Less Alcohol - March 2018- One day at a Time

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  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,174 Member
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    dressagerider1020 wrote: »
    @salleewins I can understand your feelings, I lost my daughter to leukemia when she was 2.

    It's said that no matter what your loss, someone else has gone through more than you have. Losing a son after having him with you for so many years is terrible, yet we do have a loss in common that not many can understand.

    Keep coming here. We are here for you.

    That is devastating. What a tragic loss. Sending you a big loving hug.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,174 Member
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    Alzzi76 wrote: »
    JenT304 wrote: »
    These posts are incredibly moving. To those of you that have lost children, I am so sorry and send my love. My late and very wise father used to say, "everyone carries an invisible bucket of tears", meaning we cannot see each other's pain but it is there. I hope this thread is a refuge and comfort to all that come here. It certainly has been for me.

    Jen, your right and in some cases, drink has been used as a remedy and other emotional stress.
    That's what makes it really sad. Id luv to be able to help in some way, this is where we can start I guess in this thread..
    My heart goes out to everyone that uses alcohol that way. Its hard to help people if they don't want it too.
    This is where kindness and show love respect to everyone is needed world wide.
    Nobody know what each are going through. Thanks for your beautiful post. :)<3

    You say such heartfelt, beautiful things. xo You inspire and you lift us up.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,174 Member
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    Poston1966 wrote: »
    My goal since January has been to be alcohol-free all week. I have been successful majority of the time with not drinking during the week day. I am thrilled to announce that my consumption on the weekends has drastically decreased. I was giving myself the freedom to drink on the weekends however I have noticed that I really don't enjoy it. It is so nice to wake up in the morning and feel energized and not sluggish. This thread has really helped me to realize that I am not alone. I appreciate everybody's honest input. Thank you.

    Totally agree! Waking up on weekend mornings refreshed and happy is so worth not drinking! Great job!
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,174 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    A fairly moderate weekend - one bottle of wine consumed over three days, plus two extra beers.

    Planning out my week ahead, just like I do with my food. A low key week with the exception of a concert (P!nk) which, I don't usually drink more than one beer at an event like that, I don't care for the wine at stadiums, and am usually too busy on my feet singing and dancing to worry about drinking.

    This coming weekend will be a challenge - a March Madness party Friday night with friends that I usually overindulge with, and then St. Pats on Saturday - we are going to the parade with kids and friends so it's not like we would be out of control but it will be an early start to the drinking - maybe just a baileys and coffee for the walk to the parade and then a beer or two once we get there.

    Me and you both! We will need to be mindful this coming weekend. It's going to be a challenge. I plan on having my best friend keep an eye on me. Or hire a minder like the celebrities do! LOL
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,174 Member
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    bocasdelgrandpabob wrote: »
    Heh! I am down a couple of pounds. 3 days of AF means 3 days of managing my diet correctly.
    The magic happens. Either that or my scale is out of whack.

    You probably saved hundreds of calories! Great job on your loss of pounds.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,174 Member
    edited March 2018
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    jascinthe64 wrote: »
    I have been a drinker most of my adult life. I was AF when I was pregnant and breastfeeding for 5 1/2 years then slowly started drinking again until I felt it was just too much and went AF for almost 6 years. Then started dating a fellow who worked at a winery and had a huge wine cellar of beautiful wine. He was a very controlled drinker so I did not feel bad about having a glass of wine with meals here and there with him for about four years. Then we broke up and not long after I started seeing a new fellow and it was an awful relationship that I finally ended after 10 months but started drinking very regularly. I think it was to numb the pain and disappointment. Unfortunately what seemed like a few months to numb pain and loneliness turned into 6 years of see-sawing between moderate drinking and drinking too much. I am fine to drink one or two glasses of wine in the evening but the trouble is if anything goes wrong or what have you in my life I often will drink til I'm drunk (1 bottle sometimes 1.5bottles). So I have been trying since I started tracking my food to be really honest and just track how much I drink without any judgments on it. I have been worried about it for years and always saying "I have to cut back or quit" but never doing it. Tracking really helps me cut down.
    So that is my story. I am not sure if I will be able to find a place where I can really drink in moderation without the inevitable overdoing it days but that is my goal right now. I think tracking at least keeps me honest about how much I am drinking and that seems to help me cut down. Thanks for letting me share and I read the thread up to this point and wish everyone all the best in their own journey to balance, moderation and happiness in life.
    I started tracking to lose 10lbs with a different tracker the first week of January 2018 and switched over to My fitness buddy because my daughter uses it too! So I have been tracking daily since the first week of January and I believe I will always track now.
    BTW I am also a recovered bulimic (11years old to 24 years old) So I have a lot of addiction issues in my past. I did recover from the bulimia and went on to do counseling in the field to help others with bulimia or anorexia. Often bulimia and anorexia go hand in hand with drug and alcohol abuse.
    Whew Sorry but that's a part of my history with the drink . . .
    :smile:
    :blush::blush:

    Thanks for sharing your story with us! We are all more alike than similar. You helped many on this thread who needed to hear about your experience and learn that recovery is possible. Thanks for being so transparent. xo
  • ali3boys
    ali3boys Posts: 84 Member
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    salleewins wrote: »
    Thank you for the support friends. The loss would be hard because he was my son one way or the other. I saw him the day before he passed on April 2nd, 2015 for the last time, without knowing it. He came up with his friend to pick up his motorcycle for the spring. He had been living at his own apartment for about 5 mo. The next day, he passed away on the motorcycle or within a half hour or so in a collision with another vehicle. 22 years old. I will never be the same again. I hear the pain of that kind of loss never goes away. I am just learning how to have joy at the same time while living with the forever pain. Drinking had made it so bad that I didn't want to even be here anymore. I wished, in hindsight that I had many days of being AF before that loss occurred. I do have a daughter. That was not fair to her that I was drinking like that or fair to myself or anyone else. Drinking didn't start with his passing, but it skyrocketed to a new horrid level. Anyways I could not moderate and I am happy to be done with it for almost 2 mo. now. Thank you for listening and being here. This week I have to give notice at one of my jobs. The stress with these 2 jobs has become unbearable in and of itself. Wouldn't you know, it has just ramped up considerably lately. :)

    I'm so very sorry for your loss. You are truly amazing... Great job on your 2 months AF
  • ali3boys
    ali3boys Posts: 84 Member
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    donimfp wrote: »
    No ritual Bloody Mary at the airport for me!!

    Good job @ the airport ... That would have been me as well ;) Next is the FREE drinks on the way over. :# Looking forward to hearing about your trip. Italy is so awesome :) your going to have such a great time.
  • xcjumper
    xcjumper Posts: 207 Member
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    So sorry for all of you who have endured losses. My heart goes out to you all.

    Drank Friday and Saturday but back to AF as of yesterday. This week will be difficult as I have a horse show and that is one of my triggers. They have also had to change the way the show will run due to heavy rain in the forecast and this stresses me out!!

    For those of you that are choosing to moderate or for those of you who have been AF for some time but are thinking of having a few drinks this month, I urge you to go to the Alcohol Explained website and read a blog post titled "Moderating". He explains why this is next to impossible and it was really enlightening for me.

    Have a happy stress free Monday!!
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
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    salleewins wrote: »
    Thank you that I don't drink on St. Patty's Day. That is one easier one. Good Friday--March 30th will be my next hardest then Easter. April 3rd will be my next hardest after those--the day my son passed. He did pass on Good Friday that year of 2015(I am glad that I did not drink that day), which was April 3rd that year. Then May for Mother's Day and his birthday of May 23rd. I want to be successful this year in my mind.....Help me God. I am glad for this group. It is almost 2 months now dry.

    So sorry for your loss. <3
  • snoo61
    snoo61 Posts: 549 Member
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    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    Lots of emotion stuff here today. Sending out warm energy to all.

    This week was just weird. My M-Th AF and exercise goals were achieved. I must share the positive first. I lost a couple of pounds on the scale and felt good. Friday night was just a couple of 4 oz glasses of white. Good so far. Saturday night had some unexpected guests for dinner and before I knew it, 1.5 bottles, yes bottles not glasses were down. This is a once in a year thing for me. Usually it's 2-3 glasses/night on the weekends and that's it. Sunday came and I felt like a slug. I wasn't in a full fledged hangover, because of the meta-folate I gobbled before I went to bed and when I woke up again. But still. No energy. Dehydration. Dry skin. Food cravings. No exercise. Interrupted sleep, Sat and Sun night, even though I didn't drink Sunday. aarg. Still not 100% today. And the worst part is that the scale went back up 3#. Dang. I know that it's not fat, but still it's discouraging. I'm scolding myself today, "Moderation does not mean save up all the drinks you didn't drink M-Th to drink in one night".

    I am actually looking forward to this week M-Th being AF. :)

    Today is a new day! Also, maybe by next year 2 or 3 glasses will be enough. You're making progress!
  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,491 Member
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    I'm only 8 minutes into this documentary and am already terrified. But knowledge is power so I thought I would share it with my team here.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySbeSUE2XHE&amp;t=227s
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,174 Member
    edited March 2018
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    @JenT304 This video is powerful. It's a con game this drinking thing. And it is horrible for our organs. Thanks for sharing.

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