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Those About To Give Up Drinking, We Salute You!

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13:37 / 07.01.08

Oh yes my chillens. You have my benediction. Go forth and drink. Remember, whilst I don't drink, each and every one of you is now drinking for two.

Week one is nearly up. I pondered having a glass of whiskey last night, but held firm on the grounds that I've only been "dry" for a few days.

Maybe have one next weekend. See how I do.

jentacular dreams

14:14 / 07.01.08

Well done ES. The first few weeks always seem to be the hardest with anything of this ilk. Good to know you're doing well.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

02:02 / 10.05.08

I'm giving up drinking for a month or so, starting yesterday. There's an event I'm attending mid-June that I need to be match fit for, so it's adios to the cervezas for a bit and hello daily gym visits. I'm going to be sickeningly healthy.

07:45 / 12.05.08

I haven't drunk in about a week and a half (more by incident of appendectomy than desire) but I just realised it's been the longest period I've been sober in about 3 years so I think I'm going to continue to see what benefits come with.
Good luck, Mordant, btw, I'm not gym ready but that sounds like a pretty good idea too.

Whisky Priestess

10:22 / 12.05.08

Over the past few weeks I've been amusing myself by trying to stick to the government's recommended weekly allowance of booze (14 units for women, 21 for men). I've been more or less on target during the week but weekends are definitely the challenge.

Now 14 units equates roughly to one large (250ml) glass of wine per day, or two bottles per week (I'm a wine drinker with occasional cocktails). While this is not so tough in theory, there's the fact that I am often out during the week and so I can't really save up my allowance for weekend blow-outs. (Not that three glasses on Friday and three on Saturday counts as a crazy alcoholic binge). So if I go out on three weekdays and have two glasses of wine in an evening, I can reach Friday and have one glass "left" for the whole weekend.

I suppose I could stop seeing my friends during the week, or else go to coffee shops instead - which would be fine by me except that most of them, even in London, close at around 7pm. And it seems a bit silly to go to a pub/bar and not drink. And I don't like shitty pub fruit juices and shitty pub coffee. Last time I was off the booze I drank lime and soda pretty much exclusively, but that got really, really boring really quickly.

Also, I do think that the Government "allowance" is unrealistically low for a country in which over 90% of the population drinks and there is a nationwide pub culture to the extent that places that serve alcohol (pubs, bars, restaurants) are literally almost the only places you can socialise after 7pm. Except Bar Italia, which fills up pretty quick.

Anyone else tried this experiment?

10:48 / 12.05.08

Just 21 units a week (or less, considering my petite build)?

Why don't you just kill me, 'cause that's what it's gonna take.

10:54 / 12.05.08

Yeah, iirc they dropped them recently. It used to be 21 for women and 28 for men. But since those figures were pretty much pulled out of thin air anyway I tend not to let it bother me.

The recent thing I've seen round my neck of the woods is the recommendation that you have at least two alcohol free days a week, which sounds fairly reasonable. No fun, but reasonable.

Wikipedia has some details on various countries recommended limits.

10:54 / 12.05.08

I have to say I really didn't feel a huge benefit from my 3 month abstention. But it wasn't as hard as I imagined it was going to be. I certainly appreciated those fine Australian wines more when I started back up.

I dunno though. I may try and cut back a little on my weekly intake now that I am back off of the wagon. Maybe only the occasional glass of whiskey to take the edge off. Or some of that ludicrously potent over-proof rum I brought back.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

13:36 / 12.05.08

After night's shenanigans--which involved being as sick as I've never been at 1:30 am, I think it's time I climbed up on the wagon for a while. Feeling like this on weekly basis is NOT fun.

Whisky Priestess

13:32 / 13.05.08

That's the thing - since learning the magic trick of drinking water before I go to bed, I honestly can't remember the last time I had a stinking hangover. I can drink a lot for a long time and get pretty drunk and yet still wake up feeling either a bit moody with a slight headache, or completely clean and chirpy and bright-eyed.

This is a gift of some sort, I know, (perhaps even a superpower) so I don't want to abuse it. Also I am concerned that the reason I no longer suffer ill effects (unless I drink red wine, which I don't really like) is that I've got too used to booze and that my tolerance level is now unnervingly high.

Don't get me wrong - I can still get shitfaced. I just tend not to suffer as much for it as I should.

14:49 / 13.05.08

My tolerance does kind of worry me also by the way in which I'm unsure of the biological workings of what's happening in my liver and kidney's to make it so.

I'm feeling a lot fresher sans daily hangover, I want to kill everything a lot less, at least.
It might just be the Summer sun, however.

22:29 / 30.05.08

Today was my first caffeine-free day in about thirteen years. A recent increased occurrence of excruciating, stabbing stomach pains made my mind up for me. So it's herbal teas from now on. Gack, etc.

Peppermint tea gets a cautious thumbs up. Minty.

Nettle tea tastes like nothing else I've tasted before, except maybe peppermint tea without the mintyness. This makes me suspect that it actually tastes of perforated bag.

Blackberry tea is rank.

Blackcurrant tea is just about do-able.

Raspberry and peach tea smells nice enough, when dry and in its little bags. I've not yet worked up the courage to drink the stuff.

00:35 / 31.05.08

Well God help us all if there's a serious war, is all I'm saying; you people are literally lily-livered.

Morbidly analysing your booze intake - while it's no doubt heavy, there are surely more serious issuses to worry about? You busters?

00:40 / 31.05.08

To be clear; Nobody cares if you drink yourself to death, as long as you write a screenplay or are a great fund mananager.

00:42 / 31.05.08

Or 'Manager', I suppose.

00:49 / 31.05.08

Today was my first caffeine-free day in about thirteen years.

Grow up.

00:51 / 31.05.08

< drunk pedant > Randy: If it's not got tea in it then it's not tea.< / drunk pedant >

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

00:54 / 31.05.08

Actually, it's been 13 years since caffeine for me as well. Of course, when I get that sort of "it couldn't happen the same way twice" and try just a little bit of caffeine, the result IS the same.

Fuck.

01:05 / 31.05.08

You ghastly, little man.

01:08 / 31.05.08

I'm sorry, everyone; I had a coffee, which might have driven me insane. Gold Blend, Nescafe, still the best ... Still the best?

02:03 / 31.05.08

Three cups in, and so dangerous be this psychocative substance, coffee, that I want to do that whole Carlos Castenada thing thing. The other reality, and so on.

08:03 / 31.05.08

Randy, try rooibos tea. It's completely caffiene free and pretty darn tasty. I'm hooked on the stuff (whilst still pouring gallons of hyper-caffienated Rocket Fuel coffee down my neck admittedly).

that I want to do that whole Carlos Castenada thing thing.

What, make shit up?

Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero

01:48 / 01.06.08

Drink bat urine, I think ze means. I've been off it myself for nearly a decade. One day at a time.

Anyway, I'm still drinking booze, but I just started a stint of celibacy. I've decided this thread is appropriate for posting.

02:40 / 01.06.08

Rooibos seconded. You might also get something out of chicory tea, if coffee cravings are huge.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

08:44 / 02.06.08

Is red tea caffiene-free? I've been drinking quite a lot of that recently and it's very nice.

10:42 / 02.06.08

Depends, if it's from China then it's probably what we woould call black tea, and thus not short of caffiene. If it's from Africa then it's probably rooibos or red-bush tea which is a diffent to the tea plant and has no caffiene.

12:49 / 02.06.08

Randy, I could be mistaken, but I believe that the bulk of the caffeine in tea is extracted in the first 30 seconds or of steeping. If you can live with a slightly weaker cup than normal, you might want to try pouring off the first brew and adding more hot water. At the 30-second mark it doesn't taste much like tea yet anyway.

There's also this product from a (U.S.) supplier I've used many times and can recommend wholeheartedly. You may be able to find something similar wherever you are. Their catalog has a good listing of tisanes if you're looking for other ideas. I can also recommend the rooibos recs above, it brews a nice, full-tasting cup with deep color and a pleasant fragrance.

13:03 / 02.06.08

Wouldn't it be easier to just buy decaf tea?

13:51 / 02.06.08

I need something with a bit of flavour in it, so a quick dunking of the teabag would leave it a bit too weak for my tastes.

Nettle, now that I try it a second time, is awful. I think unfamiliarity clouded my judgement first time I tasted it.

I'll get myself some rooibos tomorrow, I think. Cheers for pointing to it, everybody. Also liking the sound of chicory tea, if I can find it.

16:19 / 02.06.08

Something like Houjicha might be worth a shot. It's tea, it's dark, it's roasted, it contains almost no caffeine and it shouldn't be too hard to track down if you can't be arsed shipping bags from Japan online.

Randy, I could be mistaken, but I believe that the bulk of the caffeine in tea is extracted in the first 30 seconds or of steeping. If you can live with a slightly weaker cup than normal, you might want to try pouring off the first brew and adding more hot water. At the 30-second mark it doesn't taste much like tea yet anyway.

I think that's a bit of a myth. Some tea geekery here.
The data has been argued with but I've not heard any decent back-up for the 80% claim as yet.

17:05 / 02.06.08

If it helps, chicory seems to show up in "fake coffee" teas, like so.

23:57 / 02.06.08

Thanks for the link, Proinsias! That blog looks great.

According to them:

30 seconds: 9% caffeine removal
1 minute: 18% caffeine removal
2 minutes: 34% caffeine removal
3 minutes: 48% caffeine removal
4 minutes: 60% caffeine removal
5 minutes: 69% caffeine removal
10 minutes: 92% caffeine removal
15 minutes: 100% caffeine removal

The tea I get at 4 or 5 minutes of steeping is to my taste, I'd hate to have to throw that out. Luckily caffeine doesn't seem to bother me. The blog has some good info on commercially decaffeinated teas as well (summary: not recommended).

00:33 / 03.06.08

Looks like Randy's fucked for that one then.

09:07 / 16.03.09

Oooer, I’ve decided to give up drinking for good.

I’ve long felt that I have a problem with alcohol, the biggest problem being that my drinking habits have never been quite problematic enough. I’ve had many embarrassing episodes, I’ve behaved like an arsehole on many occasions, but on the whole I’ve never been embarrassing or arseholish consistently or enough for me to easily label myself as, say, someone who definitely shouldn’t be allowed near the demon booze, and I’ve never been dependent enough on alcohol, or given to totally horrific binges for me to commit to serious sounding terms like “alcoholic”. The upshot has been that it’s taken me a very long time indeed to get to where I am now: absolutely sick and tired of getting too drunk for my own good, and determined not to expose my son to my bad habits. I’ve proven time and time again that I find it extremely difficult to drink in moderation, and that simply isn’t good enough.

So, yeah, it’s going to be hard, but almost certainly not as hard as it likely is for those with a more catastrophic addiction, and it looks as if my friends and family are going to be very supportive, so that’s good.

Wish me luck, Barbelith.

trouble at bill

09:40 / 16.03.09

Yeah, I can very much relate to the problem of not having a massive problem. As drinkers go I am usually quite a sensible one and that can definitely be quite a dangerous thing. Respect and good luck to you, sah!

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