Less Alcohol ~ DECEMBER 2022 ~ One Day At A Time
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This group really helps me hold myself accountable, plus everyone is absolutely great. My monthly goal is 16-19 AF days (3A days max weekly) for weight loss and overall health. I post in the mornings about the previous day.
12/18: AF - I didn't work out yesterday but I stuck to my guns and had a Clausthaler NA with the black bean flautas and cabbage slaw that I made for dinner. I also did not eat anything after 8 o'clock. One small step (again) for Robyn! We're meeting up with our two sons and their significant others over Christmas. I'm so looking forward to it but feeling a lot of anxiety and trying to figure out why. Why do I do that to myself?
Rolling Total: 10 AF Days out of 18
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RockinRobyn672 wrote: »@joans1976 I had to stop my mom from driving at 89 and it was a constant battle with her until she died at 95. I have a funny story. I allowed her to keep her car so that it would look like someone was home and I know she thought she would be able to sneak and drive it. My hubby researched and found online advice to remove a particular fuse so that the car wouldn't crank and to add a note on the motor that says "Do not repair. Call .... ". So my mom (who was around age 93 at the time) called a neighbor over to figure out what was wrong with the car. He was the one neighbor with whom we didn't share our secret. So my husband missed the call but there was a voicemail where he heard the neighbor telling mom about the note! She never said anything to me about it. I'm sure she knew it was me who was behind it.
So clever! If my parents knew it was me behind the note they would be LIVID but forgive me but go to great ends to prevent it from happening again. I know when my mom had to stop my grandpa from driving she just swapped out his keys so they wouldnt fit in the ignition but their car doesnt have an ignition. My dad would definitely open the hood and find the note. He would call a tow truck and have it towed to the repair shop but I could likely find out where. Again, sigh. They are 73 and 76, so young, but Im trying to avoid a car accident.3 -
Hello everyone
Well I did have my 2 beers at lunch and then stopped. So yeah, since I was slipping back into bad habits. I feel so much better this am. I really kept a pretty good journal on my sleeping and drinking/morning motivation...I see/feel so much better when I am AF the night before. I just need to keep reminding myself the absence at night makes the next day so much better!!!
Today I am starting my 12th week of lifting. Then I will have a week off then start another 12 weeks on Jan 2.
I will read all the new posts later tonight have a great day....btw I want that mocktail book LOL I have just put pomegranate juice on my shopping list @Womona
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mfowler883 wrote: »Holidays22 wrote: »Hello, I used to have a sobriety thread on here. (Sobriety Matters it was called). I posted something that I later regretted very much. I spoke about my personal experience with moderate drinking and it was very insensitive as it mirrored people's efforts on this thread and I realise I caused offence. I still deeply regret that, all I can say is that I was in a very dark place with my mental health. I just wanted to apologise again wholeheartedly. I did feel ashamed of what I posted. I miss posting on here and I am sorry to have let people down who had supported me on my sober journey. Just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I wish you all the best for 2023. I don't expect anyone wants to hear from me, but I just wanted to apologise again. I will get outa here now. Thanks for listening.
I don't know the whole story here....
-m
I've been somewhat present on the thread over a year and I'm not aware of what @Holidays22 makes reference to, either. Welcome back, Holidays. I also hope you are feeling better these days.
I can see that I am several pages of comments behind and apologies for not keeping up with the conversation. I did want to pop in to wish everyone well and to account. Went to a cocktail party yesterday and thanks to small wine glasses kept things moderate. When I got home I told DH I felt like having another glass but I never got around to opening it and ate a snack instead. It was probably more calories than a glass of wine, but let's be honest, odds are pretty good I wouldn't have cared to stop after one glass in which case it would have been more than the snack. I've been a little high on calories over the past week but regardless still feel good about eating nutritious stuff over drinking.
I've also been processing some grief this week. Nothing to say except it just is. Spoke with a friend this week who had a devastating loss just over a year ago, and she had nuanced insights. She's been spending much of the year in southern central Mexico. She feels much more support and understanding culturally, where everyone who loves has grief, it's a part of everyone's life and in fact death is what makes us alive. By contrast at home (in the US), she gets furrowed brow looks and pity and grief is thought of as something to recover from as if it is a temporary illness. Another friend told me that gradually pangs of grief will be accompanied by gratitude, and that does soften hard edges.6 -
@globalhiker
I have no doubt that you can do a very long AF stretch, we have seen you do it before.
As for holiday N/A drinks.
It is snowy and cold here, so my go to ones are often of the heated variety:
Hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick - mull a whole pot of it
Cocoa with a variety of extracts - orange, peppermint, almond, banana, anise, etc.
Hot Cranberry juice with cloves.
Coffee/Decaf also flavoured with extracts
Chai
Ginger Tea
Not hot things:
Eggnog
Cranberry spritz
Orange Cranberry Mimosa with Rosemary garnish (sparkling cider or 7-up or club soda)
A crushed candy cane rim on a fancy glass makes the contents fun. Like a white chocolate latte.
Our @MissMay makes very impressive mocktails!
@Womona 's recipes look great!
Lots of good recipes on the Google too : - )
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I am Dawn, I live in SE BC Canada
My primary motivation for drinking less is weight loss.
I throw up if I have more than 3 drinks, so moderation on drink days is rarely an issue for me lol.
My recurring goal is 16-20 AF days per month. I squeaked to 16 last month.
I like to do this diary style to keep track.
Sunday December 18 - AF - I have a very light workweek this week, but the weather is too cold to do much outdoor activity. Sunny and blue, but minus 20 here. Minus 5 to minus 10 is perfect for winter activities. Keeping the option open for a drinks evening some time this week, we'll see because my weight is up almost 5 pounds after being sick and not eating. I need to get that back down and don't want alcohol to interfere with that goal.
Rolling total - 12AF day out of 18 days3 -
@womona gorgeous mocktails and photos very easy to read. Thanks for sharing. And way to go enjoying a weekend with moderation.
@joans1976 regarding parents, mine are older than yours but a particular situation spurred me to go behind their backs to their GP (fall/hip fracture/surgery related, but definitely overlap with unsteadiness, prevention measures and alcohol may play a role in there, too.) I felt super disloyal initially, but the GP was so GRATEFUL and asked many good questions. We made a plan of topics he would bring up with them, topics I would bring up with them, and resources he would research. I followed up 2 months later by email, he called me right away, and again he was super grateful. He gave me his personal cell phone. I feel less guilty now because ultimately my sole goal is keeping two people who are stubborn and think they know everything as safe as possible. Working with their doctor behind their backs has greater impact than working alone and being ignored.3 -
Quick check in tonight. Been running like a madman all day again, but managed to read all the comments. My folks are aging, but so far they're still doing pretty well; I'm thankful for that.
AF today, sipping on a Karbach NA IPA right now. Early start tomorrow.
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Dec 1- 2- 3 A
Dec 4 - AF
Dec 5-6 -A
Dec 7- AF
Dec 8-9 -10 A
Dec 11- 12 - 13- AF
Dec 14- 15 - 16- 17 -A
Dec 18 - 19 - AF5 -
Day 20 AF. We went to the massive beer/wine/liguor warehouse yesterday and spent a small fortune stocking up for Xmas Eve. I was kind of looking at it all with indifference for once. The only thing I felt a pang for was the spiked eggnog. We did not buy any. I will serve NA eggnog at my party. I have plenty of non drinkers coming too.
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Hello all! I’m still Amanda, I’m from Michigan. I am still a crazy cat lady and work for a veterinarian. This will be my sixth month with this group and it has helped me cut back on my drinking so much! I am not ready to say I am 100% sober but last month I had 30 days alcohol free 😃
12/1-12/7: 7 out of 7 AF
12/8-12/14: 7 out of 7 AF
Rolling total: 14 out of 14 AF
12/15: AF
My dad always buys a giant bottle of Baileys over the holidays and we put it in coffee and top it with whipped cream (if you want) or pour it over ice. I just perused the interwebz a bit and I don’t see AF Baileys. You can make it but it looks like such a pain in my behind I think I’ll just skip it this year or just have one.
So proud of everyone for their AF streaks, especially during this season that can be tricky.
12/16: AF
Back to my pre-surgical weight today! I gained 5 pounds with that surgery. I’m still not anywhere near where I want to be but any loss in December for me is a win!
12/17: AF
I did way too much yesterday and am paying for it with soreness today. 12 days out from surgery and ready to be back to normal!
I made like 4 million cookies with my mom yesterday, a tradition. She did not start drinking before noon which helped the process go smoother. My dad got pretty toasted before dinner which is odd and I didn’t necessarily like it. I’m kind of at a cross roads with saying something about their drinking. For one, they are going to keep drinking if they want to. And they are still getting used to me not drinking with them. However, they are already unsteady on their feet and adding alcohol makes their fall risk go up. I know a lot of you deal with partners drinking but have/did/are any of you dealing with an elderly parent drinking?
12/18: AF
I am at day 51 AF. It surprises me when I actually count it up. I still get cravings (?) but they pass. I always think of the whole movie I guess. I was actually waking up in the middle of the night, suddenly, and vomiting, even on nights I had not drank anything. Scared me. One of many reasons to stop and/or cut back.
12/19: AF
I received news from the tumor board yesterday that they are having pathology review the slides from surgery again to decide on my treatment plan (chemo, radiation, more surgery, hormones.) I am frustrated to say the least. This likely means waiting until after the holidays. I wanted to have a plan in place so I could research my options. I am still grateful this is at an early stage, things could be much worse.7 -
Last night, I was AF and my sleeping heart rate was below resting 61 percent of the night which is good.I looked back a few days when I drank one evening (few glasses of wine) & my was heart rate at night 87 percent above resting heart rate and 13 percent below.
This is so important for me to track. I worry about my heart because 5/18 of my cousins have now died of heart attacks over the years due to alcohol most likely and other factors I'm sure. Not to be a downer but just sharing my concerns about myself. I did sleep very well last night.
@SunnyDays930 Congrats on 20 days. Keep it up! You won't regret making it to 30 days. Think of how much better your skin and body is feeling!
@MissMay The mocktini sounds fabulous!
@mfowler883 Wishing you a peaceful week. My thoughts are with you.
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@SunnyDays930 Wow. You are strong. First the bartender puts a drink in front of you then you go to an alcohol warehouse??? Good job. Keep us posted!
@ahoy_m8 Thank you for the tips on parenting the parents. I do plan on messaging their doctors. Right now I am having my own medical issues that I am trying to handle so I reached out to my brothers, both of whom live close by. One is pretty sick and having surgery the 27th and the other one flat out told me he doesn’t have time to help. I’m not sure why but taking care of my parents has always fallen on my lap. I wish there was a manual for this. Hmmm. Maybe a book purchase to research.4 -
@joans1976 wow, that’s a rough story about the timing of that hunting trip. I’m so sorry to hear that’s how the “superhero” impression got shattered. That must have been so hard.
Oh, and the driving! Hoo boy! My dad drove so horribly but wouldn’t stop. He would only go local errands, so he didn’t think it was an issue. My sister and I told him his driving was terrible, but what did we know. We tried in vain to get him to use the senior bus, but he was stubborn and wanted his independence. Taking away his car was akin to taking away his penis.
Well, he started having trouble getting into and out of the car. A close friend’s boyfriend, a retired cop, was asked to follow him to a doctors appointment to “happen to be there” in case Dad had trouble with mobility. Well, this man told me about Dad’s erratic driving on the way home from
the appointment in great detail. When I relayed it to my dad, he blanched and said “My God, I could have killed somebody!” Yeah, no *kitten*, Sherlock! That was when he stopped driving. Not because of anything the girls said, but because a man he respected pointed it out. Old school chauvinism! Ugh! He was such a loving man and a big marshmallow in so many other ways, but that stubborn steak ran
deep!
The good news is that I told my boys that if I am having trouble with mobility, driving, caring for myself, I will NOT put up a fight to go to assisted living or stop driving!!!!!! I don’t want them to go through what I went through.3 -
Here is the link from Amazon for all you last minute shoppers! Maureen Petrosky is from my area and does a lot of appearances locally and NYC television. It is a good bunch of recipes.
Zero Proof Drinks and More: 100 Recipes for Mocktails and Low-Alcohol Cocktails https://a.co/d/eYksvaA3 -
I asked my husband to help me stay AF last night as crawled home from a nine hour busy workday on my feet. He did! I had waiting for me club soda and cranberry. My new favorite club soda is made by Fever Tree. Way less bubbles and I don’t feel bloated. It seemed much more like a real rosé than a fizzy soda.
I also had a good workout yesterday. I only have 5 AF days in December so far, but I’m really trying to moderate coming into the holiday weekend. Almost done wrapping, now to clean and shop for company. I have no idea what to cook for dinner every night, nothing is defrosted, I am out of ideas! I’m sure I’ll be at the market at least twice before Christmas.4 -
@RubyRed427 great job being proactive about your health!!! If you have heart problems in your family, you’re so smart to start looking at your resting heart rate now!4
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This group really helps me hold myself accountable, plus everyone is absolutely great. My monthly goal is 16-19 AF days (3A days max weekly) for weight loss and overall health. I post in the mornings about the previous day.
12/18: AF
12/19: AF - Still holding out until Thursday. The NA beers are a great help. I'm taking them with me when we travel over Christmas. Can't wait to see my boys. The youngest is bringing his husky and a days-old kitten, if it lives, that he rescued from his attic! He's doing all the things you're supposed to do to keep it alive.
Rolling Total: 11 AF Days out of 19
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I am Dawn, I live in SE BC Canada
My primary motivation for drinking less is weight loss.
I throw up if I have more than 3 drinks, so moderation on drink days is rarely an issue for me lol.
My recurring goal is 16-20 AF days per month. I squeaked to 16 last month.
I like to do this diary style to keep track.
Sunday December 18 - AF - I have a very light workweek this week, but the weather is too cold to do much outdoor activity. Sunny and blue, but minus 20 here. Minus 5 to minus 10 is perfect for winter activities. Keeping the option open for a drinks evening some time this week, we'll see because my weight is up almost 5 pounds after being sick and not eating. I need to get that back down and don't want alcohol to interfere with that goal.
Monday December 19 - 2 drinks. I got my grey roots died out after work, came home and mixed a cocktail. Planning AF until Friday.
Rolling total - 12AF day out of 19 days3 -
So I've been thinking...for several months, I was just slamming through goals, dropping the weight, doing well with not drinking much, working out, eating better and snacking less. It feels like the last couple of weeks have been harder. I'm not as motivated to hit the gym more days than not, I'm letting myself slip on the food and alcohol front, I'm letting myself get caught up in my head and that makes me want to drink. I'm still hovering right around 180-ish. It's like a big nasty backlash from holding it all back for too long, and now I feel like the little boy with my finger in the hole in the dike, trying to keep it all from crashing down around me. I think part of it is the holiday chaos, HBIC has had us running like crazy and that makes it harder to stay on top of things, and leads to eating out more as well as adding stress. I would be more content to keep things simple. She also tends to be the one to buy snacks, which I find irritating because if they aren't in the house, I don't want them but if they're here, I struggle.
It's time to step back, evaluate, recenter and get myself back on track.
Okay....positive things. I did make time for a workout last night. My treadmill run is getting better and better, my bursts of running are getting easier, even as they're getting longer. I've been doing 50 sit-ups in 5 sets of ten, but I was able to blast them out with no rest, which tells me those muscles are getting used to working again. After years of not being able to carry a pistol AIWB because of my physique, I have started carrying my P365XL appendix. I'm not losing weight, but any gain is still small enough for me to call it a wobble and not Significant Weight Gain. Those new boots are starting to break in, and a q-tip with acetone took the dye blem right out.
AF 12 of 19 days as of last night, I expect tonight to be AF. I have four beers in the cabinet, but I'm not going to put them in the fridge. I've got a few NAs still floating around that I actually enjoy.
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@Womona - A virtual hug for your husband for having that club soda and cranberry waiting for you!
I will be checking out Fever Tree club soda. Thanks for the tip! 4 -
@joans1976 Drats! ... on the waiting game for finding out the next level of treatment but I'm very glad to know it's still in the early stages. I hope you can enjoy the holidays and keep your mind busy with happy and fun things.5
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@mfowler883 I've been looking but I can't find Karbach around here nor on Amazon
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Good day to everyone!
AF last night....boy I have been tempted. However I really want to complete this weeks lifting without the dregs of alcohol in my system. @joans1976 I have always enjoyed lifting but never really took it a bit heavier until this 12 weeks. At the gym I just kept my wights for upper body around 5-8lbs and lower around 20lb per hand. I know this is not huge but now I am doing more of a formal workout with set rest times (40 sec) between sets (3-4 with 10-12 reps each). My lower body is doing the heaviest weight I have which is 2@33lbs and upper body 9-23lb same rules. I invested in power blocks ages ago and they are great for at home. Take up little space and I can change the weights in seconds. It is a great cardio too!
@Womona I am there with your with the AF days vs A days. This has been a hard 4 weeks for me but I am determined to get back under control
@mfowler883 I think we all ebb and flow with motivation. I know I have over these past 2 years since finding this thread. And the weight thing? well the first year I saw a small loss, however I was sick for most of that time then the 2nd year (now) I had like 3 months and the weight starting fall off like crazy even with my weekend indulgence, then I stabled out again to where I am now. The weight will ease off if that is your goal. LOL I hate patience, I lack this skill.....and I know a skill requires practice and patience grr.
Ok day 2 of week 12 under my belt AND was AF last night! so yeah. Even those stupid planks were not as bad today.
Today will be packed full of deep cleaning since the weather outside is wet and cold.
@MissMay it's this time of year I wish I was a snow bird.
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December has been a surprise
13 days AF
6 lbs weight loss since Nov (note: means nothing since I have not been exercising so half at least is muscle loss, still I like the feeling of lighter)
December is challenging. We can also use a Vit D boost and some good sunshine. Throw a relaxing vacation too. Sometimes the solution is to stop trying too hard, take a few days off and simply relax.
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@joans1976 it may be worth exploring what natural things you can take now while you wait, for prevention and further progression. I took rosemary, turmeric, Vit D, iodine, cruciferous veg in pill form. And I was counseled by the NP at MD Anderson what not to take (no soy, no cheese, no red meat, no alcohol, low to no sugar, followed high fiber diet, 1-2 TBSP first-press EVOO daily) and eliminated vitamins and supplements that have questionable herbal additives or potential estrogenic impacts (no Maca, no 7-Keto DHA, even flaxseed is questionable). If they haven't tested your Vit D and iodine levels, ask. Deficiencies here (common) is what initiates many breast cancers.
Sorry if I sound I am getting in your business, but I when I went through this, I read a ton of scientific studies that were recent and gained a lot of knowledge from the hospital dietician I went to regularly at the same hospital. You can overcome this.
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AF today. Ate reasonably, didn't work out but stayed fairly active and got some work in on a few projects.
-m7 -
Dec 1- 2- 3 A
Dec 4 - AF
Dec 5-6 -A
Dec 7- AF
Dec 8-9 -10 A
Dec 11- 12 - 13- AF
Dec 14- 15 - 16- 17 -A
Dec 18 - 19 - AF
Dec 20 - A but only 2 glasses at a holiday party5 -
So apparently NA beer is actually good for us! https://rightsidebrewing.com/improve-your-gut-health-with-non-alcoholic-beer/
Day 21. 3 weeks AF now.
Last night we went to a Mexican restaurant and I requested an NA pina colada. My goodness it was delicious. My husband had one with rum in it. When the bill came, I saw they were the same price so no note in my money jar last night. We have started to share entrees...I know....like old people....but really, everywhere we go, the portions are huge. Way, way more than one would have when eating at home. We were both very full and my husband is a big boy. This strategy is saving us hundreds of calories as well as a little bit of money when we go out.
UGH. Just got a text from my 85 year old mother that she has covid. She won't be with us for Christmas now. 7
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