LESS Alcohol ~ FEBRUARY 2023 ~ One Day at A Time
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Good Morning and welcome to the new people. You will have a ton of non judgy support here.
This is my 5th morning waking up AF. Yesterday was a bit hard. Due to some stress, around 5pm I was craving pretty badly and was having that dialogue with myself that goes, "We could split a bottle of wine. That wouldn't be so bad. I need it to relax me." You know that story. Anyway like I've said before, I played the move to the end which would have ended with me going back out for more wine, drinking it all, and waking up at 2 AM with my heart rate at about 115 for several hours and terror I was about to have a stroke. This thought squashed my craving.
My sleep is slowly, slowly improving. I am going longer stretches now without waking up. This part of AF living has definitely given my life an upgrade.6 -
I ordered the Olly Stress Gummies. I can’t remember who talked about them, if it was @globalhiker or @forestdweller1. I read some of the Amazon reviews and not only were they hilarious but it sounded like people were really chilling out so I thought: sign me up! I got them in the mail and immediately took 2. Within about 15 minutes my arms felt really heavy and I was yawning like crazy. But my racing thoughts weren’t any better. I felt nothing after about an hour. I tried them again a couple of days later and pretty much the same effect. I think I need to stick with the prescription stuff for my level of mental health needs. But it was worth a try!
@joans1976 - I tried them as well last year when folks were talking about them. Picked up a bottle of both the Olly Gummies for Stress and Sleep in Target. Well it had little to no affect on me as well.4 -
Hey everyone, I’m Amanda. I live in Michigan and it is freezing and gray here but at least it’s staying light out past 5 pm now. ☀️
I joined this lovely thread in the summer of 2022 and it has made a huge difference in my life! I’ve gone from being 25% AF to 98% AF. My last A day was Christmas Eve and my last A day before that was 10/28/22.
The people here are kind and real and smart and fun! Welcome to all newcomers!
2/1: AF
I can’t even post here what has happened with work, for one it is too long and for another it’s too infuriating. I definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
I downloaded one of the apps @MissMay has in her recommendations at the beginning of the month. It’s called “Reframe.” So far it’s telling me about the psychology of alcohol but letting me put in my “why” and AF streak. There is a forum too. I tread lightly there as I have pretty high standards for my LA friends 🙃 I’m using a 7 day free trial now.
39 days AF
I downloaded Reframe in January! I find it very helpful and enjoy the daily tips but I think it will be more temporary for me versus something I want to rely on long term. Overall it's a great resource to stay mindful and provides insightful information to help remember our "why"6 -
Hi All,
Well, I feel a little stupid recommending the bitters to this group. I didn't suspect that they had alcohol in them, since Amazon will just send them to you. But they do!
Although you only use a few drops, this could be a trigger to some people.
Please let me know if you find other flavors you like. My favorite go-to with seltzer is still a splash of Pom plus lime juice.
I would like to learn how to make Kombucha!5 -
Happy Thursday!
2/1 AF
30 day experiment: Day 15, AF 14
I had wine on 1/31, so it doesn't count towards my February totals and it was the first drink I had since starting the 30-day experiment.
I have experienced two major improvements:- Sleep
- General overall energy level (which comes from more restful sleep)
I was simply tired of being tired and had no idea what to do about it. It was part of the aging process, for sure. I figured my weight had something to do with it, but again, I had no answer.
When Covid arrived, and we were sent home to learn how to spend quality time with our families, even though I was still on call for work, I didn't need to get up at a specific time, so I ditched the alarm.
When things started to return to normal or the new normal, I continued not setting the alarm. I left my bedroom curtains open and allowed my natural body clock and sunrise (in the summer) to wake me. Since this was working (I was waking up on my own and on time), I figured I was getting the needed I rest. Yet, I still felt tired.
There were mornings when I'd wake up and feel even more tired than when I went to bed. I was current with my physicals and blood work, so there was no medical reason for this. Again…I pinned it on aging as that was the only place I hadn't been before….(ie: growing older)
I am not a sleep expert, nor do I play one on TV 😊. What I write here is based on my interpretation of information and how it pertains to me and my sleep patterns.
Other Reference Info
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/stages-of-sleep
I wear my apple watch to bed and, previously my Fitbit. I like the watch because you can add apps that give you more information about your sleep. There was this app that kept reporting my sleep quality as poor. I could only assume that because I frequently went to the bathroom during the night, the app was interpreting as disrupted sleep and lowering my sleep score. I was just about to delete the app.....
I looked back at the raw data from my apple watch, and it didn't conclude one way or the other. It just told me I was "consistent" and noted how much time I had slept, and showed me my sleep cycles. I saw that I spent about an hour in a deep sleep each night. Studies say between 13% and 23% of time asleep should be deep sleep. Ok, I was in the range so I must be getting decent sleep, right?
Part of the experiment provides information about what alcohol does to the body (good and bad), and there was some discussion on sleep cycles and that you should get 5 to 6 cycles to feel fully rested. Interesting I thought.
I started flipping back through my cycles and saw that I was getting 3 to 4 cycles. Hmmm….
I then looked at my recent days without alcohol; my cycles had increased to 5 to 6 cycles per night!
AND not immediately, but by day 4– I realize I haven't been feeling nearly as tired when I wake up or throughout the day.
When I had wine on 1/31 - the next day was a bit groggy. I woke with a slight head ache and continued through the morning with my head feeling like a bowling ball. I checked my app and sure enough, my sleep had deteriorated. It's quite fascinating and disturbing at the same time.
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I am in.
I am Dawn, I live in SE BC Canada
My ongoing goal remains, 16-20 AF days per month.
February being a short month makes it a little harder for me. I had 17AF days for January (a long month)
I do this diary style to keep track, and I post the next morning
Wednesday Feb 01 - AF - I felt like having drinks, but then decided that I needed to start the month off right. Having this thread has helped me very much with accountability.
Rolling total: 1AF day out of 1 day.5 -
I was never that much of a drinker since my younger years of silliness...I was on a great trajectory spring of 2020 having lost 70 lbs..Enter the pandemic. I soon lost my job and spent a lot of time in the park day drinking with others out of loneliness and boredom but all was not lost, I was working out a lot and still watching my intake.
Then my gym shut down, I was completely on my own. Terrified...I started to stress eat cakes, chips, greasy giant breakfasts, and cinnamon buns. When the weather got nasty I stayed in and started a habit to drink a small bottle of white wine almost every night. I gained back 20 lbs.
I started looking for ways to work out not including the gym. Walking was the easiest choice. I set my goal at 5k. The blisters upon blisters, the blown out shoes, the pain..I persevered and the weight gain stopped. I could no longer afford to go to my gym so had to cancel that.
The end of 2022 found me running a 5 k per week working in a very physical job I thought that the weight would fly off...not with a bottle of wine per night..I did not lose, but gained back 5 more pounds, recomped my body, dropping pants sizes and toning my muscles.
Still drinking the wine almost every night. I recently decided enough is enough and dropped the wine..the first week I lost 6 lbs. My friend told me about MFP and I am so excited to be able to track calories and see others in this with me. My first goal is to lose that 20 lbs. I cant believe how many calories this MFP thing wants me to eat to lose 1 lb per week!
My big goal is to keep the drinking to once every few weeks and get back to my original goal of my pre pregnancy weight from 31 years ago..I am a gramma now and it still has not happened. My doctor suggested I stop coffee, running, and doing really heavy cardio for a while and go back to walking along with my heavy job as it seems the coffee and cardio activity combined with heavy physical labor may be activating my fight or flight response. Let's see. Scared..unknown territory here.
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@joans1976 ...'Twarnt me that mentioned Gummies...edibles are illegal in PA...just putting that out there for any bots that are spying on my computer ...😇
One thing that I would advise is a "countdown calendar". You have a rough timetable of how long your treatments are supposed to last. Each day you can cross off is a step towards your freedom from "Weepy Witch". 59 more days...only 58 more days...And actively LOOK FOR THAT NEXT JOB !! Reach out with your resume [and research their insurance options].
When I managed a cafeteria at a "secret" government facility the customers were under a great deal of stress, and took it out on my employees. I hung a cloth shoe keeper [it had a face on top] in my office. As needed, my folks were welcome to pop in and beat the *kitten* out of that dummy. No questions asked.
My personal stress reliever has been taking a bucket of water & a large sponge out into the back yard and throwing that sopping sponge against the nearest tree as hard as possible...again...again...until too tired to continue, and no longer furious, just mildly annoyed. Your current physical condition may prevent this.
Wishing you hugs, warm kitties, and a new job, soon.4 -
@forestdweller1 Oh these gummies only have l-theanine and GABA and lemon balm, no special stuff, although there are 2 dispensaries within a mile of my house if I am ever in the mood. Legal here in Michigan.
Radiation: got a call from the doctor this morning after I posted. Putting radiation off for 3 more weeks due to the original radiation plan not being to her liking. Getting re-measured next week. So, more waiting. Once I finally get there a countdown calendar will be made!
Work: It was a client that did me in yesterday but it was more the managements lack of support (surprise!) that upset me. Notes all over this client’s chart about how she is rude, disrespectful, uncaring, entitled. I am only getting on the computer this weekend to polish the resume, not to work for this toxic circus.
Thank you! ❤️ Meowlo to Catpuccino, stay warm!5 -
Hello! I was AF last night. Feels good to start the month off on the right track. Today is my "Friday" since I don't work Fridays and it is always tempting to have a few beers but my son still has school tomorrow and I always get up and cook him a hot breakfast so it's not like I'm able to sleep in.
We have a Volksfest in my town this weekend too and I know I will be going at least one night if not two and beer will certainly be on the menu so I will remain AF tonight and plan for at least one A day over the weekend. If I want a beer tonight, I will have one of my NA beers.
1/1 AF
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Hi All,
Well, I feel a little stupid recommending the bitters to this group. I didn't suspect that they had alcohol in them, since Amazon will just send them to you. But they do!
Although you only use a few drops, this could be a trigger to some people.
Please let me know if you find other flavors you like.
Dont feel bad about the bitters. I use them all the time and do not count them as alcohol. Mouth washs and vanilla extract are some examples of everyday items we don't realize have alcohol, but they do.
I enjoy my coffee bitters and chocolate bitters. Oh and there is always orange. Yum
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Another thumbs up for bitters. My favorites are Angostura and rhubarb. I also like peach bitters, but it's pretty weak. I've tried making my own ginger bitters and did something wrong -- waaaay to much alcohol. Instructions say everclear, but don't! It's terrible! And it dominates everything. Vodka is at least color and odor free. But ultimately I gave up at that. A splash of bitters can punch up an AF drink and make it interesting without really contributing significant alcohol to the equation.
Long week indoors, friends. DH left early to escape before the ice storm so it's been me and the interns huddled in the house 4 days going a little mad with cabin fever. Slipped in some miles Monday and Tuesday but no such luck the past 2 days as the precip has not relented at all. Now it's warming to 0C so streets and tree ice is starting to melt. The good is that it makes streets safer so we'll get out tomorrow afternoon, but the bad is huge clods of ice are falling from the trees and I don't want one to hit me while I'm out for exercise. Feeling cooped up and not enough alone time. On the positive side, I've been sleeping like a teenager since DH gone. I wish I had decent sleep when DH was around.
AF so far this week. 7 -
I'm having my herbal tea and sitting in front of my "fire". It's actually a youtube of a crackling fire with some lovely music playing but it feels like the real thing anyway
As usual I was tempted around 5 pm but I surfed the urge. Another AF day done and dusted. 10 -
February accountability: 2 days AF
Alcohol: 0 days ( 0 drinks)
Goal: Limit 2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days this month.
2/2 - AF; DH too
Our DIL and granddaughter came over for the day and stayed for dinner. We were not even tempted to drink alcohol especially since she had a hour drive in this wet messy weather back across Houston to get home. Thought about inviting my sister to join us but knew that would derail me.
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Well as always, late to the party
Thank you @MissMay as always for starting this groups month with a bang. Welcome all the new posters I love reading everyone's story. In so many ways other than our consumption of alcohol we are similar in our why we want to drink less.
AND when I found this thread I did not think that there were so many others just like me! besides this group is so non judgemental, witty, funny, sometimes sad but most of the time uplifting.
So to everyone Thank you
ps I will so try harder to post daily LOL6 -
dawnbgethealthy wrote: »Wednesday Feb 01 - AF - I felt like having drinks, but then decided that I needed to start the month off right. Having this thread has helped me very much with accountability.
I completely agree with this Dawn
Knowing that I'll have to post on here that I've slipped up or missed my (own) target often makes me think twice about it.
For me the flip side is that when I do fall of the wagon I then slink off and stop posting. One of my goals this year is to stay here through thick and thin as I know the slips will be shorter and shallower LOL.
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2 out of 2 AF so far for February.
8 -
My sleep is improving every dry day I have in a row. Also, no more crazy, erratic heartbeat. I know today won't be tempting. Tonight we are babysitting our 3 grandchildren, one being a 1 year old and into everything. We both have to be on our game and focused. And like Andy said, knowing I will report everything here helps me to stay the course. This thread is sort of my conscience, which is a good thing for me.
Happy, healthy Friday to all!6 -
So living in the South now and still eating my way through new restaurants. We hit Red Lobster and signed up for their points loyalty program.
This picture was in my email box yesterday morning. They make this beautiful decorated drink called a lobsterita .
Why can't I walk away from a gorgeous glass? It is like looking at a new pair of lovely shoes, calling my name. LOL
PLUS only $5 a giant glass. I ordered mine non alcoholic and frozen. Then preceded to give myself a major brain freeze from drinking it to fast through the straw.
Acting like a little kid with a slurpie.
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Hey everyone, I’m Amanda. I live in Michigan and it is freezing and gray here but at least it’s staying light out past 5 pm now. ☀️
I joined this lovely thread in the summer of 2022 and it has made a huge difference in my life! I’ve gone from being 25% AF to 98% AF. My last A day was Christmas Eve and my last A day before that was 10/28/22.
The people here are kind and real and smart and fun! Welcome to all newcomers!
2/1: AF
I can’t even post here what has happened with work, for one it is too long and for another it’s too infuriating. I definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
I downloaded one of the apps @missmay has in her recommendations at the beginning of the month. It’s called “Reframe.” So far it’s telling me about the psychology of alcohol but letting me put in my “why” and AF streak. There is a forum too. I tread lightly there as I have pretty high standards for my LA friends 🙃 I’m using a 7 day free trial now.
39 days AF
2/2: A 2
Ugh. Such bad decisions last night! I had 2 vodka drinks but they were pretty stiff and I feel like total garbage this morning. I am so, so, so disappointed in myself but I also know that this doesn’t mean I will start drinking daily again. This hangover is too atrocious. Yuck. I’m off to hydrate and find something for my rolling stomach.7 -
1 A/1 AF this month so far- Wednesday was an intentional slip due to a neighborhood party but kept to 2 drinks overall - glass of prosecco at the party and a small Jameson as a nightcap with my husband.
The interesting thing to me was that having a drink on Wednesday when I have been very intent on cutting back during the week made for a pretty intense craving last night - not 100% sure they're related but seems plausible...I surfed the urge with a NA beer and a Peak mocktail.5 -
Good Morning Everyone.
2/2 AF
Yesterday was tempting. I came home from work and within a few minutes, I heard the drink shaker. DH decided to make some pomegranate sours. At first, it smelled of alcohol - I guess I'm a little sensitive now that there's less in my system and then it smelled good. But I didn't. I poured a glass of my 5 calorie juice and held strong.
The weekend, I will take one day at a time. We have nothing really planned so that leads to idleness....
@joans1976 - I downloaded the Reframe App as well. let me know what you think. And, re the vodka, today is another day.
@zenzone - lets us know how it goes at the Volksfest.
@MamaJammy - Good Luck. I dropped the wine almost two weeks ago and 5lbs vanished. Then my body seemed to adjust. I'm sure over time it will start to lose again. It's amazing the amount of empty calories the wine provides.
Wishing everyone a terrific Weekend!
Month Stats2/1 AF
30 day experiment: Day 16, AF 157 -
Hello and good day/morning/evening
AF last night, been experimenting with mocktails again. The book I have has great ideas and I just keep expanding them. Last night I brewed about 4 cups of honey/ginger tea then chilled, added to that some fresh lemon juice, some tonic water and poof some kind of mocktail in a wonderful tulip glass. x3 could not help myself
My poor judgements last month led to a 5lb gain so this month I must be more aware! I have already packed all my "fat" jeans and I don't want to start a cross country forever home search in a pair of too tight traveling jeans
Cheers! (in a tulip glass complete with some fresh berries)3 -
I don't understand how the lobsterita is 240 calories if on the rocks or 500 calories if blended. Maybe they use stuff from a slushy machine that has sugar in it for those to make it frozen. 260 calories is a lot extra!
I love to blend drinks in the summer. Slim 10 is so great blended with ice is a fancy glass and comes in so many flavours.
If I do occasionally add alcohol to those, an ounce of white rum or vodka is an additional 65 calories.4 -
I am in.
I am Dawn, I live in SE BC Canada
My ongoing goal remains, 16-20 AF days per month.
February being a short month makes it a little harder for me. I had 17AF days for January (a long month)
I do this diary style to keep track, and I post the next morning
Wednesday Feb 01 - AF - I felt like having drinks, but then decided that I needed to start the month off right. Having this thread has helped me very much with accountability.
Thursday Feb 02 - AF - Picked up an extra shift yesterday, so really felt like having a couple of drinks after getting home, but I have a busy day on Friday so resisted. I have been "allowing" myself to have treats and drinks on the weekends, that also helps me refrain on other days, I can have those things another day.
Rolling total: 2AF days out of 2 days.5 -
Always value seeing your thought process, @dawnbgethealthy , so thanks for sharing. I aspire to be more like you with respect to my present tense self respecting my future self. And ice skating.
Awesome job holding strong, @itladyee . That's some willpower, there. It is those situations, exactly, when I find it so helpful to have an AF substitute I enjoy. Good on ya.
I'm stumped, too, on the 240 calorie vs. 500 cal lobsterita. I'm guessing it has to do with size. Maybe served in a larger glass, plus the rocks version may have lots o ice, not so much hootch.
Happy Friday, all. My day started super cranky, mostly from hacking up ice on my entry and front walk early this morning (don't have suitable tools for that, but I will note that hacking solid ice is different from shoveling snow) but also simmering unrest from being cooped indoors all week and other irritants I have wanted to vent but just kept a lid on instead. The vent is all "don't sweat the small stuff" stuff like my things being used and put away dirty and in one case broken (scraping ice). It wouldn't bother me, I'm sure, if I were better at sharing in general.
And then my day took a dramatic turn for the better when I had a massage - a Christmas gift from a friend. Can you believe how kind? I'm on the table (a heated table), and thinking, "omg... how could this have ever been a bad day!?!" It was glorious.
AF M-Th. DH returns within the hour. Will probably have a glass of wine together then make hatch chile stew for dinner. I'm looking forward to both! Cheers, everyone!5 -
I'm Robyn and live in SE Virginia. My goal is 16+ AF days per month. I had 18 AF days last month. I post the next day.
2/1: Drinks (4) - I had a couple beers at the brewery we went to for a professional event. They had a food truck with delicious pulled pork and jerk chicken sliders. Once home, we stayed up late and broke into a bottle of wine. I did, however, avoid the temptation to get into late night snacking.
2/2: Drinks (4) - We went out for dinner where there was an amazing jazz band. I had two drinks there, and then we did the same thing as Wednesday night which was to share a bottle of chardonnay once back at home. My goal is no more than two drinks on A days.
Rolling Total: 0 AF Days out of 2
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February accountability: 2 days AF
Alcohol: 1 days ( 2 drinks)
Goal: Limit 2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days this month.
2/3 - 2 drinks; bourbon & Diet Coke
Think I might have caught a cold from caring for my granddaughters while they were sick. Felt terrible today and ended up skating on dinner with a pizza and drinks.3 -
Day 2 out of 28 days this month no wine. I did have one measure of fireball to relax after work tonight. Usually I would have that and a small bottle of wine to myself in a night so that is a success to me.
I had a rage dream night before last and a dream of hiding in old houses and then behind trees in a beautiful park from "bad guys" last night...WOoo! My cat has also been a gleep these last two nights sleeping cuddled up to me..unusual.4
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