Less Alcohol - JULY 2020 - One Day at a Time

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  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,559 Member
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    @Doxmum
    We are only a stones throw away from each other, maybe 1/2 hour as the crow flies.
    We had a beautiful "hot summer's night" here all week. Love it!
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,559 Member
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    Hi. I am Dawn. Turning 60 in September.
    I live in SE BC, Canada.
    I started on this thread November 28.18 - at that time I was having drinks every day. That first AF day was very hard! I vowed to have 1AF day per week to start, then progressed to 2AF days per week etc.
    My goal now (that is working for me) is 16-20 AF days per month. I have been keeping within that since last October. I am comfortable and happy with that goal. If I exceed that, then great.
    I have never ever been able to exceed 3 drinks or I throw up. Moderation is thrust upon me.

    Wednesday July 01 - AF - Happy Canada Day.
    Thursday July 02 - AF - Super long day at work. I kept thinking about having drinks tonight if I could ever get through the day. I used the delay tactic when I finally did arrive home so hungry and tired. I'm sure tomorrow will be better for having abstained.
    Friday July 03 - AF - Scheduled Mojitos with a gf tomorrow after garage Sale-ing and the farmer's market. Would have liked to have a couple today after being up a ladder painting in the hot sun, but saving it up.
    Saturday July 04 - Mojitos and stuff.
    Sunday July 05 - AF - Felt like having drinks though.
    Monday July 06 - AF - I might have drinks at band practice tomorrow, we'll see.
    Tuesday July 07 - AF - I was going to have drinks if the guys were drinking beer at practice, but they drank water today, my super water : - )
    Wednesday July 08 - 3 drinks. I have been trying to not have drinks unless I am happy and celebrating, or on a nice sunny day when I have spent many hours working in my yard. Now that I am back to working long stupid days my will power just went out the window. I didn't get home until 10pm and hadn't eaten since the morning. I was hungry, tired, stressed. The first sip of a drink felt really nice.
    Thursday July 09 - AF - Another late night getting home, I didn't finish dinner until 11:30. I worked for Foster Grant today, and they require us to wear masks and gloves when servicing stores. Not comfortable. I peeled the mask and gloves off outside the store into a garbage bin, really thinking about having a drink when I got home. I could too easily slip back into daily drinks after work, I will have to work at not doing that.
    Friday July 10 - AF - I have a friend in town staying with another friend. I was invited for drinks on the outdoor deck. They are not heavy drinkers, but drinkers nonetheless. I wanted to at least get my 2AF days in a row. I am getting together with them tomorrow afternoon. I may have drinks. I avoided going tonight because I can't always resist when others are drinking around me and getting giggly.
    Saturday July 11 - A bunch of drinks in the hot sun on my friends patio.
    Sunday July 12 - AF - Slept early and awoke early (4am). I didn't feel fantastic, but after lemon water and some coffee I went for a nice 2 hour hike and felt back to normal after that.
    Monday July 13 - AF
    Tuesday July 14 - AF - Time to trim this long post down. I do like to look at it when I log on, but I can do that with reducing it to a spoiler.
    Wednesday July 15 - AF - that was a real test of willpower, my morning started out with the flusher arm on the toilet snapping argh. My workday was ridiculous, and a bunch of other crappy things today. I am trying very hard to not have drinks when I am stressed, only when I am happy. Today was a test, I know that some numbing would have been lovely, but I also want tomorrow to be a better day, and I don't want to jeopardize that with possibly not feeling well.
    Thursday July 16 - AF - I just plum didn't go out into the field for one of the companies that I work for today, I was so stressed out from working for them yesterday. It was only to be 2 small merchandising jobs at 2 grocery stores today, but as long as I get there, build the displayers and do their signage and stuff by the 24th it will be okay. I got spoiled being on lay-off from some jobs, and taking a leave of absence from the one that I hate working for so much. It was the happiest that I had been in many years, puttering around the house and the garden, listening to music, playing in my garden, waking up when I felt like it. I love being alone, so self-isolation suited me perfectly. I posted my best AF totals during that time. It would have been easy to slip back into having drinks at the end of a long stressful workday, really trying not to. Expecting to have drinks with friends over the weekend - socially distancing outside of course.
    Friday July 17 - Drinks. I was making most of them, so I poured my own as a half shot each.
    Saturday July 18 - Ditto to Friday. No regrets. Fun beach day and socially distanced visits.
    Sunday July 19 - AF - Time to rack up some more AF days. I got lots of drinks out of my system over the weekend: Mojitos, Cosmos, wine, rum punch, beer, pisco sours. I had very moderate servings of all. I felt fine today, not so fine Saturday morning, thinking it was the 2 ounces of wine, because I didn't have any wine yesterday.
    Monday July 20 - AF - Got out to "my" lake today for the first time this season, I was at a different lake over the weekend. How nice it was to float on my floatie, stay cool, and tan. (Well, I have a tan from my garden, but being in the water gives a better tan lol). I carry a Frozen Mike's Hard Lemonade in my little water cooler, sort of an adult slushie. I use it like ice to keep my water cold only, then back into the freezer. I am sure that I will drink it eventually, but until I locate my other ice packs (packed with more summer stuff?) it will do nicely.
    Tuesday July 21 - AF - Always happy to hit 16AF days, some months it has been right down to the wire. Nice to have a buffer of days.
    Wednesday July 22 - AF - A stressful workday when I would rather have been at a lake. I wanted drinks, but am really trying to not drink to reduce stress and numb me out. Plus, I am basically finished field work for the week, just paperwork to do from home so I should be able to get to some lakes during our heatwave here before the Albertans arrive for the weekend.
    Thursday July 23 - Drinks after getting home from floating on a lake with my guitar player. Awesome day.
    Friday July 24 - AF
    Saturday July 25 - Drinks. A willpower thing, or intermittent lack thereof. Really proud to have avoided alcohol on my stressed out workdays. Going to try to rack up at least 2 more AF days before the end of the month.
    Sunday July 26 - AF - I had a nice Puglia with dinner last night, and as wonderful as it tasted, I just don't feel well the next day from red wine. Once it was only 2 ounces, last night was 2 glasses. Too bad about the after effects, it went so well with my Rib Eye.
    Monday July 27 - AF - Super hot here, got to the lake today and am going to try to get there every day this week while it is so burning hot (Thursday is to be the hottest before it begins to cool down again). I had my frozen Mike's Hard in the cooler keeping my water bottles cold. There were some regulars that I have chatted with at the same lake for about 19 years, they are usually drinking beer and coolers (as are many of the people at the lake). I was close to having my Mike's, but resisted. I don't want the slightest chance of a hangover while it is so very hot. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to be able to get to a lake.
    Tuesday July 28 - AF - Stressful workday, learning to not drink to numb that afterwards. Extremely hot here right now, but worked way too late to get to the lake today. I will work early tomorrow and get to some water in the afternoon tomorrow...and hopefully the next 2 days after that also. I don't go to the lake on the weekends when the tourists crowd them out. I will be drinking my Mike's Hard Lemonade one of these days soon, since it is best when it is nice and hot out.
    Wednesday July 29 - AF - I didn't get to any water today, but got the rest of the grass cut super early in the morning. Trying out a new (to me) lake tomorrow with my guitar player near his place in Kimberley BC. I might have drinks tomorrow evening, we'll see. Planned drinks on the weekend with some friends also. I am waistline motivated not to drink as often. It helps me to drink less knowing that I will be in a bikini in the yard and on the lakes during our heatwave, avoiding the next day bloat from drinking. (I know, I heard, don't wear a bikini after 35. Don't care, I like getting a brown belly)
    Thursday July 30 - Drinks. Had an incredibly awesome day at a lake that was new to me. Nothing not to like. Flat rocks sloping up to the shoreline where you could beach your floatie and sit, warm clear water, spectacularly untouched and ecologically sound. Loons and other things, great human company. I am getting so brown. 1 1/2 drinks at the lake during 4 hours (my frozen Mike's hard lemonade finally after carrying it around for 2 weeks), then another full drink (cosmo) at a friend's place near my house at the end of the day into the evening. I took photos at the new lake (Hahas), but not from my floatie, so the beauty might not show up. If any of them turned out good I will share them here. Friends are in town who are kind of partyers, scheduled fishing each morning, swimming in the afts, and likely drinks all weekend. We'll see how I do with that.
    Friday July 31 - AF - By willpower alone. Pretty happy with 23 AF days.

    Rolling total: 23AF days out of 31 days.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,553 Member
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    globalhiker wrote: »
    Ready for a fresh start in August....big thanks to all of you for your support and kind words. And putting up with my political rants.

    I went down a pant size !!! Yippie.....!


    That is fantastic. You must feel so good about a size smaller. YAY for your concious decisions which turned into success.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,553 Member
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    @shorepine wonderful to hear a story like yours. Thinking it through was a smart idea and it paid off.👍
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,553 Member
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    FeelinFooFoo wrote: »
    I haven't been very active on the thread but I have been popping on & reading on & off ! Just not had much to say cos I felt confused about what I was doin!

    I have had X2 drinking days in July which is 2 more than I wanted but hey, it's a learning curve. I am gona shoot for staying as AF as possible going forward. 👍 I think it's the way forward for me....☺

    We understand...your a busy woman, so dont worry about always posting. We can feel your god vibes when your checking in on us. Learning curves, yes we all learn from them.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,553 Member
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    July accountability:

    16 drinks for the month.
    10-A days
    21-AF days
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,553 Member
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    @dawnbgethealthy that is a great tally of AF days for your month of July. Congrats.

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