Charlotte2276

Day 6 - We went out to a restaurant last night. It was busy, so we waited in the bar for a table. My husband said, "Why don't we just eat in here?"..I took a good look around, my cravings having been yelling at me for a good two hours by this point.."Ah, NOOOOO"

We get our table and the waitress asks, "What would you like to drink?"...Hmmm...good question. I ended up having a virgin ceasar but I can't drink those all the time, too spicy for some dishes. Then I had a Perrier. I'm already seeking out things other than water since I'm not much of a soda person.

I went to get groceries today and loaded up on Perrier and picked up a non-alcoholic beer that I would drink once in a while when I was pregnant and we had to go to a summer BBQ, but I put it back because I wanted to ask if you experienced people might think that's a bad idea?

What do you drink?

suki44883

That NA beer question gets asked around here on a fairly regular basis. Some people are totally against it and others don't have a problem with it. Me? I'm coming up on two years sober and I do drink NA beer occasionally. I've never had a problem with it making me crave the real thing. Others do have that problem. It's all a matter of the individual. I mostly drink iced tea, an occasional soft drink, and coffee. When we go out to eat, I almost always drink iced tea, but depending on what we're eating, I might order an NA.

Only you can decide if drinking NA will cause you to crave the real thing. Some folks will tell you not to even try it, but I say, if you want to give it a try, go ahead and see how it makes you feel. If it's a problem, then you'll know it's not for you.

sailorjohn

Coffee. I never hang out in bars, and don't feel the need to pretend I'm drinking when I'm not in fact drinking.

Day 1220. In case you were wondering..........but I had to use the calculator to be sure.

A long time ago, before I stopped drinking, I had the role of designated driver and spent the day bar hopping drinking na beer and came to the conclusion that I liked the alcohol in beer more than I ever liked the taste.

bensam

odouls alchahol free beer but i tried that, did not take long before a grabbed a few pints and went out of control, guess its perrier or oj

yeahgr8

Diet coke for me, i''ve not met in real life one person in recovery who has drunk alcohol free beer and not ended up blaming it for a relapse even a guy after 4 years, it is a little funny...but down to the individual:-)

Best story on NA beer is a friend of mine who does not find it so funny but he drank NA beer for a year and stayed dry before 'relapsing', problem was after a month he was drinking 3 crates (24 cans) a week...he used to go absolutely nuts when the supermarket he got them from ran out from time to time...now thats insanity at it's best hehe

My own personal view on NA beer is it would be like a heroin addict shooting up with saline and then afterwards saying don't worry i'm fine it's just saline...hmmmm;-)

Toronto68

Charlotte, I haven't been out to restaurants that much since I quit, but I have always been big on water - with a lemon if they've got it. When I want something different, I don't get much more creative than ginger ale or ice tea. "Home made" ginger ale is pretty good (for example, at a Thai place). I also drink tea at home (I change it up and try to force myself to drink green tea, but I always bounce back to either Early Grey for the aroma or orange pekoe for the kick - I think it is like a pacifier for me). When I quit drinking, I found myself latching on to tea right away (had a series of bad runs with coffee makers, so I stopped that losing battle). I bought ginger ale and some chocolate out of the blue at the grocery store too. I hated sweets the vast majority of the time as a drinker. I am pacing myself on the sweets, almost like a reward mechanism.

For me, the non-alc beer would be like having decaff coffee (I'm one of those that would not bother). I didn't like the taste of beer THAT much, it was just an acquired taste while using the properties of alcohol, like Sailor said...I have not tried it, and perhaps it would be a bad thing for me to get into. If I were to get "virgin" drinks, that might be the same kind of danger for me, like a prelim step to the alc ones. That's me though.

Keep going, sounds like you are hanging in there and in good spirits.

Kerbcrawler

Tea and coffee all week long..Fri especially with a hot chilli roast or curry..Have been drinkin cobra NA,beer 100% Alcohol free. i get fed up with tea an coffee...An hate fizzy like coke orangeade sugary stuff yuk..Personal opinion...i had a freind i used to work with and he consumed 2x2 litre bottles of coke..Plus 40 cigarettes a day..His teeth were in pretty bad shape...but then Alcohol was never his bag..Lucky him that way..
By the way what does whoopdedoo mean???

least

I think it means "who the hell cares?"


As far as beverages go... anything without alcohol, lots of tea and water and juice.

fragrantrose

I love pellegrini with slice of lime or lemon
if desperate will have diet soda

Toronto68

Kerb, like Least said, in Canada/USA we also say Big Whoop, Whoopee, Big Deal. (Meaning the opposite of saying "Hooray!!!")

On the beverage thing again, I didn't mention above that I have been slowing down on the caffeine. I griped in the past about insomnia and that was of course part of the problem (duh). But I had been able to have tea right up till bed time and not had issues at one point. I guess that was an exception phase, probably during the first 15 or so days of being without alc, when some of us become lethargic and capable of sleep a lot.

ex D-Boy

Great point right here. I am not an alcoholic but a former dopehead (heroin). Theres no point in me doing a shot of ice water, it can only lead to trouble heh.

Kerbcrawler

thanks least ,toront..Some transatlantic..Sayings and meanings..Hard to find in the dictionary..:rotfxko, But then a lot of UK slang,(street dialect) You may also need an interpretor..all good stuff,

suki44883

Sorry, but it's not quite the same thing. People don't usually shoot up anything unless they're using, right? People do drink beverages on a daily basis though.

Like I said, it's a personal decision. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind.

wicked

:rotfxko

kerbcrawler,
that is what i watch coronation street for!

I never drank NA beer.
When I was actively drinking, beer was my drink of choice.
so while drinking it seemed pointless, like someone said about decaf.
what's the point of that.
and when i got sober, well, i wouldn't want to get those feelings again.
just my experience.
beth

Mark75

When I was done skiing at a resort in Utah we were in the courtyard. I didn't want to drink alcohol. Thank God I've been freed from that obsession. But I did want something besides a diet coke. They had O'douls displayed along side the beers. I said I wanted one... OMG, the kid said, you sure you want that?? it has no alcohol in it... you won't feel a thing!! Yea!!! I said, and that's the whole point... I wanted to say more, but, well, he has no idea.

I am not triggered by NA beers. I find that I enjoy them less and less, but still have one occasionally. I don't disapprove of them.

I think it's really one's own choice... But rigorous honesty should prevail... your own, not someone else's.

postparty82

I don't drink NA beer because I don't want to tempt myself with that taste. When I do get tired of water I drink lots of "Powerade Zero" or "Crystal Light" because they have a few different flavors, its cheap, and they don't contain empty calories. At a restaurant, ice tea and water is about it for me. I drank Vitamin Water a bit when first sober, but got away from that so I wasn't drinking in too many calories.

Fandy

i see that Vitamin water now comes in a calorie free version....for me it's high octane coffee until 12noon...i love the flavored versions and have a Keurig pot so everything is fresh cup by cup....all day at work it's herbal tea in lemon, orange or pomigranite flavors no sugar.....at night the same from the Keurig....I now seem to have an 8-cup per day "K-cup" addiction between the coffee and tea....I also use the celstial seasonings and twinings bags...at night I enjoy extra strong Honeybush or Chamomile-Apple with lemon and splenda.

once it gets to be summer, i'm into lemon seltzer with a splash of pink grapefruit....or a nice virgin mary with extra tabasco...and celery to chomp on.

Spawn

non-alcoholic beer is for non-alcoholics

Charlotte2276

Thanks everyone. I'll have to come to my own conclusions on this one. Beer wasn't ever my drink of choice because it was too filling, but I did enjoy a nice cold one every now and then. I guess I'll wait and see how the summer goes. The nice weather this week got me thinking about patios...sigh.

Have a difficult time right now because this is the time I drink..making supper, the aniexty about going to work tomorrow...At least I won't be hungover tomorrow!

wicked

And that is beautiful all by itself!
Good on you!
beth