Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time
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And if you do listen to Mary Gauthier’s haunting song, here are her thoughts about having to be sober in order to write it. http://www.marygauthier.com/news/behind-the-song-i-drink3
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Habits are hard to break. During weekdays I used to come home and have a g&t with hubby and then wine. Now, in that fateful period between coming home and dinner ( around 2 hours) I ask him to make me a strong cappuccino with his beloved Expresso machine. I sit and talk to him and then go and take a long bath. This breaks the "must have a drink" cycle, and then makes him have to consider if he wants a drink without me..... I am keeping a diary about what triggers me to drink and when I can leave it alone. Home alone I find it MUCH easier to resist temptation. There is often half a bottle in the fridge during the week where husband has indulged. I look at it, think about it, have a glass of water, distract myself and then don't get tempted. It is a struggle and scary how easy it is to slip back into old ways! Both at home tonight so will be a challenge.7
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FattieBabs wrote: »Habits are hard to break. During weekdays I used to come home and have a g&t with hubby and then wine. Now, in that fateful period between coming home and dinner ( around 2 hours) I ask him to make me a strong cappuccino with his beloved Expresso machine. I sit and talk to him and then go and take a long bath. This breaks the "must have a drink" cycle, and then makes him have to consider if he wants a drink without me..... I am keeping a diary about what triggers me to drink and when I can leave it alone. Home alone I find it MUCH easier to resist temptation. There is often half a bottle in the fridge during the week where husband has indulged. I look at it, think about it, have a glass of water, distract myself and then don't get tempted. It is a struggle and scary how easy it is to slip back into old ways! Both at home tonight so will be a challenge.
Hey, that's an excellent idea!!!,.. and you are doing great. Please keep sharing your experiences.
Ive been stuggling alot this evening. Things are changing in our family and have a bit of anxiety etc. The amount off times i had to turn myself away. Funniest thing was I remembered the pic i posted each time
I had to laughed to myself. That helped alot.
But i say your idea is tops, the next thing would be to sit down and work out strategies to over come the triggers..
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FATTIEBABS I can hear myself saying many of the things you mentioned in your last post. Easier not to be tempted when alone....exchanging alcohol for java....etc. stay strong.
So I had not even realised that I had 3 AF days in a row, what a great feeling that is. Especially over a weekend. Last evening was a social gathering at a local reastraurnt. One of my allowed "get out of jail free" nights as I say in my own head. Lol. Had a glass of champagne and a Mich Ultra. Not a great combo when you think about it, but I truly did not want any more than one champagne, yet I wanted something other than a mocktail. At 95 calories the Ultra was not bad.
I brought up at the table to friends about the calories associated with different drinks. WOW..... I opened up a bee's nest with that subject. The reaction I found the most disturbing was the one from a married couple. They both claim they have set drinking DAYS, every other day at which time they DON'T eat meals on those days. I asked why and what at the same time and their answer was because we don't want to kill our buzz we get started. So they felt justified in skipping nutrious food calories every other day to drink empty calories to save their buzz. I am sure the entire reastraunt saw my eyes roll on those comments.
Back to completely filling out my food diary in MFP again. Geeze, I had forgotten how time consuming it is to fill in every morsel of food. Oh well..nothing is an easy path.
Good day to all on this thread.9 -
I found when I would overindulge my appetite actually is not the same. But I feel it made me drunk quicker and feeling much more awful afterwards! Not worth it. I'm so glad to b able to express my thoughts on this. Sure nice to know I'm not the only one going thru struggles. On my 11th day AF! Can't believe how much better I feel. I'm not saying I won't ever drink again. Just feel this helping me b much more aware. My plan is Friday and Saturdays only when hubby's home which is twice a month...3
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Had a really good day at work yesterday and decided to make myself a very special dinner - a steak, sweet potato and asparagus. Thought long and hard about whether I wanted a glass of red wine to go with the steak. Decided I did, and opened the bottle, drank the glass really slowly with my dinner, did not refill it, made a tea as part of my new ritual before bed.
Felt really, really good to open a bottle and only have one glass. I have a couple of social events left this week: work happy hour and team dinner tonight and then my book club tomorrow night - those will be tough to keep things limited to just one or two drinks but I still feel really good about my moderate intake this month.15 -
Top of the Morning to you all! On my drive home from a stressful day at work, I kept thinking about how nice it would be to have a drink or 2 or 3... however the decision was totally up to me, and in the back of my mind, I knew I really didn't want to drink. So I read several of your posts, gave me the strength to get through one more AF day/night. Feeling great this morning, am up early getting some work done. If I had given in, I would most likely still be in bed, not feeling so good! Thank you for sharing, this is really a great motivator.
Tonight might be a little more of a problem, I will be home alone for a few hours, or as someone said a while back, "left un-supervised". My thoughts go to, I can drink, no one is looking... What I should be saying to myself is, I am doing this for myself, I can have a drink if I really want to, but I really don't want to! I am now AF for 3 full days, and seeing the benefits of AF definitely outweigh the alternative. I will find a way to get through this.8 -
And if you do listen to Mary Gauthier’s haunting song, here are her thoughts about having to be sober in order to write it. http://www.marygauthier.com/news/behind-the-song-i-drink
Very haunting and moving! thanks for sharing! We are capable of achieving any goals we have. I continue to learn this, and this song reinforces it. xo
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6 days AF. Haven't refrained for this long for a while. Feels good. Think I'm going to take the rest of the box of red wine I have and freeze it as ice cubes to use for cooking so I get the best use out of it - the flavor!9
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Last night I had a beer. Just a beer. It has been ages since I could say that. Well, mostly because I rarely drink beer since I am gluten free. But last night was good because it was a beautiful, unseasonably warm evening in Ohio. My husband is out of town and I was thinking about going home and hanging out on my patio playing with the dog. Normally, this would involve wine. But I did not have a bottle of wine and I did not want to stop and buy one because I did not want to give in to the temptation. Instead, I remembered that I had a couple of gluten free craft beers that some friends from Wisconsin had so thoughtfully brought for me when they visited a few weekends ago. I opened one of them and enjoyed every sip of it while playing with the dog. Then we went for a long walk and I made dinner and drank water. It was a good night.16
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@lporter229, that is a WIN!2
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Doing good MFP! Work stress was bad today but no drink for this guy....the building I live in has a wine social event tomorrow from 6 to 7....I plan to go in there with a printout of this thread and start reading it out loud until they call the cops.....watch the news tomorrow at 8
@NormInv - I love your posts. This was particularly hilarious. Thanks for being here! You always give me something to think about or a laugh.5 -
FattieBabs wrote: »Now, in that fateful period between coming home and dinner ( around 2 hours) I ask him to make me a strong cappuccino with his beloved Expresso machine. I sit and talk to him and then go and take a long bath. This breaks the "must have a drink" cycle, and then makes him have to consider if he wants a drink without me.....
@FattieBabs - this is brilliant and creative. What a great way to break a habit! I find that there are only certain hours of the day when I'm tempted/inclined to overeat/snack/drink/overdrink. Usually it's around 4-7, when I'm getting close to dinner and right after dinner (usually we eat at 6). If I can fill that period with something or change up my routine that really helps. I've tried planning exactly what I'm going to eat/drink during that period way ahead of time and that also helps. I then, of course, I screw up, LOL. We're all works in progress.
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Good morning!
I am 4 days AF for February and 2 in a row. I want to be honest here and say that it was very difficult for me last night not to give in. Part of the reason why I did not was this group, I didn't want to log on in the morning and say that I had failed. I get home from work around 5:45 and immediately I was thinking about cracking open a beer, but instead I started making dinner. Dinner took me a while to make cause I was peeling potatoes, cutting peppers, etc; all the sudden its 6:30, I looked over to the clock and said "if I can make it until 7, I'll get a beer" low and behold 7pm rolls around, I still wanted it like crazy; but I didn't do it. I thought to myself "Right now, what is the motive? Is it to get drunk? or did I just crave the taste?" I talked myself out of it. I told myself that it was too late to start drinking, it wasn't, but I didn't drink.
Happy Wednesday!14 -
JulieAL1969 wrote: »AlainaKayy wrote: »I'm up to 3 days AF for February, sounds like nothing, but I don't know the last month that I could say that.
I remember day 3! That felt like 30! You are doing awesome! Keep it up. At Day 10, they say you make a breakthrough in the way you feel.
Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words!3 -
I’m in... my goal is to limit wine to 1 glass a day.7
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theresecooper51 wrote: »I’m in... my goal is to limit wine to 1 glass a day.
That's a good start!
and welcome 2 -
lporter229 wrote: »Last night I had a beer. Just a beer. It has been ages since I could say that. Well, mostly because I rarely drink beer since I am gluten free. But last night was good because it was a beautiful, unseasonably warm evening in Ohio. My husband is out of town and I was thinking about going home and hanging out on my patio playing with the dog. Normally, this would involve wine. But I did not have a bottle of wine and I did not want to stop and buy one because I did not want to give in to the temptation. Instead, I remembered that I had a couple of gluten free craft beers that some friends from Wisconsin had so thoughtfully brought for me when they visited a few weekends ago. I opened one of them and enjoyed every sip of it while playing with the dog. Then we went for a long walk and I made dinner and drank water. It was a good night.
Thats ok if u can control it. Well done!!... I'm very glad you had a happy night.. 3 -
Hey all! I've been a little quiet on this thread as I really had nothing to report. I am 52 days AF and I love how I feel and how much energy I have. I've used this time to log my food, close my rings on my Apple watch and watch the number on the scale go down.
I tried to go back and remember when I first tried alcohol.. and I guess I was in college. My dad was a bad alcoholic and growing up with that, I had no desire to drink. My first drink was at a college frat keg party, and I might have had 1/4 of a dixie solo cup's worth.. and it totally knocked me out. After that... I went to wine coolers, and I remember my friend and I buying Purple Passion (underage I might add) and drinking that. All crap! :-) Anyway.. while I realized I do not have my father's tendencies to drink to excess, I was emotionally attached to my wine. It's been a really great experience not drinking. I enjoy my san pellegrino with lime, my hot teas and even plain water. I don't feel that I am missing out.
That being said... tomorrow, I go on vacation to New Orleans! I plan on coming back from vacation will a loss on the scale. We have planned out our trip and made our reservations... and currently, I will play it by ear regarding alcohol. I do have ONE planned beer scheduled. We are going to do the Abita Brewery tour, and I will have one Abita Amber there. Otherwise, I really don't feel pressured to drink, this is always subject to change. What I do know.. once I am back, I plan on going back AF.
Anyway.. I love this thread.. I love the journeys everyone is sharing. As it has been said before, this thread really helps with support and awareness!11 -
AlainaKayy wrote: »Good morning!
I am 4 days AF for February and 2 in a row. I want to be honest here and say that it was very difficult for me last night not to give in. Part of the reason why I did not was this group, I didn't want to log on in the morning and say that I had failed. I get home from work around 5:45 and immediately I was thinking about cracking open a beer, but instead I started making dinner. Dinner took me a while to make cause I was peeling potatoes, cutting peppers, etc; all the sudden its 6:30, I looked over to the clock and said "if I can make it until 7, I'll get a beer" low and behold 7pm rolls around, I still wanted it like crazy; but I didn't do it. I thought to myself "Right now, what is the motive? Is it to get drunk? or did I just crave the taste?" I talked myself out of it. I told myself that it was too late to start drinking, it wasn't, but I didn't drink.
Happy Wednesday!
Well done!!, Alainakayy!!.. keep up the good work so u can help others
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My husband brought home a 12 pack last night and saved 5 for me. He drank a 6 pack on Monday night as well and seeing how worn out he looked, I didn't want to drink at all. He can drink the rest of the beers tonight if he wants. I'll drink my kombucha.
I was bummed out this morning when my son saw all the empty beer bottles around my husband's desk (if I go to bed before him he never cleans up after himself) and asked me, "why does daddy get drunk so much?" I didn't have an answer for him. I don't really know what to say about that and I'm tired of my kids being repeatedly exposed to it, especially the nights my husband gets really drunk and acts like an idiot. They will grow up thinking it's normal to drink. I'm trying to drink just once a week at my sister's house but if I happen to drink at home, I'll wait until after the kids go to bed.9 -
I think that's one thing I've noticed. My kids are grown and they notice and wonder why I'm acting funny as I've tried hiding it. You can't hide it. Ithink that was my trigger shame. Anyway I'm feeling really good that I'm feeling much more in control. I'm proud and hoping to keep this up. What is kombucha?? I've never heard of this but see it here lots as alternative5
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missanne11 wrote: »I think that's one thing I've noticed. My kids are grown and they notice and wonder why I'm acting funny as I've tried hiding it. You can't hide it. Ithink that was my trigger shame. Anyway I'm feeling really good that I'm feeling much more in control. I'm proud and hoping to keep this up. What is kombucha?? I've never heard of this but see it here lots as alternative
It's a fermented tea that contains probiotics. Lots of info in this article:
https://draxe.com/7-reasons-drink-kombucha-everyday/3 -
We are driving to my dad's (Florida) on Friday. Sunday would have been my mom's birthday and he doesn't need to be alone all day. (She passed last June). There will be drinking, but it should actually be easier to stick to my goal. I tend to drink earlier and stop sooner when I'm not just staring at the tv. 5
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missanne11 wrote: »I think that's one thing I've noticed. My kids are grown and they notice and wonder why I'm acting funny as I've tried hiding it. You can't hide it. Ithink that was my trigger shame. Anyway I'm feeling really good that I'm feeling much more in control. I'm proud and hoping to keep this up. What is kombucha?? I've never heard of this but see it here lots as alternative
I think we share simular experiences..
Kombucha is a fermented tea. It comes in a variety of flavours. The hibiscus one is very nice. They sell it here in australia more. U can even buy it in the super markets now. Its great and refreshing and plus u feel real good in the mornings. Clear headed. Its has a cleansing effect.1 -
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Thanks. Alzzi76. I live in Canada. Not sure where to look here. But thanks for your info!!2
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AlainaKayy wrote: »Good morning!
I am 4 days AF for February and 2 in a row. I want to be honest here and say that it was very difficult for me last night not to give in. Part of the reason why I did not was this group, I didn't want to log on in the morning and say that I had failed. I get home from work around 5:45 and immediately I was thinking about cracking open a beer, but instead I started making dinner. Dinner took me a while to make cause I was peeling potatoes, cutting peppers, etc; all the sudden its 6:30, I looked over to the clock and said "if I can make it until 7, I'll get a beer" low and behold 7pm rolls around, I still wanted it like crazy; but I didn't do it. I thought to myself "Right now, what is the motive? Is it to get drunk? or did I just crave the taste?" I talked myself out of it. I told myself that it was too late to start drinking, it wasn't, but I didn't drink.
Happy Wednesday!
Well done!!, Alainakayy!!.. keep up the good work so u can help others
Thank you! Will do! Tonight's another night! 1
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