Less Alcohol ~ JULY 2022 ~ One Day At A Time

RockinRobyn672

Hi All - My goal is no more than 3 A days per week (16 - 19 AF days per month). So far so good!
7/1 F - AF
7/2 S - 3
7/3 S - AF
7/4 M - 4
7/5 Tu- AF
7/6 W - AF - Heading to Florida after work with hubby and kitty, spending the night along the way
7/7 Th - AF - Up and eight more hours on the road; made it to SW Florida!
7/8 F - 2 cabernets - Proud of myself for sticking to two.

joans1976

@dawnbgethealthy Im so sorry to hear you have tried all this and it’s not working! I’m assuming you’ve talked to your doctor about other meds? I’ve tried other prescription psych meds that have either not worked, given me a hangover or had me doing crazy things in the night.
I think it’s true about sleeping less as we age, I’ve watched it happen with my parents and I’ve watched it happen with myself.
Another poster I see on the boards who is older and always posts sensible things had posted about insomnia and said she got so desperate she did six sessions of hypnotherapy and she sleeps better now 🤔
Do you have pets? This might sound silly but my cat and I have a ritual of me petting him after I turn off the light for about 10 minutes and then he snuggles in. I try to keep focused on just petting him and not about what an idiot my boss is or the 43 other things that went wrong that day. Just a thought.

Lilylady3k

3 glasses of wine tonight at my sisters. DH, myself and my sister together are all enablers.

July accountability: 4 days AF
Alcohol: 5 days (10 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.

* 7/1 - 1 wine
* 7/2 - AF; 1 Heineken 0.0
* 7/3 - AF; 1 Heineken 0.0
*
* 7/4 - 1 Saint Arnolds Summer Pils then switched to an AF beer 1 Heineken 0.0
* 7/5 - 2 wine
* 7/6 - AF
* 7/7 - AF
* 7/8 - 3 wine
* 7/9 - 3 wine

MissMay

Hello hello everyone.

@Lilylady3k I hear the same sort of noise at my house. "Let's get out of the house and see what is going on in town".

That can only mean ONE thing. Hubby wants to hit happy hour, try to suck down as many 1/2 price drinks within in the 2 or 3 hour window. Thing is he is drinking MORE than he would if it were not happy hour and gets very stupid after the 2nd drink because he is consuming it so fast.

Another bad thing is the bartender at this one spot never charges him for a second drink, his "drinking brain" sees that as a free pass to then order a 3rd and give the bartender a ridiculous big tip because of that free drink. But hey, she isnt the one driving him home listening to him slur his words and be obnoxious , so why should she care, she is lining her pocket while over serving customers. My head spins off my shoulders during this whole ordeal.

Yesterday I had to get gasoline and go inside the store to get my receipt. I saw a tiny 4 pk of these watermelon margarita. It was honestly the color of the liquid and the beautiful packaging that convinced me to buy them.

GOOD NEWS IS the LESS ALCOHOL drinker I have become waited about 5 hours after the purchase to try them, AND I only had one, which is another win on my end. Past drinker ME would have drank all 4 because they are tiny bottles, right?? And my past drinking brain could have justified that no matter the mathematics.

July 2022 accountability to date:
1-A - one standard drink
8-AF

joans1976

Good Sunday morning all! It’s a beautiful day here in Michigan!
@MissMay ive never been married but I have been in your shoes before and in your husbands shoes before-not really fun for either side. Proud of you for the one watermelon drink!

For me:
7/1-7/7: 3 AF days out of 7
7/8: AF
7/9: 1 but opened a second and then didn’t drink it. I just didn’t want it. I don’t understand why I opened it.

RockinRobyn672

Hi All - My goal is no more than 3 A days per week (16 - 19 AF days per month). So far so good!
7/1 F - AF
7/2 S - 3
7/3 S - AF
7/4 M - 4
7/5 T- AF
7/6 W - AF
7/7 T - AF
7/8 F - 2
7/9 S- 4
7/10 S - AF is the the plan. Today is a boat/beach day. The plan is to hydrate with water and Le Croix.

tmbg1

July 1-2 A
July 3-4-5-6-7 AF
July 8-9 A
July 10 AF

dawnbgethealthy

@joans1976

One thing that has occasionally worked for me for sleep is this:
Spelling stuff. I heard that on a radio show about insomnia and tried it.
Yeah, just spell stuff

dawnbgethealthy

Hi : - )
My name is Dawn.
My continuing goal is 16-20 AF days per month.
I had 19AF days in June.

Diary style:

Thursday July 7th - AF - I guess that I just feel like having drinks every day, but just plain don't. I plan to have drinks Friday and/or Saturday. I have had an AF low calorie beer a couple of times - I am not a beer drinker when I have alcohol, so it works where mocktails don't (for me) only triggering me for "real" drinks.
Friday July 8th - Drinks. Worked hours on my yard after work, and then made myself Cosmopolitans. I am trying to keep @ahoy_m8 in mind, who does Mon-Thurs AF. This was the first week that I kind of tried that rather than scheduling A days 3 or 4 days apart. 5AF days in a row for me this past week, I might try to accomplish that next week too. Not sure if I will be having drinks Saturday or not, but have penciled that in as an A day, so probably will.
Saturday July 09 - Drinks, blue ones that I concocted. Not sure about Sunday, it is my close friend/bandmate's birthday, we are going to the theatre to see a production of 9-5 - if he wants to have cocktails also then we will.

My blue cocktail including blue curacao:





Rolling total - 5AF days out of 9 days.

globalhiker

Good news! I went down a jean size! My 10's were big and just bought an 8 and I think I needed a 6 but they didn't have one so I am trying to shrink these a bit in the wash. A skinny jean size! WOOHOO! Weight loss is coming from changing up workouts - from running to kickboxing and also "just moving". This means driving myself to the mall early on weekends, and spending 4 hours in there WALKING. Yes, I do stop here and there to window-shop, but I keep up the brisk moving. It's pleasant - air conditioned, not so busy, music is playing. Back in the "day" when I was a size 2 petite, that was what I did, hit the malls, sometimes 2 in one afternoon....and walk,walk, walk.

I'm alternating AF and A days. "A" days are 1 can of wine or a smaller size. I'm not eating out at all and OK with it, also not buying chips. I do make sure I have a dairy and fruit serving added to my midday meal. It seems to cut my appetite come dinner.

Note to self: You drive your own success. Success starts with you. Quit blaming work and husband, own your life and drive it like you mean it.

Lilylady3k

2 glasses of wine. Felt like it more than I felt like keeping to my rules.

July accountability: 4 days AF
Alcohol: 6 days (12 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.

7/1 - 1 wine
7/2 - AF; 1 Heineken 0.0
7/3 - AF; 1 Heineken 0.0

7/4 - 1 Saint Arnolds Summer Pils then switched to an AF beer 1 Heineken 0.0
7/5 - 2 wine
7/6 - AF
7/7 - AF
7/8 - 3 wine
7/9 - 3 wine
7/10 - 2 wine

MissMay

Happy Belated birthday to @lmlmrn!!!! Hope it was a great one girl.

MissMay

Thanks @jones1976.

@dawnbgethealthy your blue drink looks like cotton candy!!!

@globalhiker congrats on your lower clothing size. It is always a great mood lifter and reason to press on.👍 hard work pays off.

Went to the beach yesterday. A fresh water lake to swim in, not yucky salt water. It was like being a kid again. Sand in everything imaginable, funny senerios on the beach and fun in the sun. A much needed reset.

Husband packed those 3 watermelon margaritas from that 4 pk. I stuck to my water for hydration, need to NOT repeat those consecutive drinks days I let happen in June. Major fatigue, stress and anger fueled those drinking days in a row.

I'm smarter than a glass of booze, I need to prove that again in July.

Have a GREAT MONDAY EVERYONE

RockinRobyn672

Hi All - My goal is no more than 3 A days per week, no more than 3 on those days (16 - 19 AF days per month). So far so good!
7/1 F - AF
7/2 S - 3
7/3 S - AF
7/4 M - 4
7/5 T- AF
7/6 W - AF
7/7 T - AF
7/8 F - 2
7/9 S- 4
7/10 S- 1
The original plan for Sunday was AF, but we were on the beach, and I broke. The good news is it was 1 instead of 2 or 3.

RockinRobyn672

globalhiker wrote: »

Good news! I went down a jean size!

@globalhiker - Congrats on your success!!! That's great news! I love your walking the mall (including window shopping) workouts!

This group, counting A days and tracking my food are working for me too. My clothes are getting looser. I just need to keep up the momentum. Since it's summer I'm doing a lot of cycling and got in an open water swim yesterday. I no longer buy snacks that I shouldn't be snacking on, like chips. One new snack that's working for me is Skinny Pop, pre-popped 100 calorie packs, lots of water, and lots of fruits and veggies.

joans1976

Hello all, I love seeing your updates and hearing about your vacations!

7/1-7/7- 3 AF days out of 7
7/8:: AF
7/9: 2
7/10: 2

dawnbgethealthy

Hi : - )
My name is Dawn.
My continuing goal is 16-20 AF days per month.
I had 19AF days in June.

Diary style:

Sunday July 10 - AF - The plan is to stay AF until the weekend. I used to say "no drinks 2 days in a row" but have changed that up with my schedule and have been having drinks on Fridays and Saturdays instead of every 3rd or 4th day..

Rolling total - 6AF days out of 10 days.

ahoy_m8

Greetings and happy Monday, all. The beach weekends sound fun. How did the curacao cocktail taste? It looks great.

It was an awful weekend on the family front. My mom is in congestive heart failure. My step-dad asked me to pick them up at the hospital Friday because he didn't feel well enough to drive. By the time I got town there, he was in the ER with kidney stones. I got mom home, but I couldn't get back to the ER to wait with my step-dad because I had an interview for a home health aid with my dad and his wife. She has dementia, and he is not mobile at all, cannot support his weight standing without holding on to something and refuses to use a cane/walker. (He holds on to his wisp thin wife and I'm afraid he is going to take her down but that is a whole other topic). She does everything for him and she has been asking for help. Thankfully DH leapt into action and met step-dad in the ER waiting room where I met them after the interview. He had to wait 5 hours in excruciating pain to be seen, and then it was on a gurney in a hallway. I finally got him home after 10PM. By the time I got home, I had only had a bowl of oatmeal all day. And they are continuing to need help getting to appointments and just getting food from the kitchen because she's flat on her back and he's still having episodic pain.

Things not well on the finding a home health aid for my dad, either. They have changed the job description 5 times, now. I find someone who can do their hours, then they change their hours. It has turned into a game of "bring me a rock." My take-away from this is my step-mom actually needs help all day long but my dad doesn't want her to have it because he doesn't want anyone else around. Dad praised me for helping Friday but yelled at me on Sunday when I insisted that he had to be involved in the hiring process because she cannot remember what was agreed upon when she talks with a candidate. It's just a mess.

I ate too little all day then drank too much at night. I have some really good habits. But I also have a habit of not stopping once I start drinking. I would like to reprogram my brain to change that habit!

lmlmrn

greeting everyone!
I have been a bit MIA I know
thank you @MissMay for the birthday wish. With so much going on it really was not that much fun yesterday.
My mom is in the hospital with complications with her COPD and now covid. We can't see her because she is in isolation.
She has been there since Saturday Morning.
With that and this remodel ...yes I have indulged in 2 beers a day for 3 days in a row. They are putting in the 'shower pan' this morning, the plumber will switch out the pipes on Wednesday (as well as hook up my facets in the kitchen and dishwasher yeah). Then the custom 'marble' wall will go up next week. Then I hope to have the toilet and vanity/sink hooked up. Phew then we start on bathroom 2.

Then my main laptop just went out. It is not that old, less than a year. and poof no screen. I am going to try and take it back to costco today. Not sure what can be done if anything. But it has some things saved on there that I need. So maybe a repair shop first???

anyway all, I am tired and discouraged and coping. I will check back in later.

tmbg1

July 1-2 A
July 3-4-5-6-7 AF
July 8-9 A
July 10-11 AF