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I'm planning on taking the month of January off from drinking. I'd start now, but if you knew my family, you'd know that was impossible.
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It's not your family's decision if you drink or not, it's yours.
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I did go sober the entire month of January last year. Probably one of the most boring times in my life. But I did lose 20 lbs & fell awesome that month. My house had never been clearer or my closets more organized.
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This sounds like me. I love to drink wine, but when I'm drinking every day, I'm not getting much done (like cleaning and organizing, or anything else). I also can't stick to a diet when I'm drinking, because I have an addictive personality. One drink and I want more. One cookie or chip and I want more. I easily become addicted to sugar (in wine) and salt and fat. When I avoid them, I can finally kick the addiction, but the more I consume them the more I crave them.
I love food and wine...anything that makes me feel better (if only it really did. In the long run it makes me feel worse about myself). The only way for me to stick to a diet is to go cold turkey on the alcohol, and maybe even for life, if it's the alcohol that sneaks up and gets me putting the weight back on (which is what I think happened with my last weight loss).
So I am not drinking a drop till all my weight is off, and I will not have alcohol in my home ever again. After I'm handling maintenance well in the future, I might allow myself one glass of wine occasionally with dinner out...but that might happen once or twice a year. I don't often go anywhere. So I'm pretty much on the wagon from here on out, because I like myself better when I'm slim and healthy, than when I'm buzzed or gorged.
And I'm wondering how much this addictive personality is behind a lot of stories here. We live in a stressful world, and it's only going to keep getting worse. We need better ways of dealing with it than drinking and eating. I'm also concerned when I hear about young people in their 30's drinking so much because it's the thing to do. You don't realize what you are setting yourself up for...possibly becoming an alcoholic and not being able to quit later when you want to.
You can have fun at a party without drinking, if your are the social type. I don't do well with social situations, so I avoid them now. That helps to avoid the need for a drink to fit in. If you do party a lot, take your own club soda and favorite flavoring and make your own non-alcoholic and non-caloric drinks. There is only one person stopping you!
I'm not meaning to be preachy. I speak from my own experiences and failures.
