LESS Alcohol ~ MAY 2023 ~ One Day at A Time
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Thank you all for the input on the treadmill's. I am still shopping and comparing notes.
AF today, but house buying is turning out to be stressful. Too much story to write here but know my mental state has had its ups and downs. Caused by our realtor LOL I can giggle now.
hugs to everyone
Oh no!!!! As if moving isn’t stressful enough. Hope it all smooths out. It’s always pins and needles until the contract is signed!!2 -
@joans1976 hope you feel better!
I finished the podcast and it really is fascinating. Besides the info on alcohol’s effect on neurodegeneration, it also does a number on our gut biome. What struck me the most is that my daily drinking habits, making me a “light to moderate” drinker, which I always assumed wasn’t that bad…. Kinda is.
Had drinks last two nights at work (boss had a wine delivery and after an especially tough day on Wednesday, we all unwound with an impromptu wine night). I slept terribly for the last two nights, but the night I abstained (Tuesday) I slept like a baby. Lack of sleep also means nothing is getting repaired properly, further exacerbating the effects.
It’s really a lot to think about. One thing is I’m going to make sure I don’t lapse on taking my probiotic , and to make sure I am drinking on a full stomach!
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STOP WAITING
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Hi All! Since joining this group Nov '22 I no longer drink on a daily basis. I'm drinking less for weight loss and overall health. I usually post the next morning.
Thu 5/4: AF - Weighed and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I gained .6 pounds over the last 6 days during my travels. In the past I would have gained several pounds. My win: Although I had a drink or two every night, it was no more than two (for the most part) and I was smart with food choices. I only was able to get in one workout. Time to get back on track with both food and beverage. Oh how I wanted to grab one of the new Hazy IPAs from the fridge last night! It was a struggle to choose the NA Guinness instead, but I did it. Later I also had an NA Athletic IPA. This is just a good reminder to have those NAs on hand. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have chosen the IPA.
Rolling Total: 1 AF Days out of 46 -
I finished the podcast and it really is fascinating. Besides the info on alcohol’s effect on neurodegeneration, it also does a number on our gut biome. What struck me the most is that my daily drinking habits, making me a “light to moderate” drinker, which I always assumed wasn’t that bad…. Kinda is.
I got that out of it too.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with these learnings yet.
Right now, and at least through July, and maybe more (other than vacation), I plan to keep alcohol consumption way down, mostly out of calories.
I've worked hard the last six weeks. I've logged calories every day. I've had one drink. I've hit my calorie deficit goals six days a week as planned. I've worked out six days with many two-a-days as planned. For weights, I lift to point of muscle failure. For cardio, twice a week intervals literally get me to my max heart rate. Total in the six weeks, between walking and running, I've put 130 miles on my feet. Jillian Michaels would be proud.
My 55-year-old body is responding better than I thought it would. I've lost nineteen pounds. I've dropped about 4 percent body fat. My blood pressure is down to 120/80 or somewhat just above. My resting heart rate is in the 40s. Pants that were tight to button, I can pull over my hips without unbuttoning. Chest is out in front of gut instead of the other way around. I can see four muscle groups in my "quads." My skin tone and face look much better, if not even younger. My mental health is much more positive. Alcohol isn't a first go-to for triggers.
Tonight, I plan to enjoy Cinco de Mayo and have a couple drinks.
Before the milestone of vacation in July, I've got probably four trips planned--two for business and two personal road trips. That'll be a bit hard to make progress with. Realistically, maybe I put primary focus into habits and set my goals for results not really any higher than "holding steady."
Starting out at 208 lbs., I just broke through into the 180s (189 lbs.). I don't think I can get off another 10 lbs. by July to get into the 170s.
Maybe I set target for lower 180s by July, end up gaining some weight on vacation, and then target getting into the mid 170s by fall.
I don't think I can do that plan without keeping alcohol calories way down.
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I found a really interesting article on sleep, which I promptly lost and couldn't find again.
I have had sleep issues since I was 7 years old, so it was interesting to me.
What I can remember from it was that we wake up 3 times each night for different reasons. The last wake up is early in the morning, and it is our large intestine emptying. Take deep breaths and go back to sleep. Hmm. Good food for thought. Still searching to find that article again.
Not having a permanent evening job I am back to getting up around 5am this week, even though I did pick up two dinner shifts at Spice Hut.
Sleep is so important, but illudes so many of us.3 -
I am Dawn, I live in South Eastern British Columbia.
I joined this thread in November of 2018, a daily drinker at the time
My primary goal with drinking less is weight loss.
My usual goal is 16-20 AF days for the month,
I had 16AF days in April.
I do this diary style, I normally post the next morning.
Monday May 01 - AF - I wanted drinks, it seems that I pretty much always do. Willpower won out, so that is a good thing. I don't want to repeat last month's behaviour where I toploaded the month with daily drinking and wasn't really able to try hard enough not to, and then I found myself trying to play catch up nearing the end of the month to get those AF days in. A short-lived 2nd job kept me AF for 4 days. When I don't have anything pressing the next day, that is when I struggle to not have drinks. Such will be the case this week, I will endeavour to dig deep and not give in to the craving.
Tuesday May 02 - AF - As usual, I felt like having a couple of drinks, but didn't.
Wednesday May 03 - AF - Someone in the afternoon asked me to take their dinner shifts for Wednesday and Thursday, so I was glad that I abstained on Tuesday night. It also made it easy for me to be AF Wednesday night since I will have a long-ish day Thursday.
Thursday May 04 - AF - Rain is in the forecast for the entire weekend, so I am aiming to get the grass cut and hopefully a bit more planted this morning before work. Planned drinks for the weekend. Pedicure Saturday afternoon, piccolo of prosecco already chilling in the fridge.
Rolling total - 4AF day out of 4 days.4 -
Goals for MaySelf-care and positive vibes!
Zig-zag calorie count - Daily Average 1400
Success = No more than two glasses of wine per night.
5/4 AF ~ Yippee 💚 Today is Cinco De Mayo. Husband wants Mexican food and Margaritas. 😲😮🤭. I've already plugged planned food/drink into MFP and its going to be a tough one but I'm going to try to stay at my calorie budget. I have a salad planned for lunch which comes in at 300 calories. That leaves me plenty of room for a (one) margarita and a chicken taco meal. That leaves me with 45 calories to spare. Oops, forgot the chips and guacamole. 🤞🏽 I think I will go for an extra walk at lunch today!🙂
Current Streak - AF = 2
@rockinrobyn672 ~ Welcome back!
The Month recap to stay accountable5/1 AF ~ Yipee! 💚 - Finished April with 3 days straight AF! I changed a lot of things in the past couple of weeks - I'm not sure which one is working or if it's the combination. I lost 9lbs in April. I can't tell you the last time that happened.My 2023 Stats...
April 1 to April 15 - 3lbs, April 16 to April 30 - 6 lbs!!!
5/2 A ~ 🍷🍷🍷'eh. 1:1 for May but did string a few days in a row. I plan to be AF today and Thursday. Friday is Cinco de Mayo and my husband is already talking about Mexican so there might be a margarita or two.
5/3 AF ~ Yippee! 💚There's this window when I get home from work. About 30 minutes after my arrival for about an hour... If I get past that point, I'm usually ok. When there's nothing really stressing me, then it seems to be just habit for me.Current Month
AF = 3
A = 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January
AF = 53%
A = 47%
February
AF = 29%
A = 71%
March
AF = 0%
A = 100%
April
AF = 14%
A = 86%
May
AF = 0%
A = 0%
May
AF = 75%
A = 25%6 -
Happy Cinco de Mayo all —
@Womona agree about the super interesting podcast on alcohol consumption…. I’m almost finished. Lots to ponder whether abstaining from A or a light to moderate drinker. I immediately took my probiotics as well! I do take several vitamin supplements like B12 and folic acid.
@joans1976 hope you feel better very soon!
@GaryM_25 this transformation you are undergoing is fantastic! It’s nice to hear all these positives on how you feel and look. Your diligence and focused hard work is definitely paying off!
@RockinRobyn672 you did so well with your goals in May! Your plan of LA reminds me to keep to my limit to reduce those unwanted calories.
@lmlmrn the zoo with the grandkids sounds fun!
@dawnbgethealthy your weekend with a pedicure and Prosecco sounds lovely to me.
@itladyee great reminder to plug in calories to MFP to plan ahead of time.
My weight loss has been very slow but steady - at least going in the right direction since January. LA is definitely a better path for me in many ways (sleep, weight, mental clarity, energy). Happy I’m finally learning this!
This week I took two long walks for exercise and did a Pilates workout. Want to break out the weights for light strength training today and try for 5 miles today.
Enjoyed some planned red wine last night with dinner and a movie with DH. Kept to my limit which is a new priority for May. Looking forward to seeing our grandkids this evening for a slumber party.
A - 1
AF - 3
May goal - 22-23 AF days
Limit to 2 glasses3 -
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@GaryM_25 congrats to you for such a major accomplishment! I'm throwing a major party if I can lose 10 lbs.
I totally forgot it was Cinco de Mayo and I live in the Southwest where that is celebrated! Goes to show my bar days are very over. Husband dozed off on the couch tonight and I tip-toed to the fridge to grab a one of his beers and a lime and I stopped myself altogether and grabbed a club soda instead. Well, a club soda a piece of cheese.
Anyway, many calories and booze averted!! On a Friday night Cinco de Mayo too!
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Today is one of my favorite days of the year(right behind Halloween) it is Kentucky Derby Day the 149th year. If any of you have been on this thread in past years you have heard my excitment for this one day before.
Yes they celebrate with the best bourbon in the world to make the traditional mint juleps. But in the past I have had the bartenders make my mint julep mocktail. Just as tasty without the alcohol.
One thing my husband and I overlooked before moving to Florida recently was....ummmmm....... there is no betting here. 🤣 I had to reach out to my gal pal back where I moved from to go place my horse racing bets for me.
So put on your best hat, saddle up and grab a beverage of your choice for the most exciting 2 minutes of the day.
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5/1-5/2-5/3 - AF
5/4-5/5-5/6- A2 -
Hi All! Since joining this group Nov '22 I no longer drink on a daily basis. I'm drinking less for weight loss and overall health. I usually post the next morning.
Fri 5/5: Drinks (4) - It's going to be hard to stick to my guns in Florida. This town has many music venues. I had and IPA at home, then two with dinner (great music), then we stopped by a local hangout where they had fun karaoke and also where I had a gin and tonic. Today I will do a better job. Planning drinks but no more than 2. Today we're going on a long bike ride in a beautiful wildlife preserve. It's my first ride on the new bike.
Rolling Total: 1 AF Days out of 55 -
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I am Dawn, I live in South Eastern British Columbia.
I joined this thread in November of 2018, a daily drinker at the time
My primary goal with drinking less is weight loss.
My usual goal is 16-20 AF days for the month,
I had 16AF days in April.
I do this diary style, I normally post the next morning.
Friday May 05 - 2 drinks. I was up very early Friday to get some stuff done in the yard before the promised 2-3 days of rain. I did get some more stuff planted and 2 sections of the grass cut. Too wet Saturday morning now to be able to cut the rest of the grass. After a very busy workday I went to help a friend move. It was a long day, but productive. I enjoyed my 2 drinks, then ended up staying up way later than usual watching all of the shows on the Royals lol. Pedicure today and planned Prosecco.
Rolling total - 4AF day out of 5 days.6 -
Many calories also averted yesterday as @globalhiker put it! We had our grandchildren spend the night so no A and just simple homemade tacos for dinner. We played children’s card games, watched a movie and I let them stay up later than usual. I should not have agreed to bake cookies after dinner! Got my 5 miles of walking in yesterday and will garden and houseclean today and am committed to staying active! Tonight is planned wine before tomorrow begins a new week for me.
Let’s make it a great day, and thanks for being part of my LA journey.
A - 1
AF - 4
May goal - 22-23 AF days
Limit to 2 glasses5 -
Thank you @GaryM_25 for telling us about this Huberman Lab podcast. I just took a long walk and listened to about a third of it and WOW, is it scaring me. I am just hoping that my years of damage can somehow be reversed. I really appreciate you posting this information. It is getting through to me in a way most books have not. Maybe hearing it aloud it what I needed.
I am watching the Kentucky Derby coverage. Every other ad is for bourbon and I am looking at the beautiful people in their hats sipping mint juleps. It does look fun, doesn't it? Except when I play the whole movie. If I was one of these people the movie would end with me losing my shoes and my beautiful hat. I'd probably not remember how loud and possibly weepy I would be when my horse did not win. Then in the morning either be completely mortified or not remember any of it. This actually does not sound all that great to me when I think about it like that.7 -
@Womona I have lost the taste for red wine only. I still want white. However, after listening to a third of that podcast I don't think I even want that at this point.4
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SunnyDays930 wrote: »Thank you @GaryM_25 for telling us about this Huberman Lab podcast. I just took a long walk and listened to about a third of it and WOW, is it scaring me. I am just hoping that my years of damage can somehow be reversed. I really appreciate you posting this information. It is getting through to me in a way most books have not. Maybe hearing it aloud it what I needed.
Hugs. I'm grappling with it myself.
I've decided I need to be bold.
Last night for Cinco de Mayo I drank four drinks. My head hurt. Bad.
Two days of drinking in six weeks. I feel so much better. There's probably no way I'll ever know about reversible damage. I just need to press into facts, self-honesty, and a better path forward for me.
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