Less Alcohol - JANUARY 2021 - One Day At A Time

dawnbgethealthy

lmlmrn wrote: »

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 : - )

dawnbgethealthy

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 days

MissMay

@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!

MissMay

@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%

MissMay

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~

globalhiker

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.

globalhiker

@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.

lmlmrn

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 struggle

Fit_Happens_2021

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.

brittgreenlikethecolor88

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 Days

mainelylisa

I really would love a few glasses of wine, but not considering it an option. I should just enjoy being done with this stressful workweek and indulge in ... the couch? Bed early and finally exercising tomorrow after dressing for it and not doing it all week. Maybe I can get into a good movie with an unhappy ending (always makes me feel like my life isn't so bad--which is why I never watch Hallmark).

@dawnbgethealthy People are ice skating at the pond down the street (even though we've had some 40's temps--yikes!) I'm tempted to buy ice skates, but when I bought x-country skiis for Christmas, it poured.

I'm going to do something new and out of my comfort zone this wknd. Don't know what yet, but I'll think of something.

8/8 AF days

MissMay

@mainelylisa -> "I'm going to do something new and out of my comfort zone this wknd. Don't know what yet, but I'll think of something."
Interesting🤔! All depends if your in W.B. or Rockwood this weekend as to what your outlandish event should be.

Happy AF

MissMay

Welcome to our thread @Amanda_Brit_Expat. I too was shocked when I first found out what is considered a standard size drink and how many drinks per week is considered or recommended by health officials.
I always thought I was fine because I could drink many drinks before reaching the black out zone. Now I know better.

MissMay

Hope your tummy is feeling better @globalhiker. I was feeling the same stress from the tv and the news. That is when I went up to throw some weights around.

MissMay

brittgreenlikethecolor88 wrote: »

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 Days

Fantastic. You go GIRL.

MissMay

lmlmrn wrote: »

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 struggle

We ALWAYS set the elephant in the middle of the floor for all to see. You are very welcome. Great job

saintor1

Unbelievable how bloated I am almost 2 weeks after being AF and recording everything. I was losing weight in the fall, not since.

SkinnyGirlCarrie

12 days AF (tonite will make it 13) but really really super in the mood for wine, which annoys me... I think it's been a long week and my family was driving me nuts most of the day. Deep breath. The struggle is real. Part of me feels what's wrong with one nite, the other half of me doesn't want to break my streak and complete my Dry January.

lmlmrn

Well my DH called to ask, are we still not drinking alcohol? I said we can't drink what is not in the house. He was on his way home from work and was stopping at the local store....so what does he do???brings home cheeto's to munch on....sheesh for that he should drive back to the store for some adult beverages! It is taking all my will power to not ask him to go back

Lilylady3k

DH grabbed 6 bottles of wine (discount you know for 6 LOL) after work. I asked that we only open one tonight and he agreed.

2 glasses of wine with sauté speckled trout with crawfish etouffee on top and roasted broccoli on the side.