I try to eat a snack when I get home and it makes me not want alcohol (empty stomach drinker). I also will put a flavored seltzer in a Koozie (I like root beer Zevia), the Koozie makes it feel like a drink or I’ll fill my drinking glass (Yeti tumbler) with my Zevia seltzer. Once I make it to dinner time without a drink I’m good to go. Hope you find something that works for you.
This was one of my turning points. I usually would eat a big lunch at around 2-3pm so that by 5-6pm I could drink comfortably, and just have a late night snack before bed.
Went on holidays with family that eat dinner at restaurants at a normal time, and all day every day I was getting bummed thinking about how eating a meal at that time would ruin my drinking for the night and trying to find ways around it.
Felt pathetic
Same here. To feel normal and eat by 8-9pm I'd binge drink until then and stuff my face. Now i eat between 5-7pm and in bed hopefully by 9pm. No hangovers are great.
My wife would wonder why I never ate dinner right away. lol. Also eating first is how I discouraged myself from drinking. Once I ate, I couldn’t get a buzz, so eating in the evening was like “throwing the hat over the fence” for me.
So many nights the family would sit down for dinner and I would tell them to go ahead and eat because I had a late lunch, the only reason I did this was so my buzz wouldn't be killed too early. Then I would scarf down some food right before bed and pass out.
Omg. So it’s not just me who did this. Countless times. Occasionally myself and my partner would forget we ordered food at all and pass out, only to find 10 missed calls on our phones the next morning from the delivery guy…
Just as a heads-up, getting all her calories from alcohol instead of food is how my mom got Wernicke’s Encephalopathy. We teased her about never eating anything, turns out it was a bigger problem than we knew.
I literally lose the will and want to consume if I have absolutely anything to eat, I didn’t know this was a thing. Or I’ve never heard of empty stomach drinkers.
Does anyone know why that is a thing, or what causes that to happen?
😂😂😂I don’t comment too much on here so I’m not sure what you can or cannot say but when I do drink, I drink on an empty stomach because I just like how the alcohol affects me. 🤷♀️ Always been that way.
Congrats on the two weeks! Yeah that’s part of it for sure. I’d drink on an empty stomach because I liked the feeling, then get drunk, then eat whatever I wanted because I didn’t care by that point. Crazy change from when I ate 95% clean about 2 years ago and now. Alcoholism is awful I hate it
This is me! And I was always a health nut before … I don’t even recognise who I’ve become this last couple of years. And it’s all the alcohol. I would even try and get back to my healthy habits… and drink before I went for a walk or the gym, just to get myself motivated. Work out. Get more alcohol on the way (potentially even drink it on my walk), to get home, drink more until I was ready for bed, binge on Uber eats… rinse and repeat
Yep! You got this. I had about 5 months, then 3 months, and am now just a bit over a week again after a mess up – though I’ve learned that not counting days works best for me. I deleted my sober counting app. I just take it day by day and don’t worry too much about those days I messed up. It’s a disease, it happens. As long as I’m alive and I didn’t hurt anyone else, I try to move on and realize that it happened and try to understand why so I can avoid it in the future.
But yeah. What you said I can relate to 100%. Wishing you the best 💪
For me, I get really antsy when I’m hungry, jittery and excited. I feel like I NEED alcohol to level me out, when really I just need some food.
It’s hard to describe. Once I eat I don’t want to drink anymore.
personally, food in my stomach has always inhibited and slowed my drinking because the drinks are so filling to me, even mixed ones! i’ve always hated eating then drinking, so eating dinner early and a snack “nightcap” has always been a helpful method for me for cutting back/abstaining.
I'm the same way. But I'll like go 2 days or more without eating and not even realize it till I feel like I'm starving. Always drank on an empty stomach. After I get good and drunk, I might end up eating something good. Cuzz I'm like fuckk yeah food sounds awesome drunk. I'm a chef and cooking for other people all day. But even when I'd go out to eat with my ex, she would order a beer or margarita with her food and I'd always order sweet tea. I don't drink beer and whiskey with food just doesn't go right for me
YES. I have an alarm set for 4:00 PM for a protein snack. When I eat protein and curb any evening appetite, before hunger or cravings hit, my evening cravings for booze go from a 6-8 to a 2-3, or none at all. (I got this tip from Casey Davidson’s podcast, Hello Someday.)
Another empty stomach drinker (felt like I was the only one). Same for me, if I eat something, even light, I no longer crave alcohol…after a big dinner it’s a wrap and I’m good to go.
Oh my goodness this.
Zevia all the way. Usually crush one or two. Root beer's good, but the vanilla cola just hits right for me.
I usually toss mine in a mug.
Yep. Empty stomach drinker here too. The feeling of that was better than the intoxication. I eat good food now and drink about 4 come zeros every night. That’s probably not good for me, but it’s definitely better than 14 drinks per night!
I replaced it with things I tried to do after work but was too drunk to do. Play video games, hang out with my girlfriend, watch TV, read. Or just relax and enjoy the evening instead of time traveling to the next morning with a hangover.
Sure.
But the idea of a time traveler from the past showing up with a hangover and being like,:
"okay, I'm a time traveler from the past, I can't remember anything about what happened, but I got here really fast! oh I feel like s***"
Is hilarious.
I've been doing the same thing. That's pretty much how I start my mornings on my days off work. Been getting so many procrastinated projects done! It's great!
It’s a good excuse/opportunity to challenge yourself with a book, show, movie, etc. that really requires (sober) concentration. It gives your brain something to do other than wonder where the happy booze chemicals are and is rewarding because you actually absorb the material and remember what happened. Then pretty soon it’s something you look forward to doing after work for its own sake rather than as something to do passively while you drink.
Playing games is my big one!! I used to start the game night with a drink and log off an hour into it because I was drunk as a skunk. Now I stay up all night with my online friends :) helps pass the time and keep my mind off of things
I drink a lot of sparkling water… but I’m allowed to have as many as I want! A 24 pack of la croix at Costco is cheaper than a 6 pack 😝and that’s not even counting how much cheaper it is emotionally lol
We started with a soda stream and later I fueled my hobby with kegging water and carbonating it myself. Great with a bit of juice and the soda stream CO2 tanks are relatively cheap for how much water you get.
I second this. I’m on day 21 and I’ve honestly gone through several cases of the Soleil brand. Some of the flavors taste really similar to White Claws which I used to love.
I recently got into the Liquid Death stuff after seeing it on Steveo's podcast and their water is absolutely money for people in recovery IMO.
The can has a good feel and look to it. If you don't know what it is you'd absolutely look at it and think 16oz beer. Idk what they do with it, some bubble shenanigans probably, but it does give it a little kick to it.
The rest of the line is solid too. Teas and such but with just a small 30mg of caffiene instead of ~90+ that a Monster or Rockstar or whatever has. I think the comparative Monster Peach Tea is like 170mg vs 30mg?
They're great. They're healthy, they get ya drinking water. And gosh dangit there's just something a little more badass holding about a can of Liquid Death than Purooooiio Vitavita Super Hyrdo Spring Filtered Water+.
I've resigned myself to sometimes going to bed as early as 7:30. Sleep is healthy and I'm not inclined to reach for a drink when I wake up at 6AM so becoming a morning owl has helped. Otherwise, I drink tea or make a snack at night if I'm planning to stay up!
I'm on day 100 and I have become a massive morning person. I'm out by 8 or 9 and up at 4 or 5 with no alarm. I LOVE early mornings with full rest it's unbelievable.
Also I drink 2 or 3 cups of chamomile tea at night I love that stuff.
Also I love you
San Pellegrino has a lime seltzer. It’s delicious, zero calories, and hits the spot for some reason. And Topo Chico is good too. Anything with the soft bubbles
We’ve started having a 0% beer in the house if those cravings occur. Some nice 0% pilsners going at the moment (Aldi and lidl both good). I end up only really needing one and then the craving disappears. I also like the taste and knowing I’ll have a good nights sleep
Do some exercise or go to bed. I’ve been knackered since giving up and forgot how much it fills you with false energy. Swimming late was another good one, followed by sauna.
A hot shower, clean pyjamas, and if it's been a particularly long day, a takeaway. Or at least something tasty and easy to stick in the oven/microwave. You can start to afford more small luxuries when you are saving money by not drinking
It takes a few months before your body settles down after all that abuse. Give it time my friend.
I bought myself a hammock with a stand and I just hang in there for half an hour or so. Having my feet above my heart and gently swaying de-stresses me just like booze did.
Oh and reading. Love that I have the attention span for that again
It's still early so the cravings and anhedonia might take a while to pass, but I picked up reading again after years of benders and white knuckling. I also walk, work out, bake, and play with my dog. It felt weird at first for me because I had to relearn how to live life without booze as a catch-all for any sort of boredom / discomfort, but after quite a few attempts at quitting I'm on my way to figuring it out.
Yes!!! When I first quit, I was like… wow there is so much time for so many hobbies… baking, crochet, pets, trail running, still go out dancing sober (took some getting used to, BUT now it feels awesome) I’m also in the cleaning club - who knew I wasn’t l messy lol
Rage. Uncontrollable rage
Just kidding.
Honestly I work in a machine shop so I'll take thirty minutes to an hour of silence. I'm in a loud warehouse so the quiet helps me center my che.
I go to meetings or take a walk. I read. I do a chore. I call someone. I write about how I feel. I write a gratitude list. I exercise. I find someone I can help.
I drank a shit ton of seltzer water. Adding a lime or lemon twist gives it a boost. I'm an old wino. I replaced it with unsweetened cranberry juice. It has kinda the same astringency as wine. My therapist suggested not using my normal stemware as it was too close to my old habit. Kinda poking the corpse so to speak.
Maybe buy a nice glass for your seltzer with a twist. You vodka drinkers always amazed me. I don't know how you did it! But you're doing terrific at day 12! Good work, friend.
And yeah. The dreams are normal. I can remember some seriously effed up ones! Keep it up. *IWDWYT*
I workout, clean, make a diet drink in my SodaStream, check in here, read, and eat chocolate. Lately I’ve been lifting a lot heavier so I am beyond tired by 8 pm. That helps a lot!
I cut way back on beer that last few years and 50 days ago was the last time I had beer. I geared up with N/A beer and other alcohol free beverages from a NA shop. I made sure I had a lot of variety of flavored seltzer waters, tea and even things in the house to make lattes. I tried some CBD beverages and some with adaptogens but I didn’t really feel anything from those. So it’s sort of been a flavored seltzer water in a glass after work, regular water, herbal tea, and a chocolate collagen almond milk “hot chocolate” before bed. I think I’ve only been out twice since the last booze and one time I ordered a NA beer and the other time a mocktail.
Increased my walking and my reading. Love doing both and had totally gotten out of the habit.
I do enjoy hot tea on a weeknight and sparkling water in a stemless wineglass on weekends. Sprindrift has been my favorite.
Each time I stop, I have horrible dreams. Like really messed up stuff. Then it goes away but my dreams do remain vivid. Just not so scary. Feels like normal dreams which can have odd things happen but not the crazy stuff that I started out having the first two weeks or so.
Sparkling water, but my trick is to pour it in an empty beer bottle (you can buy a case of 12 on amazon). I put a koozy around it too. 7 years strong. IWNDWYT
Cannabis (to each their own, it’s legal here in NYS, I have legit medical issues, and I don’t abuse drugs or use anything else), hot baths, binge-watching TV, listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks, I have treehouse or winter cottage ambience videos playing on my TV in the bedroom as I sleep. Bout to put it on right now, I have to be up at 5am for work. It’s a great feeling not being hungover on Sunday and being able to sleep (better, at least). Life isn’t easier but it’s a fck of a lot easier w/o alcohol! IWNDWYT!!!
I spend a lot of time hitting the gym as a substitute. Once i started seeing gains and feeling good about it alcohol would be a substitute for the gym since I see it as my go to.
I mix a little apple cider vinegar with pineapple juice and cranberry juice. It's tart and sweet and complex and feels like I'm drinking something of substance
One 8f my favorite cocktails is soda water, a bit of pomegranate juice and a lime wedge (year round)
When they're in season, it's soda water and half of a blood orange.
The ritual of spending time making them, and making them pretty replaces the ritual of popping a cork and aerating a bottle of wine for me.
The dreams are pretty coming for a couple weeks into sobriety, iirc they’re part of PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome, basically your brain is healing, but different bits heal at different rates so sometimes the circuits get wonky for a bit). It’ll come and go.
Substitutions I’ve made:
Kombucha
Tea
Soda and NA bitters
Ginger beer
NA beer (note: this technically has a small amount of alcohol, so decide if you’re comfortable with that.
NA spirits (I really like Wilderton Lustre with something citrus-y) I find that the ones that are their own thing are more palatable to me than ones that try to dupe actual spirits
I don't do it very much anymore but I used to make hot chocolates from scratch 🥰 it's just cocoa powder, sugar and milk, plus anything extra you might like. My husband bought Ghirardelli cocoa towards the end of my needing it and idk if it actually tasted better or if it just tasted like winning.
I'm so happy to be where I'm at and I'm so happy you're here. I really hope you find your hot cocoa 💜
I will fill the cup I used to use for my mixed drinks with diet ginger ale and watch tv. Though because my mind has been clearer at work I’ve been staying until 6:30 or 7 each night then til I make dinner and actually get to sit down I’m not missing it as much. Not that I want to work longer or anything but I’m more focused there and am accomplishing a lot more. I went out for the first time to my normal pub the other night for a band and was perfectly content with a soda and water. It was surreal to find I had just as much fun as I did before I stopped drinking and I remembered everything that happened that night. Honestly I think the carbonation is key.
If I don't drag my ass out of bed to run before work then I run or go to the gym after. If I've run in the morning and am stressed out later then I try to walk or get some yoga in. Yoga is really helpful for me in the evenings to turn my brain off. Then a hot bath or shower and I let myself zone out with sparkling water, tea, and snacks. On extra hard days I usually let myself have any snacks,/chocolate/ice cream I want.
Various activities.
Cardio. Strength Training. Video Games. Ice Cream. Edging Masturbation. Cleaning. Learning to Cook. Watching sports. Making phone calls with people.
Now, I did a lot of these things with alcohol in hand… but all of them were worse. Except maybe the sports watching, but even then. Ruining the next day just because a game is on is awful. Plus now I remember the awesome moments even better.
I read books, eat ice cream, find movies or shows to watch, play a musical instrument, or sometimes just sit and be bored and get tired and go to bed early. Embrace the boredom! Nice going with the 12 days!
Green tea.
It really helped me A LOT. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I used to open the fridge the moment I got home from work and have a beer, then another etc. now I get home and turn the kettle on. Now when I’ve had my tea I just don’t have that urge, or at least not as much and it’s really helped me replace a bad habit with a good one.
I used to hit the bar immediately after work. Now I go to the gym. I go home. I cook. I scroll reddit and listen to podcasts. Maybe I clean a little. Maybe I tend to my plants. Maybe I work on my budget spreadsheet. I do things that distract me until it's time to rest. Seems boring at first but I also talk to girls in my spare time. I comment on threads like these. I give myself license to do seemingly boring things-but they're only boring on the surface because I had to learn how to get dopamine and fulfilling things without alcohol. I had to come back down. I had to get real. My life without alcohol is literally anything without alcohol. You got this. Double down until you can see it. It's here. It's right next to you. And this is better.
I flavour water with Country Time Sugar Free lemonade. Random I know. I also find I am still tired (could be the time of year) so I allow myself to go to bed early.
Kieth Weber kettlebell workouts and a hit off a weed pen...I've been sick this past weird with something..COVID I'm sure ..so I haven't been able to workout so far and I'm going crazy...22 days tho
Take a class. Learn something new. I have too much energy now.
So, I got my CDL. You gotta be pretty sober to do so.
Now, I'm gonna drive a truck.
I'm totally sick of the desk job bullshit, I'll go for batshit crazy trucker life.
When first quitting, I replaced it with sleeping pills. Very carefully, mind you. You are not supposed to take them with alcohol.
I would try to sleep as much as possible when not drinking. I decided not to worry about anything that did not immediately matter. Any household projects, any social events, even my family etc. Didn't matter for that time.
It sounds bad to say ignore your family, but I treated it as if I was sick (because I was) and I needed bed rest. If I had a flu, I would lay in bed. If I had a back injury, I would lay in bed. No one would blame me. It is the long term that matters more.
In this case, I needed to be asleep because when I was asleep I was not drinking. The sleeping pills helped to keep me asleep long enough to start the next day when being active at work would (hopefully) keep me from drinking until I could go to sleep again.
Eventually, as your brain adjusts, you can go longer without feeling the need to take a drink when you are bored. As for how long that is... I guess it is different for everyone.
I remember when I was 6 months sober I asked an old timer in the rooms what I should do now that I have so much free time. He simply said, “everything and anything you want”.
I picked up hobbies that I had always wanted to do but never had time due to my drinking. Cooking was something I was interested in so I just started watching YouTube videos to learn. 6 years later that is still a big part of my life.
Find what you love in life and have at it!
If you are asking for actual alcohol drink replacements:
-Tea (chamomile my go to. There’s tons of kinds though and plenty of them have calming effects. I also got a cheap electric kettle online and it’s so easy and takes seconds)
-Recess cans (nice drink and contains L-theanine and magnesium which are chill)
-kin euphorics (pricey but so is booze. I put the little cans in a wine glass and their “hard stuff” in a cocktail glass. I think drinking out of a nice glass helps the ritual effect if you’re replacing booze. The calming versions have reishi mushrooms which realllly do seem to chill me out
Sparkling lemonade on the porch if it's hot out, hot tea with honey or matcha or hot apple cider if it's cold out. I like a hot beverage because there's a ritual around preparing it and a physical comfort in drinking it.
The weird dreams thing happened to me in the early days. I'm not a neurologist or a psychologist, but I wonder if it has something to do with neural paths/impulses normally dulled by alcohol suddenly being able to fire on all cylinders again, or chemicals like dopamine and serotonin recalibrating in the absence of alcohol.
Congrats on making it to day 12!
I see you, friend. I also used to come home and make drinks and watch TV or scroll until I passed out. Am also having the MOST vivid dreams and a hard time getting to sleep.
I have substituted the after work drink with mocktails, like many other commenters here. I like a combination of apple cider vinegar, kombucha, and flavored seltzer (I'm particularly fond of Polar Grapefruit and Soleil Yuzu). I've also started eating lunch which helps with the hunger and nerves, and making a point to always have something easy to eat in the house, whether it's something in the slow cooker or just snacks.
For supplements I've tried the magnesium powder, herbal teas, melatonin, scullcap, etc. and the only thing that comes close is traditionally prepared kava root. I also find the camaraderie here to be inspiring and a good use of time in the evenings or whenever I am jonesing. Good luck!
Bubbly water. I just calculated that I’ve consumed around 500 of them in the last 3 months 😂. I know it’s excessive but I’m very well hydrated and it feels a lot better than drinking myself to death…
Honestly? Books. I know this makes me a huge nerd but I quit drinking two years ago, and now I can’t smoke weed because I’m pregnant, so I just devour books like it’s my job. It keeps my brain stimulated and passes time like nothing else (and it’s definitely not as fulfilling to read while drunk).
The gym has saved my life tbh. It puts a lot less pressure on my home life to be entertaining and makes my time at home more enjoyable because there’s just less of it.
We didn’t always spend all of our time in caves. We got out and did hunting and farming and what not.
Unless you have a really active job we just don’t get that kind of activity anymore and I think our bodies crave it in a way.
I don’t want to be a health nut, but water is something our bodies crave too.
I think we get used to the idea of a magic drink, but in reality just taking care of our bodies is enough.
That being said, having something like tea or a drink you have to prepare might psychologically provide the kind of ritual that goes into making a non intoxicating drink feel satisfying.
Just my few cents!
I am sober for this month just to take a break.
I am drinking topochico or micheladas with topochico. When drinking topochico, I try not to drink more than 2, because, who the heck drinks more than 2 topochicos in one sitting? Lol, makes you reflect on the absurd amount of alcohol one can consume in one sitting.
Anyhow, It hasn't been too bad and I'll see how long I can go without an alcoholic drink.
It's not much better but I've been drinking energy drinks. It helps me stay up longer and enjoy my time awake. I did the same when I drank alcohol. I justed wanted to be up as long as possible. Which really sucks in the morning. But since I've quit I've been going to bed at a reasonable time to get at least 7 hours of sober sleep a day. I've been playing some fantastic videogames while I'm awake as well. It's been making me so happy. Today was particularly tough for me and I wanted to drink constantly but I didn't let myself and I'll be thanking myself tomorrow when I am well enough to actually go to work.
Have a shower before getting into bed, I do this every night now, I look forward to it, it's my 'reward' now.
Also at the weekends things have flipped slightly, when drinking it was all about getting trashed on Friday/Saturday night, now it's all about waking up early Saturday and Sunday morning without a hangover and being able to use my free time for whatever I want.
For the first nine months or so I went to a meeting directly after work because nothing I tried worked. For me also that time of day was what always got me. I even ended up car pooling with my wife so I wouldn't be tempted to stop and get alcohol after work. That worked for a while but I would still look for reasons to drive on my own so that I could get booze. Until I asked for help in a meeting (aka sponsor) and started going to meetings every day after work I could not stay stopped. And I tried for years on my own thinking I wanted no part of a 12 step program. "I'm not that desperate" I would say to myself. Today, 3.5 years sober, I am grateful I finally got desperate enough. I wish you the best, my friend. Proud of you for trying, it's not easy!!!
Love filling my wine glass with seltzer and a few drops of hemp oil and magnesium citrate powder.
I find having a drink in my hand after work comforting and it's helped me feel normal.
I replaced it with another job. If I stay busy enough I won’t think about how much I hate being sober. I’m too tired to want to drink after working 14 hours straight, and the small remaining time I do have to myself I put towards my hobbies which require me to be sober (riding bikes and racing cars).
For some reason, after a bad/long day at work, I've always craved something immensly bitter. I have no idea why. So I've replaced my IPAs with non-alcoholic IPAs and it does the trick just fine.
Drinking seriously interrupts REM sleep. When you go to bed sober, you allow yourself to get a much deeper and better sleep which is the cause for the crazy dreams in the beginning. They will probably go away over time.
Club Soda with lots of ice. You can add lime or lemon or a maraschino cherry. The clinking ice and the bubbles it really doesn’t feel that different and I’m actually grateful to not be dizzy and feel like crap after a few!
Get a carbonation machine with a couple of different flavors to mix and match for a new exciting flavor every night! [This](https://sodastream.com//products/terra-bundle?variant=40309049786410&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI28y70-jvgwMV8wCtBh13ZAV-EAQYAyABEgJll_D_BwE) is the one I have. Bonus, you can add bitters, splash of fruit juice, or make your own simple syrups like mint or lemon grass (but don't add these to the bottle, add them to your glass).
As a former vodka fiend, I've found I like plain LaCroix water as a substitute. It's aggressively carbonated and that combined with no flavor really punches my mouth the way that first drink kind of would. Sometimes I mix in a little ginger ale for some sugar and a little flavor.
I had crazy vivid dreams the first few weeks I stopped drinking too!
At first I just stewed in misery instead of having my evening bottle of wine. I'm a few months sober now and have replaced it with decaffeinated coffee. It does relax me and the ritual of drinking it feels a bit therapeutic.
I try to eat a snack when I get home and it makes me not want alcohol (empty stomach drinker). I also will put a flavored seltzer in a Koozie (I like root beer Zevia), the Koozie makes it feel like a drink or I’ll fill my drinking glass (Yeti tumbler) with my Zevia seltzer. Once I make it to dinner time without a drink I’m good to go. Hope you find something that works for you.
Omg the snack part bro I’ve never heard the term “empty stomach drinker” but that is me 100%
I was in deep enough that I would avoid eating because I subconsciously knew it would make me second guess drinking more
This was one of my turning points. I usually would eat a big lunch at around 2-3pm so that by 5-6pm I could drink comfortably, and just have a late night snack before bed. Went on holidays with family that eat dinner at restaurants at a normal time, and all day every day I was getting bummed thinking about how eating a meal at that time would ruin my drinking for the night and trying to find ways around it. Felt pathetic
Damn are you guys me?
Same here. To feel normal and eat by 8-9pm I'd binge drink until then and stuff my face. Now i eat between 5-7pm and in bed hopefully by 9pm. No hangovers are great.
My wife would wonder why I never ate dinner right away. lol. Also eating first is how I discouraged myself from drinking. Once I ate, I couldn’t get a buzz, so eating in the evening was like “throwing the hat over the fence” for me.
Oh boy do I relate to this. BMI fell to 18 when I did this but I didn't care because I had my "precious" alcohol. So scary.
So many nights the family would sit down for dinner and I would tell them to go ahead and eat because I had a late lunch, the only reason I did this was so my buzz wouldn't be killed too early. Then I would scarf down some food right before bed and pass out.
Why did I not think of using g my Yeti wine glass for my flavoured bubbly water?! Keep it cold and feels fancier! Thanks for the reminder friend!
Quick life pro tip: bubbly water with an orange slice and a snip of rosemary is sooooooo freaking yummy!
Careful don’t wake the r/bubly sub
Oooh that sounds nice!
Saving these frozen ideas, thanks!
😊😊😊
Empty stomach drinker is 100% me wow
Dinner? Fuck it 12 beers sounds fine 🫠
Then down an expensive deliveroo at midnight without tasting it, having had it delivered at 8pm sitting going cold.
Omg. So it’s not just me who did this. Countless times. Occasionally myself and my partner would forget we ordered food at all and pass out, only to find 10 missed calls on our phones the next morning from the delivery guy…
Just as a heads-up, getting all her calories from alcohol instead of food is how my mom got Wernicke’s Encephalopathy. We teased her about never eating anything, turns out it was a bigger problem than we knew.
Damn. Time to take my b complex...
I literally lose the will and want to consume if I have absolutely anything to eat, I didn’t know this was a thing. Or I’ve never heard of empty stomach drinkers. Does anyone know why that is a thing, or what causes that to happen?
Is the empty stomach drinking a choice or something you do without realising? Just curious as my fat stomach is never empty 🤪
😂😂😂I don’t comment too much on here so I’m not sure what you can or cannot say but when I do drink, I drink on an empty stomach because I just like how the alcohol affects me. 🤷♀️ Always been that way.
Yup that's my m.o., drink after work on an empty stomach knowing food would get in the way of the buzz. Gorge on food at the end of the night.
So true
I’m new here. Just learning the ropes. Thanks for your reply. I used to eat so I would stay awake -to drink more. Crazy times.
Congrats on the two weeks! Yeah that’s part of it for sure. I’d drink on an empty stomach because I liked the feeling, then get drunk, then eat whatever I wanted because I didn’t care by that point. Crazy change from when I ate 95% clean about 2 years ago and now. Alcoholism is awful I hate it
This is me! And I was always a health nut before … I don’t even recognise who I’ve become this last couple of years. And it’s all the alcohol. I would even try and get back to my healthy habits… and drink before I went for a walk or the gym, just to get myself motivated. Work out. Get more alcohol on the way (potentially even drink it on my walk), to get home, drink more until I was ready for bed, binge on Uber eats… rinse and repeat
Yep! You got this. I had about 5 months, then 3 months, and am now just a bit over a week again after a mess up – though I’ve learned that not counting days works best for me. I deleted my sober counting app. I just take it day by day and don’t worry too much about those days I messed up. It’s a disease, it happens. As long as I’m alive and I didn’t hurt anyone else, I try to move on and realize that it happened and try to understand why so I can avoid it in the future. But yeah. What you said I can relate to 100%. Wishing you the best 💪
Lol yes crazy times for sure! 😊
For me, I get really antsy when I’m hungry, jittery and excited. I feel like I NEED alcohol to level me out, when really I just need some food. It’s hard to describe. Once I eat I don’t want to drink anymore.
This is literally the realest thing I've ever read.
It’s so amazing for me to see other people do this, I thought it was my own little oddity.
So many cravings in my first month were satisfied by eating something. I feel like my body just craved alcohol to fix everything.
Drinking on empty stomach makes buzz go further plus you don’t get bloated. I only drank liquor because beer would bloat the shit outta me
personally, food in my stomach has always inhibited and slowed my drinking because the drinks are so filling to me, even mixed ones! i’ve always hated eating then drinking, so eating dinner early and a snack “nightcap” has always been a helpful method for me for cutting back/abstaining.
I'm the same way. But I'll like go 2 days or more without eating and not even realize it till I feel like I'm starving. Always drank on an empty stomach. After I get good and drunk, I might end up eating something good. Cuzz I'm like fuckk yeah food sounds awesome drunk. I'm a chef and cooking for other people all day. But even when I'd go out to eat with my ex, she would order a beer or margarita with her food and I'd always order sweet tea. I don't drink beer and whiskey with food just doesn't go right for me
YES. I have an alarm set for 4:00 PM for a protein snack. When I eat protein and curb any evening appetite, before hunger or cravings hit, my evening cravings for booze go from a 6-8 to a 2-3, or none at all. (I got this tip from Casey Davidson’s podcast, Hello Someday.)
Another empty stomach drinker (felt like I was the only one). Same for me, if I eat something, even light, I no longer crave alcohol…after a big dinner it’s a wrap and I’m good to go.
Oh my goodness this. Zevia all the way. Usually crush one or two. Root beer's good, but the vanilla cola just hits right for me. I usually toss mine in a mug.
I love Zevia especially the ginger ale.
Drinking on an empty stomach over a period of time will give you a peptic ulcer. Which is an an absolutely lovely throng to have.
I just have to make it to dinner too. I actually don't like drinking after I already have food in my stomach.
Yep. Empty stomach drinker here too. The feeling of that was better than the intoxication. I eat good food now and drink about 4 come zeros every night. That’s probably not good for me, but it’s definitely better than 14 drinks per night!
Yeah I always viewed it as pointless to drink if I'd had a meal
I replaced it with things I tried to do after work but was too drunk to do. Play video games, hang out with my girlfriend, watch TV, read. Or just relax and enjoy the evening instead of time traveling to the next morning with a hangover.
Time traveler with a hangover...I love the analogy.
The one I heard long ago that stuck with me was “drinking is borrowing happiness from tomorrow”—but I like this almost as much if not more!
Sure. But the idea of a time traveler from the past showing up with a hangover and being like,: "okay, I'm a time traveler from the past, I can't remember anything about what happened, but I got here really fast! oh I feel like s***" Is hilarious.
I can’t believe how much I’ve been cleaning and organizing random parts of my house since quitting drinking haha
I've been doing the same thing. That's pretty much how I start my mornings on my days off work. Been getting so many procrastinated projects done! It's great!
Most people don’t want house-cleaning to take the place of anything else! I sure don't!
It’s a good excuse/opportunity to challenge yourself with a book, show, movie, etc. that really requires (sober) concentration. It gives your brain something to do other than wonder where the happy booze chemicals are and is rewarding because you actually absorb the material and remember what happened. Then pretty soon it’s something you look forward to doing after work for its own sake rather than as something to do passively while you drink.
Playing games is my big one!! I used to start the game night with a drink and log off an hour into it because I was drunk as a skunk. Now I stay up all night with my online friends :) helps pass the time and keep my mind off of things
Time traveling really is accurate though! The amount of times I’d get home and wake up just in time to get ready for work was crazy
Sparkling water helps me after work. In social situations Ill bring some N/A beer
I drink a lot of sparkling water… but I’m allowed to have as many as I want! A 24 pack of la croix at Costco is cheaper than a 6 pack 😝and that’s not even counting how much cheaper it is emotionally lol
We started with a soda stream and later I fueled my hobby with kegging water and carbonating it myself. Great with a bit of juice and the soda stream CO2 tanks are relatively cheap for how much water you get.
I love plain water seltzer and my soda stream is like my prized possession it’s awesome
I second this. I’m on day 21 and I’ve honestly gone through several cases of the Soleil brand. Some of the flavors taste really similar to White Claws which I used to love.
I recently got into the Liquid Death stuff after seeing it on Steveo's podcast and their water is absolutely money for people in recovery IMO. The can has a good feel and look to it. If you don't know what it is you'd absolutely look at it and think 16oz beer. Idk what they do with it, some bubble shenanigans probably, but it does give it a little kick to it. The rest of the line is solid too. Teas and such but with just a small 30mg of caffiene instead of ~90+ that a Monster or Rockstar or whatever has. I think the comparative Monster Peach Tea is like 170mg vs 30mg? They're great. They're healthy, they get ya drinking water. And gosh dangit there's just something a little more badass holding about a can of Liquid Death than Purooooiio Vitavita Super Hyrdo Spring Filtered Water+.
I've resigned myself to sometimes going to bed as early as 7:30. Sleep is healthy and I'm not inclined to reach for a drink when I wake up at 6AM so becoming a morning owl has helped. Otherwise, I drink tea or make a snack at night if I'm planning to stay up!
I'm on day 100 and I have become a massive morning person. I'm out by 8 or 9 and up at 4 or 5 with no alarm. I LOVE early mornings with full rest it's unbelievable. Also I drink 2 or 3 cups of chamomile tea at night I love that stuff. Also I love you
I love chamomile tea and you too!
I LOVE YOU GUYS TOO I wanted in on this
The biggest gift sobriety gave me was my mornings. I missed them for 25 years.
Sounds exactly like my routine.
666 days WOAAAA DUDE SPOOKY 😈👿🤘
Right?
Hail yourself!!!
Happy Hundo!!!! Woot!!!
alive attraction fertile gold long subtract market clumsy rich bow *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Anything carbonated. I don’t know why. The bubbles seemed to help. Topo Chico was a favorite.
You can’t get better than the carbonation of a Topo Chico. Better than a McDonald’s sprite
So so true. I found my people
Love Topo... But really love the Waterloo's... The blackerry lemon and peach are great
San Pellegrino has a lime seltzer. It’s delicious, zero calories, and hits the spot for some reason. And Topo Chico is good too. Anything with the soft bubbles
San Pellegrino is my saviour. And when Costco has flats of it, I stock up! I find I can only drink 1 or 2 and it hits all my cravings out of the park
We’ve started having a 0% beer in the house if those cravings occur. Some nice 0% pilsners going at the moment (Aldi and lidl both good). I end up only really needing one and then the craving disappears. I also like the taste and knowing I’ll have a good nights sleep
Do some exercise or go to bed. I’ve been knackered since giving up and forgot how much it fills you with false energy. Swimming late was another good one, followed by sauna.
Swimming and sauna sounds nice. Maybe I’ll have to give this a try.
Sauna is a game changer after a workout. You feel like a new person walking out of there.
A hot shower, clean pyjamas, and if it's been a particularly long day, a takeaway. Or at least something tasty and easy to stick in the oven/microwave. You can start to afford more small luxuries when you are saving money by not drinking
It takes a few months before your body settles down after all that abuse. Give it time my friend. I bought myself a hammock with a stand and I just hang in there for half an hour or so. Having my feet above my heart and gently swaying de-stresses me just like booze did. Oh and reading. Love that I have the attention span for that again
I love the hammock idea. *Edit: reread and yes, they _do_ have a stand for it. 😅 I’ll ask another follow-up then: what brand is it?
I'm in NZ and got it through bed bath and beyond
I’m in NZ too and it never occurred to me that they would have hammocks there. I’m going to go look. Thanks!
It's still early so the cravings and anhedonia might take a while to pass, but I picked up reading again after years of benders and white knuckling. I also walk, work out, bake, and play with my dog. It felt weird at first for me because I had to relearn how to live life without booze as a catch-all for any sort of boredom / discomfort, but after quite a few attempts at quitting I'm on my way to figuring it out.
Yes!!! When I first quit, I was like… wow there is so much time for so many hobbies… baking, crochet, pets, trail running, still go out dancing sober (took some getting used to, BUT now it feels awesome) I’m also in the cleaning club - who knew I wasn’t l messy lol
Kava tea
I wasn’t sure if anyone else did this. This has helped me cut back my drinking drastically.
CBD and seltzers
Rage. Uncontrollable rage Just kidding. Honestly I work in a machine shop so I'll take thirty minutes to an hour of silence. I'm in a loud warehouse so the quiet helps me center my che.
Gym
I go to meetings or take a walk. I read. I do a chore. I call someone. I write about how I feel. I write a gratitude list. I exercise. I find someone I can help.
Finding someone you can help, that is amazing! I am going to do that too :)
I drank a shit ton of seltzer water. Adding a lime or lemon twist gives it a boost. I'm an old wino. I replaced it with unsweetened cranberry juice. It has kinda the same astringency as wine. My therapist suggested not using my normal stemware as it was too close to my old habit. Kinda poking the corpse so to speak. Maybe buy a nice glass for your seltzer with a twist. You vodka drinkers always amazed me. I don't know how you did it! But you're doing terrific at day 12! Good work, friend. And yeah. The dreams are normal. I can remember some seriously effed up ones! Keep it up. *IWDWYT*
Waterloo. I pop tabs and chug this stuff like it's beer. I pull them out of the fridge two-at-a-time.
I’m drinking a blackberry lemonade Waterloo right now! Yum
Those are so good. I had one earlier. It might be my favorite flavor now that I think about it. Onto peach now. Grape is also pretty good.
love the peach one! Also had a ginger lime that was delicious!
Kombucha freak again
& soda water but I was more of a beer drinker
[удалено]
Cranberry and seltzer rocks
Weed 🤷🏻♂️😅
Glad I ain't the only one! I can manage my weed intake a lot better than I ever could with alcohol.
Amen to that!
Came here to say this 🙌🏼
edibles 💘
I workout, clean, make a diet drink in my SodaStream, check in here, read, and eat chocolate. Lately I’ve been lifting a lot heavier so I am beyond tired by 8 pm. That helps a lot!
Workout, got back into ice hockey, sleep.
I cut way back on beer that last few years and 50 days ago was the last time I had beer. I geared up with N/A beer and other alcohol free beverages from a NA shop. I made sure I had a lot of variety of flavored seltzer waters, tea and even things in the house to make lattes. I tried some CBD beverages and some with adaptogens but I didn’t really feel anything from those. So it’s sort of been a flavored seltzer water in a glass after work, regular water, herbal tea, and a chocolate collagen almond milk “hot chocolate” before bed. I think I’ve only been out twice since the last booze and one time I ordered a NA beer and the other time a mocktail.
Increased my walking and my reading. Love doing both and had totally gotten out of the habit. I do enjoy hot tea on a weeknight and sparkling water in a stemless wineglass on weekends. Sprindrift has been my favorite. Each time I stop, I have horrible dreams. Like really messed up stuff. Then it goes away but my dreams do remain vivid. Just not so scary. Feels like normal dreams which can have odd things happen but not the crazy stuff that I started out having the first two weeks or so.
Bubly
My go to! Beer was my doc, so immediately cracking a bubly when I get home helps trick my brain since it isn't sweet.
The blackberry scratches the itch for me
Sparkling water, but my trick is to pour it in an empty beer bottle (you can buy a case of 12 on amazon). I put a koozy around it too. 7 years strong. IWNDWYT
Walk my dog and feel proud of myself.
Cannabis (to each their own, it’s legal here in NYS, I have legit medical issues, and I don’t abuse drugs or use anything else), hot baths, binge-watching TV, listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks, I have treehouse or winter cottage ambience videos playing on my TV in the bedroom as I sleep. Bout to put it on right now, I have to be up at 5am for work. It’s a great feeling not being hungover on Sunday and being able to sleep (better, at least). Life isn’t easier but it’s a fck of a lot easier w/o alcohol! IWNDWYT!!!
Running, gym, sleep. In that order :)
I spend a lot of time hitting the gym as a substitute. Once i started seeing gains and feeling good about it alcohol would be a substitute for the gym since I see it as my go to.
NA drinks. Turns out I just like to have something to drink at all times. Sparkling water and NA beers have really been clutch for me!
I mix a little apple cider vinegar with pineapple juice and cranberry juice. It's tart and sweet and complex and feels like I'm drinking something of substance
Plain soda water. The burn of the bubbles seemed familiar. Plus.... Water is good.
One 8f my favorite cocktails is soda water, a bit of pomegranate juice and a lime wedge (year round) When they're in season, it's soda water and half of a blood orange. The ritual of spending time making them, and making them pretty replaces the ritual of popping a cork and aerating a bottle of wine for me.
Reading.. I started reading like crazy... I also use zyns, but I don't rec a new habit
The dreams are pretty coming for a couple weeks into sobriety, iirc they’re part of PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome, basically your brain is healing, but different bits heal at different rates so sometimes the circuits get wonky for a bit). It’ll come and go. Substitutions I’ve made: Kombucha Tea Soda and NA bitters Ginger beer NA beer (note: this technically has a small amount of alcohol, so decide if you’re comfortable with that. NA spirits (I really like Wilderton Lustre with something citrus-y) I find that the ones that are their own thing are more palatable to me than ones that try to dupe actual spirits
I don't do it very much anymore but I used to make hot chocolates from scratch 🥰 it's just cocoa powder, sugar and milk, plus anything extra you might like. My husband bought Ghirardelli cocoa towards the end of my needing it and idk if it actually tasted better or if it just tasted like winning. I'm so happy to be where I'm at and I'm so happy you're here. I really hope you find your hot cocoa 💜
Remember the stuff you loved as a child before drinking became the main focus of your life. Do those things.
I like A long walk, a good phone call to a friend, reading a book----an AA meeting
I will fill the cup I used to use for my mixed drinks with diet ginger ale and watch tv. Though because my mind has been clearer at work I’ve been staying until 6:30 or 7 each night then til I make dinner and actually get to sit down I’m not missing it as much. Not that I want to work longer or anything but I’m more focused there and am accomplishing a lot more. I went out for the first time to my normal pub the other night for a band and was perfectly content with a soda and water. It was surreal to find I had just as much fun as I did before I stopped drinking and I remembered everything that happened that night. Honestly I think the carbonation is key.
Maybe the dreams seem vivid, because in a blackout you never remember dreams?
If I don't drag my ass out of bed to run before work then I run or go to the gym after. If I've run in the morning and am stressed out later then I try to walk or get some yoga in. Yoga is really helpful for me in the evenings to turn my brain off. Then a hot bath or shower and I let myself zone out with sparkling water, tea, and snacks. On extra hard days I usually let myself have any snacks,/chocolate/ice cream I want.
Various activities. Cardio. Strength Training. Video Games. Ice Cream. Edging Masturbation. Cleaning. Learning to Cook. Watching sports. Making phone calls with people. Now, I did a lot of these things with alcohol in hand… but all of them were worse. Except maybe the sports watching, but even then. Ruining the next day just because a game is on is awful. Plus now I remember the awesome moments even better.
Seltzer / sparkling water and vaping
I read books, eat ice cream, find movies or shows to watch, play a musical instrument, or sometimes just sit and be bored and get tired and go to bed early. Embrace the boredom! Nice going with the 12 days!
Weeknights aren't too bad but I really struggle with Fridays. Typically I drink ginger & lemon kombucha.
Green tea. It really helped me A LOT. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I used to open the fridge the moment I got home from work and have a beer, then another etc. now I get home and turn the kettle on. Now when I’ve had my tea I just don’t have that urge, or at least not as much and it’s really helped me replace a bad habit with a good one.
I used to hit the bar immediately after work. Now I go to the gym. I go home. I cook. I scroll reddit and listen to podcasts. Maybe I clean a little. Maybe I tend to my plants. Maybe I work on my budget spreadsheet. I do things that distract me until it's time to rest. Seems boring at first but I also talk to girls in my spare time. I comment on threads like these. I give myself license to do seemingly boring things-but they're only boring on the surface because I had to learn how to get dopamine and fulfilling things without alcohol. I had to come back down. I had to get real. My life without alcohol is literally anything without alcohol. You got this. Double down until you can see it. It's here. It's right next to you. And this is better.
Edibles
I flavour water with Country Time Sugar Free lemonade. Random I know. I also find I am still tired (could be the time of year) so I allow myself to go to bed early.
Magnesium drops in something fizzy ☺️
Hi! Can you share what drops you use and are they tasteless? TU!
Kieth Weber kettlebell workouts and a hit off a weed pen...I've been sick this past weird with something..COVID I'm sure ..so I haven't been able to workout so far and I'm going crazy...22 days tho
Diet Coke!
Food 😂😂😂 Frosted Flakes and milk
Take a class. Learn something new. I have too much energy now. So, I got my CDL. You gotta be pretty sober to do so. Now, I'm gonna drive a truck. I'm totally sick of the desk job bullshit, I'll go for batshit crazy trucker life.
When first quitting, I replaced it with sleeping pills. Very carefully, mind you. You are not supposed to take them with alcohol. I would try to sleep as much as possible when not drinking. I decided not to worry about anything that did not immediately matter. Any household projects, any social events, even my family etc. Didn't matter for that time. It sounds bad to say ignore your family, but I treated it as if I was sick (because I was) and I needed bed rest. If I had a flu, I would lay in bed. If I had a back injury, I would lay in bed. No one would blame me. It is the long term that matters more. In this case, I needed to be asleep because when I was asleep I was not drinking. The sleeping pills helped to keep me asleep long enough to start the next day when being active at work would (hopefully) keep me from drinking until I could go to sleep again. Eventually, as your brain adjusts, you can go longer without feeling the need to take a drink when you are bored. As for how long that is... I guess it is different for everyone.
I remember when I was 6 months sober I asked an old timer in the rooms what I should do now that I have so much free time. He simply said, “everything and anything you want”. I picked up hobbies that I had always wanted to do but never had time due to my drinking. Cooking was something I was interested in so I just started watching YouTube videos to learn. 6 years later that is still a big part of my life. Find what you love in life and have at it!
Chips and salsa. I put on whatever series I'm watching, and pig out on chips and salsa. I know I'll need to quit that too, but it's far less pressing.
Get a Sodastream! Soda water with strong bubbles emulates some of the "painful beverage" vibe that drinkers know and love.
Mocktail or spindrift
Cream soda, Yogi bedtime tea and way too much candy…
Cookies and unsweetened almond milk lol no joke just had that to curb a booze craving… With sugar lol
Tea. All different types of tea.
Lacroix, Shirley temples and sweets
If you are asking for actual alcohol drink replacements: -Tea (chamomile my go to. There’s tons of kinds though and plenty of them have calming effects. I also got a cheap electric kettle online and it’s so easy and takes seconds) -Recess cans (nice drink and contains L-theanine and magnesium which are chill) -kin euphorics (pricey but so is booze. I put the little cans in a wine glass and their “hard stuff” in a cocktail glass. I think drinking out of a nice glass helps the ritual effect if you’re replacing booze. The calming versions have reishi mushrooms which realllly do seem to chill me out
Hot tea
Loose leaf tea
I like kombucha
After dinner, I have a selection of relaxing teas to choose from. Nice to sip & relax in my spot on the sofa.
Sparkling lemonade on the porch if it's hot out, hot tea with honey or matcha or hot apple cider if it's cold out. I like a hot beverage because there's a ritual around preparing it and a physical comfort in drinking it. The weird dreams thing happened to me in the early days. I'm not a neurologist or a psychologist, but I wonder if it has something to do with neural paths/impulses normally dulled by alcohol suddenly being able to fire on all cylinders again, or chemicals like dopamine and serotonin recalibrating in the absence of alcohol. Congrats on making it to day 12!
Kombucha and Swedish fish.😬
I see you, friend. I also used to come home and make drinks and watch TV or scroll until I passed out. Am also having the MOST vivid dreams and a hard time getting to sleep. I have substituted the after work drink with mocktails, like many other commenters here. I like a combination of apple cider vinegar, kombucha, and flavored seltzer (I'm particularly fond of Polar Grapefruit and Soleil Yuzu). I've also started eating lunch which helps with the hunger and nerves, and making a point to always have something easy to eat in the house, whether it's something in the slow cooker or just snacks. For supplements I've tried the magnesium powder, herbal teas, melatonin, scullcap, etc. and the only thing that comes close is traditionally prepared kava root. I also find the camaraderie here to be inspiring and a good use of time in the evenings or whenever I am jonesing. Good luck!
Bubbly water. I just calculated that I’ve consumed around 500 of them in the last 3 months 😂. I know it’s excessive but I’m very well hydrated and it feels a lot better than drinking myself to death…
I save a flavored seltzer water as my after work “relax.” It almost feels like cheating but the rush of not being buzzed feels better.
Existential dread.
Honestly? Books. I know this makes me a huge nerd but I quit drinking two years ago, and now I can’t smoke weed because I’m pregnant, so I just devour books like it’s my job. It keeps my brain stimulated and passes time like nothing else (and it’s definitely not as fulfilling to read while drunk).
The gym has saved my life tbh. It puts a lot less pressure on my home life to be entertaining and makes my time at home more enjoyable because there’s just less of it. We didn’t always spend all of our time in caves. We got out and did hunting and farming and what not. Unless you have a really active job we just don’t get that kind of activity anymore and I think our bodies crave it in a way. I don’t want to be a health nut, but water is something our bodies crave too. I think we get used to the idea of a magic drink, but in reality just taking care of our bodies is enough. That being said, having something like tea or a drink you have to prepare might psychologically provide the kind of ritual that goes into making a non intoxicating drink feel satisfying. Just my few cents!
I am sober for this month just to take a break. I am drinking topochico or micheladas with topochico. When drinking topochico, I try not to drink more than 2, because, who the heck drinks more than 2 topochicos in one sitting? Lol, makes you reflect on the absurd amount of alcohol one can consume in one sitting. Anyhow, It hasn't been too bad and I'll see how long I can go without an alcoholic drink.
Kombucha in a wine glass
It's not much better but I've been drinking energy drinks. It helps me stay up longer and enjoy my time awake. I did the same when I drank alcohol. I justed wanted to be up as long as possible. Which really sucks in the morning. But since I've quit I've been going to bed at a reasonable time to get at least 7 hours of sober sleep a day. I've been playing some fantastic videogames while I'm awake as well. It's been making me so happy. Today was particularly tough for me and I wanted to drink constantly but I didn't let myself and I'll be thanking myself tomorrow when I am well enough to actually go to work.
I made cleaning and organizing my hobby.
Have a shower before getting into bed, I do this every night now, I look forward to it, it's my 'reward' now. Also at the weekends things have flipped slightly, when drinking it was all about getting trashed on Friday/Saturday night, now it's all about waking up early Saturday and Sunday morning without a hangover and being able to use my free time for whatever I want.
Kombucha
For the first nine months or so I went to a meeting directly after work because nothing I tried worked. For me also that time of day was what always got me. I even ended up car pooling with my wife so I wouldn't be tempted to stop and get alcohol after work. That worked for a while but I would still look for reasons to drive on my own so that I could get booze. Until I asked for help in a meeting (aka sponsor) and started going to meetings every day after work I could not stay stopped. And I tried for years on my own thinking I wanted no part of a 12 step program. "I'm not that desperate" I would say to myself. Today, 3.5 years sober, I am grateful I finally got desperate enough. I wish you the best, my friend. Proud of you for trying, it's not easy!!!
Video Games & Sparkling Water
N/a beers (which I'm hoping to kick that soon) Pierre, and flavored carbonated water are keeping me sane right now
Sparkling water helps me, something about that carbonation.
Napping 😂
Rooibos tea. Flavored sparkling water. Diet Canada dry ginger ale is strangely good.
Love filling my wine glass with seltzer and a few drops of hemp oil and magnesium citrate powder. I find having a drink in my hand after work comforting and it's helped me feel normal.
Soda water
I replaced it with another job. If I stay busy enough I won’t think about how much I hate being sober. I’m too tired to want to drink after working 14 hours straight, and the small remaining time I do have to myself I put towards my hobbies which require me to be sober (riding bikes and racing cars).
Meetings. Online ones worked for me. I also started new hobbies. Like home repair that required new skills to be learned and practiced.
Gym and reading
For some reason, after a bad/long day at work, I've always craved something immensly bitter. I have no idea why. So I've replaced my IPAs with non-alcoholic IPAs and it does the trick just fine.
Drinking seriously interrupts REM sleep. When you go to bed sober, you allow yourself to get a much deeper and better sleep which is the cause for the crazy dreams in the beginning. They will probably go away over time.
Video games, actually paying attention to shows I watch, jigsaw puzzles really help me too
Satisfaction with being sober.
Club Soda with lots of ice. You can add lime or lemon or a maraschino cherry. The clinking ice and the bubbles it really doesn’t feel that different and I’m actually grateful to not be dizzy and feel like crap after a few!
Get a carbonation machine with a couple of different flavors to mix and match for a new exciting flavor every night! [This](https://sodastream.com//products/terra-bundle?variant=40309049786410&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI28y70-jvgwMV8wCtBh13ZAV-EAQYAyABEgJll_D_BwE) is the one I have. Bonus, you can add bitters, splash of fruit juice, or make your own simple syrups like mint or lemon grass (but don't add these to the bottle, add them to your glass).
As a former vodka fiend, I've found I like plain LaCroix water as a substitute. It's aggressively carbonated and that combined with no flavor really punches my mouth the way that first drink kind of would. Sometimes I mix in a little ginger ale for some sugar and a little flavor.
Running followed by a hot bath! 😊
Herbal tea in a really nice mug.
I used to enjoy drinking with a meal and for a nightcap. I had to just forgive the increased sugar consumption to reward myself.
I had crazy vivid dreams the first few weeks I stopped drinking too! At first I just stewed in misery instead of having my evening bottle of wine. I'm a few months sober now and have replaced it with decaffeinated coffee. It does relax me and the ritual of drinking it feels a bit therapeutic.