ANewDay2014, yes, diet is a perfect excuse to get rid of those liquid calories.

What makes it harder is that alcohol has been a major part of ME, my surroundings, and my social life for YEARS, we'd joke "is it time for a drink yet", "noon somewhere in the world", how kids drive us to wine, etc etc etc. So eventually it will become noticeable that is not a part of me, altough I hope to always be able to joke about it.

"What makes it harder is that alcohol has been a major part of ME, my surroundings, and my social life for YEARS, we'd joke "is it time for a drink yet", "noon somewhere in the world", how kids drive us to wine, etc etc etc. So eventually it will become noticeable that is not a part of me, altough I hope to always be able to joke about it."


Me too...lucky for me I don't live near anyone anymore...at some point I will see them again...

When I first got sober I went into great detail why I wasn't drinking.

Eventually I realised other people cared less what I did or didn't drink.
I assumed that drinking was as important to other people as it was to me. It's not.

Usually 'no thanks' is enough....unless I meet an old drinking buddy...which leads me to the next point

I think everyone here can identify with alcohol being a major constant in our lives. But it's never too late for change.

I drank for twenty years - the last 5 were everyday all day.
I changed :)

I had to changed a lot of the things I used to do and the people I used to do things with - but it's been worth it.

I definitely have not lost out on the recovery deal - I've gained so much :)

If you or anyone else here finds it tough Melki - remember there's support here 24/7 :)

You all can do this. I know because I did this :)

D

Just want to wish everyone a nice Saturday night, hope you're all doing as well as it looks from reading the messages here. I had a brief internal struggle this morning about whether I was "cured" enough to go buy a bottle. Obviously that would not have ended well :) Wednesday will mark a month for me, and I'm not going to lose that.

Throwing this question out there, what is your drink of choice now? I think I've gone through every flavor of seltzer and sparkling water I can find, but I'm looking for something different. I quit caffeine at the same time as alcohol, so soda's out, as is most tea (and decaffeinated hot tea still gives me heart burn). Also no to coconut water, the flavor wasn't horrible, but the chunks... just no.

Take care all, and keep up the great work

Earlyhours - the coconut water I had recently was chunkless lol!! I couldn't do the plain, but the coconut/pineapple/mango was yum. Otherwise I'm still kickin with sparkling waters (and caffeine a bit, ugh). But I did cranberry/tonic for a couple weeks. I just prefer to drink mostly calore-less drinks unles I desperately need a better replacement for an event or evening then I do the juices/gingerale or cranberry/tonic.

Definitely agree Applekat. I'm sure most days 3/4 of my calories were coming in liquid form, so I'm trying to stick to the 0 calorie options and get my nutrients in solid form. I guess that does limit the choices a bit on the drink side. I haven't really tried those water enhancers that everyone seems to make these days, but other than a few random chemicals, I believe they're mostly calorie free as well.

9:10 here in NY. No reason I can't make it to tomorrow now. Halfway to beating my weekend nemesis finally. :)

End of Day 7, Yay! Close call around 8:30 p.m. tonight. I had a productive and happy day, and more importantly, have been getting along with people all week. I haven't been letting people get under my skin. I've stayed positive. I've put myself into new social situations. So, I had to resist the urge to "reward" myself tonight while my husband is out. I have both beer and wine in the house for a party I am hosting tomorrow, so I could have opened one of those bottles of wine. But I didn't. Ate my ice cream instead. Going to hang on SR for a while before going to bed.

Same for me. If I haven't started drinking by 9:00 p.m., I'm not going to. I used to start drinking my wine between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

I drink half water/half orange juice. It flavors the water, but it's less sugary.

Oh man, life is not fair! Get a fancy new one that grinds the beans! I have a Cuisinart one that autostarts at 7:00 a.m. It's a great alarm clock--waking to the sound of the grinder, then the smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen down the hallway to the bedroom.

Ahhh, just thinking about it makes me wish it was morning already!

Lime-flavored club soda, unsweetened iced tea, or an Arnold Palmer. Coffee or hot tea in the mornings.

Newcomer Here!!!

I'm finishing up on day 2 and dealing with the emotional side effects of the damage that I have caused. The hardest part will be not beating myself up and being patient with the process. Thanks in advance for your support.

Yes! On the few occasions over the years I was sober at drinking events I was shocked by how little alcohol featured for others. Makes me embarrassed by how mad I must've looked to everyone else getting so drunk at these times, thinking everyone else was too but they were in control.

You're right. We worry too much about what others will think when in reality they most likely won't really care, except the few 'die hard' drinkers I know. For those whose behaviour has been overlooked because I was WAY worse behaved, I think secretly they will be perplexed, and it'll take some getting used to that I'm no longer the drunkest person in the room, taking the heat for being worst behaved. Maybe now that I'm no longer the fall guy at social gatherings it might be a trigger for others I know who have issues with alcohol to face up to them.

Welcome EJM824! Prepare to be emotional for a while in the early recovery phase.

Thanks Groundhogday,

I look forward to the day I will feel "worthy" again. Until then I'll just dive in to this forum and surround myself with loved ones.

Are you committed to sobriety? That is, is it your plan to never drink alcohol again? The reason I ask is that you don't want your AV ("alcoholic voice") to convince you that you are "worthy" of a drink in the future. It's easy to forget over time just how bad things can get when you drink too much. Blackouts are particularly scary.

GroundhogDay,

I'm fully committed to a sober lifestyle FOREVER. When I speak of worth, I speak of the all the great things I have going on. It's insane to me that I would risk it all for a bender. I don't look at a drink as a reward, for me it was a relaxer that took over. I would just rather handle all uneasy moments soberly without regret.... However hard they may be. I know that recovery is a never ending road, but it definitely beats the alternative.

I'm new here too. 3.5 weeks full-time sober. Had lots of guilt and shame the first few days. Made myself speak at meetings each day to say the "A" word, so it would sink in deep.

Maybe you could try to just deal with your next day without drinking. It can be daunting to deal with more than 24 hours for now. Maybe you could plan to really deal with the emotional side effects of the damage later, when you are feeling better - Step 4.

But what do I know?

Welcome to SR Galan :)

D