[Closed] Sober October?

eerr, no.

I thought about it for 3 seconds tho.

enjoy.

Nah. TBH I don't drink regularly or in any great volume so every October is sober.

Mrs Binners is doing it. I briefly considered it, but then thought a better way to fulfil my husbandly duties would be the shoulder the alcoholic burden on behalf of both of us.

So, for the next month, I will be drinking for two

Nope, although I probably wont drink for the rest of September after 3 uncharacteristiclly boozy weekends, I had three whole 330ml bottles of lager on Saturday!

I'm off to Portugal for a week next week so there's no chance of sober October. However I haven't had a beer in September and have enjoyed the extra motivation to ride plus extra cash in my pocket. I will more than likely get back on the wagon from Monday 14th October until Christmas.

Yeah, I'll be up for it.

Just set up Zwift in the garage and after the first session last night I can see it may well get out of hand...so drinking will have to take a back seat!

Same as winston. Dry October and plenty of zwifting.

sober October followed by can't remember November?

I randomly stopped drinking 1 month and 8 days ago.

Didn't really have a reason, just though I would try an experiment.

Now I'm doing it, I'm starting think that I have drank pretty much every weekend and holiday since I was 16. I have been dependent on alcohol for social situations (aren't we all?) because I have always been able to have a couple of drinks.

Life is much easier with a 4 year old because I no longer stay up late at weekends and can get up at 7am with her. My diet has changed a lot, no more midnight snacks or morning fry-ups, just because I don't crave them.

I'm quite enjoying it, I'm not sure how long I will carry on for (I am known to "like a drink") but now I have done a month, I'm staring to think 3 months would be good. I'm also hoping for significant weight loss which will help with a certain race I am planning next year. Not sure I will ever return to drinking the way that I used to.

I'm also liking not feeling rough on Monday mornings, every morning feels the same.

I have also being enjoying some alcohol free beers, Nanny State and the Peroni ones are OK and the Erdinger one is great (isotonic with vitamins!) .

I would say give it a go, it's an interesting experiment.

Mick

I'll give it a go. Already managed to make it through September providing I don't fall off today. You could say I've given the dry run a dry run.

Maybe, don't think I have any specific social events planned so it could be a good time.

Did it a few years ago and felt a real benefit. But on the other hand, booze is very nice.

No, October is for drawing, I shall start a fred

Nah. TBH I don’t drink regularly or in any great volume so every October is sober.

This, may have a few at a mates 40th near the end, just cos, but I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had a drink this year.

Did it a few years ago and felt a real benefit

This. By god I love(d) a beer, but it's nowhere near as good as being fresh, fit, motivated and having a great nights sleep is. 🙂

Cool. I’m glad there’s a few others joining me. I freely admit that I’m pathetic and have only ever managed a few weeks before.

All my booze lovely booze has been moved to the spider infested garage (apart from one beer and a tiny bit of red wine that I consider will my last hurrah tonight)

I'll give it a go apart from one evening as my birthday is in October. Does that count?

I’ll give it a go apart from one evening as my birthday is in October. Does that count?

Pretty sure that’s allowed - Macmillan say (if you’re doing it and getting sponsored) you’re allowed one “golden ticket” as long as you donate £15. Sounds reasonable to me 🙂

No, October is for drawing, I shall start a fred

Inking, shirley?

By virtue of being offshore I've just completed sober September......

It's old news. I'll have a couple of Pu AF to celebrate 😉

Nah. This is the month for getting into dark beers, porters and stouts. Switching to heavier reds and getting the pre-winter whisky started. I mean it's mostly dark, rainy and cold. Every ride is a soggy trash. Seems the wrong month to also be sucking the joy of nice drinks away.

In part, yes, but I have a dinner party and a birthday party to attend in October, however those will be the only times i drink, and I'll see if I can do all of November as well, and then try to keep December limited to Christmas parties / socials and a few nights over Xmas / NYE as well.

Having seen other people's attempts at 'Dry January' even my October efforts could be considered an achievement.

I'll be doing it as I need to lose a bit of weight / save some money but also you feel incredibly good after a couple of weeks and realise that you don't actually miss the booze. However when you do have another drink its easy to slip back in to old habits. Currently I don't drink in the week but tend to drink Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, unless I'm racing on the weekend, in which case I won't drink until the night after the race.

I'm going to give it a crack, mainly to save some cash, get better sleep, and get myself back on track with training.

Is it just me that can have a beer (or quite a few beers) and still get up with my children, not want to midnight snack or crave fry-ups. I sleep well and I am not overweight. I did go dry a few years ago (when trying to conceive and didn't drink a single drop for a good year) and felt no health benefits nor did I lose any weight.

Am I drinking wrong?

Yeah I'm doing it. No sponsorship or anything. Just been boozing a lot so I'll take October off and maybe longer

I've started stopping drinking over autumn and winter so I'll be sober October - April-ish. Several reasons: I really enjoy a beer outside in the sun after a mtb ride and it's easier to burn off the extra cals over the summer, though I still put on a few pounds. Over winter I do spin classes and long weekend road/gravel rides. The upshot being that I'm at my lightest and fittest come March and it's a gradual decline thereafter.

Is it just me that can have a beer (or quite a few beers) and still get up with my children, not want to midnight snack or crave fry-ups. I sleep well and I am not overweight.

nope, me too - except I get up @06:30 without any kids around.

interesting idea, might give it a go.  I suspect it will be tough which is a very good reason for doing it really

Is it just me that can have a beer (or quite a few beers) and still get up with my children, not want to midnight snack or crave fry-ups. I sleep well and I am not overweight.

Not just you. I guess we all react differently to alcohol and what some would consider ample, others would dismiss as hardly anything.

^^ for me, it’s not about alcohol stopping me doing anything (including looking after two small kids) it’s the fact I feel I need it in order to relax. I don’t drink a huge amount but when I’m tired and stressed I find myself reaching for midweek G&T as well as the usual weekend alcohol ..

Nah. This is the month for getting into dark beers, porters and stouts.

Absolutely. This is the time to start the process of moving to heartier beverages, Port's, Whiskey, that kind of thing.

Also, October is the month where you're getting prepared for the Xmas drinking, you wouldn't take a month of running 2 months before a marathon so don't do it with drinking. This is the time for honing your skills at the bar, for getting some steady sessions in and for making sure the barman knows your name before the December drinkers arrive.

Nope. It is my birthday in October and i also go away on the 26th October for a week so not the best month to abstain from alcohol.

I probably had no more than 3 beers in total in September so not exactly a big drinker.

No, and I won't be doing Movember or having a detox in January.

Nope. I've just this last week bought umpteen different autumn beers and I'll be making a start on the stouts and porters I've been saving soon.

Also, October is the month where you’re getting prepared for the Xmas drinking, you wouldn’t take a month of running 2 months before a marathon so don’t do it with drinking. This is the time for honing your skills at the bar, for getting some steady sessions in and for making sure the barman knows your name before the December drinkers arrive.

OK, count me in.

Feels like the right time to try it again.

I'm going to give it a whirl.
I'm sure I'll be able to get back in the swing before Christmas gets here. 😉

Not for me, but done a few dry stints in recent years and they've been really helpful. So much of the bevvy is psychological that a hard reset can put you on the right track, in the quest for balance.
Good luck to all abstemious ones - do not crack week one and you'll have broken the back of it.

Righty Hoe!

I’m very pleased there’s a few giving it a go with me. I’ll update the thread as and when I get itchy. I plan to buy a crate of the Erdinger blue stuff tomorrow (I’m pretending that it’s merely the habit of having something cool and bubbly in my hand that’s the issue, rather than the lovely alcohol).

So, last dregs of a bottle of red tonight, a couple of beers that’ll otherwise “go off” if I don’t drink them and then tomorrow it begins..

Edit: my attempt at “self control” - hide the booze in the garage 🤔

Edit: I can’t do pictures

Nope. It’s unusual for me to go month without alcohol but with 50th birthday party this weekend it won’t be October.

By god I love(d) a beer, but it’s nowhere near as good as being fresh, fit, motivated and having a great nights sleep is. 🙂

Agree 100%.
I did it 2 years ago, and felt so good I haven’t touched it since.

So, for the next month, I will be drinking for two

Sot-tober?

So, how's everyone doing?

😂

So, how’s everyone doing?

I sprained my finger doing a rectal exam on a prosthetic bottom this morning. I’ve had better starts to my day 😐

Oh, you mean alcohol?

It’s tough 😬

I'm all up for any temperance activities that rhyme with the month. Fortunately there are no months that rhyme with 'ank' or 'bation'. Really if you wanna exhibit self control you shouldn't need a calendar or the faux support of others.

Fortunately there are no months that rhyme with ‘ank’ or ‘bation

You're in for a shock in Nomember

I'm not officially doing Sober October, but I'm going to see how long I can stop drinking for. Every now and again I'll have a week off, after either a heavy weekend or when I'm generally feeling a bit crap, so I'm interested to see if I can get beyond that.
The hardest thing for me is avoiding post ride beers though. I don't really care too much about not drinking at home, but that first sip of beer after a ride is ****ing magic. Hopefully tonic water has the same effect!

I don’t really care too much about not drinking at home, but that first sip of beer after a ride is ****ing magic. Hopefully tonic water has the same effect!

Try some of the zero beers. Assuming you're on board with the craft beer revolution the new brewers have driven the quality up. I think you might be disappointed with tonic.

Try some of the zero beers. Assuming you’re on board with the craft beer revolution

It's more when I stop off at the pub after the ride. The pub I tend to drink in after a ride has only just started serving Guinness on tap so unlikely they'll have 0% beers. Though I am looking forward to the look on the barman/maids face when I ask 😀

Fevertree Tonic with elderflower is a reasonably nice simulation of G&T if you add some lemon and ice.

I've been off booze since June, loving life and hopefully never going back!

but that first sip of beer after a ride is ****ing magic. Hopefully tonic water has the same effect!

Yeah, it doesn't. Sorry.

Today's my first day of abstinence, however the boss has had a visit from mother nature.

I think I'll have to go to the gym for a couple of hours 🙄💪💪

I have done well. Eighteen hours. Wife just asked if I wanted a g&t. Said yes without even thinking. Ah well.

SSWC in Slovenia this weekend, so no.

I shall most likely be drinking beer with a side order of spruce infused industrial alcohol from an unmarked bottle.

Nope, not missing my weekends out with mates. Eat well and exercise well during the week, so feel I earn my beer at weekends.

for what its worth...

i did dry january once, i wouldnt have said i was a heavy drinker but i would drink a couple of bottles of beer/cider, maybe a bottle of wine, a night every night, and just fancied a break.

a month seemed like a massive time to just stop as it was such a habit for me, eat my tea at 9pm get some booze, watch TV for a couple of hours.

so i broke it down, for the first few weeks just focusing on getting through that night and as i started getting used to waking up feeling a heck of a lot better i would add that, the next morning, to my goal as a reward.

i can't remember at what stage i went from a day to a week, but whatever, when i got to 30 days i was motivated enough to see if i could get to 50 so i carried on. at 50 i jumped to 100.

to this i then frequently worked out how much i had saved, its actually pretty scary to do especially after a few months.

the worst bit, for the first week or so you can get awful headaches as your body withdraws, that actually surprised me as i didn't consider myself a drinker and i remember seeing quite a few similar posts about it on the dry January page.

stopping for a month is a great thing to do, i found it really gave me a new perspective on drinking, and i havnt drunk for five years now beginning with that one first night.

Superb Gav. 👏🏻

First stay in a Hilton tonight since I made Gold tier which gives me access to the exec lounge and therefore free drinks in some hotels. I managed to restrict myself to a sparkling water which surprised me.

Gav, that’s great. Well done.

This, may have a few at a mates 40th near the end, just cos, but I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had a drink this year.

Twice this year for me. One was at a conference last week. Had to drink to get through it. Never was a big drinker though.

On one hand Macmillan are extolling they benefits of me abstaining from alcohol for a month. On the other, they seem obsessed with feeding me cheap cake every other month.

I think their primary aim is not actually my health and well-being 🤪

No booze since mid-July. Haven’t lost an ounce/gram. WTAF??!

Good work Gav!

Gaidong - hmmm this is what troubles me also...

Don't worry about weight loss, has your body got leaner?

For the record, I'll be starting today, fortunately I'm on late for the rest of the week. Just must remember not to buy anything when I leave work.

No booze since mid-July. Haven’t lost an ounce/gram. WTAF??!

Did you previously snack with your boozes?

Do you monitor your calories in/out? Might be time to start if not, I'd recommend a Fitbit.

Day 2 - when does the shaking stop?

I have done well. Eighteen hours. Wife just asked if I wanted a g&t. Said yes without even thinking. Ah well.

Proud of you man, that’s a lot of hours 🙂

Day 1 done

Big challenge will be next week. Away to London and Brighton for 4 days with work. Not looking forward to flying sober!

A lad at work had a bit of a rant about people doing sober October yesterday ( he's not taking part) then came up with his own version - 'Can't Remember November'. He's pretty confident it will catch on 🍻🍻🍻

Sort of PSA: 3 for £3 on half decent alcohol free beer at Tesco’s at the moment. I’ve just stocked up.

^^ I may well do can’t remember November 😃

Big challenge will be next week. Away to London and Brighton for 4 days with work. Not looking forward to flying sober!

The life of a pilot is a stressful one.

Is everyone feeling the benefit already? 😀

Are fans of the Canadian team allowed a day pass? I'm not one by the way, but just in case.

it's going to be a looooong month isn't it 🙁

On the plus side: 1st November is on a Friday this year.

Is this another one of those 'look at me and how great I am cos I've stopped drinking' threads? I stopped drinking in January for 3 weeks (didn't last til the end of the month). It was utterly shit. I put on weight, slept less, was a miserable irritable f***** and completely stressed at the effort it required, didn't see any of my mates, and didn't even save much money cos I was spending it on non-alcoholic beer which isn't much cheaper. I'm happier as I am I think.

As far as I’m concerned, this is Octobeer. I don’t usually drink during the week, and I normally only have a couple on a Friday and a Saturday evening with a mate in the pub, so I feel no particular obligation to give up something I don’t consume much of anyway.
In fact, I’ve got a glass of Hobgoblin down by the side of me right now, as it’s Octobeer, and getting close to All Hallows’, I feel it’s only appropriate.
Cheers!