Less Alcohol ~ ☘MARCH 2022 ~ One Day At A Time

245678

Replies

  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,992 Member
    Thanks for keeping us going @MissMay

    I am Dawn. My ongoing goal is 16-20 AF days per month. I was a daily drinker when I began on this thread in November of 2018.

    Diary style is how I keep track.

    Tuesday March 01 - AF - Day 2 of a 7 day cleanse heavy on brown rice, almonds, and allums, so no alcohol or anything fermented amongst other things like fungus, sugar, wheat, grapes etc.
    Wednesday March 02 - AF - Easier to be off of alcohol than the cream in my coffee in the mornings :neutral:
    Thursday March 03 - AF - My 5th AF day in a row, so not my usual, but the cleanse.

    Rolling total: 3 AF days out of 3 days
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,992 Member
    I am Dawn. My ongoing goal is 16-20 AF days per month. I was a daily drinker when I began on this thread in November of 2018.

    Diary style is how I keep track.

    Tuesday March 01 - AF - Day 2 of a 7 day cleanse heavy on brown rice, almonds, and allums, so no alcohol or anything fermented amongst other things like fungus, sugar, wheat, grapes etc.
    Wednesday March 02 - AF - Easier to be off of alcohol than the cream in my coffee in the mornings :neutral:
    Thursday March 03 - AF - My 5th AF day in a row, so not my usual, but the cleanse.
    Friday March 04 - AF - My usual day this year so far (because of my newest schedule) of kicking back and having a couple of drinks. A Grand Marnier sounded like a nice idea. It can wait. My mouth was salty and dry this evening, although I haven't had any salt or anything with salt in it for 5 days. Perhaps the cleanse is getting rid of stuff?

    Rolling total: 4 AF days out of 4 days
  • Lilylady3k
    Lilylady3k Posts: 4,031 Member
    edited March 2022
    March accountability: 3 days AF
    Alcohol: 1 days (3 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.
    DH gave up alcohol for Lent and asked I support him. 6 weeks! He is skeptical that he can do it but I'm all in with him ... and said I would make the same commitment.

    3/1 - 3 wine Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday
    3/2 - AF Beginning of Lent
    3/3 - AF
    3/4 - AF

    Thursday night we smoked a chicken and as we sat down for dinner DH was thinking out loud that a nice Chablis would have been great with our meal. But he did not run out to buy wine. Just said this is going to be hard.

    We were at our church's very popular Lent Friday fish fry last night. Normal habit would be to buy cheap wine and/or beer as we stood in the long line with others and while eating. When the wife of the couple behind us came back with a glass of each for them DH said "That looks like a good idea". But we did not act on it :) Ice tea for both of us.

    Tonight will be another challenging situation ... LSU vs Texas baseball game in Minute Maid Park. It is a Shriners benefit game weekend so our tickets are actually good for all 3 games today. LSU is at 7pm. But here unlike at the church the alcohol is VERY expensive as are water and coke. We'll see how we hold out. I'm not missing the alcohol and enjoying this break. So far so good.

    Oh BTW I did not post most of February but I did track ... so not completely give up!
    2022 Summary
    Jan - AF 11/31 days (42 drinks)
    Feb - AF 8/28 days (38 drinks)
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,797 Member

    All good here. Keeping my head above water with work but I did have one of my husband's beers last night since there was no wine at home. The news did start it. I feel very touched by all the kindness people are showing to refugees by inviting them into their homes. It makes me cry.

    About the coffee topic - I drink organic and I feel WAY better having 2- 2.5 cups a day. @Womona, I felt similar to you. I'm 56. I have my energy back, my mind is clear and sharp, and fatigue and naps are a thing of the past. It reduces my appetite. And, I read it's good for anti-aging in this link:

    https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/9-reasons-why-the-right-amount-of-coffee-is-good-for-you

    @dawnbgethealthy I could do your fast but I love balsamic vinegar and I have it daily in my salad dressing. I just can't part with it.

    Off I go to start my good morning with a run outside. It's my therapy.
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,992 Member
    edited March 2022

    Lilylady3k wrote: »
    I too am addicted to black coffee in the mornings. Not the best routine since I believe at one time I heard productive people don't drink coffee in the mornings ... instead they exercise. Could be one of my weight issues but right now just tackling a few bad habits at a time ... and leaving my coffee addition alone.


    100% agreed. A couple small things at a time bring greater ease and satisfaction.
    I do exercise in the morning, but always have coffee first! That is what gets me out of bed lol, thinking about wonderful coffee : - )
    I am sure that I will be going back to adding cream to my coffee after this cleanse, even if it does bloat my belly. I love it. Not the same drink/taste without it.

    @globalhiker
    I don't like the taste of vinegar at all. I have it in things of course when not on this cleanse, like yummy Vindaloo, bbq sauce, mayonnaise?. But I can't taste it in that stuff : - )
  • Lilylady3k
    Lilylady3k Posts: 4,031 Member
    edited March 2022
    1 wine with dinner before the baseball game. Water at the baseball park. The spell is broken. But we did limit it to 1 glass! And we were out and not at home opening 1-2 bottles. Now to see how the rest of the week plays out.

    March accountability: 3 days AF
    Alcohol: 2 days (4 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.
  • tmbg1
    tmbg1 Posts: 1,490 Member
    March 1-2 AF
    March 3- wine 3 glasses (almost went for a 4th but switched to water and very glad I did because I feel good this morning)
    March 4 - wine 3 glasses
    March 5 - overdid it and threw up 🤢
    March 6- AF
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
    Lilylady3k wrote: »
    I too am addicted to black coffee in the mornings. Not the best routine since I believe at one time I heard productive people don't drink coffee in the mornings ... instead they exercise. Could be one of my weight issues but right now just tackling a few bad habits at a time ... and leaving my coffee addition alone.

    March 2022
    February accountability: 2 days AF
    Alcohol: 1 days (3 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.
    DH gave up alcohol for Lent and asked I support him. 6 weeks! He is skeptical that he can do it but I'm all in with him ... and said I would make the same commitment.

    3/1 - 3 wine
    3/2 - AF
    3/3 - AF

    I suspect the coffee thing is more of a correlation.

    Highly successful people tend to have a lot of balance in their life and are probably getting more rest and quality sleep as part of that balance, so they don't need coffee.

    I used to run on coffee when I was overburdened, but now I don't need it, and I'm HIGHLY effective and efficient because I now don't take on tasks that don't allow me to maintain my balance.

    Being overburdened drove a lot of my drinking as well, so the booze and coffee went hand in hand because alcohol destroys sleep quality.

    So you can't just rip coffee out of your life and replace it with exercise, it has to be a big picture strategy where you engineer a life that doesn't need coffee so that when you remove it, you aren't removing one of the support beams of your life.
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,992 Member
    I am Dawn. My ongoing goal is 16-20 AF days per month. I was a daily drinker when I began on this thread in November of 2018.

    Diary style is how I keep track.

    Tuesday March 01 - AF - Day 2 of a 7 day cleanse heavy on brown rice, almonds, and allums, so no alcohol or anything fermented amongst other things like fungus, sugar, wheat, grapes etc.
    Wednesday March 02 - AF - Easier to be off of alcohol than the cream in my coffee in the mornings :neutral:
    Thursday March 03 - AF - My 5th AF day in a row, so not my usual, but the cleanse.
    Friday March 04 - AF - My usual day this year so far (because of my newest schedule) of kicking back and having a couple of drinks. A Grand Marnier sounded like a nice idea. It can wait. My mouth was salty and dry this evening, although I haven't had any salt or anything with salt in it for 5 days. Perhaps the cleanse is getting rid of stuff?
    Saturday March 05 - AF - I usually post in the mornings when I post my weight and stuff into other forums. Weekends are different. Got up for an hour walk around Jimsmith Lake today. Finally had some time. It was joyous and glorious. Photos to come

    Rolling total: 4 AF days out of 4 days
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    Would love photos!
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,867 Member
    Long weekend having a sick husband since Friday at noon.. He thought he was getting better, but again today 90% spent in bed.

    Ok so Friday night I did enjoy one prosecco by myself while watching painting videos. Kept to one as I promised myself.

    Then today I wanted to pull out all my hair and make strawberry 🍓 daquires and lemon 🍋 drop martinis because I could not get art to come out the way I wanted.
    Deep breath......walk away, go clean the brushes and tomorrow is another day.
    Go drink COFFEE!

    AF (not sure how I managed that)
  • Lilylady3k
    Lilylady3k Posts: 4,031 Member
    DH asked if we needed to get bottles of wine since my sister was coming to dinner. Nope! We had an AF evening :)

    March accountability: 4 days AF
    Alcohol: 2 days (4 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.
  • tmbg1
    tmbg1 Posts: 1,490 Member
    March 1-2 AF
    March 3- wine 3 glasses (almost went for a 4th but switched to water and very glad I did because I feel good this morning)
    March 4 - wine 3 glasses
    March 5 - overdid it and threw up 🤢
    March 6- AF
    March 7- AF
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,867 Member
    Quick quick check in~

    March 6th accountability so far:

    5AF
    1A (1 standard size drink)

    More later.........
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,992 Member
    I am Dawn. My ongoing goal is 16-20 AF days per month. I was a daily drinker when I began on this thread in November of 2018.

    Diary style is how I keep track.

    Tuesday March 01 - AF - Day 2 of a 7 day cleanse heavy on brown rice, almonds, and allums, so no alcohol or anything fermented amongst other things like fungus, sugar, wheat, grapes etc.
    Wednesday March 02 - AF - Easier to be off of alcohol than the cream in my coffee in the mornings :neutral:
    Thursday March 03 - AF - My 5th AF day in a row, so not my usual, but the cleanse.
    Friday March 04 - AF - My usual day this year so far (because of my newest schedule) of kicking back and having a couple of drinks. A Grand Marnier sounded like a nice idea. It can wait. My mouth was salty and dry this evening, although I haven't had any salt or anything with salt in it for 5 days. Perhaps the cleanse is getting rid of stuff?
    Saturday March 05 - AF - I usually post in the mornings when I post my weight and stuff into other forums. Weekends are different. Got up for an hour walk around Jimsmith Lake today. Finally had some time. It was joyous and glorious. Photos to come
    Sunday March 06 - AF - Basically finished my cleanse, but it will go on for a few days more but with the addition of coffee cream and bananas. No plans for alcohol until later in the week.

    Rolling total: 6 AF days out of 6 days
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,992 Member
    The ice is not safe to be on up at Jimsmith Lake. There is still a bit of snow up there (haven't had any in town for weeks). You can see where some people had shoveled rinks out for themselves:

    sbtaqap5osht.png

    Thanks to whoever pulled their child on a sled, it made this trail easier to walk : - )

    y19fgd6jfd45.png

    Hard to tell by this, but both Saturday and Sunday provided "diamonds" in the snow. So lovely. This is the depth beside the fishing dock:

    xpzqg20umz0u.png

    Alkali lakes on Sunday, they were fragrant this time of year

    eovbbk73qj5h.png

    This is the view from my downtown house. The Rockies really won't lose there snow.

    gn1s9663xqze.png

    This is Baker mountain across from me. We don't begin to plant here until the snow is melted on the top of this.

    g1ui3dzuvy2k.png

  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,867 Member
    Wonderful pictures @dawnbgethealthy glad to hear you made it through your cleanse. I have only made it 3 days on a 7 day cleanse. So I commend you for going full term.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,867 Member
    Hello! alcohol free week 1 in the books.

    AWESOME JOB @punkahontas71. How are you feeling?
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,867 Member
    tmbg1 wrote: »
    March 1-2 AF
    March 3- wine 3 glasses (almost went for a 4th but switched to water and very glad I did because I feel good this morning)
    March 4 - wine 3 glasses
    March 5 - overdid it and threw up 🤢
    March 6- AF
    March 7- AF

    Hope you are feeling better after March 5th"s hiccup.
    4AF days is something to be proud of, never the less 😁
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,867 Member
    @lmlmrn I am super happy to have you joining in that group. Why should I have all the fun?

    Personally I felt your post was expressing both sarcastic and sincere feelings. That is what I love about you 🤪

    They say we should all step out of our comfort zone, try new things and challenge ourselves. Get out of that stale slump, push ourselves beyond the safe zone.

    Guaranteed this month will FLY by with that 31 day art adventure.

    Naps are good.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,867 Member
    Lilylady3k wrote: »
    DH asked if we needed to get bottles of wine since my sister was coming to dinner. Nope! We had an AF evening :)

    March accountability: 4 days AF
    Alcohol: 2 days (4 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.

    How lucky @Lilylady3k to have an AF companion in your home sticking by your side. ❣
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,867 Member
    edited March 2022
    AF yesterday...if I can make it through a Saturday night AF with a drinking husband in the house, I can do anything!

    Glorious day today and enjoying the weather before it heats up.

    I'm with you @globalhiker An every day drinker in my house makes me feel like super woman to stay AF during it all.

    LOVE balsamic vinegar btw. 😋
  • Lilylady3k
    Lilylady3k Posts: 4,031 Member
    @dawnbgethealthy - Love the pictures!!! Thank you for sharing them with us. By the looks of the snow on that mountain it might be a while before you start planting your garden. Here is Houston I usually start my herb/veggie garden ~ March 17 when the Pecan Trees begin leafing out. That is my sign there will be no more cold ... looks like one more cool snap this week :)
  • Lilylady3k
    Lilylady3k Posts: 4,031 Member
    Tonight we cooked Italian for dinner. DH said he would love a nice red wine ... but he did not go to the liquor store. He said "this is going to be hard" and distracted himself. :)

    Another AF evening!

    March accountability: 5 days AF
    Alcohol: 2 days (4 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.
    DH gave up alcohol for Lent and asked I support him. 6 weeks! He is skeptical that he can do it but I'm all in with him ... and said I would make the same commitment.

    3/1 - 3 wine Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday
    3/2 - AF Beginning of Lent
    3/3 - AF
    3/4 - AF
    3/5 - 1 wine w/ dinner before baseball game
    3/6 - AF
    3/7 - AF
  • Womona
    Womona Posts: 1,880 Member
    Oh man, did I want a drink tonight! First AF in about a month, and it’s hard! But, I am being diligent about logging my food, and don’t have the room, calorie-wise. Not a bad thing, considering I had three drinks this past Saturday night, which for me is a lot.

    Thanks for the link, @globalhiker ! Yet more reasons to drink coffee!

    @MissMay and @lmlmrn the art challenge sounds really great. Do they allow stick figures? That’s about the extent of my artistic talents! Haha!