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Giving up wine for W30


Ruthie

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Well, I am now on day 11!  I made it through a Halloween party with my drinking friends and sipped on seltzer with not even a look at the bowls of candy...I can't say it has been easy.  The worst was last night.  I had a friend over for dinner and encouraged him to bring his own booze...because the reality is, if I can only not drink because it isn't around, then I am likely to fail later on.  I admit that after he left I was SOOOOO craving a glass of wine...so I poured some white grape juice and had it with seltzer.  Clearly the sugar dragon still exists, and I still do have a smoothie in the evenings, (strawberries, blueberries and seltzer mixed in the nutria ninja).  My plan is that I will cut out the smoothie on day 14. We all have to manage this in whatever way we can and I do know that wine was/is my biggest challenge and I have to deal with that detox WHETHER I DO THIS PERFECTLY OR NOT. . The funny thing is, that otherwise I really don't miss sugar at all. I'm not looking for cake or cupcakes. I even have bees and have not touched any of the 4 gallons of gorgeous honey they made for me this year .

 

The first few days without wine I tossed and turned all night.  Now I am sleeping very well.  I also notice that my weight seems to be shifting back to normal places, and my body is functioning much more regularly!  I see what they say about day 11 being when you are most likely to quit, and that is what I think happened last night. I AM SO SICK OF EGGS. (and I have my own chickens so this is a problem!)

 

I will stick with it...I will not cheat...but I want to encourage everyone else that struggled with the alcohol part of it.  I am so proud that I watched my friend drink a wonderful Sancerre with our salmon last night and I was not even tempted...the craving hit later...and although I confess to staring at the wine rack for a good while ...I won! Today I ordered a cool  new lunch kit from PlanetBox... a little retail therapy!!

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I am stationed in Italy and used to drink wine every night...I can get a bottle for 1.30 euro at the wine store next to my house....wine is EVERwHERE HERE.....i am not kidding.....gas stations sell it. 

I started putting Diet Tonic water in a wine glass a  wine glass with lemon..it has helped and on very rare occassions I will add a splash of red wine.....like a little spritzer=)

 

I know the cravings for wine will go away, I just hope soon=)

 

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I am stationed in Italy and used to drink wine every night...I can get a bottle for 1.30 euro at the [/size]wine store next to my house....[/size]wine is EVER[/size]wHERE HERE.....i am not kidding.....gas stations sell it. [/size]

I started putting Diet Tonic water in a [/size]wine glass a  [/size]wine [/size]glass [/size]with lemon..it has helped and on very rare occassions I [/size]will add a splash of red [/size]wine.....like a little spritzer=)[/size]

 

I know the cravings for [/size]wine [/size]will go a[/size]way, I just hope soon=)[/size]

Navychick, you are referring to adding a splash of red wine to your selzter when you are NOT on Whole30, correct? No amount of wine would be permitted on Whole30.

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  • 1 month later...

This has been a really interesting thread to read through! I typically have 1-3 glasses of alcohol a night, usually wine (all types, I go by mood, season, food pairings, weather). I did not want to go into my 1st W30 (starting tomorrow) processing alcohol out of my system, so we went to the bar last night instead. I've cleaned-up the kitchen, throwing out the liquors I barely touch, moving others out of sight, and actually putting zip-ties around the door handles to the liquor cabinet and wine fridge! I don't anticipate this being too bad of a craving issue, but then again, I haven't started the W30 yet, and thus haven't lost my sanity (but I expect to). Now I'm starting to question how I'll react.  :huh:

 

I plan to drink tea, as warm tea has been a great pacifier when I've wanted to cut back on the wine calories. Or hit the treadmill instead, to distract me. I'm not a soda consumer, so plain soda and lemon has no appeal (but sounds great for others!).

 

I don't plan to drink anything out of a wine glass though, and would caution against that. I think that taps into the psychology behind the drinking out of habit. Which is a behavior I'm hoping to break with the W30. I used to be a licensed mixologist (aka bartender) and the glassware has a lot to do with the experience. Just a thought.

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Ruthie, you described my experience with the "Wine- Want" exactly !  The best thing for me was some Kombucha in the evening when I'd normally have wine..I also found myself going to bed earlier because I didn't have that nice "unwinding" time to sit and read or look at FaceBook…

My biggest thought about all of this is that wanting that glass of wine that much is truly an "addiction" - a psychological one anyway, and since one of the goals of Whole30 is to break those cycles maybe just going to bed early is the answer ? Maybe I'm more tired than I know and wine just helps me forget that.

 I'm going to experiment with having Kombucha as a substitute for awhile in the beginning and then try to let go of that as my body (and mind ! )adjust to the new routines. Thanks for posting and Good Luck!

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I also have a huge wine ritual addiction. It was one of the reasons I wanted to do the Whole30 to get more healthy habits and drink alcohol less regularly. I am on day 5, it's been fine so far. But I'm worried it's because I've been doing crazy intensive work at the moment and not going out. Worried about how I'm going to be socializing with people, or if I should just try and be a hermit all month to avoid the temptation!

 

But so far, so good. Haven't really had any cravings for it and it's been fine without my dinner with wine routine. I really want to get out of the habit of having some wine every day. 

 

Lets hope we can all stick to it!

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Does anyone else feel worried, not about lasting through the Whole30 without the wine, but of going back to old ritual wine habit as soon as it's over? I am on day 6, and think I can handle the 30 days with no wine, but miss it rather badly at the moment. I really want to get out of the habit of drinking wine regularly. Don't think that is going to happen and wish I could snap myself out of it! I can imagine not eating grains again much more easily than not drinking wine!

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Does anyone else feel worried, not about lasting through the Whole30 without the wine, but of going back to old ritual wine habit as soon as it's over? I am on day 6, and think I can handle the 30 days with no wine, but miss it rather badly at the moment. I really want to get out of the habit of drinking wine regularly. Don't think that is going to happen and wish I could snap myself out of it! I can imagine not eating grains again much more easily than not drinking wine!

 

You might find this past discussion an interesting read, as people discussed how they were dealing with alcohol post W30. Maybe it would give you some things to think about as you decide how you're going to deal with this.

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Night 3 for me last night, and I had been feeling no pain until about 3pm when my sugar dragon turned me into an testy, impatient monster! Normally when I get the urge to strangle my husband or my adorable little angels... I sit down, and have a glass of wine! My husband poured me a glass of LaCroix with a splash of citrus... It actually helped! I've also been on a huge Kombucha kick since right before the Whole30, I just get GTs original. it's a great once-a-day treat from water, and tea!

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Yep. I'm a total wino, but I have had two kids and managed to not have alcohol for 9 months (twice), so I am quite certain I can manage to give up wine for 30 days *crosses fingers* and like so many of you have said, I think it's totally the ritual, as long as I use my wine glasses and have tea or Perrier with lemon/lime and I'll do just fine.

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I haven't read every post in this thread, but I'm happy to know I'm not the only one who's missing wine more than anything else.  I'm the perfect example of that cute phrase:  "I like to cook with wine;  sometimes I even put it in the food."  I love to cook, and a glass or two of wine is always a part of meal prep.  I've found that making soda water in the soda stream, and putting it into my wine glass with a wedge of lime, gives me (almost) the same satisfaction as that glass of wine while I'm cooking.  Tonight was night 4 of my Whole30, and dinner was on the table before I even realized I hadn't had my "soda wine".  Now if I can only figure out how to make Sunday brunch without the bloody Mary. ;)

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Giving up wine to me was difficult too. But if I'm honest with myself I feel so much better without it. I sleep better, am more active in the evening (which  means more of a connection with the kids) and I'm not as edgy. Which is weird, because I usually have a drink because I feel edgy. Even when I only have a glass or two. 

 

I read somewhere that you are either a moderator or abstainer. Moderators can tell themselves they don't need something or other- while the only way abstainers can go without it is if it's off limits. I'm am total abstainer, which is probably why I slip back into old habits once my Whole30s are done. I'm praying this time I remember how much better and more connected to my family I feel when I don't drink. 

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Thoughts on Day 21: This is such an interesting thread, and like so many of you, one of my main reasons for adopting Whole 30 was to come face to face with my wine habit. Food is not much of an issue for me. I have never consumed much sugar and have been moving toward a paleo type diet for several years. Several years ago when I discovered that fat was my friend and not my foe, and grain flour in all of its many forms was a problem for me for a variety of reasons, my diet and life changed for the better!

 

However, when I was looking for resources for my 19 year daughter who has an auto-immune disorder, I was led to Whole 30. It made so much sense to me, and I really liked the strictness of the "rules." I liked the challenge, and wanted to see if perhaps I could tame that wine dragon that has been part of my life for almost thirty years. I knew that so much of my habit was due to the triggers that had been created throughout the years, as well as the enthusiastic acceptance of it in my social circles. However, I always wondered what it would be like on the "other side." The side that doesn't have the glass of wine while making dinner, or eating dinner, or sitting by the fire in the evening, or before a concert, or a play, or watching the game at a sports bar with friends. Or while watching it snow, or chatting with friends, or riding on a boat on a hot summer day. And the list goes on and on. To me, after so many years, wine just goes with, well, almost everything that I associate with "fun" or relaxation. (I am always grateful that I never associated it with working, or taking the kids to the doctor or to their sports events etc. No judgment if anyone does associate it with this...I just never did.)

 

In any case, it has now been almost three weeks without my lovely red wine. My husband has joined me, so it has made it an extra special and unique time for me personally as well as a within my relationship with him. We have definitely noticed a lot of positive attributes to being alcohol free, namely having incredible restful sleep. We also are much more patient and kind to each other, and time seems to have slowed down a bit. The evenings are longer and more relaxed. (We are empty nesters too btw) That probably surprised me the most. What I thought was helping me relax really wasn't. Our shared warm tea and simple conversation by the fire has been so comforting.

 

All that being said, I must admit that I still miss it. Not crazy miss it, but almost like a grieving of something. Grieving of my old life? My old cheery wine drinking party girl self? In my head I know that I will be able to have it again if I want it (I could have it right now if I wanted it) but I would like to think that my habits, triggers, and associations have changed my desire for it. I'm not sure that it has though. I have read through the "Post 30 Wine Reintroduction" thread and have found it to be so interesting. I'm really, really hoping that the physical effect of the wine after Whole 30 will not be positive and therefore, will help me loose my desire for it. But...in some ways I am also, at this moment, sad if happens too. Weird I know. Such an interesting place to be, and am I just so grateful for the opportunity to even sit back and reflect on all of this with a clear, rested head.  I look forward to where it all goes from here.

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I totally relate cwillmarth. I am on day 20, and we are snowed in this weekend. Normally this would be a prime drinking event. We've known for days this storm was coming, and I've been so tempted to buy a couple bottles of wine, but I resisted!

My husband -- who is doing the Whole30 with me but has already cheated once -- wants to drink some beers this weekend. He didn't drink last night, but I'm not too optimistic about tonight. Hopefully I won't let him influence me.

I said to him yesterday: "I want to be able to find joy in life without adding alcohol."

Reading this forum and the experience of doing multiple Whole30s over the past year and a half has allowed me to do a lot of thinking about my drinking. I'm pretty sure I'm an abstainer who has occasional success at moderation. So, I keep telling myself it's ok to drink only when I go out to a nice dinner, and only two glasses of wine at a time. But then I allow for the occasional over-indulgence. And then it just builds back up to a level where it keeps me from being my best. I am always more focused, productive, and peaceful when I've been alcohol-free for five or more days. But it's still so hard to keep dong what I know is best for me.

Offering encouragement and understanding to everyone who shares this struggle!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I can't tell if I'm cranky with headache bc of giving up sugars, grains, etc. or from giving up the wine. I miss having a glass while cooking and another after dinner while relaxing. Day 2 ending, drinking seltzer and tea in the evenings.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just spent an hour reading the posts in this thread.  LOVE that I'm not the only one missing their glass of red wine-- I might be normal after all.  :)  I'm on Day 13 of my first Whole 30.  Didn't miss my wine at all until about two days ago.  Kind of caught me off-guard, honestly.  Thankful for the insights shared here!  Hope all of you December & January Whole 30-ers finished (or are finishing) with GREAT success and insights! 

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JMC, I feel your pain, but you'll get there.  Have you tried kombucha?  I was having soda water with lime (in a wine glass) while cooking, until I discovered Kombucha.  It tastes like I'm cheating!

I am worried with Kombucha. :Looked at ingredients and it has carbs and ALCOHOL since it is a fermented product. I had enough withdrawal from alcohol that I don't want to touch anything with it... If somebody can let me know why is Kombucha ok....

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I am worried with Kombucha. :Looked at ingredients and it has carbs and ALCOHOL since it is a fermented product. I had enough withdrawal from alcohol that I don't want to touch anything with it... If somebody can let me know why is Kombucha ok....

 

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