Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time
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Just joined my fitness pal and saw this - Gained 10 pounds and flab just by drinking my calories and not exercising after fracturing my foot three years ago. Used that as an excuse. I'm 'back in it' and this discussion will help tremendously. Three weeks of zero drinks. Goal is 9 more weeks at least. Thank you for all of the discussion and info!First-ever post on MFP, seems like a good place to start. I know evening snacking/vino is sabotaging me but can't seem to rein it in.
For next week: only time for a drink is Valentine's dinner outing
Welcome, welcome to the family of overcomers..
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runtodayamyrun wrote: »I just have to say I LOVE reading this thread. I feel like I get so much information and inspiration from all of you. From the die hards who are totally AF to the ones like me who are teetering between AF and moderation or figuring out WTH really works. Please keep sharing your experiences so we all can relate and feel honest to express our feelings with no judgment. Happy beautiful Sunday!
sorry i hope im not being rude but this makes me laugh...
Xo
I’m glad I was able to make you smile this morning!5 -
Happy Saturday, everyone. @JulieAL1969, I was in your fair state a week ago. I wish you sunny days ahead. It was hard not seeing the sun even for 4 days. I hope that makes it all that much sweeter when it finally shows itself. @ErikNJ, I'm glad I wasn't yet trying to go AF last October when my beloved Astros won the Series! However, I will see their first home game on April 2 and it will be the first beer-less MLB game for me since I was about 10. A Mardis Gras parade will go right past my house in about 2 hours, followed by a big party and then a brunch tomorrow, with alcohol a-plenty at both events. It really is amazing how there is ALWAYS an occasion for drinking, whether bad weather, major sports events, or one of a zillion special celebrations. Talk about cognitive dissonance . . . this year Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday coincide. That's just weird. I'm thankful today that the "I won't' drink" muscle is getting stronger, and the urge isn't so painfully strong as it was 20 days ago. Yay!
You are so right. There is always some reason to drink. My wife and I usually like to do a Mardi Gras celebration at home every year. This year we are going to do it without alcohol and make a healthy version of Jambalaya!5 -
@jkm0791 - Welcome and congrats on your success! Those liquid calories are really easy to overdo. We've all been there. For me, getting control of eating and drinking are like flip sides of the same coin. I'm not finding it too awfully difficult to moderate the drinking, and I'm thinking it may be because I've been moderating the calories for quite awhile now and have a lot of practice!Just joined my fitness pal and saw this - Gained 10 pounds and flab just by drinking my calories and not exercising after fracturing my foot three years ago. Used that as an excuse. I'm 'back in it' and this discussion will help tremendously. Three weeks of zero drinks. Goal is 9 more weeks at least. Thank you for all of the discussion and info!
Had my one glass of wine last night because I'm giving myself Fri-Sun to drink. It was, again, meh. Went back to tea while we watched TV and was fine. Still seeking sweets a bunch and it's a struggle limiting them. It was so great to hear about others having the same problem. I would've never known that if it hadn't been for this group. It's so good to have support on this journey.
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Well I have woken up to our last day of our beach weekend. My husband and the other couple drank at every lunch and dinner we've had and and then at night while watching the Olympics. I didn't want it, I wasn't envious, and I didn't feel sanctimonious about it. It just......was. I think I've had some sort of brain switch turn off or on, whatever. This thread, like Julie said before, has been a lifeline for me. The book, "Alcohol Explained" has become my bible. I just keep reading little passages to remind me why I do not want to drink, and the desire is going away. For those of you struggling with moderation (I personally cannot moderate) there is a chapter called something like "why you would rather have none than one (or two)" which was super helpful to me. I am going to recommend this book to my Dr. who in turn I hope will recommend to her patients. I think it should be on a mandatory reading list for HS and college kids. It is that important. Anyway, enjoy your Sunday and as always, good luck with your personal goals!6
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"FIRST YOU TAKE A DRINK. THEN THE DRINK TAKES A DRINK. THEN THE DRINK TAKES YOU"
Inspirational quotes about cutting back or stopping alcohol are very helpful to read.
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@erikNJ - What an inspiration you are - I want to come to your house for Mardi Gras. And please tell us what drinks you're going to serve!
Absolutely!
That had me curious, so i searched for non-alcoholic hurricane recipes. Looked like some delicious sounding recipes. Though they were anywhere from 60-140 calories, so might have to keep to just one or two2 -
Hi Friends, I enjoy catching up with all of you this morning. I open my ipad and can't wait to see what you all doing.
Tthis morning, I loved waking up clearheaded and had a smile on my face. Sounds corny, but every Sunday morning I wake up without a hangover is like a Beautiful gift wrapped with a bow. I can't believe how happy I feel not to be hungover. That is probably the best part of quitting!
https://youtu.be/O4nKoBG9ZoI. Last night, I found a few videos on youtube I enjoyed watching. The one was by a man Craig Beck who wrote a book called Escaping the Evil Clown. He also wrote Alcohol Lied to me. His youtube channel is called stopdrinkingexpert. I like his mannerism and his accent, too. LOL
The one video I am sharing is about "will you lose friends when you stop drinking?" It's only 6 minutes. I wonder if that is intentional. We all sometimes reference it takes six minutes for a craving to pass.
Here is the overview:
When you drink, you are choosing to avoid life. No one at the end of their lives says, I wish I drank more and hung out in bars more with my friends.
When you stop, you will feel more peaceful than you have ever in your life.
Stopping drinking reveals who are your true friends.
Drinkers sit together and hang out together because it validates what they're doing.
You will have to change aspects of your life when you stop, and sometimes you will have to change friends.
Pretty common sense stuff, but it's reinforces what we are learning about our road to moderation or abstinence.
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I'm joining in because I've realized recently that at a certain time - early evening, when fixing dinner - I start feeling bored and restless. I have my sons and one 3 yr old grandson living with me so there is additional stress from the one and his child moving in. I've decided I want to abstain most days. So here I am. One of the things I'm going to do to combat the bored/housefrau feeling is to use my bluetooth and listen to podcasts as I cook. I think it will help divert me. I came on here a couple weeks ago and saw 'Drinking: A Love Story' recommended. Have been reading it and it's very enlightening re the relationship we form with alcohol.
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Just reading your posts! Love the dialogue, encouragement, and hope each post brings. Like @Alzzi76 says aptly, we are "overcomers." Making our way through life leaving time for self-reflection and improvement. Overcoming negative thoughts and setting goals. Adversity is the best teacher.
@erikNJ a Healthy Marci Gras party coming up in your house! How great you will feel on Feb. 15!
@jenifer7teen You did great!!! So proud of your strength!
@DCRunnerGirl78 Me and You both- "all of nothing" club members!
@katie5467 Six weeks and going strong. Like @donimfp says the "I won't drink muscle" is getting so strong!5 -
@erikNJ I'm going to two hour mediation workshop at my yoga studio. Makes me think of your yoga goal.4
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I'm joining in because I've realized recently that at a certain time - early evening, when fixing dinner - I start feeling bored and restless. I have my sons and one 3 yr old grandson living with me so there is additional stress from the one and his child moving in. I've decided I want to abstain most days. So here I am. One of the things I'm going to do to combat the bored/housefrau feeling is to use my bluetooth and listen to podcasts as I cook. I think it will help divert me. I came on here a couple weeks ago and saw 'Drinking: A Love Story' recommended. Have been reading it and it's very enlightening re the relationship we form with alcohol.
Hugs to you! Stress is difficult to live with; I feel like we learn a lot from children. How they live in the moment and don't rely on substances to feel good and happy.3 -
Just joined my fitness pal and saw this - Gained 10 pounds and flab just by drinking my calories and not exercising after fracturing my foot three years ago. Used that as an excuse. I'm 'back in it' and this discussion will help tremendously. Three weeks of zero drinks. Goal is 9 more weeks at least. Thank you for all of the discussion and info!
I had surgery last January for a torn rotator cuff. I injured my shoulder in September of 2016. Anyway, inactivity after the injury and more inactivity following the surgery, resulted in a gain of 36 pounds. Of course most of that weight gain was caused by alcohol calories . I've lost 28 lbs since July, 2017 with about 8-9 more to go.
Great determination and weight loss!!1 -
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@jkm0791 - Welcome and congrats on your success! Those liquid calories are really easy to overdo. We've all been there. For me, getting control of eating and drinking are like flip sides of the same coin. I'm not finding it too awfully difficult to moderate the drinking, and I'm thinking it may be because I've been moderating the calories for quite awhile now and have a lot of practice!Just joined my fitness pal and saw this - Gained 10 pounds and flab just by drinking my calories and not exercising after fracturing my foot three years ago. Used that as an excuse. I'm 'back in it' and this discussion will help tremendously. Three weeks of zero drinks. Goal is 9 more weeks at least. Thank you for all of the discussion and info!
Had my one glass of wine last night because I'm giving myself Fri-Sun to drink. It was, again, meh. Went back to tea while we watched TV and was fine. Still seeking sweets a bunch and it's a struggle limiting them. It was so great to hear about others having the same problem. I would've never known that if it hadn't been for this group. It's so good to have support on this journey.
I wonder why the wine taste buds have changed. That's so interesting to me to read. Loving our tea! I went to a craft fair and bought a few different homemade teas.
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runtodayamyrun wrote: »I just have to say I LOVE reading this thread. I feel like I get so much information and inspiration from all of you. From the die hards who are totally AF to the ones like me who are teetering between AF and moderation or figuring out WTH really works. Please keep sharing your experiences so we all can relate and feel honest to express our feelings with no judgment. Happy beautiful Sunday! sorry i hope im not being rude but this makes me laugh...
Xo
Ok, I give up - why did this make you laugh?0 -
I had 2.5 glasses of red last night with and after dinner - it was planned, to finish off an open bottle and I hadn’t had any drinks since the very moderate super bowl. It tasted good with my spicy gumbo I made, followed by some squares of dark chocolate sea salt Lindt bar - and I was pleasantly surprised at that since like others, the few glasses I’ve had here and there since starting to participate passively then actively in these threads haven’t tasted very good at all. To continue my more recent habits I finished my night with the vanilla tea which I think grounded me a little that the wine is not the only beverage I can enjoy and I can actually have both alcohol and non alcoholic drinks in an evening it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
I’m not looking to go completely AF but to find a good balance of mindfulness and moderation to ensure that I think about if I really want a drink, or a second drink, and really hoping I don’t get back in the habit of mindlessly just refilling the glass when it’s empty.
This week is going to be my big challenge though - I leave for Dublin for a sales meeting which is usually filled with lots of drinking and socializing with people I don’t see often, bad sleep, rough mornings, and difficulty concentrating in the meetings. I’m sure I will still drink (it’s Dublin after all) but I really want to pace myself and try to end my evenings with a nice tea in my hotel room at a decent hour instead of closing down the bar. I volunteered to work at a booth during one of the happy hour events to help keep me focused on work instead of social stuff, and then I’m also coming down with a cold so I think that will also minimize the drinking. Fingers crossed!6 -
dressagerider1020 wrote: »Sorry you had a bad day, but you have a good attitude for tomorrow. It's hard to battle both food and alcohol - either one by itself is hard enough! Good thing I quit smoking 27 years ago!
I went to bed early last night (nothing to drink) and had so much to do around the house today, I managed to avoid it. I don't have anything in the house and the temp is dropping, so too cold to go to the store.
The posts about feeling better, no headache, etc, are really helping me. I felt really good today, and got a lot accomplished. It's always better without, so I'll try to do it again tomorrow.
Amazing accomplishment quitting smoking years ago. Do you feel it was the same type of struggle; did you have cravings too? What helped you then?
Sounds like you have a lot of strength! Xoxo2 -
I had 3 very planned glasses of wine last night with dinner. My second planned dampness. What I'm loving about this month is the default is "no" and I make the decision to have a couple of glasses. Through menopause the default was yes. This is my long range goal: default to no, choose to say yes once in a while.5
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lporter229 wrote: »Last night was pretty easy to keep it under control because I had a race this morning. It wasn't a big or important race, but I always get a bit of nervous energy the night before a race, so I did have my usual pre-race eve glass of wine. Just one, and I measured it. Typically I would come home from a race and pour a drink to celebrate. I did not do that today. I agreed to meet a group of runners in the morning for a long run instead.
About 8 of my friends and I run a St. Patrick's Day race every year just 5K. But the best part in the past was then we hang out for a few hours at some great bars and drink and eat. This year, I'll still run the race but it will be a little anticlimactic afterwards. Not that I NEED to drink to celebrate, but I'm finding the first time you do something AF after you've done it for years with drinking is the tough part. Finding a new normal is a challenge but doable.
I am going to a ShakesBEER play soon. It's a beer tasting event plus the actors are also drinking. I decided to go, because I was invited. Like one of you on the thread commented that I should not turn down invites, because I am not drinking. You are right. I should still embrace going out.
I know it will be a great way to exercise my " I wont drink muscle". My husband has offered to not drink in solidarity while we're there. HE says that now, I wonder if he'll really do that. I secretly want him to not drink that night, so he can how different it is to be out on the town sober. But if he does drink, I won't hold it against him. This is my own journey really. I'm in it alone at home, BUT definitely feel part of a greater community of friends on this thread. Xo2 -
PSA - avoid watching curling if you can, it will make you wanna get a drink
The Olympic reference made me think of Michael Phelps who had/has alcohol addiction. That's amazing to me that such a health nut can still perform so well even though battling addiction. Maybe his addiction increased after the Olympics to fill a void. Just thinking out loud.2 -
Morning all! I went to a fundraiser event last night - as part of the event we had two drink tickets. The wine was sponsored by a local winery and is amazing. I had a glass and it was great, I went to use my second ticket and got sidetracked by several people I stopped and chatted with. After 30 minutes of talking I realized I had no desire for that second glass. What?! I had fun and feel great this morning. Grateful for changes and moderation and looking forward to a dry week ahead.6
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »dressagerider1020 wrote: »Sorry you had a bad day, but you have a good attitude for tomorrow. It's hard to battle both food and alcohol - either one by itself is hard enough! Good thing I quit smoking 27 years ago!
I went to bed early last night (nothing to drink) and had so much to do around the house today, I managed to avoid it. I don't have anything in the house and the temp is dropping, so too cold to go to the store.
The posts about feeling better, no headache, etc, are really helping me. I felt really good today, and got a lot accomplished. It's always better without, so I'll try to do it again tomorrow.
Amazing accomplishment quitting smoking years ago. Do you feel it was the same type of struggle; did you have cravings too? What helped you then?
Sounds like you have a lot of strength! Xoxo
Thanks! It was very hard for me to quit smoking, I loved it! I tried several times before I was able to do it for good. I used the nicotine gum, which you needed a doctor's prescription for at the time. It gave me something to reach for instead of a cigarette, and after a few months I hated the taste and didn't want to smoke.1 -
SanDiegofitmom wrote: »Morning all! I went to a fundraiser event last night - as part of the event we had two drink tickets. The wine was sponsored by a local winery and is amazing. I had a glass and it was great, I went to use my second ticket and got sidetracked by several people I stopped and chatted with. After 30 minutes of talking I realized I had no desire for that second glass. What?! I had fun and feel great this morning. Grateful for changes and moderation and looking forward to a dry week ahead.
Good that you got distracted and passed on the 2nd glass! I think boredom is sometimes a driving force behind cravings.2 -
JulieAL1969 wrote: »
Thanks for the welcome! I've been craving some form of accountability, beyond just me, this thread is timely for me. Excited!3 -
dressagerider1020 wrote: »SanDiegofitmom wrote: »Morning all! I went to a fundraiser event last night - as part of the event we had two drink tickets. The wine was sponsored by a local winery and is amazing. I had a glass and it was great, I went to use my second ticket and got sidetracked by several people I stopped and chatted with. After 30 minutes of talking I realized I had no desire for that second glass. What?! I had fun and feel great this morning. Grateful for changes and moderation and looking forward to a dry week ahead.
Good that you got distracted and passed on the 2nd glass! I think boredom is sometimes a driving force behind cravings.
Thanks - yes you’re totally right. I got home and was so glad I was pretty much sober after just the one drink. Had fun and never missed that second glass.1 -
JulieAL1969 wrote: »lporter229 wrote: »Last night was pretty easy to keep it under control because I had a race this morning. It wasn't a big or important race, but I always get a bit of nervous energy the night before a race, so I did have my usual pre-race eve glass of wine. Just one, and I measured it. Typically I would come home from a race and pour a drink to celebrate. I did not do that today. I agreed to meet a group of runners in the morning for a long run instead.
About 8 of my friends and I run a St. Patrick's Day race every year just 5K. But the best part in the past was then we hang out for a few hours at some great bars and drink and eat. This year, I'll still run the race but it will be a little anticlimactic afterwards. Not that I NEED to drink to celebrate, but I'm finding the first time you do something AF after you've done it for years with drinking is the tough part. Finding a new normal is a challenge but doable.
I am going to a ShakesBEER play soon. It's a beer tasting event plus the actors are also drinking. I decided to go, because I was invited. Like one of you on the thread commented that I should not turn down invites, because I am not drinking. You are right. I should still embrace going out.
I know it will be a great way to exercise my " I wont drink muscle". My husband has offered to not drink in solidarity while we're there. HE says that now, I wonder if he'll really do that. I secretly want him to not drink that night, so he can how different it is to be out on the town sober. But if he does drink, I won't hold it against him. This is my own journey really. I'm in it alone at home, BUT definitely feel part of a greater community of friends on this thread. Xo
Glad you decided to go. I'm sure they'll have other things to drink, or you could take a flavored water with you.
Do you know which play they're doing? That sounds like a fun thing. And if the actors are there to talk to, good time to talk about it, or find out how they got involved in acting.1 -
dressagerider1020 wrote: »JulieAL1969 wrote: »lporter229 wrote: »Last night was pretty easy to keep it under control because I had a race this morning. It wasn't a big or important race, but I always get a bit of nervous energy the night before a race, so I did have my usual pre-race eve glass of wine. Just one, and I measured it. Typically I would come home from a race and pour a drink to celebrate. I did not do that today. I agreed to meet a group of runners in the morning for a long run instead.
About 8 of my friends and I run a St. Patrick's Day race every year just 5K. But the best part in the past was then we hang out for a few hours at some great bars and drink and eat. This year, I'll still run the race but it will be a little anticlimactic afterwards. Not that I NEED to drink to celebrate, but I'm finding the first time you do something AF after you've done it for years with drinking is the tough part. Finding a new normal is a challenge but doable.
I am going to a ShakesBEER play soon. It's a beer tasting event plus the actors are also drinking. I decided to go, because I was invited. Like one of you on the thread commented that I should not turn down invites, because I am not drinking. You are right. I should still embrace going out.
I know it will be a great way to exercise my " I wont drink muscle". My husband has offered to not drink in solidarity while we're there. HE says that now, I wonder if he'll really do that. I secretly want him to not drink that night, so he can how different it is to be out on the town sober. But if he does drink, I won't hold it against him. This is my own journey really. I'm in it alone at home, BUT definitely feel part of a greater community of friends on this thread. Xo
Glad you decided to go. I'm sure they'll have other things to drink, or you could take a flavored water with you.
Do you know which play they're doing? That sounds like a fun thing. And if the actors are there to talk to, good time to talk about it, or find out how they got involved in acting.
We just found the event is sold out! I waited to long to accept invitation. I feel bad for the people who invited us. But we will go out to dinner anyway. It would have been several different acts from Shakespeare's plays.0
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