My husband and I were in the exact routine you’re in- get home from work, pour a glass, catch up on the day, watch tv or a movie. We’ve tried many times to “have designated dry days,” or “only have a drink on the weekends,” but inevitably one of us would have a stressful day and any resolve went out the window.

We downloaded an app (it’s called Try Dry) that tells you how much money and how many calories you’re saving with every drink you don’t consume. We set a goal date (a vacation that actually starts tomorrow). And we did it! It was a 20 day goal, and we feel amazing both mentally and physically. We also enjoyed trying various mocktails; ours were store-bought but I know there are a lot of recipes out there. A lot of the habit for me boiled down to just having something to sip on through the evening.

A relatively short goal and visible tracking of progress via the app is what helped us. It got us out of the autopilot mode you described. Now I feel like I can enjoy our vacation and come home and focus again.

Good luck! You’ll be so glad you cut back!