No Alcohol August

mommyvudu

I'm still dry as a bone over here! Loving it, too! Even if I am trippin' a little bit...quitting my multiple whiskies a night has left me emotional.

meeganbrett

Day 1 here! Going great. I don't drink much, if at all during the week so it's been eady. My trigger is friday, sat, sundsy

Monarose

MyWhole30Journey wrote: »

Monarose wrote: »

Total fail. I did well all week. Then Totally caved into the stress of the weekend. Idk that I can do this with it around me all the time.

Hey, you did great! Better 1 or 2 nights than every night. One trick I use when I feel I'm drinking too much is to pour an 8 oz glass of water with each drink and drink the entire glass before I can have another drink. Your body can only handle so much liquid! Good luck this week.

Thank you. I'm on a 43 day streak of logging everything and totally fell apart this weekend. I feel like I'm also eating everything in sight. My general stress is through the roof really bringing me down. I just consciously didn't work out tonight. Didn't drink either though. Going to keep on trying.

tmbg1

Last evening was hard because we spent the day at the beach, and I used to ALWAYS have either cold beer or cold pinot grigio after a day at the beach. Yesterday I had water, and I am so proud of myself!! I am craving a lot less now, but certain triggers, like the beach, still make me crave.

MyWhole30Journey

Monarose wrote: »

MyWhole30Journey wrote: »

Monarose wrote: »

Total fail. I did well all week. Then Totally caved into the stress of the weekend. Idk that I can do this with it around me all the time.

Hey, you did great! Better 1 or 2 nights than every night. One trick I use when I feel I'm drinking too much is to pour an 8 oz glass of water with each drink and drink the entire glass before I can have another drink. Your body can only handle so much liquid! Good luck this week.

Thank you. I'm on a 43 day streak of logging everything and totally fell apart this weekend. I feel like I'm also eating everything in sight. My general stress is through the roof really bringing me down. I just consciously didn't work out tonight. Didn't drink either though. Going to keep on trying.

Could it be hormonal? We women have a lot more to deal with than we give consideration to. Glad you made it through the day. Hopefully things will start looking up soon.

MyWhole30Journey

Starting day 11 with No Alcohol. While I'm very pleased with myself, it's not a whole lot of fun. It's funny how we can feel that we won't be able to have a good time without a few drinks.

abarriere

I have been alcohol free since August 3, as part of my Whole30. Feeling really well, although I did dream about ordering wine at a bar last night and they were all out and I was sad...haha!

Kristyg34

I have been doing this for 7 weeks and it h a s m a de such a difference. I am a vodka cranberry girl. Absolute.

Brooke1076

So I have to fess up that about 4 days this month so far I have slipped up. I feel so gross

I am going to make myself more accountable by posting my status at the end of the night that I didn't drink that day!! I am going to try to go through and get you all added as friends. Any other ideas on how to stay accountable? I need hobbies!! I downloaded a couple books!!

How is everyone else plugging along? It looks like you are doing good! I definitely want to roll this over into September! Stay Dry September!

What is the difference between a group and a message thread? Would it be easier to make a group?

Aug 2 - .5
Aug 9 - .5
Aug 16 -
Aug 23 -
Aug 30 -

SandiRemedios

Hello Everyone, still AF although I haven't been posting a lot. I bought 12 cans of President's Choice Blonde Beer (no alcohol) for those times when I felt I was about to cave. I find them helpful. The last one is in the freezer right now, as I just got back from walking 8 km on a pretty warm day. I have had 4 cups of water so far since I got back in the house. I MUST learn to carry water with me when doing stuff like that.
I hope everyone is having a good day.
If you decide to form a group, I'm in. Although, I too don't know the difference between a group and a thread.

Somebody_Loved

I've been struggling with how I want to move forward. I know that I don't want to completely cut out alcohol for good, but I also know that I'm terrible at moderating. There are certain scenarios when I trust myself to moderate - for instance when I meet up with a friend for dinner. I know I have to drive home so I'll have one glass and then call it good. But if I'm at home or somewhere where driving isn't an issue, then most attempts at moderating are failures.

I also like the mindset of only drinking "for a reason." Not just because it's the weekend but because there is something special going on (vacation, a wedding, birthday, etc.) Then I realize that I have things going on every week. In the next 3 weeks alone I have friends coming into town, a music festival, and a wedding reception.

Sorry for the long post. Basically I'm debating a lot in how I want alcohol to fit into my life style. More to come, I'm sure.

@Brooke1076 - I've been walking a lot and that's really been helping. I like to go for walks after dinner to take my mind off of having a drink. That, and I've become a coffee fiend. I bought a bunch of decaf for the evenings and I've replaced my nightly wine with coffee instead. Surprisingly, I really look forward to it and after a while the nightly wine cravings went away.

Brooke1076

@MyWhole30Journey you are such an inspiration in here!

I am thinking about helping myself stay accountable by opening up my diary. But I really don't want to. If anyone looks PLEASE don't judge. I am going to add the alcohol I had last night on top of my taco bell! GROSS!!! BUT I am going to log every day now and since my diary will be public, I might be more embarrassed to have to add alcohol so that will make it easier to not drink... that's right, shame myself into not drinking!!

Brooke1076

@Somebody_Loved I hear you.... the problem is that now....I make an excuse for there ALWAYS to be a reason! I find the smallest reasons to "celebrate". Had a good day at work? Celebrate! Saved money while shopping? Celebrate!! Got a raise? Celebrate! Ect... I usually walk the dog as soon as I get home but now I am thinking of delaying it a little bit more into the evening to give me something to do as the night goes on. Ugh I sound like such a lush!! Do you find the drinking stalls your weight loss?

Brooke1076

Ok I think I got all my invites out to you! If I missed you, please send me one! Sorry if I sent an invite twice!

Somebody_Loved

Brooke1076 wrote: »

@Somebody_Loved I hear you.... the problem is that now....I make an excuse for there ALWAYS to be a reason! I find the smallest reasons to "celebrate". Had a good day at work? Celebrate! Saved money while shopping? Celebrate!! Got a raise? Celebrate! Ect... I usually walk the dog as soon as I get home but now I am thinking of delaying it a little bit more into the evening to give me something to do as the night goes on. Ugh I sound like such a lush!! Do you find the drinking stalls your weight loss?

Ha, I totally hear you, I do the exact same thing. There is always a reason to celebrate in my mind. And you don't sound like a lush - before I started trying to cut back, I was a very heavy drinker. Multiple nights a week, multiple drinks those nights.

Yep - that was my main motivation when I went dry in July. I had been trying to lose weight for months and was basically just maintaining my weight. I would be good Sun-Thurs and then obliterate any progress I made during the week with drinking Friday-Saturday. I realized I was having thousands of calories in alcohol alone some weeks (plus the subsequent food choices.) I dropped 6 pounds in July by going dry.

meeganbrett

Hey guys. I dropped several lbs by going dry in January! It really does help about week two for me. And yes, always a reason to drink!! I'm on day 2. Ha, soon to be day 3. Feeling good

tmbg1

I've made it through another day and evening. I look less puffy if that makes sense. My dh commented on how nice I look and he doesn't even know I've gone dry. I didn't tell anyone here.. Just quietly not drinking.

ThysbeEverbloom

I do it quietly as well - only my bf knows - and he is still not sure on how to suppport me because he loves to drink - but I just told him that it is about me and my body and i am not judging what he is doing or expecting he changes as well - we dont live together though - thats makes it easier i think

@Brook: Drinking definitely stalls your progress - and i would say its nearly impossible to stay within you daily limit if you are not a per se moderate drinker.

and dont be ashamed of what you log, I think some of us here can really understand and had times of their own when it was like that.

SandiRemedios

Good Morning All, another day another dollar. Still AF and feeling good about it. Hope everyone has a productive day.

MyWhole30Journey

Brooke1076 wrote: »

So I have to fess up that about 4 days this month so far I have slipped up. I feel so gross

I am going to make myself more accountable by posting my status at the end of the night that I didn't drink that day!! I am going to try to go through and get you all added as friends. Any other ideas on how to stay accountable? I need hobbies!! I downloaded a couple books!!

How is everyone else plugging along? It looks like you are doing good! I definitely want to roll this over into September! Stay Dry September!

What is the difference between a group and a message thread? Would it be easier to make a group?

Aug 2 - .5
Aug 9 - .5
Aug 16 -
Aug 23 -
Aug 30 -

A group makes it easier to find ut generally there is no communication, just logging statistics. I like the thread here where we can all communicate.

MyWhole30Journey

You all have such great comments here, truly motivating!
Thysbeeverblom: you said "dont be ashamed of what you log, I think some of us here can really understand and had times of their own" that is so true.
SandiRemedios: YES you MUST learn to carry water with you when you walk in this weather.
abarriere: I've been doing the Whole30 as well. How's it going for you?
Someody_...: You say you're struggling with how to move forward? The truth is, you know how you want to move forward, you want to keep alcohol in your life but are not sure you can handle it. Below I am writing my future plans for alcohol, read it and take what you want from it or ignore it completely but I have the same problem so maybe, just maybe we can find a solution

So, we've learned or I suppose we've all really knew that alcohol does contribute to weight gain and can prevent us from dropping stubborn pounds. No surprise there, we know what we have to do.

As for reasons to celebrate, some are legitimate, others not so. I too can't image my life without alcohol in it. Maybe it's just because it's been a part of it for so long, maybe it's an addiction, I've wrestled with that idea for a long time. My plan is to do this 30 days cold sober, after that, I'll try to continue as long as I can. I have a time in mind when I'll have my next glass of wine, it's the first snow fall. It's a ritual for my hubby and I, he works on a reservoir and collects beaver logs (soooo cool) for us to have our first season fire with. So, that night I plan to have a fire and wine. Normally that would lead to continued drinking night after night. This time I'll put REAL distance between then and the next time I have wine, weeks if not months. I want to learn to drink when I want it and not because my body craves it. It's time that I take control of my body rather than the other way around. Just and idea. Hopefully it'll work.

Oh and by the way, day # 12 for me. Feel great, losing weight, sleeping well.

abarriere

So far so good. I am on day 10 and I am going strong. I felt crappy the first two days with stomach problems. but since then I have had a lot more energy and have lost 5 lbs. I know we are not supposed to weigh but i had a physical so i got to see. Surprisingly, i haven't had any cravings yet, but i have had some weird dreams, like they say you do.

How about you? how's yours going?

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

I cheated but I'm back on track now ;(

juliedee20

I am so inspired by all of you who have posted on here and can relate! I am excited for those starting out (that's me!) and for those who have been successful for weeks and months! I am on Day 4 and feel great! I can relate to the "celebrations." I was celebrating everything: mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, Friday night, etc. One glass of wine was leading to an entire bottle. I recently went through a divorce and it's been hard, making my drinking problem the worst ever. I was forgetting entire (and important!) conversations with one of my best friends (blackouts!!) and that devastated me, but it did spur me on to deep convictions about drying out!

A few of you had mentioned wanting to be able to moderate drinking in the future and that's where I am. Growing up in the Bay Area of California, wine was a staple, and I enjoyed a glass periodically: dinners out, wine tasting, parties, etc. without it being an issue. I would like to go back to being able to appreciate a little wine now and again, without overdoing it. I know I will need to dry out for a long while before I will trust myself with that possibility and I also know that may never come about. Right now, I will focus on just stopping 100%. I feel great about my decision and very strong. Last night would've been a "wine night," but I didn't have any, nor did I want any. A personal victory!

Keep on keeping on and keep on posting!! Your victories are inspiring and even your honesty about your slip-ups can spur the rest of us to that same level of honesty and accountability! Good luck to all of us!!

Somebody_Loved

@juliedee20 - I could have written that post. I went through a divorce a couple years ago and started going through bottles of wine very regularly. Over the past few years I've also noticed that I black out often - pretty much any time I drink in excess. Even after I had dealt with the divorce and found myself in a completely happy place, I was still drinking often out of habit. Going dry in July broke that habit for me and was incredibly beneficial. You're doing great!

@MyWhole30Journey - I totally agree with taking control of it rather than the other way around. I went to dinner with a friend last night that I hadn't seen in ages and had one glass of wine and stopped after that. Had I not been driving home, I'm sure I would have had more to drink. I'm just not in the place (yet) where I can trust myself to moderate. At this point it's taking up so my of my time thinking about it that it seems it would be easier to just go completely dry again.

tmbg1

Just had a glass of chocolate milk instead of wine. Delicious!

meeganbrett

Day 3 done. All Good here, But Fridays Are My issue!! Great job everyone. I'm feeling so good

ChezMarie86

Vodka mixed with sparkling coconut pineapple water and good ol boulevard tank 7 are my weakness. I started on a 5 day challenge...in day 2. Also trying to switch from smoking to vaping. This is going to be a tough journey but I'm in! My body needs to be fully cleansed for once!

ThysbeEverbloom

Day 5 - feeling great, so much energy, so much better at coping with the heat and so much better sleep

I think from today on its the longest period without alcohol in years

yeah, the divorce issue - after my worst break up I had 2 bottles of wine EVERY night. blackouts and injuries are known to me for so many yeaars due to drinking in excess and the worst is - I tend turn into a mixture between hulk and the 2 stepsisters of cinderella (a really mean b***).

Since I have never known moderation my path towards abstinence becomes clearer and clearer - I think everybody has to know for themselves and decide accordingly.

Keep up the good work and thank you so much for the inspiration

MyWhole30Journey

[quote="ThysbeEverbloom; I tend turn into a mixture between hulk and the 2 stepsisters of cinderella (a really mean b***).

I understand what you're saying. My poor husband has felt that wrath. I don't know why, we can e having a great time and once we hit the 2 bottle mark I became a b***. I hated that. Hated the lack of control over myself. Well, that is the past and I will move forward.

Today is day 13 for me and all is well No drinking, only minor temptations that have been easily overcome with good judgement and common sense.

Hope everyone here has a good and sober day. The weekend is coming and it will take so extra care and precautions so if you can, plan something nice, special and different from your usual routine. This is a big world we live in and there's a lot more we can do than sit around and get drunk.