Dry January

Good thinking Grumppa

We have a glass of wine every night with our meal. On Sundays a g and t for me and a whisky for DH as well as the wine.1 Never do dry January.

Have done dry January twice as a kick start to lose weight and help with my motivation at the gym.

There is no way on earth that I am doing dry January this year, like most every single thing that contributes to my quality of family life has been stripped away in 2020 and having an occasional glass of wine or fizz is my treat to me.

I’m absolutely with Lady Stardust. January is probably the most miserable month in normal times, why would you put yourself through it with everything else going on? Just try and be moderate!

If you just have a (small) glass of wine of single whisky/brandy etc every day, then it’s fine, even good for you. Anymore watch out, I ended up drinking every day when I retired and was horrified when realised the units. A glass of something is not just one unit, it could be two or three according to size. But yes I used to feel good on it, now I’m T total.

I do not drink alcohol at all so one month is the same as any other for me.

If something makes you down right miserable then don't do it. You can be sensible about it by making healthy adjustments.

For our 50th anniversary we were given 3 bottles of champagne, and 14 bottles of wine.

We did have a bottle of the champagne with fresh orange juice on Christmas Day but I had an awful headache on Boxing Day.

I’d like not to be dry especially at the moment.

Wine anyone?

If I’d had a wet December it might be worth trying, but since my only alcohol intake in December has been 1 glass of Prosecco on Christmas Day and someone bought me a bottle of Baileys Chocolate for Christmas . . .

Yes, DH & I will be trying for a dry month, just as we have in the past three Januarys. (Whether we'll succeed in the current climate, remains to be seen.)

and there was me thinking no rain or snow in January!

I don’t understand this all or nothing mentality. Alchohol in moderation is fine. If one has a problem with drink then it is important to stop, for ever, not just for a month. That is difficult and calls for support.
But if one drinks in moderation, within recommended limits, carry on!

Back in March when the first lockdown began, I’d run out of wine, my usual daily evening tipple with my meal. I simply couldn’t be bothered to make a special trip to buy just wine. So I stopped drinking, totally. I feel much better for it, but alas, I’ve substituted the wine for sugar, and find I now have a sweet tooth which I’ve never had before! A gain in weight is the price I’ve paid for abstinence of alcohol, but I intend to sort that one out in January!

I call Britain "Binge Drink Britain" when I hear the term "Dry January" because I feel UK has a real problem with drink and it should be addressed. I have not had a drink for 20 years and I do NOT miss it at all. It is quite possible to enjoy life without alcohol.

But if one drinks in moderation, within recommended limits, carry on!

The trouble is though GrannyLondon that sometimes the recommended limits seem rather low.
A few years ago I had to go for an ENT consultation. Before he got down to business the consultant went through the usual general questions about health & finally the dreaded subject of alcohol intake came up.
I reluctantly admitted that occasionally I did slightly exceed the recommended dose.
The consultant laughed and said as long as I didn’t drink as much as the average doctor that was fine ?

Wouldn’t it make more sense to promote a dry July or August, as in warm weather the dehydration resulting from excessive alcohol use is even more damaging?

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Yes, have to for the sake of my groaning liver and kidneys. Don't know how long I'll last though. Managed 3 weeks before.

Dry January has been around for 20 or 30 years? Was it first suggested to be a personal health thing or was it that people were supposed to get sponsored for worthwhile charities. Or, is it that we were encouraged to donate some/part of what we saved not buying alcohol or is it a way of saving money to pay the bills for Christmas?

My liver shall go into part time working for a month, but won’t be made redundant.

Can understand why people don't want to, it does make the pain go away a bit! But as a family we were not so much a glass or two but more a glass or ten. Now two of us have alcohol-induced dementia. I gave it up years ago when I gave up smoking (having a drink seemed to go with having a cigarette somehow.) I'm not evangelical about either, in fact I loathe people who are but do notice how argumentative DH gets after a few and my dear sis is to be avoided after half a dozen.

It seems I've been on a 'Bender for December'!
I've barely drunk for a few years now but have made up for it in the past 2 weeks!

Not in this this house!, no socialisation, very limited activities, depressing news and no end in sight. Our one or two pre dinner drinks are one of the few things we can control and enjoy for now. My one small glass of wine with Christmas lunch felt out of kilter, wrong time of day!

After years of enjoying a glass or two (or three) on a daily basis, I suddenly went ‘off’ it so I’ve done dry September, October, November, December and can’t see me ever drinking again.

My children find it incomprehensible as they always teased me about how I must have a glass of wine at 6pm, but I just don’t like the taste of it any more.

Nankate I did it last year to raise money for a charity I was involved with but in 2021 - NO CHANCE but I will try to cut down, however with yet another lockdown looming it will be hard. I didn't lose weight rather the reverse but I did sleep a little better but not much.

After the year we have just had & with no sign of it getting any better not a chance!!
Bring on the booze!!