Giving up Alcohol

[DJW1]

3 hours ago, goose2010 said:

John Robbins the comedian has just released his book (its on audio book on Spotify as well) that is about his battle with alcohol, i haven't read it yet as it only came out on Friday however its meant to be great and his stand up (Howl) i have seen live and it is brilliant albeit a bit dark in places as it is about his drinking. I've listened to a few interviews he has done about drinking and he never was a bottle of whisky a day alcoholic it was the dependents of alcohol rather than the addiction. 

 

it might help hearing about drinking from a different angle. 

 

me personally i have cut my drinking down massively in the past 18 months mainly down to health - my 40 year review was a scary time with the docs. i, like others have tried to replace it with exercise, not at the time i would normally drink but the morning after, no way would i used to have gone the gym or out for a run on a Saturday or Sunday morning but i tend to do it now. My liver health is improving, my health is better and i actually feel alive at the weekends (i have also cut out LCFC so that has probably helped) 

 

 

 

 

Frank Skinner was also an alcoholic for many years.

He initially gave up booze because he was ill and had to take antibiotics for a week. After that he took up running and that became his obsession rather than drinking. I imagine exercise helps in three ways: it occupies your time, it helps you sleep and it helps your general health.

Another leisure activity might also have similar results. Each person needs to find the one that they can maintain in the long term

[grobyfox1990]

4 hours ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

I take your point, I think. If you have a completely stuck habit of weekend drinking (even if you're not completely happy about it), then it could be beneficial to find a psychological means of ensuring 2 nights per week doesn't become 4 or 7.

 

Particularly so, if your risk is mainly of drifting into drinking most or all nights, not drinking excessively on particular occasions. The opposite was the case for me: I never wanted to drink every day, but often drank too much on drinking days. I still suspect that an awful lot of drinkers would be like me and would end up getting wrecked at weekends and/or drift into the odd extra night. But maybe it's a strategy that could work for someone who had more self-control than me when they were actually drinking...

 

p.s. The fact your 5-2 win becomes a 6-1 this week maybe suggests your habit isn't as completely stuck as you suggest?

Yeh I framed that confusingly given the thread title lol, I mean it is stuck because now I can only drink on weekends no matter what (unless on holiday obvs),

This Thursday I am meeting a big group of mates at Bagatelle, love it there but I won't drink as it's Thursday. I've got loads of garden work to do on Saturday then driving in the evening so I won't drink hence 6-1

Next Thursday I have a big corporate do with all my people, free bar, will be loads of fun. But there's no way I'll be tempted to have a drink.

Both weeks it's more sensible to drink thurs/fri. But once I say I'm gonna do something it becomes stuck in my mind with no flexibility. 

[Lionator]

5 hours ago, goose2010 said:

John Robbins the comedian has just released his book (its on audio book on Spotify as well) that is about his battle with alcohol, i haven't read it yet as it only came out on Friday however its meant to be great and his stand up (Howl) i have seen live and it is brilliant albeit a bit dark in places as it is about his drinking. I've listened to a few interviews he has done about drinking and he never was a bottle of whisky a day alcoholic it was the dependents of alcohol rather than the addiction. 

 

it might help hearing about drinking from a different angle. 

 

me personally i have cut my drinking down massively in the past 18 months mainly down to health - my 40 year review was a scary time with the docs. i, like others have tried to replace it with exercise, not at the time i would normally drink but the morning after, no way would i used to have gone the gym or out for a run on a Saturday or Sunday morning but i tend to do it now. My liver health is improving, my health is better and i actually feel alive at the weekends (i have also cut out LCFC so that has probably helped) 

 

 

 

 

I have actually ordered it tonight. I actually resonate with a lot of things I’ve seen him say in interviews! 
 

How long was your heavy drinking for? I’ve always had a healthy relationship with it but I have some life crap happen and the past year it’s got problematic. Hence why it’s important I stop now, let things rebuild then hopefully reintroduce it in a healthy way, IF I can. 

[foxfanazer]

6 hours ago, goose2010 said:

John Robbins the comedian has just released his book (its on audio book on Spotify as well) that is about his battle with alcohol, i haven't read it yet as it only came out on Friday however its meant to be great and his stand up (Howl) i have seen live and it is brilliant albeit a bit dark in places as it is about his drinking. I've listened to a few interviews he has done about drinking and he never was a bottle of whisky a day alcoholic it was the dependents of alcohol rather than the addiction. 

 

it might help hearing about drinking from a different angle. 

 

me personally i have cut my drinking down massively in the past 18 months mainly down to health - my 40 year review was a scary time with the docs. i, like others have tried to replace it with exercise, not at the time i would normally drink but the morning after, no way would i used to have gone the gym or out for a run on a Saturday or Sunday morning but i tend to do it now. My liver health is improving, my health is better and i actually feel alive at the weekends (i have also cut out LCFC so that has probably helped) 

 

 

 

 

If you could let me know how you achieved this I'd greatly appreciate it

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

I flutter between finding John Robins either really funny or an absolute twat but Thirst is really really good.

[goose2010]

10 hours ago, Lionator said:

I have actually ordered it tonight. I actually resonate with a lot of things I’ve seen him say in interviews! 
 

How long was your heavy drinking for? I’ve always had a healthy relationship with it but I have some life crap happen and the past year it’s got problematic. Hence why it’s important I stop now, let things rebuild then hopefully reintroduce it in a healthy way, IF I can. 

I do still drink but the levels are completely different, if i am out i have 1-2 max in a night and mix it up with soft drinks or 0%,  the rise of 0% has helped me no end. 

 

I was your typical binge drinker, 5 o'clock on a Friday = pub. then it was Thursday nights, Saturday all dayers with the football then cricket through the summer. Then beers after playing football on a Sunday followed by back to the pub for the 2 and 4 o'clock games. This went on from 18-35 years old every weekend without fail. I then got badly injured which finished my football and stopped some of the boozing. a typical week i was probably doing 40 - 60 units of boozes - probably more. 

 

Covid was probably the worst for me gin and tonics, craft beers and Guinness working at home, being sent ready made cocktails in the post by my employer for after work drinks even! 

 

Then 18 months ago i received a letter inviting me for a 40 year old check up, i thought nothing of it, i was (still am) over weight, i thought i would get told everything is fine you just need to lose some weight. I was wrong. my blood test came back and I was told to go straight to A&E and get some further checks as there was concerns over my blood tests. My liver wasn't working correctly, it was extremely fatty and at risk of failure. 

 

Hearing this first hand was scary i have a 4 year old, a wife, a mortgage and needed to do something about it. 

 

i spoke to the GP and had a few sessions with a PT to  understand what i could do. 

 

i was far from your typical alcoholic but i wouldn't go out anywhere without seeing what beers were on tap, what gin did they sell and i was making decisions on where to go to make sure i got that pint but that obviously turned into 5-6.

 

So fast forward 18 months, i have now recently been back to the doctors they have re ran some tests and its improving, i have dropped some weight needs to be more but my addiction to sugar and fatty foods is another vice that i am trying to get on board with. 

 

I have started swimming on a Thursday morning i am the youngest by 30 years i would say but its a great way to just relax and take you mind off everything! but it the past 8 weeks i have gone from not being able to do 4 lengths to completing a 64 (a mile) which i am amazed by. 

 

I go to a spinning class on a Wednesday and have just completed couch to 5k - next goal is 10km 

 

so really i am just filling my boredom (where i used to just drink or eat) with exercise. 

 

This country (probably the world) is full of alcohol dependent people most dont realise it but if you were to take it away they wouldn't cope with it. The bottle of wine with dinner, the couple of pints after work and we are encouraged as a nation to drink - its mad to say it but is true, you only have to walk into a supermarket currently and the first thing you will see if stacks of beers on offer and the industry props up the economy. 

 

like any addiction it isn't easy, but you just have to start somewhere, like running. You never will just go and run a marathon, you have to build up to it. If i was to put my relationship with booze into running terms i am probably up to 30km out of the 42km. but its taken me a long time to get here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[goose2010]

10 hours ago, foxfanazer said:

If you could let me know how you achieved this I'd greatly appreciate it

filling my time with something different. My post above talks about how i needed to change my habits so now i will make sure i am booked into go to the gym or purposely book something to do with my daughter. Saturday 3 o'clock now is when we go swimming as a family - not every week but then if not it is bowling, the cinema or just going on a walk or out on our bikes.  Anything but being a home where i can stream a match. 

 

i gave up my season ticket last year mainly because of the way the club is ran but the championship is brutal and work and life had to start coming first so I got rid of it - it did help that my 3 mates i went with also did the same so i didnt get that FOMO.  

 

But you know what they were an addiction but when you realise it is what it is, they were easy to drop compared to the other vices in my life! Football is a broken corporate machine and for me now is no different to watching something on Netflix. 

 

I have watched 3 Leicester games this year and 2 of them was because i was at a friends house who had it on and i havent missed it. I rarely post in the main forum as i dont really have an opinion on the game any more. 

 

 

 

 

[spacemunky]

5 hours ago, goose2010 said:

I do still drink but the levels are completely different, if i am out i have 1-2 max in a night and mix it up with soft drinks or 0%,  the rise of 0% has helped me no end. 

 

I was your typical binge drinker, 5 o'clock on a Friday = pub. then it was Thursday nights, Saturday all dayers with the football then cricket through the summer. Then beers after playing football on a Sunday followed by back to the pub for the 2 and 4 o'clock games. This went on from 18-35 years old every weekend without fail. I then got badly injured which finished my football and stopped some of the boozing. a typical week i was probably doing 40 - 60 units of boozes - probably more. 

 

Covid was probably the worst for me gin and tonics, craft beers and Guinness working at home, being sent ready made cocktails in the post by my employer for after work drinks even! 

 

Then 18 months ago i received a letter inviting me for a 40 year old check up, i thought nothing of it, i was (still am) over weight, i thought i would get told everything is fine you just need to lose some weight. I was wrong. my blood test came back and I was told to go straight to A&E and get some further checks as there was concerns over my blood tests. My liver wasn't working correctly, it was extremely fatty and at risk of failure. 

 

Hearing this first hand was scary i have a 4 year old, a wife, a mortgage and needed to do something about it. 

 

i spoke to the GP and had a few sessions with a PT to  understand what i could do. 

 

i was far from your typical alcoholic but i wouldn't go out anywhere without seeing what beers were on tap, what gin did they sell and i was making decisions on where to go to make sure i got that pint but that obviously turned into 5-6.

 

So fast forward 18 months, i have now recently been back to the doctors they have re ran some tests and its improving, i have dropped some weight needs to be more but my addiction to sugar and fatty foods is another vice that i am trying to get on board with. 

 

I have started swimming on a Thursday morning i am the youngest by 30 years i would say but its a great way to just relax and take you mind off everything! but it the past 8 weeks i have gone from not being able to do 4 lengths to completing a 64 (a mile) which i am amazed by. 

 

I go to a spinning class on a Wednesday and have just completed couch to 5k - next goal is 10km 

 

so really i am just filling my boredom (where i used to just drink or eat) with exercise. 

 

This country (probably the world) is full of alcohol dependent people most dont realise it but if you were to take it away they wouldn't cope with it. The bottle of wine with dinner, the couple of pints after work and we are encouraged as a nation to drink - its mad to say it but is true, you only have to walk into a supermarket currently and the first thing you will see if stacks of beers on offer and the industry props up the economy. 

 

like any addiction it isn't easy, but you just have to start somewhere, like running. You never will just go and run a marathon, you have to build up to it. If i was to put my relationship with booze into running terms i am probably up to 30km out of the 42km. but its taken me a long time to get here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing that goose.

 

I'm still in what I guess would be the early stages, but lately I've been struggling.

 

Live with my brother-in-law, who's weapon of choice is tequila.  Found him on the floor(again) last week and he's in the hospital now.

 

The rest of my family is the same. Don't see much of my 'friends' these days, but I know where I'd find them.

 

It's always helpful to hear about someone who's doing well.

 

 

[Lionator]

33 minutes ago, spacemunky said:

Thanks for sharing that goose.

 

I'm still in what I guess would be the early stages, but lately I've been struggling.

 

Live with my brother-in-law, who's weapon of choice is tequila.  Found him on the floor(again) last week and he's in the hospital now.

 

The rest of my family is the same. Don't see much of my 'friends' these days, but I know where I'd find them.

 

It's always helpful to hear about someone who's doing well.

 

 

Big love @spacemunky

[Lionator]

14 hours ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

I flutter between finding John Robins either really funny or an absolute twat but Thirst is really really good.

I’d imagine that’s the opinion he has of himself too and why he drank to escape from it!