I'm in.


I did this last year and just continued the full year.  I joined because I was tired of the amount of alcohol consumed by parents before/after/during youth athletics.  I also attended a lecture about girls dating boys who resembled their father, and I would prefer my 3 daughters pick someone who doesn't drink as the girls are all under 21.


The year was relatively easy, but it is a pain to hide abstinence.  I don't have shame in my abstinence, but I don't enjoy repetitive conversations about being alcohol free with people while they drink.  So I have a number of questions to the group:


1.   I have tried a lot of NA beers and the only one I believe tastes good is Athletic Brewing.  Are there any NA beers worth drinking that are in bottles or cans at normal bars? (I don't care for Odoule's and the likes which are typically on tap)  IPA is my flavor of choice.


2.  Is there any whiskey replacement that looks like whiskey when poured over ice and is palatable?  Tea and coffee can be made the right color but the smell gives it away.


3.  What do you do if you are out and someone picks up your tab and says, "Why the hell were you drinking this crap?"  (All but requires proof that I didn't get a DUI)


4.  Any good suggestions for a substitute "booze on the rocks" besides a tonic with lime when at a restaurant (please no mocktails)?  I can only do one virgin mary or margarita in a sitting. 


5.  Any good work arounds for communicating to the waitress "I want no alcohol but make it look like I have a drink" aside from following her to the bar?


6.  Am I the only person who doesn't get positive changes in sleep patterns, no improvement in workouts, no weight loss or change in body fat (BMI is solid around 24.5), no aura of overall feeling better?


7.  Anyone else find that the explosion of yeti is the ideal way to hide abstinence?  Obviously, I am well aware of its ability to conceal alcohol[/reply]

I'm new to Slowtwitch so I haven't seen this in the past. Reading through this thread has been incredibly inspiring.

Last year, I actually cut beer out of my diet entirely starting in October and stuck only to an occasional wine until about midway this year when things got really lame with no hope of racing. It wasnt fully alcohol free but it was a big step for me.

I like the idea and the community around it, so I am going to go for it too and I'll push into February for the full 31 days (better late than never).

Do you normally pick up people throughout the month that see the post late like me?

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Hustle City is a story-driven, cycling game that rewards fitness, creativity and nerves of steel. Apply to test the beta @ http://ridehustlecity.com

http://ridehustlecity.com
Instagram @ridehustlecity

Day 4 in the books. Was probably my toughest so far but no big deal. We had takeout sushi for dinner. I’m not sure I’ve ever had sushi for dinner without at least one tall beer alongside! I did today though. Oddly sleeping worse so far than before, but optimistic it’s a temporary blip due to some other factors. (Work stress, wife coughing, etc)

I haven't shared this with anyone, but as of today, January 5th, 2021, I am 1 year sober. Also, tomorrow, I turn 39.
Is life perfect now? Nah, but I like myself a lot more. Also, now I don't require massive, scary goals to keep me from destruction. I always set big race goals and worked super hard balancing life, work, and training big hours...to show the world how together I had it. But as soon as the race was over, I would self-destruct, and without another big goal on the horizon, I'd implode.

In rehab, I learned about living a goal driven life vs. a value driven life.
The idea is you define your core values. Write them down. Explore them and picture how living them in every moment would turn you into the best version of yourself...mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Then, rather than needing an Ironman in 22 weeks to push you, the trick is to try and live those core values in every waking moment and interaction. Becoming the best version of yourself you possibly can.

Anyways. That lesson really changed my perspective on how to define success, and gave me daily/in the moment work to focus on during this time without races.

It's kinda weird to watch Below Deck [or anything on Bravo, I'm sure] without a boozy beverage nearby

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

In, this was something I was already doing on my own. Sure has been hard not grabbing that beer during the World Jr Hockey.

Beer has been less appealing over the last several months. I find that I just feel like crap after a couple. Been shifting more to Whisky and wine recently and overall consumption has been on a steady decline as I get more serious about training

First time caller, long time listener. I'm in!

Wow. I am not trying to sound snarky, but it just sounds exhausting to hide the fact that you aren't drinking alcohol for an entire year (although, it should be relatively easy with virtual events rather than in person). I know this isn't the type of solution you asked for, but what you eat or drink is your business and anyone who is pestering you about it is extremely rude/has their own problems and should be ignored or told to butt out.

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Move on. Keep training. Be an adult.

Day 4 complete and on to Day 5.

Yesterday, was the hardest for me so far but it helps to remind myself that if I can distract myself during the early evening hour when I would normally have a drink out of habit it's fairly easy the rest of the day and eventually not having a drink becomes the habit.

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Move on. Keep training. Be an adult.

Could be worse; could be an Undercover Vegan

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

That's cool. Good for you. Liking yourself is pretty important - in my opinion.

Day five is in the rear view!

Long stressful day and I need to sleep well tonight, for another long day tomorrow. It was nice to feel more present at the end of the day instead of grabbing a glass of wine and zoning out.

Kudos to everyone for hopping on board! It’s a nice full roster this year :)

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Level II USAT Coach | Level 3 USAC Coach | NASM-CPT
Team Zoot | Tailwind Trailblazer
I can tell you why you're sick, I just can't write you an Rx

It's pretty fun right? In addition to alcohol I am also giving up adult entertainment for the month. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Day 1 for me because of the late start. Woke up this morning and road the trainer even when I didnt feel like it. Planning to do the same tomorrow. Feeling good about it.

---

Hustle City is a story-driven, cycling game that rewards fitness, creativity and nerves of steel. Apply to test the beta @ http://ridehustlecity.com

http://ridehustlecity.com
Instagram @ridehustlecity

Athletic seems to be the frontrunner when it comes to quality craft beers that actually taste really, really good (msg me for a discount code). Wellbeing Brewing has a really nice IPA and Wheat. As for "mass produced" NA's you may find in your supermarket, I've found Heineken 0.0 to be close to the original and really refreshing. I've also heard pretty good things about Lagunitas NAIPA

This is really a Golden Age for NA beers, and the big companies are starting to take notice. Guiness, Budweiser, etc are diving in.


Yes! Again, just like NA beers the NA spirits are growing in quality and availability. There are full NA bars centered around quality NA spirits. I was a beer drinker in my drinking days and have never tried any NA spirits personally, but I've heard that Ritual Zero is pretty tasty.


I welcome this conversation!! Depending on the situation/context I can joke about it ("as I age I've developed allergies to alcohol. The symptoms? Sucking at life"), or get vulnerable and share just how destructive alcohol was for me and how awesome I feel without it in me. The judgement piece isn't mine to worry about, most of the time it's just the other person's veiled insecurity about their own drinking.


There are some super tasty Hop Teas available if you're an IPA/hop fan, but yeah most of the time for me it's bubbly water with a splash of something or an Athletic brew.


Avoid the middle man! One strategy I've seen work: make a connection with the bartender first thing and make sure he knows that you are not to be served. Many bartenders really take care of people who ask in this way and will make it work out smoothly for the right tip up front.


You must be really healthy, or a light drinker, or just getting started? Bc almost every single person I know who has eliminated alcohol for a period of time reports positive benefits to some degree.


I don't really do the hiding thing, why would I need to hide something that has no alcohol? I find it easier just to be honest about where I am and my goals. Someone else's disapproval (or approval, for that matter) shouldn't really matter that much, but that's just me.

Best of luck in your abstinence goals!!

Day 5 in the books! Checked in on the scale this am at 160.8 which is down 4.4lbs since the morning of 1/1. Leaves me with 5.6lbs to my goal although I know that part won't come off quite as easily. More so than alcohol I've been amazed at my cravings for snacks! It's amazing how hungry I am with just 3 normal sized meals a day. Went over to neighbors/friends house last night. They had some NA beer in their fridge and I got the sense they had bought it for me (super thoughtful couple generally!) so I tried one. Candidly I'm not super keen on NA beer as my goal with this is to lose weight (recognize NA beer is lower calories but it's not nothing) and to reset some habits. Not sure running for an NA beer right after work or in a social setting really "resets" at least my habits. Figured it wouldn't hurt to try though. Anyway, for an example of what NOT to drink IMHO, I found the Surreal NA Red IPA almost unpalatable. Tasted to me like someone had just mixed a bad IPA with a bunch of soda water. Obviously just my opinion. Good luck to all with their journey.

Awesome to hear about your journey mmeister. Just a thought, but if part of your goal is to serve as a good example to your girls, doesn't HIDING your abstinence in social settings with athletic friends undermine that goal? Believe me, I've felt what you've felt. Just not sure the answer is literally hiding non drinking.

Anyone who picks up your tab and then says "Why the hell were you drinking this crap?" is a dick. With that said, I have kind of had thoughts like this before when out with a friend who was drinking O'Douls. Think my point is that we should be proud of our choice not to drink (some for January, others longer) and make choices that work well for us and own them (Athletic NA Beer? Tea, Kambucha, whatever) not to hide. As an example, drinking 3 or 4 O'Douls in a setting just to fit in is kind of dumb IMHO unless one actually likes the taste of O'Douls (not saying you do this).

Just found this, I didn't drink yesterday so this will be day 2 of 31. I think that gives me Superbowl Sunday :)

For those that don't see benefits check your resting heart rate on your garmin. I've noticed mine goes down almost 10 beats per min per day after 2 days of no alcohol and stays low. Maybe that's unique to me though. As far as sleep I have an 8 month old baby so I find I actually sleep less because I wake up more when he cries. But wife is happier that I'm helping.

RHR is my naughty indicator -- I'm signed up for dry January and drank way too much this year as an outlet for stress and not riding enough. Like I'd have 2-3 strong IPA tallboys every night. Looking to resolve both of those. RHR is already down 10 points and bike fitness is improving!

I’m in since the first. Did it last year and it had a tremendously positive impact on me. But to be honest the wheels really fell off in 2020 around May-ish. Not a lot of days without at least a couple drinks after that.

6 days in and it’s easier than last year even though it started on a Friday which might have been a nogo in the past.

To answer your point number 5, a friend of mine who’s in sale has a list of restaurants he goes to and all the wait staff knows not to serve him alcohol but bill it anyways in case the client looks.

Have been noticing much more vivid dreams at least 2 of the last 3 nights. Interesting side effect.

When I first did this 4 years ago, I noticed immediately much improved sleep. The next few years, not so much. But last night and the night before, amazing! I slept soundly the entire night and woke up with the sun feeling great. Vivid dreams too. I haven't been sleeping well lately, so this is a nice surprise.

Most people I associate with have been understanding with my lack of drinking for the month. But in past years, two people I'm close with have made snarky comments about it which shocked me. Both people are high-functioning alcoholics, which kind of explained it. This year, Covid will minimize my interactions with them and the opportunities to drink with them. Fortunately my wife doesn't drink so there is no temptation at home.

Six days almost done, but watching the news today might make it a little tough for some.

Day six, done. And in the immortal words of Steve McCroskey, looks like I picked the wrong week to stop drinking.

Man, what a day here in the DC area. For several reasons (National and personal). But I held on. I have my Wednesday night stretch fest with my Tri team on zoom to thank for that.

Sleep is coming quick tonight. Tomorrow we wake up 20% of the way through!

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Level II USAT Coach | Level 3 USAC Coach | NASM-CPT
Team Zoot | Tailwind Trailblazer
I can tell you why you're sick, I just can't write you an Rx

I'm in.

Let's start this year off right. Goal is go a month, and get my diet and training back on track.

6 days done, feeling good. I have to say as a newly-minted US citizen and first time voter, I did feel like having a drink yesterday.