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Less Alcohol - JANUARY 2021 - One Day At A Time
Replies
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Whew late to the party but I am in!
I can't wait to read everyone's notes, comments, tips and tricks
Thank you for starting this thread MissMay7 -
Has anyone noticed that if one shovels snow (like a lot) - especially over a fence above one's shoulder - that one can now skip their abdominal workout?
Doxmum out10 -
GIANT welcome to our new 2021 peeps.
@jhenry683 @meegerzeb @lmlmrn
Wonderful to have you with us for this new year of drinking less alcohol(or no alcohol at all)5 -
AF YESTERDAY. That was a miracle.12
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Stress eating throughout the day. Wine again last night. The success was that DH and I both had 2 glasses of wine and then switched to water.9
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6 days out of 6 AF, onward to 77
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Good morning, Peeps! Indeed @MissMay , a miracle to be AF yesterday. I've started a habit of waking up in the middle of the night and having hot oat milk and peanut butter toast. On white bread! But compared to the wine I was ingesting daily, I think I can correct this with a few salads, as it hasn't affected my organs, my hydration, my brain (well, maybe there is peanut butter brain--who knows).
Curious for those doing Dry January if you find it a relief to not be constantly thinking and strategizing about when, where, with whom, how much you'll drink?
7/7 days AF9 -
mainelylisa wrote: »Good morning, Peeps! Indeed @MissMay , a miracle to be AF yesterday. I've started a habit of waking up in the middle of the night and having hot oat milk and peanut butter toast. On white bread! But compared to the wine I was ingesting daily, I think I can correct this with a few salads, as it hasn't affected my organs, my hydration, my brain (well, maybe there is peanut butter brain--who knows).
Curious for those doing Dry January if you find it a relief to not be constantly thinking and strategizing about when, where, with whom, how much you'll drink?
7/7 days AF
Oat milk and peanut butter sounds delightful. What time is this taking place? I have been incorporating ground almond flour to my oatmeal in the morning. Extra boost of energy.
In answer to your question about doing dry January, my answer is there is a place you do eventually get to where you do not think about how not to drink. IF I were not on this thread I would not discuss it daily with anyone, now.
Three years ago, yes at this time in my life I was constantly thinking about it.
It is an ah-ha hurdle, no one knows when it will kick in, but for the majority of us it does. And it becomes easier at least for me to decide to cut back drastically instead of quit totally.5 -
AF day 4, feels pretty good. Do any of you have trouble falling asleep?7
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Jan AF day count: 2/6 days AF
Jan goal: at least 12 days AF
Jan 1: 2
Jan 2: 3
Jan 3: AF
Jan 4: 2
Jan 5: AF
Jan 6: 1.75. Hooray
What I did right yesterday:
1.Bought red wine instead of my addictive white
2.Stuck to my rule of drinking water only while cooking
3.Had protein 1-2 hours prior to 5pm, my typical craving time. A nonfat cherry greek yogurt. Stabilized blood sugar=better decision-making
4.Measured out the ounces using a measuring glass
5.Stuck to my rule of slow sipping along with water, and while eating dinner.
6.Re-focus on the main pleasure of my evening being good food instead of wine (pasta with arrabiata sauce and shrimp, french green beans)
7.Stuck to my rule of no drinking after exiting the kitchen to watch TV
8.Shocked myself by leaving the rest of the bottle (2/3rds!) in the pantry for another day
9.Showed myself power by leaving a few ounces behind in the glass and throwing it out. I felt full and didn't need it. Kept pellegrino water by my side and kept sipping that.
10.Logged dinner calories, then stayed mentally distracted (TV news made this one easy)10 -
mainelylisa wrote: »Good morning, Peeps! Indeed @MissMay , a miracle to be AF yesterday. I've started a habit of waking up in the middle of the night and having hot oat milk and peanut butter toast. On white bread! But compared to the wine I was ingesting daily, I think I can correct this with a few salads, as it hasn't affected my organs, my hydration, my brain (well, maybe there is peanut butter brain--who knows).
Curious for those doing Dry January if you find it a relief to not be constantly thinking and strategizing about when, where, with whom, how much you'll drink?
7/7 days AF
Oat milk and peanut butter sounds delightful. What time is this taking place? I have been incorporating ground almond flour to my oatmeal in the morning. Extra boost of energy.
In answer to your question about doing dry January, my answer is there is a place you do eventually get to where you do not think about how not to drink. IF I were not on this thread I would not discuss it daily with anyone, now.
Three years ago, yes at this time in my life I was constantly thinking about it.
It is an ah-ha hurdle, no one knows when it will kick in, but for the majority of us it does. And it becomes easier at least for me to decide to cut back drastically instead of quit totally.
When I first quit smoking it was like that and I have been smoke free for over 20 years. Now to battle the alcohol Thank you for posting MissMay. I hope to be there one day
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AF day 4, feels pretty good. Do any of you have trouble falling asleep?
Yes. I have had sleep problems since I was 7 years old, long before alcohol touched my lips.
I drink less now, but when I do consume alcohol I am able to fall asleep. Most people find that their sleep is disturbed all night after alcohol, but all of our bodies are different.
There have been some good tips on here about teas and other things that help with sleep.4 -
New month, new year.
I will post with my usual diary style to keep track of my AF days.
Keeping to my usual goal of 16-20 AF days per month, which is manageable for me and doesn't put too much pressure on me.
January 01 - AF - Had champagne last night, a bit fuzzy this morning but then went for a skate and felt better. Couldn't start off the new month with a drinks day.
January 02 - AF - Kind of felt like continuing the holiday drinks for a couple more days, had to use willpower lol.
January 03 - AF - Planning on AF tomorrow too. I am trying to get rid of a couple of holiday pounds, and not having drinks makes a big difference for me in that regard.
January 04 - AF - Too busy and long of a workday tomorrow to be having drinks tonight. Thankfully one of my jobs is in Kimberley BC, so I will be able to grab a quick skate while up that mountain : - )
January 05 - AF - I didn't get home from work until almost 10pm and didn't get dinner until 11pm. A drink would have been nice, but I will save that for a day when I have time to enjoy it and not be so tired.
January 06 - AF - Pretty much ditto to yesterday, very long work day. Food was more important to getting into me than alcohol. OMG, my longest AF streak so far!!
Rolling total 6AF day out of 6 days9 -
Day #3 AF!!
3 AF / 4 Days.
Goal: 5 AF / 7 Days6 -
Day 7 staying AF
Having some mad wine cravings today. I'm going into town today by myself and I'm so tempted to buy wine but I will not, I'll only buy the eggs I need and get out of the store.8 -
1 glass of wine with dinner. Did not drink while preparing a new recipe. Calling it a success though I do need to work in more AF evenings.
Jan accountability: 1/7 days AF
Alcohol: 6 days (9 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month
1/1 - 1 (3oz champagne toast)
1/2 - 2 wine
1/3 - AF
1/4 -1 wine
1/5 -2 wine
1/6 - 2 wine
1/7 - 1 wine7 -
So glad to read that so many of you are AF. Some have asked what my simple goal would be and that is that I would not have any wine before 5 PM. I have been starting at 4 PM for almost a yr. during the Pandemic. I am old and I am trying. Will succeed at some point with the help of God.
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dawnbgethealthy wrote: »AF day 4, feels pretty good. Do any of you have trouble falling asleep?
Yes. I have had sleep problems since I was 7 years old, long before alcohol touched my lips.
I drink less now, but when I do consume alcohol I am able to fall asleep. Most people find that their sleep is disturbed all night after alcohol, but all of our bodies are different.
There have been some good tips on here about teas and other things that help with sleep.
Thank you dawn. I seem to have a problem actually falling asleep not get sleepy it is so frustrating
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@Peach1948 thank you for sharing your goal. Can you schedule an activity or schedule a call with a friend at 4 to help you pass the hour until 5? Or maybe catch up on these posts during that hour?
@mainelylisa good golly yes! So glad I don’t have to plan how I was going to sneak drinks after work each day without my hubs knowing. The ice in the door was so loud I had to stock ice up in my Yeti while he was out of the house. I could go on with more tricks I don’t have to “plan” for during dry January, but after being AF 7/7 this month + 17 on the back end of Dec., I know now I was really only fooling myself.
@lmlmrn I can relate to not being able to get to sleep easily when starting an AF streak. So I drink sleepytime tea an hour or so before bed, then read until drowsy enough to sleep. The biggest reward I’ve found is that I no longer wake up 2-4 times a night now so staying up later is worth it to me.6 -
Hi everyone, can't believe I managed to stay sober last nite, that is usually something that triggers me. Goodness knows the covid daily briefings usually resulted in daily wine consumption.9
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Thank you dawn. I seem to have a problem actually falling asleep not get sleepy it is so frustrating
Yes, me too. terribly sleepy, but my brain won't shut off.
I tried something a couple of times that I saw on YouTube , kind of like a mantra/meditation type thing where you basically say to yourself "don't think" and really try not to. I might try that one again tonight : - )2 -
New month, new year.
I am Dawn, I live in SE BC
I will post with my usual diary style to keep track of my AF days.
Keeping to my usual goal of 16-20 AF days per month, which is manageable for me and doesn't put too much pressure on me.
January 01 - AF - Had champagne last night, a bit fuzzy this morning but then went for a skate and felt better. Couldn't start off the new month with a drinks day.
January 02 - AF - Kind of felt like continuing the holiday drinks for a couple more days, had to use willpower lol.
January 03 - AF - Planning on AF tomorrow too. I am trying to get rid of a couple of holiday pounds, and not having drinks makes a big difference for me in that regard.
January 04 - AF - Too busy and long of a workday tomorrow to be having drinks tonight. Thankfully one of my jobs is in Kimberley BC, so I will be able to grab a quick skate while up that mountain : - )
January 05 - AF - I didn't get home from work until almost 10pm and didn't get dinner until 11pm. A drink would have been nice, but I will save that for a day when I have time to enjoy it and not be so tired.
January 06 - AF - Pretty much ditto to yesterday, very long work day. Food was more important to getting into me than alcohol. OMG, my longest AF streak so far!!
January 07 - AF - Opted for more food rather than alcohol calories tonight. I was going hard for a couple of days and kind of running on fumes so wanted to re-feed. I have no intention of a dry January, this is just a crazy record 7AF days in a row for me.
Rolling total 7AF day out of 7 days5 -
@dawnbgethealthy you have hit a milestone. CONGRATULATIONS on your first solid streak for a week of no alcohol. The detailed accountability you share is so inspiring to us all. You deserve a glitter party!
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@Tesha231 those were excellent suggestions to @peach1948 to delay for that one hour.
@Peach1948 you can start out even slower.
First day wait until 4:15, next day if you are up to it wait until 4:30, (LOOK YOUR HALF WAY THERE ALREADY) third day will be a 4:45 toddy, and on your fourth day....BOOM here it is 5:00.
In one week you actually can acheive not one but four HUGE goals.
We are behind you 100%9 -
Another dry night. Maybe too much coffee, but as long as it did not keep me awake I am all good.
7AF / 7 January
TurboFire here I come~
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Big congrats @dawnbgethealthy and @MissMay for your AF streak!
Jan goal: 12 AF days, no more than 2 drinks per day max
Jan AF days: 2/7
Jan 1: 2
Jan 2: 3
Jan 3: AF
Jan 4: 2
Jan 5: AF
Jan 6: 1.75
Jan 7: 3 Drank at first to alleviate an all-day tummy upset (probably from stress). In retrospect, an alka-seltzer would've been a better choice. Guess I decided on wine to calm my nerves but the more I drank (while watching news), the higher my anxiety shot up. Of course the snacking followed. I need to address stress management in my world.
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@Peach1948 I too am working on not starting until at least 5pm. I am not working now so it's easy for me to fall into an afternoon funk. If I start early, I can keep going. I find it helpful to schedule a different activity during the trouble hour and ideally be out of the house ( go for a walk, run an errand) or schedule time to chat on the phone with someone. I stopped the 4pm news, that was a drink trigger for me.
Since it's cold now, I may just turn on youtube and do a free yoga exercise session. This way I work on lowering my stress and I substitute my drinking hour with a beneficial activity. I am hoping then when I transition over to dinner afterwards, my head will be in a more relaxed place and I won't have the urge to binge. Oh and I am old too (feel old anyways with arthritis onset) and my body could benefit from working on flexibility.8 -
I did not post a goal for myself this month as I was just directed to this thread. Seriously I can not thank you enough for pointing me in this direction. I have been on other forum before and no one will address this elephant in the room and if I brought it up it was...oh you can do it blah blah, having never been there /done that.
I am proud to say I am now 5 days AF which is a huge accomplishment for me. Thank you all for the support and being so honest with the struggle15 -
Hi everyone, it is very inspiring reading through all of your posts.
I drink red wine several nights a week and I want to cut my overall monthly alcohol down. I saw a documentary about liver damage from alcohol and it scared me when I found out that the amount considered safe is a lot less than I realized!
My plan is to become AF for at least 20 days per month as my first goal.9 -
Day #4 AF!! Yay!! Made though my work week w/o a drink! I plan on sticking to my routine and having a drink or 2 on Fri/Sat nights (tonight and tomorrow). Sunday hopping back on the wagon for 5 AF days
4 AF / 5 Days.
Goal: 5 AF / 7 Days7
This discussion has been closed.
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