The Dry January thread…

Yep. Leftover Xmas beer moved up to the top shelf. Assorted AF I’ve been stocking up on fill the rest of the fridge. That Impossibrew is  very good (well the pale ale not so much the lager), but not buying it at full price.

I actually more of a moist than dry as we have four days in Alicante end of the month and I’ll defo be having some wine and beer with food. Not a single hangover over Xmas, but still ready for a few weeks off.

^^^ that Impossibrew stuff is great ,isn’t it !

My formal ‘dryness’ actually starts today, as there was the remains of a bottle of nice red that would otherwise have gone down the sink.

@iainc I’m saving those for the weekend(s) – I remember last year whenever I fancied a beer, the 0% Guinness seemed the best option. I tend to drink a lot more tea in Jan as well!

Started y’day and drank tea, water and tonic. My sleep scores last night are much improved, and my HRV is waaay better than over the rest of the Xmas period. I am going to keep going for a moist first quarter with the occasional social glass of wine w friends over dinner.

Tonic water w slice of lemon or lime works for me as a 6PM substitute. Peroni 0% works pretty well too, as does Heineken, lucky saint, Juicy AF. Don’t drink stout so Guinness 0% is not an option. the impossibrew looks interesting, but wasn’t sure if that was just an IG ad scam like all the cod psychology apps that are filling me feed at the moment.

Local craft haunt always has a LA option on tap, but often so hazy it looks like milk. When it’s lager rather than hazy that works well.

off out saturday so no, that said, i think i’ve only drunk

2 ciders, 2 beers and a few rum and cokes in the past 15 days.

never really drink at home, no kids so no need

he impossibrew looks interesting, but wasn’t sure if that was just an IG ad scam

Yeah I was of that opinion. It came up with 50% off and another 10% for first purchase so I gave it a go. The Pale Ale is really good, the lager is a bit meh. As for the fabled ‘buzz’, I dunno I drank 2 and it wasn’t obvious to me, and even at the discounted price I wasn’t going to carry on. Seems like a way to get you to drink more! If the pale ale was the same price or a bit more than equivalents from other brewery’s, I’d get some more but at list, no way.

Local craft haunt always has a LA option on tap

Our local has Clearhead from the Bristol Beer Factory on tap and it’s excellent.

I’ve just ordered a starter mix pack of impossibrew, but didn’t get a money-off thing. I’ll see how it goes. I was having a new year good intentions moment and ordered a stick blender too thinking i am going to make lots of soup. I’ll see how well that goes too 😉

I’ve did it the last couple of years and honestly not felt any different.

I think it’s my niece’s head wetting this month but until then I’ll probably stay dry.

I’m still on Dry January 2024.  It took me a long time (30+ years) of drinking to realise it wasn’t for me.  Glad I got there in the end.  Good luck to those giving it a go this year.

Mid-ride pint in a good pub and/or a bivi flask are still on the table, just no booze in the house. One needs to maintain a sense of perspective regarding such matters.

I started a dryanuary 20 years ago today and am still going strong. It was a particularly pissy Xmas and New Year that year and obviously had a profound effect on me. I don’t regret it especially when listening to pissed up bores telling the same story for the fifth time but at ever greater volume. I may well have been that bore…

If there was any evidence required for why I’m doing it, my state of mind yesterday and today (following NYE) has been appalling!

I’m in 3 months and looking for longer.  drinking way to much last year and topped off with a 4am finish and now 2 day hangover. On nye .

im 46 , piled on 10kg last year .. hardly rode .. its effecting work , personal relationships mental health and generally holding me back .

Time to take back control.

“I may well have been that bore…”

It’s a sobering thought and one I have had more than once.

I’m starting on Tuesday when I head back to work. Drinking too much, and would like to shift a few kilos too.

I’ve been involuntary doing dry January and dry December as I’ve been absolutely full of man-flu, which I can’t seem to shift, and have been mainlining lemsip instead of the more usual Malbec.

However, I fully intend to make up for that and get seriously on it once I’m feeling human again. Someone has to compensate for you lot and keep the pubs in business 😀

The Mash has a timely reminder of the horrors that await you and I suspect that most of us fall into the catagory of ‘Steve’ in the first paragraph anyway

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/alcohol/seven-unpleasant-truths-youll-have-to-confront-in-dry-january-20240118244711?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0jXuQoK6YUmZ7H0wY8BS2XItJaMG2azV1oJ_k7gpdX1AcyWowr62cvn2o_aem_NDUpVB5311WL-Mf7qNXg7g

If the pubs responded to the changing behaviour of a lot of people they would perhaps do a bit better. It is still very difficult to find a good range of alcohol free drinks. Hull is perhaps an exception to this as there are several alcohol free pub crawls!

Went to a pub the other day and they had a local brewery non alcoholic on draft. It was great and they said it had sold really well. Definitely changing of attitudes.

Easy. I’m in.

I’d pretty much knocked drinking on the head for 4 months up to Christmas. I was drinking daily, get home from work, crack a bottle or two. Not a good habit to have. I did drink over Christmas but after a couple on NYE I’m going back to not drinking again. I did notice weight loss, less tummy issues and my mood was much better w/o booze. I also find that even just a couple of drinks make me crave utterly crap food.

I had already resolved to try and reduce my crisp intake, which is getting borderline self destructive! And since beer + crisps go hand in hand I might need to try and cut back on the beer.

My usual substitute is to enjoy my whisky collection instead but since that seems to go with oatcakes and cheese I’m not sure it’s any healthier…

Tonic water w slice of lemon or lime works for me as a 6PM substitute.

This, I’ve found no better substitute than fizzy water with ice and a generous squeeze of lime, it has a bitterness and crispness that it much preferrable to the sort of malty sweetness of most AF beers…

Well, as expected, both my HRV and Sleep Score have improved by 10%-15% and my Resting HR dropping below 50 (so bit less than 5%) in the two days AF so far.  It’s depressing how bad alcohol is for you.

Already out, but was pondering “no drinking at home January” and I may do Dry February – found that works better for me before (and not just cos it’s shorter!)

Kudos to anyone using it as an opportunity to reset or question their habits.

I’m in having had far too much over Christmas and only just feeling human again after a NYE party. Sleep score already improving and heart rate decreasing.

Last year never got going personally for a number of reasons, the biggest of which being my Son’s major heart surgery in April, that we knew about coming in to 2024 and spent the rest of the year emotionally recovering from (he’s fine now). Got plenty of goals to hit this year and having a much clearer head will help this so hopefully January will spur me on!

Well I’ll be put to the test tonight, meeting up with the usual Tuesday night riding crew in the pub as we couldn’t manage pre-Christmas. Thankfully I think Erdinger is on sale at the chosen venue. I’m so bloodyminded that I think I’ll be fine lol

Wish me luck……

I did it last January with no bother at all. December 2024 was a heavy month for me with the first two weeks on holiday in Thailand for the missus 50th then Christmas so i’m dry until my birthday in March this year.

couldn’t help think of this thread when I saw this  🙂

I’ve not done dry Jan before but I’m off the booze as I’ve not been well and want to give my stomach a rest. I quite fancy a zero Guinness

Are alcohol free beers full of carbs and calories like normal beer?

Are alcohol free beers full of carbs and calories like normal beer?

Yes, but there’s the nutritional info on the bottle to give you an idea of how much weight you’re gonna put on.

Thanks

Guinness Zero is a winner, it’s definitely made the last year of sobriety easier when out with mates.

Well I survived a night in the pub thanks to Guinness Zero, it’s great.

So nice to wake up without the cloudy headed feeling, and I didn’t raid the fridge when I got in after midnight so it’s a double win!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2025/jan/03/how-the-romans-invented-dry-january-the-stephen-collins-cartoon

I’ve not had alcohol since May last year after cutting down incredibly for a year before that. After over fifty years of excessive drinking I decided enough was enough and I’ve now stopped. I’m in danger of becoming a bit like the ex-smoker who then becomes boringly(?) anti smoking but I won’t apologise. I now see drinking as a real problem in our society, deaths from road traffic collisions, increases in violence, relationship problems, various health problems are caused or made worse by alcohol – a poison. Drinking alcohol is widely openly encouraged and accepted in our society, from television presenters discussing with sports people how they’re going to “celebrate” to Jane McDonald talking how you have to have plenty to drink whilst cooking Christmas dinner, hangover cures are a perennial subject on daytime tv. Advertising also sells alcoholic products as a “cool” lifestyle and the “night time  leisure industry” (pubs and clubs) rely on selling as much alcohol as possible, even to people who have obviously had enough. Alcoholism is seen as shameful, not the illness it is. It’s time we had some education programmes, stopped alcohol companies advertising – everywhere – like for smoking. I hope dry January is the start of better health for many of you, for those who only drink small amounts and not very often I hope that carries on, for those of you, like me, who drank too much I hope that you can stop. The main benefit that I found (I’ve always been able to sleep on a clothes line) is that I feel free! These two articles below may help, one describes the effect that alcohol has on your brain and the other is from the USA where alcohol is the third largest cause of cancers after smoking and obesity. Good luck y’all!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/may/24/the-truth-about-booze-how-alcohol-really-affects-your-body-from-first-flush-of-happiness-to-hangover-hell?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/03/alcohol-cancer-link-preventable-cause