Less Alcohol - February 2019 - One Day at a Time
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I had a few drinks for Valentines day yesterday, my husband and I work in the service industry and we were both off for the first time since we've known each other! It was so nice to be off work, not having to deal with the Valentines day madness and I decided a few cocktails seemed appropriate. I had 3 cocktails in about a 6 hour span but I am ready to finish out February AF.3
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Congrats on those who practiced mindful drinking on Valentine's Day and woke up feeling good about their choice.
As for me, I stayed dry, which is probably the first V-Day in 5 years or so that I did not do my usual "Pizza and wine is my valentine" dinner!
Still AF for 2019 with 46 days gone by. Heading into the 3rd weekend in Feb and don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I thought I'd have the hardest time unwinding after work and I would miss the tipsy feeling. Instead I've been finding new workouts to try and dancing every night which gives me lots of feel good endorphins. I'm amazed that I crave that feeling over the one wine gave me and I think I'm happier at home without the booze right now.4 -
I am following the same path as many for yesterday Valentine's Day.
Ended up doing an early night out to eat. Was not going to have alcohol as I mentioned a few days ago. But then, half way through dinner, I told myself "Girl, your not on the no alcohol forever thread, your on the less alcohol thread". It was a good conversation to have with myself and so I had prosecco. First drink containing alcohol this year
Husband almost fell out of his chair. It was pretty funny.
Wish there was a specific category defining my established drinking patteren now. I tell people that I "drink rarely" and their heads tilt and eyes squint.
🤔 Oh well as long as I know, that is all that matters5 -
@ WinoGelato Your story was very encouraging for me. Especially as I sit here, wishing I could leave work, go home and take a nap. My head hurts.
How I went from ok to overboard last night I do not know. I want to get to where you are at so bad. I just can't figure it out.
Last night, valentines day, two glasses of wine out with hubby. Only 2 beers remained at home, I'm safe. Tracked my food, all within my range. I was so proud of myself...…...I had my ginger tea and cup on the counter ready to pour a glass when my last beer was gone...…..that's when I SHOULD have ended.....but I didn't. There's always something else. Anyways...……..
Also, I realized yesterday that this was a "challenge" group. When I saw "less" I was thinking perfect! But since coming to this thread, I'm realizing most are also doing AF days. I need to start planning those.
Have a great day everyone. I'm done sniveling for now.5 -
@MissMay Your post made me smile. You know, it's a woman's prerogative. You've done so fantastic and who cares if there's a predictable pattern (boring)--a healthy pattern is all that matters and you've got that down pat!2
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@AbandondedKSCharger Dust yourself off and be proud of being more cognizant--and tracking--which is super easy to drop once the drinks go back or food goes down. Yes, start planning AF days. I really wanted a glass or two of wine tonight--and likely would have had I been alone. But even if I have, that doesn't negate the good work I've done and am going to do. Here's to a fantastic weekend!2
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Goal: 4AF days per week. It is a short month.
February 1 - 3 drinks
February 2 - AF
February 3 - 3 drinks - Superbowl was boring this year. I have to rack up some AF days!
February 4 - AF
February 5 - AF
February 6 - AF
February 7 - 3 drinks
February 8 - AF, but was planning on some champagne in the bubble bath. I had such a nice dinner that I didn't have any calories left for champagne - heavy whipping cream chicken pesto with linguine. Lots of calories, but all within my range for the day.
February 9 - AF
February 10 - 3 drinks
February 11 - AF
February 12 - AF
February 13 - 3 drinks
February 14 - AF
February 15 - AF - Mulled wine at my house tomorrow, in between the snowmobile events, bands and fireworks. (We will be out standing in the snow, the streets are closed for the event). The mulled wine will simmer all day. Really looking forward to some wintery fun and the smell that my house will take on from the cinnamon and cloves, oranges, port and wine. I like that I have known about it for weeks and am happy to have racked up AF days this month. If I don't feel well Sunday morning I will just stay in bed.
February 16
February 17
February 18
February 19
February 20
February 21
February 22
February 23
February 24
February 25
February 26
February 27
February 28
Running tab: 10 AF days out of 15 days - need at least 6 more AF days to hit my goal for the month.
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2.5 glasses of wine while cooking and eating dinner last night, and did my drunk eating afterwards. Again. Ugh! Just when I’m within striking distance of my goal weight. I need to remember not to sabotage my weight loss and my AF by going over my one drink allotment when I choose to drink.
Good news is that I’m not craving alcohol like when I first started in January, so that’s a step in the right direction.6 -
@BuffMom84 ...Poor kitty is probably as stressed as you are, with all the strangers invading his territory. Hoping for you to shine as such an exceptional tenant that the new owners keep you on your current rental.
Still smarting that I found "moderation" so very much more difficult than being AF. Sundays are when I have the opportunity to stop by the wine store after church. Tomorrow will be AF day #13 for this attempt. Really don't feel strong enough to try "moderation" again right now.
Exes are exes for a reason...whether they come in human form or in a bottle.
Chianti, you are beautiful, and have been my companion for many years, relieving stress, accompanying happy times, but you became a habit I find hard to break. Farewell for now...perhaps forever.7 -
Right as I told myself to not drink two days in a row, I drank on Valentine's Day and yesterday. Sigh. My husband annoyed me so much on Valentine's Day that I caved and drank kind of a lot. Yesterday I only had a few beers. Well, all I can do is move on and make next week better.
There was an offer on our house and the person who is buying it is going to rent it out so if they aren't a terrible landlord and our rent stays the same, we are staying here for now. Hoping to buy our own house next year!4 -
I also let myself drink on Valentines day and also again today.
My husband and I both met at a restaurant with a very toxic work culture, I left about 3 years ago and he has finally left the company today. Yes, he has gotten some great managerial experience but it's time for some proper work/life balance. His very last day after 7 years was today and I had to bust open the sparking rose he got me for Valentines day. We shared the sparkling rose and then I also sipped on an 18 year old Johnnie Walker.
Even though we wouldn't have met each other if not for that place I am so glad we can finally close that chapter of our lives. Tomorrow we will be painting some rooms in our house, trying to bring some new energy into our lives.
I'm really living for this thread, so much positivity and empathy for one another.2 -
Also, sorry if I did that whole quoting and then replying thing wrong. I'm still sort of new to working around all this.1
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Right as I told myself to not drink two days in a row, I drank on Valentine's Day and yesterday. Sigh. My husband annoyed me so much on Valentine's Day that I caved and drank kind of a lot. Yesterday I only had a few beers. Well, all I can do is move on and make next week better.
There was an offer on our house and the person who is buying it is going to rent it out so if they aren't a terrible landlord and our rent stays the same, we are staying here for now. Hoping to buy our own house next year!
Good luck with the new potential owners1 -
February accountability ~16 days so far
No Alcohol: 10 days
Alcohol: 6 days (11 drinks)
Goal: AF days 4 per week / 16 per monthYou’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine. - John C. Maxwell
Including the last few days of January to monitor my weekly goal which I surpassed!
Jan 28 - AF
Jan 29 - AF ! Yeah me! Dining Out group.
Jan 30 - AF Office celebration mexican restaurant without margaritas
Jan 31 - Planned 2 but kept to 1 glass wine! Celebrating retirement from company after 30 years
Feb 1 - AF
Feb 2 - AF Brunch without mimosas
Feb 3 - AF
Hit my target of 4 AF days per week again! This is getting easier. It is all about balancing my life choices.
Feb 4 - AF
Feb 5 - AF - I wanted a bottle of wine but we didn’t buy it.
Feb 6 - AF - DH wanted a bottle of wine but we passed.
Feb 7 - Bunco: 2 glasses wine (planned for 1 but poured myself a 2nd out of habit)
Feb 8 - 2 glasses wine
Feb 9 - AF
Feb 10 - AF
Feb 11 - AF
Feb 12 - AF
Feb 13 - 3 glasses wine. DD moving day. DD’s thank you for us caring for their dog for 3 days while they packed and then helping with the move all day … was wine, pizza & Randazzo’s king cake. DH & my first date Feb 13 seems like a zillion years ago.
Note: Challenging weekend ahead (next 4 nights). Usually I have 3-5 drinks per night at the fishing camp. Plus my sister will be there and she brought bottles of wine. Plan 1 drink per evening.
Feb 14 - 2 beers sunset at the fishing camp this weekend
Feb 15 - 1 glass of wine with Mom's 82nd birthday dinner
Feb 16 - 1 beer
Feb 17 -0 -
@mainelylisa thanks for the encouragement. Also love your nifty profile pic. Hope your holding it all together down your way.
@BuffMom84 fingers crossed you get to stay in the place your in right now. Little slip ups can be over come. Your still doing better than in the past. Thoughts are with you.
@forestdweller1 excellent phrase you wrote: Exes are exes for a reason...whether they come in human form or in a bottle.
Chianti, you are beautiful, and have been my companion for many years, relieving stress, accompanying happy times, but you became a habit I find hard to break. Farewell for now...perhaps forever. We really need to print that on a T-shirt.
@Womona hope you get to that goal weight your striving for. Don't let your drinking brain talk you out of it.
@Lilylady3k is still having a great time at camp. Enjoy. The only camps here where I am this time of year are ICE fishing ( no fun)
@AbandondedKSCharger I really like your full steam ahead plunge into your journey with less alcohol. This thread was started as far back as 2017 I believe (way before I happened on to it) under the challenge category. There are times I don't want it to be seen as "challenge" as much as I want it to be seen as a positive life time change for us all.
YES, there are some on here that want more AF days than others. But in the end we are all headed in the same direction. 😉
For some reason the mydrinkaware site I track my AF days and my drink days on will not allow me to record that I drank prosseco on Valentine's Day. For the first time ever I am annoyed that I can not say I did have a drink. Maybe it is secretly tying to give me a clue. LOL.
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LOVE THIS QUOTE!!! ❤️
Frank Outlaw expresses this principle well:
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.2 -
Goal: 4AF days per week. It is a short month.
February 1 - 3 drinks
February 2 - AF
February 3 - 3 drinks - Superbowl was boring this year. I have to rack up some AF days!
February 4 - AF
February 5 - AF
February 6 - AF
February 7 - 3 drinks
February 8 - AF, but was planning on some champagne in the bubble bath. I had such a nice dinner that I didn't have any calories left for champagne - heavy whipping cream chicken pesto with linguine. Lots of calories, but all within my range for the day.
February 9 - AF
February 10 - 3 drinks
February 11 - AF
February 12 - AF
February 13 - 3 drinks
February 14 - AF
February 15 - AF - Mulled wine at my house tomorrow, in between the snowmobile events, bands and fireworks. (We will be out standing in the snow, the streets are closed for the event). The mulled wine will simmer all day. Really looking forward to some wintery fun and the smell that my house will take on from the cinnamon and cloves, oranges, port and wine. I like that I have known about it for weeks and am happy to have racked up AF days this month. If I don't feel well Sunday morning I will just stay in bed.
February 16 - Mulled wine over the course of 8 hours. Kept it topped up every time we came back to my house out of the snow in between events. I actually am not sure how much I had. It was delicious. I don't mind having mulled wine once a year. There is a bunch left over though...
February 17
February 18
February 19
February 20
February 21
February 22
February 23
February 24
February 25
February 26
February 27
February 28
Running tab: 10 AF days out of 16 days - need at least 6 more AF days to hit my goal for the month.3 -
@MissMay Thank you--yes, things are great "down" here, lol.
Hope everyone is enjoying Sunday and hopefully relaxing/renewing. I broke my 2 week AF streak last night listening to the 70's band, Motor Booty Affair--very groovy, with...wait for it....a Bud Light. I had given myself permission to have 2 drinks if I wanted. And after the beer, which tasted really good because apparently I was really thirsty, I didn't want any more alcohol. I drank water and then an O'Doul's. I enjoyed driving there and driving home. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed driving to a social event because driving = limited or no booze. (We had reserved a hotel, because at the time of the reservation a month ago, of course I wouldn't be able to drive. I'm glad I didn't decide to drink to justify the hotel, lol.)
It's super odd for me to NOT WANT MORE ALCOHOL (especially while dancing in a bar), so I chalk it up to a combination of analyzing, support from y'all, thinking ahead to the next morning, and also interval training that morning. I'm not sure what I'll do in the future re: moderation vs. AF, but I was feeling that if I try to go AF for a long long time, italmost becomes less of a challenge and more of an obsession/power over me. Difficult to explain. Anyway, happy with my choices. Good workout again this morning, and enjoying just relaxing, planning meals, writing and reading.
Cheers to a groovy start of the week to my MFP friends. (Yes, I guess the band got to me. I can't get the Y-M-C-A song out of my head. And now you can't either!!!
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@mainelylisa SuperFly is my favorite Motor Booty band member. They play here in town every year once the night clubs open. You will need to come shake your groove thing with me while we pour down an O'Doul's.....two or three!!! Glad you had a great time. Disco is not dead. LOL!3
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I have had a great alcohol free weekend. Last Wednesday I went out with my husband and a few friends and ended up drinking way too much and had to work through a slight hangover the next day. That night I decided I needed to go back to AF for the rest of the month. I’m so close to my weight goal and it’s clear now that adding alcohol back in is not working well. It’s obviously the right choice, I have felt so much better this weekend after feeling really crappy for the days following Wednesday night.
Hope everyone had a great weekend too!5 -
Goal: 4AF days per week. It is a short month.
February 1 - 3 drinks
February 2 - AF
February 3 - 3 drinks - Superbowl was boring this year. I have to rack up some AF days!
February 4 - AF
February 5 - AF
February 6 - AF
February 7 - 3 drinks
February 8 - AF, but was planning on some champagne in the bubble bath. I had such a nice dinner that I didn't have any calories left for champagne - heavy whipping cream chicken pesto with linguine. Lots of calories, but all within my range for the day.
February 9 - AF
February 10 - 3 drinks
February 11 - AF
February 12 - AF
February 13 - 3 drinks
February 14 - AF
February 15 - AF - Mulled wine at my house tomorrow, in between the snowmobile events, bands and fireworks. (We will be out standing in the snow, the streets are closed for the event). The mulled wine will simmer all day. Really looking forward to some wintery fun and the smell that my house will take on from the cinnamon and cloves, oranges, port and wine. I like that I have known about it for weeks and am happy to have racked up AF days this month. If I don't feel well Sunday morning I will just stay in bed.
February 16 - Mulled wine over the course of 8 hours. Kept it topped up every time we came back to my house out of the snow in between events. I actually am not sure how much I had. It was delicious. I don't mind having mulled wine once a year. There is a bunch left over though...
February 17 - 1/2 of a Caesar out at dinner, then 3 drinks later. Plus I ate a bunch of the strained oranges out of the leftover mulled wine lol. 2 glasses of that left, planning to drink them on Wednesday, put it in the fridge. It has been a really fun BC family day weekend. I do feel good to be moderating. I still feel like having drinks every day, but just don't anymore.
February 18
February 19
February 20
February 21
February 22
February 23
February 24
February 25
February 26
February 27
February 28
Running tab: 10 AF days out of 17 days - need at least 6 more AF days to hit my goal for the month.1 -
February accountability ~17 days so far
No Alcohol: 10 days
Alcohol: 7 days (13 drinks)
Goal: AF days 4 per week / 16 per monthYou’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine. - John C. Maxwell
Including the last few days of January to monitor my weekly goal which I surpassed!
Jan 28 - AF
Jan 29 - AF ! Yeah me! Dining Out group.
Jan 30 - AF Office celebration mexican restaurant without margaritas
Jan 31 - Planned 2 but kept to 1 glass wine! Celebrating retirement from company after 30 years
Feb 1 - AF
Feb 2 - AF Brunch without mimosas
Feb 3 - AF
Hit my target of 4 AF days per week again! This is getting easier. It is all about balancing my life choices.
Feb 4 - AF
Feb 5 - AF - I wanted a bottle of wine but we didn’t buy it.
Feb 6 - AF - DH wanted a bottle of wine but we passed.
Feb 7 - Bunco: 2 glasses wine (planned for 1 but poured myself a 2nd out of habit)
Feb 8 - 2 glasses wine
Feb 9 - AF
Feb 10 - AF
Not a good week. Only 2 AF days when the target it 4 for the week. But I’m still good for achieving the monthly goal. And the previous 2 weeks I was 5-6 AF days each week. The camp is definitely a challenge!
Feb 11 - AF
Feb 12 - AF
Feb 13 - 3 glasses wine. DD moving day. DD’s thank you for us caring for their dog for 3 days while they packed and then helping with the move all day … was wine, pizza & Randazzo’s king cake. DH & my first date Feb 13 seems like a zillion years ago.
Note: Challenging weekend ahead (next 4 nights). Usually I have 3-5 drinks per night at the fishing camp. Plus my sister will be there and she brought bottles of wine. Plan 1 drink per evening.
Feb 14 - 2 beers sunset at the fishing camp this weekend
Feb 15 - 1 glass of wine with Mom's 82nd birthday dinner
Feb 16 - 1 beer
Feb 17 - 2 beer
Feb 18 - Bookclub: Plan 1 glass wine
Feb 19 -
Feb 20 - Bookclub: Plan AF (Annual physical)
Feb 21 - Alumnae Meeting called For the Love of Wine & Girl Scout Cookies … this pairing tasting could be a real challenge!
Feb 22 -
Feb 23 -
Feb 24 -
2 -
2/1: 3 drinks
2/2: AF
2/3: 1 drink
2/4: AF
2/5: AF
2/6: 1 Beer.
2/7: 6 beers, 2 shots and frustration
2/8: AF
2/9: Um, went to a rock concert...so too much to count
2/10: AF
2/11: 2 beers
2/12: AF
2/13: AF
2/14: a 6 pack basically.
2/15: AF
2/16: AF
2/17: 2 beers.
Doing better than expected, a huge thanks to this community.7 -
first day of less could be today.
25 years of binge drinking, almost every day, short term goal is to drink only one half gallon a week. long term goal is less then a 1/5th and only drink on the weekend.
todays plan. Don't buy a bottle. only have a couple at the local tavern along with dinner.
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A little bit of Monday encouragement -
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Hello new to my fitness pal today !! I and my wife stopped daily drinking right after the first of the year and while I have had drinks since it isn't something I crave anymore like I used to...side benefit I have lost 15 lbs since then!!! I am also looking for friends to share this weight lose thing so please feel free to friend me!!6
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We are ALL friends down here....welcome !!
Day 14 of my renewed AF and have lost most of the weight gained during my unsuccessful attempt at moderation.
Today is National Wine Day...in the US, at least. Too cruel...
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@forestdweller1 Congrats on your re-loss, and ya, like we need a national day to promote wine here.2
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I was gonna say the same thing @mainelylisa, isn't every day national wine day?!
I'm holding on strong - I've only one one drink this month, bringing my total to 2 drinks for the year. My brother is giving me a voucher for a liquor store though (he doesn't want it)... so this may test my resolve.5
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