasses of wine most evening (and they tended to be larger than the glasses I drink now).
Denise
Denise
Siggy74
Silver Member
I quit drinking on new years eve. I had a problem though and was pretty much an alcoholic. I couldnt even get through the day without vodka and would even drink at breakfast most days, I was bad. On one of the last nights I was drunk, for a laugh I signed up for the dryathlon for cancer research that started on new years day. All my friends and family thought i was crazy and wouldnt last 5 minutes. That gave me the determination to see it through but I was in denial. I was addicted. But I didnt cave. Even managed to raise £200 for cancer research in the process and stuck up two fingers to everyone who laughed at me lol I kept going when the dyathlon event finished and somehow I lost just over a stone and a half by stopping drinking even though I was still eating like a pig Before I knew it april arrived and thats when I joined sw to see if losing weight was something I could actually do. Im still sober and now I dont even think about drinking half as much as i used to. I would not advise anyone to just go cold turkey like I did. I had the shakes and sweats for at least a month. I was really ill but like I said, I had a problem with drinking and it was an all day every day thing for me once upon a time. My skin is clearer now, im healthy and a completely different person inside and out compared to the one I was this time last year. At the end of the day if you like/love to drink and want to drink, you will drink. If you want to stop, with the right help, you can.
Sorry went on one a bit there!
Do you save your syns throughout the week to use for the drinking? Ive heard about some people who dont even count their alcohol intake on their syns, which I find bizarre because surely they would go sky high and cause gains every week?!
Good luck
Before I knew it april arrived and thats when I joined sw to see if losing weight was something I could actually do. Im still sober and now I dont even think about drinking half as much as i used to. I would not advise anyone to just go cold turkey like I did. I had the shakes and sweats for at least a month. I was really ill but like I said, I had a problem with drinking and it was an all day every day thing for me once upon a time. My skin is clearer now, im healthy and a completely different person inside and out compared to the one I was this time last year. At the end of the day if you like/love to drink and want to drink, you will drink. If you want to stop, with the right help, you can. Sorry went on one a bit there!
Do you save your syns throughout the week to use for the drinking? Ive heard about some people who dont even count their alcohol intake on their syns, which I find bizarre because surely they would go sky high and cause gains every week?!
Good luck
Siggy74
Silver Member
Thanks Anne, I don't go to bars anymore. Too many temptations. I went into a bar and ordered a d/coke about 3 months ago and had to leave. I havent had the guts to walk into another one since just incase. The sight of the optics sent me in a right tizz lol I fill my days with meetings/support groups, the gym, walking, music, spending time with family, decorating, my son..Ive got an exercise bike at home which helps. Everytime I got the urge I would sit and pedal until it passed. Just about anything really. Distractions are a huge coping mechanism for me. Anything to keep me busy and stop me from drinking really!
