Dry January 2026 (The Sober Thread)

Almost half way through the month already. Although it’s likely more diet related, I am down 8 pounds since the 1st. Thankfully coffee doesn’t make you fat, because I think that would be much harder to give up.

My wife bought a bunch of these seltzers for when regular seltzer gets boring:
2EFC4ED3-2556-4028-9096-535C80B97CAA.jpeg

I just wish they were a full 12oz instead of pony size.

They actually just opened a non alcoholic “liquor store” near me. I’ve heard the whiskey isn’t bad, but I’ll probably save myself the money and not bother unless I get desperate.
 
Jmann said:
Almost half way through the month already. Although it’s likely more diet related, I am down 8 pounds since the 1st. Thankfully coffee doesn’t make you fat, because I think that would be much harder to give up.

My wife bought a bunch of these seltzers for when regular seltzer gets boring:
View attachment 175895

I just wish they were a full 12oz instead of pony size.

They actually just opened a non alcoholic “liquor store” near me. I’ve heard the whiskey isn’t bad, but I’ll probably save myself the money and not bother unless I get desperate.
Click to expand...

Coffee withdrawal symptoms are brutal.
Speaking of which, i forgot to take my bp this morning, and already had a cup. here comes some crazy numbers.
 
Finished-up a little project at Casa @mattybfat's place last night.

Had a nice talk about what I'm trying to get out of dry January, and if i see it becoming something more permanent.
I explained what I needed to leave behind (again) - and where I wanted to be. Then I went into overthinking mode
on my way home.

Couple of things. I like beer. I like wine. I like to pair them with food. Very rarely will i just have hard liquor unless i've had alcohol (beer/wine),
and that usually in a group setting. <-- you can read into that, no need to rehash. Beer I could pop open anytime tho, but I wouldn't
just grab a bottle of wine and start drinking.

Goals
Stop having alc every day - plenty of other choices.
Plan the meals that would benefit from a great glass of wine - and enjoy the journey, rather than grabbing a bottle everyday.
Avoid the spiral - popping beer, splitting a bottle of wine, popping another beer (repeat,) looking in the liquor cabinet. Avoid the front, and the back takes care of itself.
Don't feel like the bottle of wine needs to be finished. I have the tools to preserve wine in the bottle after being opened. Use them.

Summary -
Don't make it a habit
Don't binge

Approaching a couple weeks in, I'm not craving. There is no "you can't" have one, which was there early on.

As mentioned, i can overthink anything.
 
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Patrick said:
Finished-up a little project at Casa @mattybfat's place last night.

Had a nice talk about what I'm trying to get out of dry January, and if i see it becoming something more permanent.
I explained what I needed to leave behind (again) - and where I wanted to be. Then I went into overthinking mode
on my way home.

Couple of things. I like beer. I like wine. I like to pair them with food. Very rarely will i just have hard liquor unless i've had alcohol,
and that usually in a group setting. <-- you can read into that, no need to rehash. Beer I could pop open anytime tho, but I wouldn't
just grab a bottle of wine and start drinking.

Goals
Stop having alc every day - plenty of other choices.
Plan the meals that would benefit from a great glass of wine - and enjoy the journey, rather than grabbing a bottle everyday.
Avoid the spiral - popping beer, splitting a bottle of wine, popping another beer (repeat,) looking in the liquor cabinet. Avoid the front, and the back takes care of itself.
Don't feel like the bottle of wine needs to be finished. I have the tools to preserve wine in the bottle after being opened. Use them.

Summary -
Don't make it a habit
Don't binge

Approaching a couple weeks in, I'm not craving. There is no "you can't" have one, which was there early on.

As mentioned, i can overthink anything.
Click to expand...
In '20 I did three months off, then managed to fall back into it, so demonstrated that habit existed.

'21 was dry. Now at 377 days, no goal, no desire for ethanol or anything else, we'll see what happens as time progresses.
 
Patrick said:
Finished-up a little project at Casa @mattybfat's place last night.

Had a nice talk about what I'm trying to get out of dry January, and if i see it becoming something more permanent.
I explained what I needed to leave behind (again) - and where I wanted to be. Then I went into overthinking mode
on my way home.

Couple of things. I like beer. I like wine. I like to pair them with food. Very rarely will i just have hard liquor unless i've had alcohol,
and that usually in a group setting. <-- you can read into that, no need to rehash. Beer I could pop open anytime tho, but I wouldn't
just grab a bottle of wine and start drinking.

Goals
Stop having alc every day - plenty of other choices.
Plan the meals that would benefit from a great glass of wine - and enjoy the journey, rather than grabbing a bottle everyday.
Avoid the spiral - popping beer, splitting a bottle of wine, popping another beer (repeat,) looking in the liquor cabinet. Avoid the front, and the back takes care of itself.
Don't feel like the bottle of wine needs to be finished. I have the tools to preserve wine in the bottle after being opened. Use them.

Summary -
Don't make it a habit
Don't binge

Approaching a couple weeks in, I'm not craving. There is no "you can't" have one, which was there early on.

As mentioned, i can overthink anything.
Click to expand...

Overthink... me too.

Sounds like a solid plan but i vote that you make a game out of it. How long can Pat go. 👍🏻
 
Patrick said:
Finished-up a little project at Casa @mattybfat's place last night.

Had a nice talk about what I'm trying to get out of dry January, and if i see it becoming something more permanent.
I explained what I needed to leave behind (again) - and where I wanted to be. Then I went into overthinking mode
on my way home.

Couple of things. I like beer. I like wine. I like to pair them with food. Very rarely will i just have hard liquor unless i've had alcohol (beer/wine),
and that usually in a group setting. <-- you can read into that, no need to rehash. Beer I could pop open anytime tho, but I wouldn't
just grab a bottle of wine and start drinking.

Goals
Stop having alc every day - plenty of other choices.
Plan the meals that would benefit from a great glass of wine - and enjoy the journey, rather than grabbing a bottle everyday.
Avoid the spiral - popping beer, splitting a bottle of wine, popping another beer (repeat,) looking in the liquor cabinet. Avoid the front, and the back takes care of itself.
Don't feel like the bottle of wine needs to be finished. I have the tools to preserve wine in the bottle after being opened. Use them.

Summary -
Don't make it a habit
Don't binge

Approaching a couple weeks in, I'm not craving. There is no "you can't" have one, which was there early on.

As mentioned, i can overthink anything.
Click to expand...
RTalk, does “I’ll just have one with dinner” always lead to the same spot a couple months later?
 
Had my 2nd beer last night since cutting back Jan 3rd. It was good but 1 was plenty. Usually it's 1 leads to 2, then 3, ... I didn't feel bad today so that's good. I'm liking the beer every now and then. It's a reward instead of a habit. I hope this is not a tease for the dry folks, but a good happy medium for enjoying but not overindulging.
 
3 weeks in. No slip ups. Some times it feels like its not even an effort, some times it feels like its been forever since I've had a drink. But, two dinner meetings down, no alcohol imbibed. I'm seeing what the guys mean when you get to the end of January and say "Do I really want to start back up?" How many of us have already fallen off the 2022 wagon?
 
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