Okay, so let’s talk about cravings. 18 days ago I quit both alcohol and cigarettes. I have to say that cigarettes has been the hardest so far by a mile. But what has really surprised me is that I’ve managed to transfer a lot of my wine cravings, to (and get this)… alcohol free wine cravings. I am as shocked as the next person. I’ve actually found that having a glass of non alcoholic wine when i get home at the end of a long and stressful day in the city, has somehow had a placebo effect on my brain.
Now I’m not saying that any of these AF wines I’ve tried are fantastic as I haven’t actually tried that many (just dont get the rose from Tesco that was by far the worst) but it’s definitely made the transition easier for me. I should also say that I was not at what I would classically describe as an alcoholic stage but I did drink far too much to the point where I would black out most times, it would affect my work as well as my relationships so I can’t have been far off.
Has anyone else who is in a similar situation as myself found AF drinks to help, or is it too much of a reminder of the real Mccoy?
I do it.
Not wine but beer alternatives.
Not as many as I would have done with real beers each evening.
Couple of Erdlingers after football on Mondays as its actually an isotonic sports drink.
A Nanny State here and there.
Does the job.
I’ll have a NA beer once in a while. At home, it’s pretty much just water, coconut water, or something similar. If I’m out, I mostly stick to water with cranberry and lime, ginger beer mules, or a cold fashioned.
Yeah I know what you mean. No chance would I be able to consume as much liquid with AF drinks as I used to with alcohol. Kind of mad to think how many pints I used to sink …
When I first quit I was drinking a lot of AF wine. It really helped with the action of drinking without getting any alcohol affects. Much like how a person quitting cigarettes will chew on a pencil or suck on a lolypop. It’s the action of putting something stick-like in their mouth.
Overtime I found I needed the AF wine less and less. Now I use it as a special occasion treat. For example, when we are having people over for dinner I like to have a glass of AF wine while everyone else has their regular wine. It just helps feel fancy.
But day to day I’m drinking much more tea or sparkling water.
Hi Sue, yep totally agree with you. I have really found a whole new appreciation for herbal tea. Always been a fan but it’s funny how much more you enjoy the small things once you take alcohol out of the equation! Also sparkling elderflower
The federal law in the United States states that for any wine to be marked, packaged and sold as alcohol free or dealcoholized, the alcohol content must be more than 0.5% by volume… any bottle having more than 0.5% of alcohol is therefore not considered to be a non-alcoholic wine
Isn’t that true? I could kick back six or eight beers easily, but try though I may to do the same with sparkling waters, I can’t get past two maybe three
Have you heard of Kombucha? I drank that for a while. Also sparkling water and lime or cordial. I quit alcohol and cigarettes together aswell. And then Kombucha started reminding me of cider and it became a risk so I just drink herbal tea now.
The one I buy says 0% where others will say “less than 0.5%” so I’ve assumed it is actually AF.
BUt FOR ME (and I emphasize “for me” and I don’t say this will be the same for everyone) the fact that I can’t get drunk, or even tipsy, on it is enough for me. A half a glass of regular wine would lead to a whole bottle or more, but a full glass on NA wine has never convinced me to drink more. If others don’t want to drink it I say awesome. Some people won’t drink kombucha for the small amount of alcohol in it.
Yep it’s 0.0%, not sure exactly how they do it but it says they have removed the alcohol. It is the same here that it has to be 0.5% which you find in most AF beers
