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[Closed] Anyone stopped drinking alcohol?

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cinnamon_girl - Member
Why does it have to be an 'all or nothing' scenario?

I enjoy alcohol but am a control freak so just don't overdo it.

When I can drink I find it very hard to get drunk as I know how bad I'll feel in the morning so I stop before getting drunk, I've never been able to handle alcohol.


 
Posted : 08/05/2011 11:50 pm
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I gave up totally 8 years ago. I wasn't dependant as in I couldn't function without a drink dependant, but bad things were happening in my life and the switch that was supposed to decide when I'd had enough didn't work anymore. Instead the bell for last orders was the signal to get 2 more pints and a double chaser, or to move to somewhere with a late license. I twice vomited in my sleep and woke up in the morning with a face and bed full; both times could have been fatal. The final straw was a works do in london, after the meal a pub, and then when everyone went home I walked the streets for anywhere that would have me. Missed the trains and slept rough in an underpass near Waterloo in a suit and tie. I woke up to find a tramp trying to go through my pockets for my wallet.

I stopped then. I had to because the 'just a couple' scenario would never work. I avoided situations, or if we did go out always made sure i drove so i had an excuse not to drink. A few close friends knew and those that didn't understand weren't close friends after all.

I like the odd drink now, but rarely partake and very very rarely get drunk, and it's in control now.

I don't think I'm boring because I'm not a steaming drunk, but if I am at least I'm alive with it.


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 7:46 am
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not everybody who rides MTBs is a T-total health freak

Now this annoys me. Not everyone who abstains is a health freak. Enough of the stereotyping ๐Ÿ™


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 9:28 am
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Whoah - enough of this stereotyping! Not all health freaks are t-total!!

Molly are you up for the Afan Monster in August?


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 9:30 am
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not touched a drop for 16yrs now, a horrid (but socially accepable) drug with terrible side effects, people can justify it all they want but its the cause of many of our problems innit


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 11:30 am
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i 'stopped' about 5 years ago. every now and then I forget how bad it makes me feel and have some, then I remember and leave it for a while. Longest I went was for 2 years.

a few pointers...

at first it IS hard

the longer you leave it the less you want it

resisting the first drink in the pub is the hard bit, then it's easier

becks blue is a nice tasting substitue and grabbing a cold one out of the fridge pushes many of the same buttons.

alcohol is a poison/drug, just the same as coke or anything else. Unfortunately, it's ingrained into society and this makes it readily available and acceptable. Going to the pub with mates is still good up to the point they have had about 8 pints, then it becomes a bit of an eye opener.


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 11:57 am
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Drinking, like riding mountain bikes, is FUN!

Teetotalling, like riding road bikes, is HELL!


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 12:00 pm
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Molly are you up for the Afan Monster in August

Yes, but my attendance at bike events during August and Sept is provisional of course.


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 12:04 pm
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Theotherjonv - Definately a cue to stop ๐Ÿ˜ฏ

I miss the open Fridge and get a beer out in the evening routine, especially as it punctuates my day after working from home.

I don't really drink much and don't really like being drunk (too many sketchy nights out in my youth gave me an acute awareness of where my limit was). I do like the social drink down the pub but find just being there chilling and chatting relaxing not necessarily the drink but I do miss the drink and soft drinks just don't seem the same but give the boys something to banter about.


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 12:27 pm
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alcohol is a poison/drug, just the same as coke or anything else. Unfortunately, it's ingrained into society and this makes it readily available and acceptable. Going to the pub with mates is still good up to the point they have had about 8 pints, then it becomes a bit of an eye opener.

That's more of a complaint about an excess of alcohol, rather than alcohol itself though. A pint after work or a glass of red wine with your dinner is hardly "poison/drug" territory, is it?


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 12:29 pm
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I've never been drunk, my mates tried to get me into drinking when I was in my late teens/early 20s, but I can't stand the taste of the stuff, and I'm quite capable of making a tit of myself sober, thanks very much. Admittedly having an alcholic mother is a deterrent, never want to walk that path.

I am a Crunchie addict though. One glimpse of that golden wrapper and I'm lost. ๐Ÿ™


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 1:03 pm
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All this talk of alcohol has given me a thirst ๐Ÿ˜›


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 1:06 pm
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I did 6 dry months once, didn't lose any weight, didn't feel any better, and you'll struggle to prove that I'll live longer because of it.


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 1:06 pm
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good thread.

after a run of truly incredibly bad hangovers i suddenly stopped drinking for about 3 or so years. i really did'nt miss it at all, except a cold beer when cooking sausages on the bbq, and in some ways quite liked being able to say 'i don't drink at all.' anyway, i drifted back into it, and like quite a few who've already posted am an all or nothing drinker. desperately want to sort it out though and be able to stay off on school nights, but i've been trying since jan 1st and hav'nt managed yet! : (


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 1:29 pm
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There's nothing quite like a couple of pints with mates, a few smokes and a good old chinwag. Wouldn't be the same with soft drinks ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 1:31 pm
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Drinking, like riding mountain bikes, is FUN!

Teetotalling, like riding road bikes, is HELL!

There are more pubs that are close to roads though so I offer you this edit...

Drinking, when riding road bikes, is FUN!


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 1:33 pm
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There are more pubs that are close to roads though so I offer you this edit...

Drinking, when riding road bikes, is FUN!

on no, don't tell me that.

[img] [/img]

this one's almost at the end of my most regular road loop immediately before the last steep climb and just when my legs are starting to hurt. you can hear it whisper 'i can stop your pain' as you go by.


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 1:43 pm
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AS someone who religiously listens to the voices in their head I urge you to follow suit and stop in for a pint and some pork scratchings.

Add a dash of lemonade and beer is the best sports drink known to mankind.


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 1:50 pm
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All proper rides, on or off road, should finish at the pub. FACT! If they don't, then you need to work on your planning. We finished last weeks night ride a bit late, just having missed last orders. It was like a death in the family.

Anyway... You'll invariably have been slurping water or some god-awful sports drink for the previous few hours, so your body probably needs a pint of wife-beater or two to restore some kind of equilibrium


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 2:13 pm
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Just what you need after a ride is some easily digestible carbs, ideally in liquid form.


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 2:19 pm
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Informative thread. Good to hear both sides and in good jest too.

Moi.. Never liked drinking years ago, too busy riding for a semi pro team, rarely had a glass of wine etc. and didn't like beer. Then stopped riding hard, held down a solid job and turned into a wine snob.. then a good few years ago stopped, took up the bike again and now I drink wine, the very occasional beer and matured into a lover of single malts..
What a turn around eh.

I find I can go weeks and weeks before opening a bottle of red, then i'll drink it in a couple of days and then stop for another few weeks.. I don't conciously think about it and can't honestly say if it affects my training, I just think I push myself too hard and maybe open a bottle and blame the overtraining!! Could be wrong of course..hahah


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 2:37 pm
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I'm stopping for a bit then cutting it right back its got stupid again I'm actually [u]BORED[/u] now that's right [b]BORED[/b] of drinking I'm not getting enjoyment from it now as its every night. I used it as a crutch when life was sh*t but now its just making life sh*t.

If that makes me boring then.... *does whatever fingers*....there's more to life than drinking :mrgreen:


 
Posted : 09/05/2011 2:44 pm
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