Are you interested in doing the 100-day sober challenge?
Here’s the pledge:
“I will not drink for 100 days. No matter what. I can cry, but I will not drink. I can go to bed or go home early. I might feel distressed … but I will not drink. Bad things might happen, but I will not drink. Incredibly shitty things may happen to someone around me, or my neighbour, or my friend’s friend’s grandmother. But there will be no booze. Funerals? Weddings? Amputation? I’m not drinking for 100 days no matter what happens … No matter what.”
OK, now what?
When I was trying to quit, I had many day 1s. It wasn’t until I got more support that I started to do better.
It's not like we can do this alone in our head.
The drinking voice is just too convincing and it ‘sounds’ like it’s making sense (when really, that voice is bullshit, but it takes some outside cheerleading to figure that out).
And the cool thing about the internet is it’s more anonymous, which can really help, at least to begin.
There are two ways to do the 100-Day Sober Challenge
1. With Support
If you'd like a live-human, sober penpal and get personalized, direct responses to emails, then you can sign up for the Sober Jumpstart. All levels come with a sober penpal (me!).
You can email me every single day, ask questions, rant, whine, and get cheerleading. And yes, we remain sober penpals for a whole year. I'll keep track of your dates, and remind you when it's time to get treats.
If you’re like me, then you’ll will do better with accountability and cheerleading. Me on my own, I couldn’t get more than 9 days in a row. Then once I added in support, things changed. The sober penpal is part of the Jumpstart here.
2. Self-Administered
To do the sober challenge on your own, you can write out the pledge above and make a note of the date of your last drink.
Find ways to add in more tools and supports. The more you reach out, the more sober tools you add, the easier you’ll find it. Read sober blogs (mine and others) every day 🙂 And be sure to sign up to get daily sober motivation emails below.
This is day 6 for me. I’ve tried to quit before but there was no structure – just “quit”. That’s why I like the 100 day challenge better, I’m not saying I’ll never drink again, I’m just saying I’m going to pause for 100 days and see how I feel after. I once read it wasn’t until day 100 that the benefits are truly realized.
Yesterday I was so uncontrollably angry and sad – it really was so hard to get out of my own head. I ALMOST got wine. I was so close to getting wine. Thank god I didn’t have any in my house otherwise that would’ve been too easy.
All I kept saying was “in this moment right now I am not drinking “ and so I kept going with that. “In this moment I am not drinking and I am OK” …” get through this moment and see how you feel”.
I also told myself if I get through this day without drinking and I’m STILL craving it so much tomorrow, I’ll drink then.
Not surprising, I woke up relieved I didn’t drink in day 5, and I’m ready to get through today sober.
I have 94 more days to go…seems daunting, but it’s more manageable than forever in my own little mind right now!
As a follow up to my last comment, I may start putting aside what I would have spent on wine into a separate account each day. Then I’d have tangible proof of the financial benefits and incentive to save for something awesome, like a vacation!
It’s day 180. That’s more than $2000 not spent on wine. For the most part, I don’t miss it. If I go out to dinner with friends, I do, momentarily, yearn for a martini. And very, very occasionally I think it would be nice to numb out on wine. But the regret that is sure to follow keeps me from giving in to those passing urges … I really was so very tired of thinking about drinking.
Well this is my day 1 again. Really tired of laying awake at 3am thinking about it. Time to put a plan in place
This is my day 3. I feel much, much better now then a few days back. And I have been more productive in three days than in the last three weeks. Lets see if I last this time but I think I will. Things were getting out of control and I never, ever want to start where I stopped those three days ago.
Well I failed my last attempt so today is day 1 again.
Hi all! Day one again for me…but this time i
have a PLAN! and I have tools so I feel really good about doing it this time! Looking forward to waking up without feeling like shit and having more calm in my life. I AM DONE!
This is day 150. I’ve saved around $1800 by forgoing my nightly bottle of wine and the occasional restaurant cocktail. I want to celebrate by treating myself to something, but I haven’t decided what that will be. Doesn’t have to be today. I’m going to give it some thought .
Have not had a drink for 12 days. I stopped drinking, honestly believing I would not be able to drink again, on 26 December 2020 before gradually drinking again after about 6 months. In the last 12 months, it has been out of control. This time, I am making a pledge. 🙂
I keep finding myself regretting drinking, so here I am. It’s time to get serious.
Hi. Day 2 (again) just signed up for podcasts and one mi ute messages. Reading Belle’s book. I love this program. I went to AA a d it is ok but they don’t offer any tools. Anyway… I am excited about a new way of living.
Day 1 was July 25, 2023 – and i must admit it started quite unintentionally this time, though I had thought about starting again many, many times. Now on day 6 and I’ve made a commitment to myself that I will reach 100 days this go around and figure out future details after that. 100 days is enough to focus on for now.
Day 1 again… I have been here many times before. I had 7 months sobriety at one point, and then a few months ago, I thought I could moderate. Nope! Since then about 4 days is my longest stretch. I’m hoping this will hold me accountable.
About to hit 100 in 2 days!!! My BF is still a heavy drinker so that is a daily challenge YET a fantastic reminder of what I don’t want to be!
Been thinking about doing this for a while…so today is day 1.
Day 1…. I completed the challenge earlier this year, but then I thought I could surely moderate. Nope. 😔Therefore, I’m going to take on the challenge again with more of a long-term goal. I know that I don’t need the alcohol….
Day 4. Trying to lose weight for health reasons and last week started missing my evening meals so that I could drink wine instead. How on earth did I get here?
After 4 years not drinking (and that is all down to Belle’s support) I started again in January this year, thinking I could moderate, intending to stick to just one glass of wine with my meal, being sociable, enjoying my husband’s company. Fast forward to July and, in retirement and a new, lovely home, drinking as if I’m on holiday every day! So… back to it as tired of thinking about drinking, of hating myself, of feeling rubbish. I know I can live without alcohol, I’ve done it before; wish hubby would cut down as well, but that’s not my problem. I’m looking after me.
I’m going for 200 now. I’m at 120. I don’t miss the nightly wine, but I’ll admit I do miss restaurant cocktails, which I only had occasionally. But indulging in one would lead me right back to the nightly wine. So Wolfie is hovering around, but I don’t talk to him.
Day one….again…but the first day one where I have reached out for support as I cant do this by myself. I’m praying its the last one x
Hi Belle,
I started another sober journey on June 8, 2023, after 17 days, I relapsed again and restarted on June 26. I hope to continue with your help for the next 100 days.
Thank you
Yesterday was day one… and I went through saturday without wine. It was okay… listening to Belle and it helps me a lot…
I’m on day 13. I made it to 9 and a half months and then caved and at a work party started to top up my soft drinks with wine like that didn’t count. I told myself I’d only do that once but then it happened again and again. Last date of drinking 9th June 2023.
Day 1. again. Longest stint 6 weeks….in early 2020. Alcohol free is who I want to be.
I’m on day 102 and feeling good. I have temptation twinges. I tell them to get lost. The thought of the next morning’s headache and, especially, regret are powerful incentives to keep going.
Day 220: I sense a shift in the way I think about drinking these days……Even when I get the urge to drink, I know a drink is not what I want. I think about taking a drink & immediately know that’s not what I want. I search for what it is I really want. If I don’t figure it out, I table it til later & hope it comes to me but at no time during this process do I think a drink will help. If I don’t figure it out, I simply think…tomorrow will be a better day…..i‘ll wake in the morning & be so glad I didn’t give in. I’m done with feeling like a loser. I’m done with feeling like I have no other options. I’m done with giving up.
The real Sheila is coming to the surface a little more each day. I’m loving this new chapter of my life……sober is hella lot better than hungover…..yeah me!
I will not drink today……I will think today….
One thing I know for sure……. I don’t ever want to go back there again!
Oh OMG… how much longer? I am sick and tired of thinking about drinking. Even now that I was cought drunk behind Wheels by the politie and am now facing a huge lowsuit. Thank Goodness, I didn’t hurt No one or myself.
I have to commit to this 100days challenge. Day 1 for me. Oh Lord God have Mercy in me.
Day 7 What I am loving about this website, and the people you appeal to, as demonstrated from the comments below, is that these are real people, with real stories with success and failure in all its glorious honesty. It gives such strength to be amongst a tribe of people who are not gloating recovering addicts, but sharing real struggles, the power of the addictive voice, the dominence of alcohol, the control of the advertising industry, and the societal language of alchohol being the language of happiness and selling the chilled white wine dream. You, and authors like Caroline Gray and Jason Vale are smashing these myths and I am excited, curious, scared and committed to join this army.
Starting over. Did one year alcohol free and never felt better. Why I chose to drink again, I have no idea. I don’t crave alcohol daily, I just can’t stop at one. I don’t do anything “in moderation.” If I have one drink, I pretty much wind up sloppy drunk and completely hating myself for the next week. I really, really need to get alcohol out of my life.
Day 1…again. I was alcohol free for a full year 2020-21. I have struggled to keep it out of my life ever since. Today I commit to me! I’m tired of the alcohol voice in my head. One glass always turns into one bottle and it is never worth it.
Today is day 3, I need to stop and start living- love this blog already
Just made it from the bed to the couch. Wrecked myself, again, with intention if only having a few beers. Missed an important work event today, raging migraine, puking every half hour…really!? Again and again this is the result of my drinking. I was sober for a year in 2020 and the joy and pride I felt was immeasurable. So, here goes. 100 days. May 20, 2023 day 1. This will allow me to celebrate my 50 th bday sober this summer. I am afraid and relieved. All your messages help so much. Good luck everyone. Love.
Turning 50 in October. Want to be sober for that! We can do it
Today is day 100!
Wow, thank you for the challenge. I was so tired of thinking about alcohol-measuring glasses of wine out and trying hard to limit alcohol to 2/3 days a week and always counting down the hours to the next time I would allow myself to drink.
The first 21 days were tough and there have been times when I wanted alcohol to get that fleeting relaxing buzz after stressful and tiring days looking after my 2 yr old and 4 yr old and ‘drama’ days.
But…I did it! I didn’t have alcohol and I feel so much better mentally and physically.
I read sober books which helped me through. My favourites were Quit like a Woman and the Unexpected Joy of Being Sober.
I am hoping the way forward is some wine with Sunday lunch or if I go out on a Saturday night. However if this resorts in me feeling like alcohol is holding me ransom again I know I need to quit or challenge myself to another 100 days or 6 months or a year.
Not drinking has felt so liberating.
Day one again. What is wrong with me? I’m so worried my drinking is going to get worse again. I hate this feeling. I want to feel happy and healthy. Going to try the 100 day challenge. Started the book this morning. Wish me luck 🍀
I didn’t plan on stopping and I had every intention on drinking the following weekend. Cinco de Mayo was the next drinking “holiday.”. April 30th was the last time I drank…my husband went to bed and drank more, I don’t remember what I drank for a few hours after he went to bed. I stayed up late, I went to work late and felt horrible. Tired and hungover is the norm for me on Mondays.
I stopped because my adult daughter needed me. I heard she was driving drunk after getting her interlock out. I told her she needed help. She asked me to stop drinking, and I told her I couldn’t even think about drinking while she was getting treatment. She’s in rehab now and I’m determined to stay sober.
I am tired or thinking about drinking. It has been 22 years of binge drinking and shame. Date of last drink 15th of May 2023.
I don’t feel that I need or depend on alcohol but I do feel that I’ve been drinking more than I should recently and I don’t want it to become a habit.
I’d like to give this challenge a go to have a reset.
Last drink: today 13.5.23
So today I am 4 weeks sober. Been a pretty heavy drinker for 35 years. Definitely not the easiest thing I have ever done. Have tried numerous times in the past but never really committed. Somehow this time is different. Maybe the fact that I felt myself close to loosing everything. My family, my business, some of my friends, and most of all my self respect. I can say at least for myself that this is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I like many have developed relationships (friends) over the years that seem to all be drinkers. For me this is the hardest part. I went back and forth on wether I should tell them or not. I decided I should tell them. All of my friends cangradulated me and began to open up about the times I worried them. Now my (drinking) friends help hold me accountable and celebrate my milestones. I can already tell that those relationships as well as family relationships are already improving. My goals are to re asses my situation after my hundred days but I’m pretty sure I will never drink again. But right now it is one day at a time and I celebrate every day I make good decisions.
Thank you to everyone on these pages and as reading your post is what inspired me to finally make a conscious and personal choice for a major change in my life.
Thank you again
Starting 100 days no matter what AF!
I’m on Day 60! I feel great.
My longest previous sober stretch was 2021, when I went 9 months with the help of Tempest. I had other wellness concerns — primarily my weight and lack of exercise — but I decided to focus strictly on drinking, making it the priority. It was the right approach for me then. But, alas, I broke down and had a couple of glasses of wine during the holidays and within a month was back to my old bottle-a-night routine.
This time, about 3 weeks into my sober challenge, I started a weight-loss diet and resumed the daily exercise routine that had been my habit for years until I had knee surgery. I’m looking at my whole wellness package, how each piece supports the other. It’s the right approach for me now. I’ve barely thought about drinking, but I’m mindful that the Wolfie voice can call when you think you’re secure — as it did for me in 2021.
I’ve not had a drink since March. I’m not telling my friends that I’m giving it up for good just not drinking today. I know that’s not the smartest way to handle this but I made the commitment to my wife and college buddies, two have quit drinking via AA, two died, one when he passed out in bed with a cigarette and one went off the deep end with much harder drugs. I’m now making the commitment here. I don’t intend to get rid of my friends, they will eventually get the picture. So farewell to my 55 year career of drinking with many many un-memorable moments. It’s time to move on. I’ve many things to do before I join my lost buddies.
OK so I am signing up. 100 days. 30 April 2023. Lets try this out
I am on day 8. I am reading Catherine Gray’s book too! That’s how I found this blog! Had a really hard time tonight walking through Meijer. Last time I was there I bought my wine 😰 that was only 9-days ago. I don’t even know myself anymore. I’ve been drunk just about every day for almost 20-years 🤯
Finished Catherine Gray’s book in an afternoon, inspired and ready to stop the constant back and forth of drinking, not drinking, do I have a problem? Date of last drink: April 26, 2023
I am tired of Day Zero!!!! I just, for once, want to do something FOR ME!!! I want to be happy again and really live life and enjoy everything it has to offer (the good and bad) without alcohol in my system. I want to find the real me again. Date of Last Drink: April 25, 2023
On day 78 and I have been having some really intense cravings the past few days. Certain family members I’ve discovered are serious triggers. Holding on.
Hello everyone I am on day 11 I’m embracing the whole sobriety life I feel much better without alcohol keep it up everyone thank you belle you the best x
Hi Belle, Katie here from little old New Zealand. Today is my day 5. Pleased to have joined the 100+ day team. I can’t afford another panic attack the day after having a quiet bottle of wine. I can’t afford the misery and self hate, the anxiety grips my chest all day long. I’m a wreck and I know alcohol is the culprit. I was sober for 6 months last year and it was hard but great.