Less Alcohol - JULY 2020 - One Day at a Time

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  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,932 Member
    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.

    Rolling total: 13AF days out of 17 days.
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,932 Member
    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 distance visits.

    Rolling total: 13AF days out of 18 days.
  • Samand303
    Samand303 Posts: 123 Member
    @dawnbgethealthy Love the black hollyhocks, and all the other pictures too.

    Raspberry Rustic Tart turned out great and it’s almost gone already. And, no poison ivy!
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,738 Member
    @dawnbgethealthy - you have sugar snap peas!! I love them!
    @Samand303 - Beef fajitas and a raspberry rustic tart sounds divine.....

    5 drinks/18 days...sitting here eating my store bought organic strawberries, still on a diet this weekend including no drinks but hungry for delicious food !!!


  • Womona
    Womona Posts: 1,815 Member
    globalhiker wrote: »
    5 drinks/19 days....thinking of all the wonderful things that make me happy and can replace the fun I used to get from wine.....planning a garden, searching for my next pet, creating really great food, watching a foreign film, zumba or bollywood dancing, stand up comedy on youtube, facetime and skype meetings with friends, home improvement projects, learning something new, buying something you like online, studying the best latest products on the market, designing a customized cookbook, randomly sending someone a gift, running a little bit faster, doing an extra set of tricep dips, learning a new joke, losing another lb. of fat, creating a stay-at-home spa day, trying to identify birds in the neighborhood, plan menus for the week, planning future travels....

    Goal for the week is to keep my life "full" of planned activities. Just load it up. If I am full and happy, there is no need for unhealthy indulgences to fill in the void.
    Wow!!! Love your alternatives to drinking! All these do indeed lead to a nice full life. Enjoy!
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,932 Member
    forestdweller1 wrote: »

    @dawnbgethealthy Beautiful collection of black flowers...then, surprise, GREEN peppers. I used to grow black bell peppers before the deer and f'n groundhogs decided my garden was their munch-thru cafe.

    I couldn't get many colours of peppers this year. Usually I grow: yellow, orange, red, purple, green, hot (of some kind) and chocolate. All I could get this year was jalapeno, green, and red.
    I grew some black peppers one year, they were of the ornamental variety, not for eating, much smaller than a bell. They were beautiful, but I have never seen them again.

    Deer ate the flowers off of one of my potted petunias that is not in the fort knox that is my backyard, nor is it netted. grr. Luckily they never seem to touch my fave which is also in my front yard, Crimson Lace Dianthus.

    41ktrtqnr1r4.png






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