Less Alcohol ~ NOVEMBER 2021 ~ One Day At A Time
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Checking in -
@Lilylady3k your photos are always so gorgeous. That looked like a wonderful time. Good job being AF.
AND Happy Anniversary to you. Enjoy your evening out tonight❣
Oh the evil scale as @ahoy_m8 has noted.
Also remember that working out and creating muscle makes the scale number go up. Muscle weighs more than fat. You can fit into a smaller dress or pant size and yet see an increase on the scale. I was an obsessed scale watcher when I was first trying to drop weight. I would get on several times a day🤔. A nutritionist told me that was not healthy for my mind set. Your body could actually be at the correct weight and size. But if your mind or eye has a number it WANTS to see on the scale it could put you into an unhealthy zone.
AF last night, a 5 day break from alcohol and a good nights sleep too.
Happy FRIDAY.
@MissMay @ahoy_m8 - I totally agree with MissMay about working out, muscles weigh the same as fat but the scale doesn't reflect the loss in inches! My scale is going up since vacation in October but my pants are much looser and I keep having to hike them up! I just bought these jeans in August a size or 2 smaller than last year and though they are high waisted they are drifting down to my hips LOL.
LOVE my strength training class (lunges, squats, push ups, core, hand weights to music for an hour 2x per week). Though I did do something to a muscle in my shoulder/neck area last week and had to baby it this week ... probably the reason for the heavy drinking last weekend as well as the "what do I care" attitude regarding the food I'm consuming this week. The pain just will not go away and I'm feeding my feelings & pain.
Thanks for the reminder that I too need to step away from the scale ... and the extra food and dwell on my new good habits.
Oh and on the topic of sleeping. With or without alcohol I have always been an early riser. Usually up around 4-6am but I also go to bed usually around 9-11pm. At least getting 7 hrs each night except for the occasionally potty break.5 -
@globalhiker
Oh my, you sure are going hard. Do you see a break in sight, like a weekend off?
Big hugs!
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@Lilylady3k I agree with you about strength training. I enjoy free weights but I do like to shake things up.
A pound is a pound is a pound...but..muscle takes up less space than fat! +++ the more muscle you have the more calories you burn all day =you can eat at higher calorie base if you wish.
Ok I am still looking at my meal prep options since the foods have to be appealing and fast. I do not like reheated roasted veggies unless they are in a soup, stew, sauce type thing.
So tonight I am going to try something a bit different and hope it works. I am going to make a bread dough then make a chicken pot pie stuffing then wrap that in the dough and bake. I hope it works, in my head it sounds good.
Last night I had 2 shots late in the evening, not even sure why I did it but I am learning to accept these things when they happen and practice self love, not self bullying.
btw those flowers are sooo pretty.5 -
@lmlmrn - One of my favorite meal preps is to make chicken sausage jambalaya but not mix in the rice. Freeze the mixture only in separate quart size bags. Then when we feel like a quick meal I can thaw, reheat and mix with rice ... easy peasy!
Of course I love soups & chili or fajitas for quesadillas, too!
Sometimes I'll make 2 batches of a main or side dish for dinner and freeze one for later.
I'm good at little baby steps like making a double recipe. I'm not good at prepping for the week. Love the idea but just never execute on my desire.5 -
@globalhiker A sunrise walk does sound good for the soul. Enjoy! I hear you, @Womona, about the shock of suddenly having a full house to cook (and shop!) for. And I've got young women, no teenage boys! The carefully planned pre-prep disappearing in the midnight 2nd dinner sounds all too real.
I'm enjoying the quiet before the storm at home alone tonight. DD#3 just screeched in from college, and she's at Hamilton with DD#1 & DH. DD#3 is the only one in our family who hasn't seen it, and I'm so happy for her to finally get to see it! Honestly, it changed how I see Broadway. DD#2 and my brother+fam arrive tomorrow. I drink more when my brother is around. I would love to learn how to break that code. I think what's going on is we don't see each other very often so we both get in the "special occasion" mindset. Every night for a week.
Can't wait to see my nephew who was born on Thanksgiving day 2007. His birth is the sweetest story. The pandemic has been really hard on him, and I've missed him. We're celebrating his birthday Monday then Wednesday I'm having a "champagne toast" for my brother and his bride who eloped in May. We haven't seen them in 2 years! It will be 75F Wednesday, up from 34F earlier this week- crazy Texas weather! 12 at our Thanksgiving table and then chaos thereafter. Many people, many moving parts.
I'm not feeling strong resolve to stick to M-Th AF next week. Maybe one of you wise MFPs can offer perspective that stiffens my spine. I'm on board with the holidays-are-only-one-day mindset. I'm not sure what to do with the ancillary celebrations, however. I'm trying to justify weeknight drinking if I limit it to 2 & don't go over on calories.6 -
Want to be proud of myself but can’t for some reason. My boys are away for the night and it’s an evening with my girls. Usually I’d have a bottle of wine with our movie….no wine in the house and knew that while out and about today. Spent 25minutes torturing myself as to wether or not to stop off and get a bottle…. I didn’t, but for some reason it felt like a punishment! I knew if I got a bottle I would of drank all of it!! WHY!?
Gave myself 5A days for this month and so far I’m at 8 and over indulged every time 🤦♀️
The increase of alcohol this month has shown. My weight is on a gradual incline, 1lb a week!
Tomorrow is a new day!!!9 -
11/19 - 🍾🥂2 wine
Kept to my 2 glasses of wine last night at our anniversary dinner. We ordered a B&B or Benedictine straight up after dinner but they did not have any in stock, we did not stop at the liquor store on the way home, or a bar to indulge. And we did not open another bottle of wine we got home. Feeling pretty good and the stars were aligned to help keep me on point with my planned evening.
November accountability: 8/30 days AF
Alcohol: 11 days (23 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month. Aim to drink no more than 2 nights in a row.5 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »A welcome hello wave to @Mouse_Potato.
Hope you have been getting some helpful information. This is a great group and very dedicated.
😁
Thank you! I slept better last night. My next door neighbor has been working on his house and I think he's been sneaking in some very late sessions with a power saw. I am a light sleeper under the best of circumstances and I suspect maybe he's been contributing to my late night waking. With or without alcohol, I am just one of those people who needs everything *perfect* in order to sleep well.
Today will be day 11 AF for me. I do not have a specific goal in mind. I just wanted to get out of the habit of drinking every night before bed. I haven't seen all the benefits I'd hoped, but my RHR has gone from 68 bpm to 60 bpm, so that's big. My weight is going up, though. Does quitting alcohol cause water retention? My calories are actually way down over the last two weeks, so I'm not sure why the scale is going up. Too much sodium, perhaps? I seem to have avoided the sugar cravings, but I'm eating too much salt!
Good streak you have going! Scale weight is just a mysterious thing. Whenever one of my DD says her weight is up, I always ask HOW do you know? I track my weight every day, and in spite of that I remember times seeing a big number on my scale and impulsively wondering how I gained. Then I look at my daily weight log and I see the TREND is exactly as expected, it's just that the one higher number stands out more prominently in my brain. The brain is so devious! So I try to encourage my girls to ignore isolated data points and instead consider data in context, i.e. not the one high weight day but a couple weeks worth of ups & downs and how that averages out. I'm not aware of water retention associated with quitting alcohol, but it is associated with new exercise (muscle soreness), dehydration (ironically), replenishing glycogen stores, air travel, inflammation/swelling (allergies or injury), menstrual cycles, and who knows what else. I hope you see a mysterious drop on the scale that matches the mysterious increase.
Thank you for your informative response! Day 13 now, assuming I don't drink tonight. I've been weighing myself every day and my weight has crept up about 2 pounds and stayed there. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I don't fluctuate much. Or maybe it's my scale. I'm autistic, so I tend to eat the same things and do the same routines. I'm a very boring person.
However, there have been a lot of factors involved lately. I took vacation at the beginning of last month and who knows how long that disturbance will affect the scale? I'm not concerned. I know my post count doesn't reflect it, but I've been here a long time. I've seen a lot of ups and downs and when I see an anomaly on the scale, it piques my curiosity. Right now, I suspect it's the sodium. I've been drinking energy drinks (which have a lot of sodium and I never had before) and the only foods that appeal to me right now are things like cheese and crackers. Oddly enough, when I quit drinking, my appetite just plummeted. Like, I recognize that I am hungry, but nothing sounds good. Bodies are strange! 5 -
I ended with 16AF days for October. My ongoing goal is 16-20 AF days.
November 28th 2018 was when I started on this thread. My late Dad's birthday.
I have learned to drink less over the past 3 years, although it was very tough at first weaning myself off of being a daily drinker.
Diary style is how I roll and keep track.
Wednesday November 17 - 2 drinks an hour ago. Not my planned drinks day. I vaguely attempted a 6 minute wait, but am sure that I did not last 6 minutes. Caught a small buzz and really relaxed. I thought about what the wise poster said about it being our addictive brain being fed and then it feels better. Yeah, probably that. Call it what you will, it was lovely. I may still have drinks on my designated day, Friday.
Thursday November 18 - AF - Kind of felt like having drinks tonight, I put in a good long workday and was very productive. Decided to wait until tomorrow evening after work, designated drinks hours. Saturday I have a full scheduled day off after 8 in a row.
Friday November 19 - Drinks - May have drinks Saturday also, Sunday off! Even though it will be laundry, cleaning, puttering, how nice to have some days off.
Rolling total: 14AF days out of 19 days.5 -
I ended with 16AF days for October. My ongoing goal is 16-20 AF days.
November 28th 2018 was when I started on this thread. My late Dad's birthday.
I have learned to drink less over the past 3 years, although it was very tough at first weaning myself off of being a daily drinker.
Diary style is how I roll and keep track.
Friday November 19 - Drinks - May have drinks Saturday also, Sunday off! Even though it will be laundry, cleaning, puttering, how nice to have some days off.
Saturday November 20 - 2 drinks. Nice relaxing day off, got lots done including more to the yard. Still some left to do there, but will do more Sunday.
Rolling total: 14AF days out of 20 days.3 -
My sister joined us for steak night which means more wine opened and consumed.
11/20 - 3 wine 💜😊💜
November accountability: 8/30 days AF
Alcohol: 12 days (26 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month. Aim to drink no more than 2 nights in a row.
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Saturday was my given drink day (if I wanted it to be) I did.........
Should have had more to eat with those drinks, feel crappy today. This feeling is one I haven't experienced in a long long time.
Gotta say this feeling is not welcome in my life.
Better day tomorrow.9 -
Unplanned lunch out at Mexican restaurant and had 2 Dos XX, but it was a nice lunch with some street taco's and lots of laughs with DH. Then home for a nap. My sleep has been kinda messed up the past few days with waking at 3am and not being able to get back to sleep. So hopefully this nap does not make sleeping tonight difficult. I think I will have some hot tea and a little melatonin before bed.
@MissMay Sounds like you had a good time out until the reality check in the am. I can relate to that but like you those days are pretty far apart these days
@Lilylady3k I do like to make jambalaya and I usually use shrimp and turkey kielbasa. I had not thought about not including the rice before freezing. Will the rice become soggy or just dry out? I know it is quick to make rice (only about 15 min) but it would be handy to just pop in the microwave.
off for now, I hear some canvases calling my name begging for me to get creative. Christmas is almost here and someone has to make gifts6 -
Unplanned lunch out at Mexican restaurant and had 2 Dos XX, but it was a nice lunch with some street taco's and lots of laughs with DH. Then home for a nap. My sleep has been kinda messed up the past few days with waking at 3am and not being able to get back to sleep. So hopefully this nap does not make sleeping tonight difficult. I think I will have some hot tea and a little melatonin before bed.
@MissMay Sounds like you had a good time out until the reality check in the am. I can relate to that but like you those days are pretty far apart these days
@Lilylady3k I do like to make jambalaya and I usually use shrimp and turkey kielbasa. I had not thought about not including the rice before freezing. Will the rice become soggy or just dry out? I know it is quick to make rice (only about 15 min) but it would be handy to just pop in the microwave.
off for now, I hear some canvases calling my name begging for me to get creative. Christmas is almost here and someone has to make gifts
@lmlmrn - hmmmm the rice works well in jambalaya when freezing with rice. No soggy or drying out. The reason I prep and freeze without the rice is to save room in the freezer LOL. Much less bulk!
However, if I've already mixed rice into jambalaya for a large group and have left overs then I do freeze the entire dish usually in freezer zip locks because it is so easy to pack and I can break out portions.
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Hi friends, I'm back from a weekend get-away up north. It was really good and relaxing but we ate out and drank and didn't exercise because it was freezing cold, so I feel exhausted today from all of that. This week the plan is no drinks, even for Thanksgiving (I'm driving) and I am going to hike a ton to reverse my sudden weight gain.
I will have an easier few weeks of work now that the "peak" busy season is subsiding ! And yes, booking the Canada trip soon as flights come out for June. 3 -
I ended with 16AF days for October. My ongoing goal is 16-20 AF days.
November 28th 2018 was when I started on this thread. My late Dad's birthday.
I have learned to drink less over the past 3 years, although it was very tough at first weaning myself off of being a daily drinker.
Diary style is how I roll and keep track.
Friday November 19 - Drinks - May have drinks Saturday also, Sunday off! Even though it will be laundry, cleaning, puttering, how nice to have some days off.
Saturday November 20 - 2 drinks. Nice relaxing day off, got lots done including more to the yard. Still some left to do there, but will do more Sunday.
Sunday November 21 - AF - Friday and possibly Saturday next planned drinks hours
Rolling total: 15AF days out of 21 days.3 -
Goal: No more than two drinks tomorrow. No more than two drinks on Wednesday. No more than one drink on Friday.7
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1st week: 4 days AF, 3 days A, a couple of drinks
2nd week: 3 days AF, 4 days A, 1 day too much wine
3rd week: 3 days AF, 4 days A, nothing excessive
Rolling total to Sunday 21st = 10/21 days AF6 -
The holiday week is my weakness for sure, however I am not going to say I will be AF just less than I normally would this time of year.
I put a new app on my phone, easyquit drinking it has a feature of letting you slowly quit. You set your maximum number for the week and tick them off as you use them. For me this seems to be working so far. You can adjust. for the first week I put in what I would have been drinking had I kept with my daily drinking and so far I have a lot left over so yeah. It is just a tool for me to see at a glance where I am at and improving.
Today spent the day watching YouTube videos on meal prep, so far it all seems to be fairly the same frozen meals in a bag that still require thawing and cooking in a crockpot or instant pot. I guess I need to keep looking I was hoping to find some that are microwave friendly for DH to carry to work or quick spur of the moment meal when we return late home.9 -
AF this evening. Not going to complicate things since DH & I got the 2nd Shingrix vaccine (Shingles) and Tdap vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis/ whooping cough). Whooping Cough vaccine is recommended at least 2 weeks before being around a new born and of course this new grandma is going to heed the advice!
November accountability: 9/30 days AF
Alcohol: 13 days (28 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month. Aim to drink no more than 2 nights in a row.
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