I've been sober for almost three years now. It is a complete game changer w/ regards to inner-game. Your confidence will go through the roof when you go out, pull and smash a chick completely sober!

I almost slipped up yesterday after 7 months on the wagon (being at a friend's 21st) , but then I saw this clip. And I realized the wagon has to continue as long as possible.

Just a little check in:

Downs: Sometimes during a raging party the desire to cut loose and join in the frenzy is strong.
Ups: Staying sober has put me in a place to focus on my life. Without the ability to distract myself with drugs and alcohol I am forced to answer big picture questions like: "where am I going?"

Overall it is tough, but I am pleased with my development.

Day one.. again but I believe I got it this time

(07-03-2016 01:48 PM)BiggNastee Wrote:  Day one.. again but I believe I got it this time

BiggNastee, if you are really committing to a 1 year wagon, please post your start date here. But you should consider first whether you are willing to commit to it. It should be a serious decision -- you should have the full intention of not having any drinks, for any reason, for 365 days -- come hell or high water. No exceptions for weddings, funerals, birthdays, good days, bad days, etc. That's what the wagon means.

This thread is not like the dreaded "no fap" thread where guys pop in every few days to declare a new "Day 1". That has its own comic charms, to be sure, but the wagon is different and it's serious business. Once declared, you stake your pride on seeing it through.

Please think about it, and if you are really ready for the 1 year drinking wagon challenge then post your start date here and I will welcome you back aboard.

Less than 90 days to go

Officially signing up for this. Been drinking today but not too much. Also newbie beta with an amazing 1 post of questionable worth but i will get there. Eventually. I suspect not drinking vast amounts of fermented wheat juice should help aswell.

I have been contemplating this for literally over a year, but I haven't had the heart.

On the 4th of July I met a super sexy, fit girl at a Jersey Shore beach bar while she was in line for the bathroom. I wasn't wasted but I had about 4 beers in the system and had a nice buzz going. We exchanged numbers, and made plans to meet up at another club in the area later that night. She showed up looking stunning - big fake tits propped up all nice in a slutty american flag tank top, flawless skin, and perfect muscle tone. She looked 21, but she had a confidence about her that really young girls aren't capable of having, so I figured she was at least 24.

The party was dead by the time we got to the club, so we grabbed a couple stools at the bar and I asked her what she wanted to drink. She said she already had been drinking plenty earlier in the day, and didn't want anything. Not even a water. Weird...I didn't want to drink alone so I just ordered water.

She told me that she was an exotic dancer in Atlantic City. We had a fun conversation, plenty of touching, teasing, ball busting, and cursing. I asked her agian, "are you sure you don't a beer or...anything?"

This time she told me the truth: she quit drinking years ago because her doctor told her it could be lethal due to a heart issue she was having. She was 29 - older than me!

Wow. I thought about how this girl can get on stage in nothing but a G-String all night in front of dozens of rude, horny guys eye-fucking the shit out of her, flirt with them, crack jokes, and work them for their money. All while completely sober. THAT is badass.

My confidence has come a long way. I went from being scared of anything with a vagina to teaching myself game and giving myself the ability to get laid somewhat frequently on nights out solo. I've done stand-up comedy, completely bombed, and made it our alive. But you'd best believe booze was holding my hand every step of the way. I needed it. This girl standing in front of me is in the spotlight every night, asking strangers for donations while prancing around as vulnerable as a person can be. But I need Miller Lite so I don't feel "awkward" while standing in a crowded bar where no one even knows (or cares) I'm there.

I don't want to substitute a lack of confidence with 10 glasses of poision. I want to earn that fucking confidence, which I know will give me the power to become rich, get in amazing shape, date top tier women, associate with great men, and spend my time doing the shit that I truly want to do. Let's not even get into the thousands of dollars I'll save every year on booze and booze related expenses.

I had a few drinks when I went out on Thursday night, even though I made a promise to myself earlier that I would only drink water. I also did a couple bumps of coke, flirted with some average girls, stayed out way too late, ate a bag of Cooler Ranch Doritos, and masturbated at 3am. I was practically asleep at work and skipped my workout. Again.

No more. I just made it through my first weekend in probably a couple of years without drinking a drop of alcohol. I'm ready to do this.

Sign me up as of July 7th, 2016.

Eddie,

Thanks for this post. 4th of July on the Jersey Shore sounds pretty good to me.

Something to consider (just by the by) is that the confident 29 year old stripper you met that night may or may not have been telling the whole truth about the reasons for her abstinence. It is entirely possible that she indeed has a heart condition that has prevented her from drinking for many years; and it's just as possible that next time you happen to be at that bar -- should there be a next time -- you'll see her there knocking back a few or more than a few. You just never know with the ladies, not least with confident Jersey Shore ladies with big fake tits propped up in a stars and stripes tank top.

Be that as it may -- you should really consider if you are ready for a 1 year drinking wagon: not one drink, for any reason, at any time, for 365 days, day after day, week after week, month after month. It's easy to give up the world of drinks, a little coke and late night Doritos -- for a few days; but a year is something different and requires a serious commitment. You can certainly do it if you set your heart to it -- but you should reflect more and make sure if this is what you're really committing yourself to. Once you do, you stake your pride on it and you should see it through. It won't always be easy.

If you've thought about it, and if this is what you want to do even upon reflection, please post here again and I'll welcome you aboard for the next year.

I've noticed that I always crave alcohol in the third day after I drank, today is the third day, will remain vigilant now.

Sign me up. I have gone years without drinking in my twenties and even thirties but I have found extended sobriety to be more difficult as I age.

I watched my beloved boxing trainer drink himself to death in front of my eyes. It is one of the saddest things to ever see, someone you love drink themselves to death.
I did everything in my power to stop him but it has to be done by oneself.

Sign me up July 18, 2016.

Goodbye, my love. I just cant see you anymore. We just aren't good for each other.
Don't worry, you will find someone else.

Congrats guys on your commitment and perseverance. It gets much, much easier as time goes by. The cravings will cease. One of the best things about being completely sober is knowing just how great I can be without alcohol or the perception that I need alcohol to feel great. Keep up the good work fellas's. If interested, google SMART Recovery which is a cognitive based recovery program that focuses on the psychological triggers of drinking/using. I've been going to meetings for nearly three years and it really helps.

18th July 2016

Re-starting.

I know that not drinking alcohol is the right thing to do.

Let's give this another go

8 months clean.

Moving out of the place I called home for the last two years. Not the worst years, but close to them. Reflecting back on these two years with a feeling of sadness. So many unwanted, unnecessary memories. A lot of pain. A lot of suffering. A lot of escapism. A little bit of courage, but not too much. Some of my viewpoints have changed significantly over the last two years. I was happier, more enthusiastic, and had a lust for life... This is exactly what I was terrified of becoming - an old, bitter man staring back at life with a ton of regrets and what-ifs. These two years could have been so much better, if I had been just a little bolder, a little more involved, a little more mature.Oh well, I'm not dead yet, that's all that matters.

How do you get that lust back, without going back to the booze?

(07-18-2016 11:45 AM)AboveAverageJoe Wrote:  Sign me up July 18, 2016.

AAJ, are you in for the full year?

(07-18-2016 01:35 PM)LeightonBlackstock Wrote:  18th July 2016

Re-starting.

Leighton, same question for you.

***********

To restate something I posted a little earlier: a 1 year wagon is a serious undertaking, and guys should only post here if they have thought it through and are seriously planning to go a full year without having a single drink. This is not the drinking equivalent of the "no fap" thread with its endless every 5 day "restarts".

If you are really committed to going a full 365 days without a single drink and stake your pride on seeing it through, please post here and I'll welcome you aboard.

(07-31-2016 12:34 AM)Sharkie Wrote:  8 months clean.

Moving out of the place I called home for the last two years. Not the worst years, but close to them. Reflecting back on these two years with a feeling of sadness. So many unwanted, unnecessary memories. A lot of pain. A lot of suffering. A lot of escapism. A little bit of courage, but not too much. Some of my viewpoints have changed significantly over the last two years. I was happier, more enthusiastic, and had a lust for life... This is exactly what I was terrified of becoming - an old, bitter man staring back at life with a ton of regrets and what-ifs. These two years could have been so much better, if I had been just a little bolder, a little more involved, a little more mature.Oh well, I'm not dead yet, that's all that matters.

How do you get that lust back, without going back to the booze?

Sharkie, the concern about being an "old bitter man" is a very young man's concern. It is so dreadfully characteristic of the late twenties that it brings a smile to my face. I hope you don't mind.

The late twenties are a time of a life when a man feels as if he is about to become old and time is pretty much running out. Then in your thirties you realize that you're basically just getting started.

The twenties are a tough decade for men; there is so much angst and so much burning need to define and prove yourself, to prove that you measure up. It gets easier -- just be patient and don't do anything stupid that's hard to come back from, like serious injury, bad marriage, drug addiction etc. Avoid these catastrophic outcomes and you'll be alright.

Going to set a two month goal of no alcohol. I can go weeks with out it. But I love to drink and eat pizza, hamburgers and all kinds of junk food. I normally do not drink, just to drink. It is more of a weekend thing to unwind from work.

Lately, I have been working 50-80 hour woork weeks and I will buy beer and food and sit at home...or go to some of the local pubs to drink a few pints and eat.

Over eating, spending, drinking alcohol are all bad habits.

I am posting this here to admit what I do. I take responsibility for my actions and I am setting a goal to change it.

I stopped drinking long time ago and never looked back. I'm around the 8 year mark if not 9 years. I went cold turkey. Weird thing is i didn't really struggle with it. I didn't crave or want to drink I just walked away from it like a boss. I go to bars now and it doesn't even tempt me.

The hardest part were those weird dreams. Once in a blue moon I would have a dream that I had drinks and or got drunk. I would wake up upset at myself for drinking. It takes much longer than normal for me to realize that i didn't really drink and that it was all a dream. ....or was it? It trips me out kicking those dreams.

Those dreams are probably the hardest/weirdest of the process for me. I don't get them much but when I do its a bad feeling to go through.

The way I stopped may not be for everyone. Straight cold turkey. But it takes discipline. My discipline was rock solid, impregnable. I wish I could apply that discipline in other areas of my life

Thanks for this thread The Lizard of Oz

Have been lurking here for a couple of months and read the first 22 pages so far, also nearly finished Allen Carr's book mentioned earlier.

Spent the weekend just passed on a two day bender and need to commit to the challenge.

Start date: 01/08/2016

(08-02-2016 02:43 PM)slowpoke Wrote:  Thanks for this thread The Lizard of Oz

Have been lurking here for a couple of months and read the first 22 pages so far, also nearly finished Allen Carr's book mentioned earlier.

Spent the weekend just passed on a two day bender and need to commit to the challenge.

Start date: 01/08/2016

slowpoke, thank you for the post. There have been a few guys over time whose first forum post was in this thread and it always gives me great satisfaction to see it.

Welcome aboard as of August 1, 2016 and hope to hear more from you here as time goes on.

Count me in for the one-year wagon, starting August 4, 2016.

I have several reasons for joining:
- I lose all self-control (including having more drinks) once I've had a single drink. The solution to this problem is to avoid all alcohol.
- I have been cutting back on drinking over the past couple weeks and I have lost 10 pounds. This can't all be alcohol but I am getting better sleep and making better eating choices.
- The big realization of my past week is that when I drink, it is to please other people. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that No-More-Mr-Nice-Guy addresses. I do not drink alone, I only drink when others ask me to, and I only say Yes because at 30 years old I don't yet have a strong sense of self or boundaries.

Thus, this wagon is just as much about alcohol for me than it is about staking my pride and doing something for MYSELF that I've wanted to do, but haven't because I seek approval of others.

Thanks TLOZ and friends for providing this opportunity.

Chem, that's some very profound insight! You're halfway there with the cognitive challenges of quitting. I think deep down, many of us will find that our drinking isn't necessarily for us per se and a good portion of it is pleasing others.

Chemistry, thank you for the post and welcome aboard as of August 4, 2016. Look forward to hearing more from you here as time goes on.

I have been monitoring this thread for a couple of years now. I'll spare the tales of going from casual drinker at 21 to an "elevated" level of regular drinking activity, gradually, by 35. My stories are similar to many here going from high functioning alcoholic to suddenly having adverse reactions to "normal" drinking patterns.

I actually started and completed a 1 year wagon, inspired by this thread, on a leap-year no less (7/4/2015 through 7/3/2016 completed, not a drop). First 3 months were pretty fucking hard, but ended up dropping 35 pounds in that time period and regaining mental clarity, soundness of mind, and feeling of life purpose.

So my point to offer here is that I decided, after completing my 1 year wagon, to buy some nice scotch and try moderation, since I had proven my resolve and newfound responsibility, after all.

This has instead proven to be a bad idea of epic proportions and I am writing (now drunk) to encourage anyone nearing completion of their wagon commitment to fucking re-up for another year without hesitation. It took less than 1 month for me to devolve back into weight gain, tingles in my fingertips, blurry eyesight, diminished mental clarity, and negative mood in general.

I am just more acutely aware now after experiencing a year of positive improvement how dangerous this shit is. But to be personally accountable, this is a decision I made and now regret. I will rejoin the wagon for a second 1st year after I clear out my existing stockpile. Excuses, I know. But I will be back, date forthcoming.

@DTD309

You are correct. After a man has developed a heavy drinking lifestyle in his past it wise to just stay sober once you have gone on the wagon. The habit and rituals of drinking from your past will quickly reemerge if you let alcohol back into your life.