Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time
Replies
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https://blog.bulletproof.com/dry-february-benefits-tips/
Good article for some motivation if your goal is a Dry February. Hey, it's only 28 days. A shorter month !7 -
I'm in. Thank you Julie for keeping this going. I'm on Day 8 of no alcohol after abstaining Jan. 1-14, drinking Jan. 15-21. So, I'm planning to stay dry for Feb. My biggest test yet will be this coming weekend, traveling to a big family event with lots of drinking. My intention at this point is to let myself savor a nice glass of wine or two when I head to Italy in mid-March but to stay away from alcohol completely until then. It's still a daily struggle at this point, though.
I started re-reading Drinking: A Love Story last night. It was on my Kindle from when I read it about 3 years ago. At that time, I thought, "Wow! She's way worse off than I am," and that reassured me that I was "fine." This time, though, I realize that if I'm honest I identify with much of her thinking if not with the extremity of some of her actions. I can totally relate to a feeling of discomfort thinking that alcohol will be absent or that there will not be enough alcohol. And although her sneaking alcohol into her parents' home seemed bizarre to me the first time I read the book, this time I think, "Yep, that's probably what I'd do, too, if I were "stranded" at my parents' home and was 45 minutes away from the nearest liquor store." My drinking hasn't changed in 3 years; I'm just being more honest this time. One of the perks of getting older, I guess.
For those of you joining this thread for the first time, welcome. You will love it here. A great group of supportive, non-judgmental, and even funny people. I'll miss the hilarious Norminv who completed his dry January and has now joined the "lush February" group.14 -
I'm up for this!5
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I'm in again. Honestly I only succeeded on my cut back about 50% of January. This month will be better!5
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I want to joint this, my goal is to completely cut out alcohol during the week and enjoy in moderation at the weekend. I want to have more Weekend days waking up feeling hangover free and more motivated to get to the gym and eat healthier!5
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Good morning. I blew it last night and had way to much wine while binge watching The Americans. Now I have to go online and read the recaps because I don't remember any of it. As usual, I feel regret when I overdo it. Sadly, I can't moderate like some of you. I wish I could because I do love wine. I am glad it is a new month soon and am really going to try hard to not drink, not even Valentine's Day. Thank you for this group. It helps me dust myself off and start over when I fail.7
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »https://blog.bulletproof.com/dry-february-benefits-tips/
Good article for some motivation if your goal is a Dry February. Hey, it's only 28 days. A shorter month !
Thank you, Julie! This is an excellent article!3 -
I'm in for a Dry February! I joined the previous month's group, planning for a Damp January as I had a few glasses of wine the first couple days of the month. I ended up not drinking at all past those first few days. I generally don't miss it and see no reason now to drink at all.
Good luck to everyone with your goals, whether it's to be Damp or Dry for February!5 -
I'm so happy to read that the Feb thread is started, thanks Julie!
And yes, this is hopefully a easy one because of the 28 days :-) :-) I'm in! And let us see how it feels when waking up in the morning!5 -
The Dry January group was key to keeping me on track this month. I'm in for at least a very damp February. Thank you so much, @JulieAL1969, for keeping this going and for setting such a lovely, non-judgmental and encouraging tone.7
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I'm in, my goal is no more than 7 drinks per week.4
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I'm in again! After not losing any of my holiday weight last month, I need to take this more seriously. Snacking more than I knew I should was a factor, but so was the drinking, even though I tried cutting down. But I didn't try hard enough.
So goal is to stick to one night during the week, and then only one or two drinks, and then maybe Fridays and Saturdays depending on what's going on.
Here are some tips that I know have worked for me in the past that have helped me avoid drinking:
- Play an evening sport with a rec league (but skip the beers after!)
- Commit to working out first thing in the morning both to yourself and to someone else (e.g. a workout buddy or fitness class instructor)
- Give yourself some errands to do in the evening
- Whatever you do, just stay out of the kitchen (except to make meals)
- Avoid routes to work or home that have beer or liquor stores on them (this is a big one for me as there is a liquor store right by my bus stop on the way home from work)
- Tell your significant other you are trying to cut down (or eliminate) and ask for their support
- Promise yourself you won't drink the night before a big meeting, presentation or other important event where you need to be on your game
- Consider taking a supplement like Kudzu (personally I have found this to help but it might have been placebo - either way!)
- Write down your feelings in a diary (if you struggled that day, how great you felt that morning because you didn't drink the night before, etc.). This helps identify your triggers and figure out ways to cope
- Visualize your success
- Keep coming back to forums like this
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I really have to say, this group is something I've been searching for for years now. I have long thought I had an issue with alcohol, but not so bad that i needed AA. I wanted some kind of support for problem-drinkers who wanted to become aware of their bad habits and make the changes they wanted. I really don't know of a group like that that exists except this group!
So thank you all for the support, encouragement and non-judgement you have offered me over the past few weeks. I couldn't have done it without you! 12 -
Will_Run_for_Food wrote: »I'm in again! After not losing any of my holiday weight last month, I need to take this more seriously. Snacking more than I knew I should was a factor, but so was the drinking, even though I tried cutting down. But I didn't try hard enough.
So goal is to stick to one night during the week, and then only one or two drinks, and then maybe Fridays and Saturdays depending on what's going on.
Here are some tips that I know have worked for me in the past that have helped me avoid drinking:
- Play an evening sport with a rec league (but skip the beers after!)
- Commit to working out first thing in the morning both to yourself and to someone else (e.g. a workout buddy or fitness class instructor)
- Give yourself some errands to do in the evening
- Whatever you do, just stay out of the kitchen (except to make meals)
- Avoid routes to work or home that have beer or liquor stores on them (this is a big one for me as there is a liquor store right by my bus stop on the way home from work)
- Tell your significant other you are trying to cut down (or eliminate) and ask for their support
- Promise yourself you won't drink the night before a big meeting, presentation or other important event where you need to be on your game
- Consider taking a supplement like Kudzu (personally I have found this to help but it might have been placebo - either way!)
- Write down your feelings in a diary (if you struggled that day, how great you felt that morning because you didn't drink the night before, etc.). This helps identify your triggers and figure out ways to cope
- Visualize your success
- Keep coming back to forums like this
I'm with you. I have tried repeatedly to lose weight for the past couple of years. Cutting out alcohol completely for 30 days (or more) is the ONLY thing that has worked for me. So glad to nail down the culprit!2 -
THIS is my month. The meno-pot is going. Cutting the discretionary wine calories is the answer.
I'm also going to use this month to use the awesome sleep app on my apple watch to look at and compare sleep patterns with and without wine over a period of time. Not saying there will be no wine. But no wine in the house, and no nightly glass(es) while we cook. Thanks for starting the thread.5 -
I'm in too. I stalked the January post and followed and I absolutely love the honesty from everyone. I was mindful some in January but it wasn't enough. I'm working my *kitten* off in workouts only to ruin it by drinking it back then snacking on top of that after a few drinks. I don't even want to work it into my daily calories, I'm ready to kick the habit. I'm one of those people too, that I can't have it in the house and show any restraint. Just don't buy it!!! I hate the way I look and I'm pissed that I can't get myself to stop drinking to loose the 10 pounds I need to. Looking forward to really, really trying in February. I'm also tired of reminding myself how good I feel the next morning on the nights I don't drink. I need to constantly remind myself of that and not let the thought wear off by 6:00 pm.
Thanks for keep the post going!9 -
I was a little off the wagonish part of last month... but I need to be here again.
Damp is far more reasonable for me these days. But, this is better than the bottle per night that I was before.6 -
I'm in. Today marks 3 weeks alcohol free. I cannot moderate.
Incidentally, I lost 9 lbs in these 3 weeks. 17 -
I LOVE it!!! Freedom February it is!!!!
P.s. That's my word of the year for 2018. Every year I choose a new word to live by. And so FREEDOM is perfect !6 -
JulieAL1969 wrote: »
I LOVE it!!! Freedom February it is!!!!
P.s. That's my word of the year for 2018. Every year I choose a new word to live by. And so FREEDOM is perfect !
What a great idea! I'll have to think of something fitting.2 -
I'm in! Definitely need to cut back!4
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I’m in! My goal again for this month is to drink only on Friday night and Saturday, 2 glasses each instead of 3. We are going to an all inclusive resort this month so I will smartly indulge in food and wine.2
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@JulieAL1969, I choose a "word of the year," too. Each year, I change my work email password to incorporate that word so I have to think of it at least once a day.8
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Thanks to whoever suggested the book Alcohol Explained. I just read the first 5 chapters for free online and now am going to order it from Amazon. I finally put together the word "Intoxicated" has the word "toxic" in it. As in poison. Ugh! I am not going to say I am never having another drink but I really am going for this February challenge and see how I feel. Thank you for the support! I love this group!7
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@JulieAL1969, I choose a "word of the year," too. Each year, I change my work email password to incorporate that word so I have to think of it at least once a day.
Ahhh, that's a great idea to incorporate in your daily life. Awesome!2 -
What a great group and group of people! Thank you JulieAL1969 for starting this! I managed to do a damp January. I am even more serious now. I can't keep bags of chocolate in the house or alcohol....Anyways I also now have an accountability buddy and we are helping each other to be a phone call or text away to abstain. That will work best for me. I still managed to lose weight last month--so it is progress. I too look better, feel calmer and happier. Still some bad sleeping, but it could be because I eat too late sometimes, too or have caffeine too late. It is worth it to keep going. The Bigelow decaf french vanilla tea is the best tea I have tried in January. It is like dessert to me. Also the Polar seltzer 3/4 in a glass with 1/4 water and thinly sliced orange slices and lime with a straw. Some squeezed in. Everyone is very inspiring here! Let's keep it up! JulieAL1969--do you know how the mocktail was made btw?
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@JulieAL1969 I'm on and ready to go.3
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Thanks for starting this again @JulieAL19693
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My goal was to only drink on Saturdays in January. I did better than that and only drank 3 times. That, along with a much better diet and working out 3-4 times a week I was able to lose 11.6 lbs
I am going to aim for the same goals. Saturday only drinking, same diet as January, working out 3-4 times a week. Hoping I can lose another 4 lbs and be down a total of 15+ by the end of the month.
But I am gonna start off rocky (but I am making that conscious decision ahead of time). It’s not often my home team makes the Super Bowl (only the 2nd time in my 36 years) and I am going to be heading into the city to celebrate the festivities!
Just gonna have to work harder those other three weeks ...11
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