Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hey guys,

I am about to start two weeks with absolutely no alcohol. Not one itty bitty sip. Not even a glass of wine. This may not sound like a big deal, but I am 22 and work in the restaurant industry so I've been drinking about 4-5 days out of the week, about three drinks each night. Just decided I needed to let my body decompress and recover a bit before my liver turns into a giant pickle.

Anyone else doing something similar?

Hi! I quit drinking at around your age except maybe a glass of wine a year or something. I'm now in my mid 30s so its been a while :) I'd say you can do it. I feel much better when I don't drink and now have a super low tolerance for drinking so even things like half a little alcohol can get me drunk.

I do this every once and a while. You end up feeling really good at the end of the two weeks, so let that be your motivation!

Working late hours in restaurants makes drinking tempting. When I was in school full time, I had two jobs, one of which was a night shift at a restaurant. Sometimes, it was a mug full of beer (or two) that got me through cooking and waiting until 2 am. It was hard for me to keep the energy going full speed for so many hours without it. BUT it is totally do-able. You just have to get through the first few nights and it'll feel normal.

Good luck!

yup, i do this on a regular basis because my drinking tend to get a little.. out of hand.
right now i'm in a good rut with it, i only drink when i'm going out and i can control my intake so i don't get super drunk.
but every once in a while i do an alcohol cleanse.

I am currently on the Quantum Wellness cleanse (Kathy Freston) and since the 1st I've eliminated all gluten, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol from my diet. Alcohol was probably the hardest for me to give up- I probably drink at least a bottle of wine once a week and I thoroughly enjoy it.

I feel amazing but I want some forking wine and cupcakes, so no plans to continue once the end of the month hits. I've already bought the wine I'm going to drink on the first.

I can't drink anymore for fun, it's difficult to loosen up and do it because of the alcoholics in my life. Once in a while I'll drink a glass of wine or a mixed drink with friends. It's great because I'm a lightweight and drinking almost nothing makes me drunk, so I don't get hungover! It's great you're taking a break, we all need a breather from unhealthy habits! It may be hard to go cold-turkey for two weeks because of your environment, but I think it's not cheating if you drastically reduce your intake but still have a few once a week, and then work yourself up to zero alcohol for a few weeks. Just don't kick yourself if you miss it :)

I am doing this as well...only for 21 days. The hubbie and I often find ourselves splitting a bottle and I know that 3 glasses of wine a night is bad! It is funny how minor addictions sort of sneak up on you.

I've cut back my alcohol consumption a lot within the last year. In 2009 I realized it was starting to be a bit much. I was having a couple every night and then on Fridays meeting up with my friend for beers and having 5 or 6 then continuing heavily all throughout the weekend. So last year I decided to only drink on the weekends. Now, I still do that but I've cut back even less sometimes I only have a drink or 2 a week. I can tell my tolerance has gone down pretty low, but it's a good thing. Also as a bonus I lost a lot of my beer belly. So it's been a positive change. Good for you for taking care of yourself!

Thanks everyone! I ended up having a glass of wine and a margarita at a dinner party, so I suppose I am officially starting today. Now I am a little annoyed I couldn't go one day without being easily peer pressured into drinking but I think the annoyance will help me stick to my goal.

Luckily the problem was never really drinking too much at one time, but drinking constantly. The hardest part will be the social aspect of not drinking/being drunk with everyone else. Apparently, I am the only 22 year old I know who actively tries to take care of herself. Yeesh.

You might find this thread helpful:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2611

Good luck! You can do it.

i stopped drinking, too, a couple weeks ago. it's hard to avoid at social events, but to get the peer pressure off your back, it helps to have a cup of soda or water in your hand.

actually, for me it's kind of a relief, because i would always be thinking hard about whether i could have another (part of the reason why i stopped- i have a hard time knowing my limits)...life is simpler now!

I just started a 10-day round of antibiotics, so no drinks for me for that long.

Drinking 4-5 times a week? I envy you.

Ok completed over 48 hours with no alcohol in several social situations. Besides peer pressure, it has been super easy. I think the main problem is its NOT a problem for me to drink 4-5 times a week because I never drink to the point where I black out, get sick, do regrettable things or become hungover. It's not even a money issue because I rarely pay for drinks. This makes it sooo easy to drink without thinking about it!

I'm doing this simply for health reasons like when I detox off of caffeine or sweets temporarily. I have noticed that I've been sleeping a lot more and going to bed earlier. Could my liver be releasing toxins or something? Am I being overly dramatic? (Yes.)

By the way thanks for the club soda with lime trick, it works beautifully and only my good friends know I am not actually drinking.

you actually can drink on most antibiotics, in case you want to.

good for you! i've been laying off the alcohol since new years, for health as well.
i'm not sure if you're actually overreacting, whether you feel the effects (like a hangover) or not, alcohol is pretty hard on your body when drinking often, so i'm sure it's appreciating the break :)

my body's definitely loving it. i think i'll be steering clear for a while.

Absolutely. Drunk people are forking obnoxious when you're not drunk too. I'm never drunk, so drunk people are always forking obnoxious. The upside is that people tend to love you for being designated driver all the time.

Also on Vicodin! and another painkiller! I'm actually having fun like this ...

cheap date!

Finally that awesome feeling everyone was talking about kicked in. I don't know if I feel more or less energized than normal, but I definitely felt lethargic for the first four days after I stopped drinking. Could have been I was fighting off a cold or my body thought it would be hilarious to flush out a bunch of toxins. Either way, I have felt amazing the past couple of days. I've even had three friends join in the (temporarily) no alcohol movement. Although I am only halfway through, I feel like the rest of this will be a breeze.

For anyone else doing this here is what I've found super effective so far:

1) Before going out for the night, drink a cup of green tea with lemon or take a multi vitamin. The green tea keeps me awake without keeping me up all night and the vitamins perk me up a bit. The combination allows me to stay up dancing until 2 or 3 if necessary and I still feel awesome the next day from the extra boost of antioxidants and no alcohol.

2) Sip on a club soda with lime to avoid constant questions and offers to buy you a drink (so tempting) however, only sip on ONE and tip the bartender a couple of dollars because the water is free and your bartender still had to make it, so help them out and don't make them keep pouring you forking cup after cup of water, unless you are legitimately thirsty.

3) I've been drinking small amounts of the Yogi Detox tea every other day to help my little detoxing organs out. I'm convinced this is super helpful.

4) Instead of focusing on how dumb all the drunk people look (this was really hard for me) I have a lot more fun just letting go and revel in the fact that no one is paying attention to me or will remember my goofy dance moves.

Hi. This is my 77th day sober after drinking nearly every day for 3 years. I'm happy to see this thread.

Thats awesome, Koala.

Thanks! I am a happy recovering monkey.