Less Alcohol- April 2018- One Day at a Time
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I also signed up for the "30 day alcohol experiment". Enjoyed day 1 video/subject, but day 2 was even better. An expert was on the video talking about the effects of alcohol on sleep, very interesting to me. Like most people here I'll bet, a good nights sleep is hard to come by. I remember what it was like, and how I felt (wish I kept a journal) after about 7-10 days AF... waking up totally refreshed and ready to to hit the ground running.
Only thing, we are going to be on a bowling trip (AKA: drinking mini-vacation), on days 27, 28 & 29... guess I will decide then if I am going to stick to the 30 day plan!
I also want to lose weight, on my first 8 weeks, staying mostly AF, I dropped 10 lbs! Since then (indulging too much), nothing for the past 2-3 weeks. If I don't drink at night, I really have more control over my cravings... so here we go, onto getting rid of the next 10!
Thank you all for being open and sharing your thoughts... even though I might not post a lot, I read all of the posts, and am sending virtual hugs to you.4 -
@ looneycatblue Im doing the 30 day experiment too. That is the author of Alcohol Explained, William Porter. You must read his book. I can't recommend it enough.3
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@ looneycatblue Im doing the 30 day experiment too. That is the author of Alcohol Explained, William Porter. You must read his book. I can't recommend it enough.
@looneycatblue Hi Friends, I'm doing the 30 day as well. And yes, Listened to the sleep video today. Makes perfect sense. I always used to wake up at 3 or 4 am after a night of drinking. And then the racing thoughts hit. All true stuff.0 -
trishfit2014 wrote: »Was good last night but still slept badly. I am blaming alcohol or my very bad sleep patterns recently. Feeling better this morning than usual.
Saw a video that says that alcohol disturbs R.E.M. Sleep. And it may take about 5 days or more of being alcohol free for the brain to restore this good sleep. So, take heart if you take a few days off of alcohol, and think that you're not sleeping any better. It's because the brain got used to function with alcohol and it will take some time to readjust.
The beginning of the article tells about the importance of R.E.M. Sleep stage. https://www.sleepresolutions.com/blog/rem-sleep-what-it-is-why-we-need-it0 -
1stepfwd_LF30 wrote: »Im new here. I would like to give up alcohol all together. I tend to pair drinking with smoking cigarettes and I'm ready to stop. Both. AF day 1.
Join us on this thread anytime you need support or to vent or express anything. It's not easy at first. The first ten days you will put in a lot of work. Your brain on alcohol isn't what it used to be and it got dependent on alcohol to function. Go on the site for This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. You may want to join her 30 day challenge. It's free, and you get a short video each day along your journey. Cheering you on!1 -
I hate to bring more negative vibes, but I see I am not the only one struggling. I hope everyone’s next day is better than the last.
Work and depression have me down and not motivated. I did very well during the weekdays coming back from vacation. I was trying to keep last weekend to only one night of drinking and one bad meal. I went out Friday and planned to only have one or two drinks. I wound up being there for six hours and needing to uber home. Saturday I was gonna stay home all day but one of our brewery partners gave us $100 bar spend so I wound up on another all nighter. Sunday I stayed free of alcohol but my sister in law made chicken parm, sausage and spaghetti for dinner and I pigged out there. I am terrified to see what the scale says Thursday...
I’ll end it on at least one positive vibe. I was at a bar for lunch yesterday and my coworker asked what I was ordering. I told him if I have a beer and burger then the whole week will be shot. So I ordered water and a salad.
Sending you a hug! It's very hard to resist. I get it! But this is a new week. Never give up on your goals. Water and salad- hooray! It's a great step. Xo1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »[...]
Still practicing the mindful moderation but definitely know that it is a slippery slope to mindless moderation and then quickly mindless excess.
"it is a slippery slope to mindless moderation and then quickly mindless excess"
Bam! Nailed it.WinoGelato wrote: »Again, I know I talk a lot about the similarities I see between the successes I've found in losing weight and maintaining that loss - and what I'm trying to do with alcohol intake as well. In the maintaining forums, there are often threads like "Do you think you'll continue to log forever?" and I always say YES! It doesn't feel cumbersome or burdensome to me, and it has brought me such success with being aware of my food intake, my calorie expenditure, and the impact that has on my overall weight management. So I think I just need to get in the same mindset for alcohol too - if I want to be able to continue to imbibe in a safe and healthy way - then I need to focus and practice this mindful moderation forever. Always have a plan, always think about which days and how much I want to drink. No sliding into habitual every day consumption where the AF days are the rare exception.
I feel the same way about logging. I don't have to think about it, I just do it. I spent ages and ages learning how to do it properly, and now it's just second nature.
A really great Pulitzer prize winning book I was reading is, "Thinking, Fast and Slow", written by Nobel Prize for Economics winner Daniel Kahneman.
Basically, humans don't like to spend a long time thinking or making decisions. It's scientifically proven to tire us out, and we avoid it wherever possible, even though thinking fast often leads to poor logic.
I think I'm finding it easy being AF because I'm not thinking about it all the time.
The possibility of a transition from not thinking about being AF, to not thinking and mindlessly consuming is the kicker.
And until I can work out a way to drink on special occasions without sliding down that slippery slope to mindlessness, it's easier to stay AF.
@WinoGelato I really appreciate your post.
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Hello everyone, I'm sorry to be a stranger here.
I saw Eriks comment abt being depressed etc and thought that's what have been feeling like. I really can relate, especally when most people here drink like no tomorrow.
I've been battling with the pressure of having too much on my plate. I decided to let go some things including checking in here.
I have had a casual drink here and there but found i couldn't go past 1- 2 std with out feeling and seeing the effects. I absolutely hate looking puffy so it stops me. If anything I'd have a couple of sips and put it in the fridge. The only thing with that is when u go to the fridge its there looking at u so theres the temptation to have it when it normally wouldn't.
Im going to listen to some meditation music3 -
Yesterday was very stressful. So when I got home I decided to have a glass of wine. One 5oz glass of chard. I drank it and was fine.
Last night when I went to bed, my chest felt like it was doing somersaults for about 30 min. And then I woke up 2 hours later all sweaty. I generally slept like crap. Pretty much no good sleep. This was happening to me when I would drink 3 glasses. It hasn't happened since I've been moderating.
- I had a fairly healthy eating day, with a cabbage roll made with 93/7 ground beef for dinner. I did have a little buffalo wing dip for a snack, which sometimes the hot sauce messes with my stomach.
_ I watched an episode of of Big Little Lies before I went to bed, the one that one of the girls recalls being raped and has a hallucination that someone is breaking into her house. I went to sleep very disturbed.
_ I think that I'm pretty much over menopause. I'm on the tail end of it for sure.
_ And yes the day's stress went to bed with me also.
Do you think that one glass of wine made me feel like that? Or do you think it was the general combination of the whole evening? All thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
If one glass of wine did that to me, I'm not sure that it was worth it to drink it at all ...1 -
since april-no alc6
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Yesterday was very stressful. So when I got home I decided to have a glass of wine. One 5oz glass of chard. I drank it and was fine.
Last night when I went to bed, my chest felt like it was doing somersaults for about 30 min. And then I woke up 2 hours later all sweaty. I generally slept like crap. Pretty much no good sleep. This was happening to me when I would drink 3 glasses. It hasn't happened since I've been moderating.
- I had a fairly healthy eating day, with a cabbage roll made with 93/7 ground beef for dinner. I did have a little buffalo wing dip for a snack, which sometimes the hot sauce messes with my stomach.
_ I watched an episode of of Big Little Lies before I went to bed, the one that one of the girls recalls being raped and has a hallucination that someone is breaking into her house. I went to sleep very disturbed.
_ I think that I'm pretty much over menopause. I'm on the tail end of it for sure.
_ And yes the day's stress went to bed with me also.
Do you think that one glass of wine made me feel like that? Or do you think it was the general combination of the whole evening? All thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
If one glass of wine did that to me, I'm not sure that it was worth it to drink it at all ...
I kind of think it was the wine. I had a headache after one glass of wine and had similar things like fast beating heart. This was a few weeks ago. I also wondered how can it bet the wine? Maybe too sugary as well.
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This is so hard in the beginning. I was so tired yesterday as I had slept badly the night before. I wanted some wine to make it better. I went to the grocery store and argued with myself the whole time that I did not need any wine. I got out of there without it. Got home and all was fine without it. I slept so much better last night so hopefully will feel better today.
Anyone else have the ad for fit vines. Ugh.6 -
@Orphia, that nails it for me. One of the very best parts of being AF is freedom from constant decision-making. Plus, this particular decision (to drink or not to drink) is too easily skewed one way or the other by how I'm feeling at that particular moment.
Right now I'm so grateful for my second-in-a-row AF night, after a big lapse post-Italy, except that I had a series of very bizarre dreams in which things happened like being stranded at a nursery with a basil plant and no money to pay for it. When I woke up I had to convince myself that I really did not drink yesterday or last night. My brain just went haywire for some reason. However, my body feels good this morning, and I'm heading out for a nice long walk.5 -
@Orphia, that nails it for me. One of the very best parts of being AF is freedom from constant decision-making.
Indeed.
I thought of another example which I've seen written about quite a bit:
Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg both wearing their own individual "uniform" every day of their lives, so as to cut down time spent making unimportant decisions so they can make bigger better decisions. There's this whole thing about these "capsule wardrobes" to encourage productivity in our lives.
I think threads like this and articles and videos are very helpful for us to make the decision about our alcohol consumption.
Then, once we've done all the thinking, we can just stick to our decision of our consumption limit/schedule and not waste energy worrying any more.
We all need to set our own rules for ourselves. Setting the rules can be the hardest part!
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Drinkers have more bad mouth bacteria, study finds - CNN
https://apple.news/AlKLV4LFmRxWrVsvnkv_ZPw
Kind of gross. But another good reason to cut back.2 -
Guys, i feel I'm on a roller coaster .. i made myself my old fave.. please don't take offense. .. it's called ' irish coffee' but its a coffee with Irish whiskey.. i luv Irish people.. I'm 1/2 irish myself.. so I'm just confessing.. bcoz i feel i need to..
Im going to drink lots of water to help with the after effects
Luv ya all.. im moving house and yeah ive got to keep going without worrying abt petty stuff..
Xxooxxoo to everyone!!. ..3 -
@Orphia, that nails it for me. One of the very best parts of being AF is freedom from constant decision-making.
Indeed.
I thought of another example which I've seen written about quite a bit:
Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg both wearing their own individual "uniform" every day of their lives, so as to cut down time spent making unimportant decisions so they can make bigger better decisions. There's this whole thing about these "capsule wardrobes" to encourage productivity in our lives.
I think threads like this and articles and videos are very helpful for us to make the decision about our alcohol consumption.
Then, once we've done all the thinking, we can just stick to our decision of our consumption limit/schedule and not waste energy worrying any more.
We all need to set our own rules for ourselves. Setting the rules can be the hardest part!
I do a modified version of project 333 (you can google it for more info) it’s 33 items of clothing for 3 months. I love it! It is less thinking, and it forces you to figure out what your personal style is and makes dressing such a snap. Now, applying that concept to drinking is an interesting idea. The idea of minimalism, mindfulness are something I really value, but are kind of the opposite of the mindless drinking.
Speaking of mindless drinking I was watching one of Annie Graces podcasts and she talked about her drinking queue and how she discovered what and when her brain had the queue to drink. And for her it was opening the cupboard to the wine glasses. It was the close of the workday and start of relaxation. I tried to figure out my queue tonight. I think mine is kind of the same. I work from home, so pouring a glass of wine somehow differentiates the workday from the evening. Tonight I didn’t have any cravings, but I am going to be mindful of that queue tomorrow and try and figure out some other way to make that switch from workday to relaxation that provides some satisfaction without drinking.3 -
Guys, i feel I'm on a roller coaster .. i made myself my old fave.. please don't take offense. .. it's called ' irish coffee' but its a coffee with Irish whiskey.. i luv Irish people.. I'm 1/2 irish myself.. so I'm just confessing.. bcoz i feel i need to..
Im going to drink lots of water to help with the after effects
Luv ya all.. im moving house and yeah ive got to keep going without worrying abt petty stuff..
Xxooxxoo to everyone!!. ..
No offense taken! I'm roller coastering myself, kinda...mostly down. I'll be babysitting grandkids all of May, so that forces me back on track. Hope things calm down a bit for you. Don't ever give up. We are here XO2 -
SanDiegofitmom wrote: »@Orphia, that nails it for me. One of the very best parts of being AF is freedom from constant decision-making.
Indeed.
I thought of another example which I've seen written about quite a bit:
Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg both wearing their own individual "uniform" every day of their lives, so as to cut down time spent making unimportant decisions so they can make bigger better decisions. There's this whole thing about these "capsule wardrobes" to encourage productivity in our lives.
I think threads like this and articles and videos are very helpful for us to make the decision about our alcohol consumption.
Then, once we've done all the thinking, we can just stick to our decision of our consumption limit/schedule and not waste energy worrying any more.
We all need to set our own rules for ourselves. Setting the rules can be the hardest part!
I do a modified version of project 333 (you can google it for more info) it’s 33 items of clothing for 3 months. I love it! It is less thinking, and it forces you to figure out what your personal style is and makes dressing such a snap. Now, applying that concept to drinking is an interesting idea. The idea of minimalism, mindfulness are something I really value, but are kind of the opposite of the mindless drinking.
Speaking of mindless drinking I was watching one of Annie Graces podcasts and she talked about her drinking queue and how she discovered what and when her brain had the queue to drink. And for her it was opening the cupboard to the wine glasses. It was the close of the workday and start of relaxation. I tried to figure out my queue tonight. I think mine is kind of the same. I work from home, so pouring a glass of wine somehow differentiates the workday from the evening. Tonight I didn’t have any cravings, but I am going to be mindful of that queue tomorrow and try and figure out some other way to make that switch from workday to relaxation that provides some satisfaction without drinking.
I also work from home, and my trigger was sitting down talking to hubby about our day. We'd open our beers and my drinking began. Babysitting the grandkids for a month helps. But in reality, only for a while. I have pushed my start drinking time to later, and find that if I'm full and knitting or crocheting I drink less. Do you have a hobby? If so, that could be your transition.1 -
SanDiegofitmom wrote: »@Orphia, that nails it for me. One of the very best parts of being AF is freedom from constant decision-making.
Indeed.
I thought of another example which I've seen written about quite a bit:
Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg both wearing their own individual "uniform" every day of their lives, so as to cut down time spent making unimportant decisions so they can make bigger better decisions. There's this whole thing about these "capsule wardrobes" to encourage productivity in our lives.
I think threads like this and articles and videos are very helpful for us to make the decision about our alcohol consumption.
Then, once we've done all the thinking, we can just stick to our decision of our consumption limit/schedule and not waste energy worrying any more.
We all need to set our own rules for ourselves. Setting the rules can be the hardest part!
I do a modified version of project 333 (you can google it for more info) it’s 33 items of clothing for 3 months. I love it! It is less thinking, and it forces you to figure out what your personal style is and makes dressing such a snap. Now, applying that concept to drinking is an interesting idea. The idea of minimalism, mindfulness are something I really value, but are kind of the opposite of the mindless drinking.
Thanks! I Googled and found her How To Build a Capsule Wardrobe:
https://bemorewithless.com/how-to-build-a-capsule-wardrobe/
I pretty much did that after getting to my goal weight. I threw out all my fat clothes. Now I only have things I love that fit me.
There's also a really great thread I've participated in called "Let it go - de-cluttering etc" in the MFP Success Stories sub-forum that talks about all sorts of simplifying and de-cluttering.SanDiegofitmom wrote: »Speaking of mindless drinking I was watching one of Annie Graces podcasts and she talked about her drinking queue and how she discovered what and when her brain had the queue to drink. And for her it was opening the cupboard to the wine glasses. It was the close of the workday and start of relaxation. I tried to figure out my queue tonight. I think mine is kind of the same. I work from home, so pouring a glass of wine somehow differentiates the workday from the evening. Tonight I didn’t have any cravings, but I am going to be mindful of that queue tomorrow and try and figure out some other way to make that switch from workday to relaxation that provides some satisfaction without drinking.
Ha, I like that way of looking at it: The drinking queue. Or I think you mean "The drinking cue"?
Could be both: People have their cue to start drinking, then one drink leads to a queue of drinks.
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