3 weeks without alcohol

mjwarbeck

If you want to cut alcohol then good for you. People has any number of reasons not to drink and I appreciate all of them.

That being said, from a diet point it is no different then any other food you eat. In moderation it is fine. I love wine and a good IPA...so I account for them in my calories. Really a bottle of beer or glass has no more calories (if not less) than a standard bagel.

Yesterday we had friends over so had a few glasses of wine...still finished within my calories...had a good balance of macros...etc

Burger2066

Great job everyone. It is cool to see so many of you with similar goals and some that have done a great job for a really long time.
@cmorris30316 That is a great goal. And great job on the weight loss so far. Once you hit that goal, you can obviously re-evaluate and go from there. Keep it up!
@hockeysniper8 I hear you. Most of my friends have been pretty good about not pushing drinks my way. They're probably excited that they now have a guaranteed DD. Hahaha.
@mjwarbeck I completely agree. For me, it made sense to stop drinking as opposed to cutting back. But a big part of my reason for stopping wasn't for the calories in calories out benefits. I was drinking too much too often, and once I'd have a drink, drinks 2, 3, 4 etc would come. I felt like I had a drinking problem and I want to set a better example for my kids. If/when I decide to drink again, it'll be when I know I can keep it to the one drink. But the longer I go without a drink, the easier it is not to have one. Regarding the CICO thing, since I didn't always stop at 1 drink, that did impact my nutrition and what I could eat if I wanted to meet a calorie goal. I found myself not eating as much during the day "in case" I was going to have 2 or 3 drinks at night, saving those calories, then I found myself saying "Well, I have these calories saved up, might as well drink them." It was a cycle that was getting worse and worse.

calmandpeaceful

Burger2066 wrote: »

Great job everyone. It is cool to see so many of you with similar goals and some that have done a great job for a really long time.
@cmorris30316 That is a great goal. And great job on the weight loss so far. Once you hit that goal, you can obviously re-evaluate and go from there. Keep it up!
@hockeysniper8 I hear you. Most of my friends have been pretty good about not pushing drinks my way. They're probably excited that they now have a guaranteed DD. Hahaha.
@mjwarbeck I completely agree. For me, it made sense to stop drinking as opposed to cutting back. But a big part of my reason for stopping wasn't for the calories in calories out benefits. I was drinking too much too often, and once I'd have a drink, drinks 2, 3, 4 etc would come. I felt like I had a drinking problem and I want to set a better example for my kids. If/when I decide to drink again, it'll be when I know I can keep it to the one drink. But the longer I go without a drink, the easier it is not to have one. Regarding the CICO thing, since I didn't always stop at 1 drink, that did impact my nutrition and what I could eat if I wanted to meet a calorie goal. I found myself not eating as much during the day "in case" I was going to have 2 or 3 drinks at night, saving those calories, then I found myself saying "Well, I have these calories saved up, might as well drink them." It was a cycle that was getting worse and worse.

Burger - this sounds like me. So how did you get through the first week? I agree with what everyone said - but for me, wine at night is a treat. I have a boring job and 4 teenaged daughters - many, many blessings - but those two get on my nerves. What actual steps did you take to remove alcohol from your life? I need to re-adjust my life/brain. My nutrition and exercise are good - but it's the wine that adds calories, is obviously unhealthy because I am not a moderate drinker (well, most times) and, I eat more late at night. I think if I can get a few good weeks under my belt of not drinking - or modifying greatly - then I will be in a good rhythm.

Thanks

Burger2066

calmandpeaceful wrote: »

Burger2066 wrote: »

Great job everyone. It is cool to see so many of you with similar goals and some that have done a great job for a really long time.
@cmorris30316 That is a great goal. And great job on the weight loss so far. Once you hit that goal, you can obviously re-evaluate and go from there. Keep it up!
@hockeysniper8 I hear you. Most of my friends have been pretty good about not pushing drinks my way. They're probably excited that they now have a guaranteed DD. Hahaha.
@mjwarbeck I completely agree. For me, it made sense to stop drinking as opposed to cutting back. But a big part of my reason for stopping wasn't for the calories in calories out benefits. I was drinking too much too often, and once I'd have a drink, drinks 2, 3, 4 etc would come. I felt like I had a drinking problem and I want to set a better example for my kids. If/when I decide to drink again, it'll be when I know I can keep it to the one drink. But the longer I go without a drink, the easier it is not to have one. Regarding the CICO thing, since I didn't always stop at 1 drink, that did impact my nutrition and what I could eat if I wanted to meet a calorie goal. I found myself not eating as much during the day "in case" I was going to have 2 or 3 drinks at night, saving those calories, then I found myself saying "Well, I have these calories saved up, might as well drink them." It was a cycle that was getting worse and worse.

Burger - this sounds like me. So how did you get through the first week? I agree with what everyone said - but for me, wine at night is a treat. I have a boring job and 4 teenaged daughters - many, many blessings - but those two get on my nerves. What actual steps did you take to remove alcohol from your life? I need to re-adjust my life/brain. My nutrition and exercise are good - but it's the wine that adds calories, is obviously unhealthy because I am not a moderate drinker (well, most times) and, I eat more late at night. I think if I can get a few good weeks under my belt of not drinking - or modifying greatly - then I will be in a good rhythm.

Thanks

The first week was tough, I'm not going to lie. I had a bottle of Jack and a bottle of vodka in the house. I put post it notes on them that simple said "Think". I also put a counter timer on my phone, so when I unlock my phone, that is the first thing I see. Those two things helped me a lot, but it wasn't easy. I also carried around my shaker bottle and drank water non-stop (which I usually do anyway), but I made it a point to have an extra 2 bottles worth each night (that's an extra 40oz of water) so it helped me feel full and not thirsty. I would also recommend putting the bottles in a place where you wouldn't regularly see them, so that you have to intentionally go for them...put notes along the way that you will see, read, and stop yourself. I hope some of that helps and I hope you can reach your goals! It isn't easy, but so far, it has been worth it.

cmorris30316

How is everyone doing ? Did anyone stay alcohol free until now ?

fr33sia12

I've gone 3 months without alcohol and hoping to last till Christmas. Don't think I could not drink at Christmas, but then will give it up again afterwards.

cmorris30316

I went 46 days. Then had a few drinks a couple times. But definitely cut way back. It's helped immensely. My blood pressure is back to normal range and I sleep very well.