LESS Alcohol ~ January 2024 ~ One Day at A Time
Replies
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I’m doing a “damp January “, meaning my goal is to only drink if I am out socially. Most weeks that will mean AF 5 out of 7 days. That’s a huge improvement from what I’ve been doing lately! I’ve gotten into a habit of pouring a glass of wine when I start cooking dinner in the evening. My hope is to lower my BP, sleep a bit better, lose weight easier, oh, and save a few dollars!
AF—2 days7 -
Hello everyone, im from UK, i definitely drink too much and have cut down but want to continue more to lose weight and be healthier. Aiming to just drink on Fri/Sat or 2 days a week from now. This is still too much but a start…8
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Well nice to be back. Holidays were mixed. About half between Thanksgiving and New Year were AF. The Holiday period for me ends 1 January which is also my wife's birthday. We had house full of kids-grandkids and friends. I did most of the cooking News Years Eve, and was quite a feast (unhealthy) and all. Coupled with watching Michigan play in the CFP and score a nice win. 2023 was not a great year. Lost my father who was a great guy. My sisters and I were comforted he lived a long happy life....his way. For 2024 I mostly just don't want to drink. I turn 60 this year in July. I'd like to get to a healthy weight by then. This could also be my last year working full time. Financially I could be ready to retire full time in November, but per a couple of classes I took, I have not fully figured out what I would do with those 50 free hours Monday-Friday of suddenly free time. If you don't have a plan, it's a danger zone for drinkers. So 2024 for me is all about figuring out a plan for my post work life.6
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Hoping to have more AF days. lol
1 - AF
2- A
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Yesterday was a bit of a battle to not have a drink at the end of the stressful day, but success
AF Jan 2 of 2 days goal of 25 total7 -
pettycoatjunction wrote: »I’m doing a “damp January “, meaning my goal is to only drink if I am out socially. Most weeks that will mean AF 5 out of 7 days. That’s a huge improvement from what I’ve been doing lately! I’ve gotten into a habit of pouring a glass of wine when I start cooking dinner in the evening. My hope is to lower my BP, sleep a bit better, lose weight easier, oh, and save a few dollars!
AF—2 days
Are you me????? Haha!!5 -
Well nice to be back. Holidays were mixed. About half between Thanksgiving and New Year were AF. The Holiday period for me ends 1 January which is also my wife's birthday. We had house full of kids-grandkids and friends. I did most of the cooking News Years Eve, and was quite a feast (unhealthy) and all. Coupled with watching Michigan play in the CFP and score a nice win. 2023 was not a great year. Lost my father who was a great guy. My sisters and I were comforted he lived a long happy life....his way. For 2024 I mostly just don't want to drink. I turn 60 this year in July. I'd like to get to a healthy weight by then. This could also be my last year working full time. Financially I could be ready to retire full time in November, but per a couple of classes I took, I have not fully figured out what I would do with those 50 free hours Monday-Friday of suddenly free time. If you don't have a plan, it's a danger zone for drinkers. So 2024 for me is all about figuring out a plan for my post work life.
Sorry to hear of the loss of your dad. Some years just deserve to have the door hit them on the butt when it’s slammed on them!
You’re smart to start thinking about this now, especially if you dread the idea of sitting around all day drinking. Retirement also doesn’t mean you never work again, you could consult or work in a field part time that interests you. I hope you find what keeps your mind and body engaged post retirement. There is a Facebook group called Retire and Rewire that is full of people contemplating retiring with the big “now what” question looming over their heads.2 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I paid $20 for a month of DALL-E just so I could make a Dry January logo. Here's what I got:
I like it! Looks very official.3 -
@SunnyDays930 sorry to hear your wonderful trip was marred by Covid. Hope you are feeling better!
@MissMay, that sucks that the job is sucking the life out of you. Nothing worse than dreading going to work. Hope you find something that is better for you. Hugs!2 -
Great to see so much energy from this group!
No alcohol YTD. Been mostly AF over 2 months and it's nice and somewhat powerful to not think about drinking. I quit the micro-counting and have no desire to drink. Now my "thing" is a small glass of red grapefruit juice at night.
@Womona glad you mentioned soup because I find it quite comforting in the winter and good for weight loss and so filling. A cup or two of a good brothy lower-sodium soup is a great substitute for than 5pm wine call. I made an asian soup last night with ginger, garlic, shrimp and vegetables.
Goal is to make the next 12 hours successful and happy. Taking it day by day.
3 -
Happy New Year! Holidays hit hard but I'm back and also doing a Damp January.
Taking goals day by day- so far 1 A, 2 AF (counting today already as I'm fighting off a nasty virus and know there is no way I can or want to have anything today!) Really wanting to be mindful of AF day totals and amount per day. Being brutally honest with myself, some of the drink counts over the holidays were way over anything I should ever consider and it all comes down to that mindfulness aspect. But I know that I want to improve this part of my life before it started impacting anywhere else. One small change I made is to change my profile picture on here from me with a glass of wine to me at the beach with my daughter (she's not pictured).
For Damp Jan, using the Reframe app again is helpful. It's pricey for a whole year, but they had an option for 30 days at $5 so I opted for that.5 -
My goal is 250 calories or less from alcohol. So far, NOT off to a roaring great start.
1/1/24-312
1/2/24-376
4 -
@wendydancer1 glad you are here! It’s all a learning process of what works for each of us.
Small changes over time seems to be what experts say.2 -
ToadstoolBetty wrote: »Day 1 of January 2024, none!.
High cholesterol of 7 results in August 2023, need to change diet to lower(could be hereditary as mum's is,changing back to a more plant based diet. Only started eating red meats again in 2015 after 19years).
Pre diabetes 46 August 2022( on the edge of full diabetes).
2023 results 42 (still prediabetic but just in range,had cut out processed meats).
Chronic migraine sufferer.
Day 1 none
Day 2 none
Day 3 none3 -
@Pokey4321 very sorry for your loss, it’s never easy losing a parent. Glad you’re back.
The Facebook group mentioned sounds great - although I retired early at age 57, I think I’ll check it out as well. Always looking to rewire lol.1 -
SunnyDays930 wrote: »1/1 AF
1/2 AF
Why don't people do dry February instead? It is the shortest month after all
LOVE THIS!!!!!!
3 -
wendydancer1 wrote: »My goal is 250 calories or less from alcohol.
I don’t like to criticize anyone in this difficult struggle, so you must do your thing.
My TDEE is ~2000kcals/day. When I want to cut, I shoot for 1500kcals/day. I have never lost weight while drinking daily— I’ve had to limit to once a week or less (usually I go dry for a while).
The problem is that I need the food! If I add the alcohol, I get too hungry both that day and the next. And it’s hard to maintain good habits when I drink.5 -
I love the idea of "Damp January"! Never heard of it before; only Dry January
Wine has definetly assisted with my weight gain over the last few months. My goals are not to drink at home, only in social situations and stick to vodka sodas. Ive been AF so far in January but have back to back birthday celebrations coming up. I will have a cocktail(s) but not consume as much as I normally would.
Jan 1 - AF
Jan 2 - AF
Jan 3 -
4 -
Have 5/7 AF nights which I haven’t seen in a while and feeling good about that… so I guess there’s one good thing to be said about having a bad cold. ☺️
January goals 🎉
AF Days = 5 / week
AF - 3 days
4 -
AF again tonight, but I’d be lying if I said I was not tempted after a very long and very busy day at work.5
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January Goals! AF 5 days/week.
Happy New Year everyone! 🎉 I'm looking forward to a healthier year with you!
JAN 1: 3 Drinks. 🍷🍷🍷
JAN 2: AF ✅️
JAN 3: AF ✅️4 -
AF again today, but I sure thought about that glass of wine when I was fixing dinner. A nice cup of tea ☕️ was a relaxing was to finish my evening with no snacking.
AF 🟰 3 days8 -
Jan 1-3 AF and I am down 3 lbs. It is no coincidence. I made a huge pot of vegetable soup yesterday and it is so hearty and filling. It's like a bowl of good health. I'm going to try to keep soup on hand as it IS helpful for weight loss and maintenance since it fills you up. I'm having tea for happy hour now which has been fun. So far I am not tempted to drink. Here is the link to the soup recipe I used. I only used 1 potato since it was large.
https://www.hummusapien.com/vegetable-soup/#tasty-recipes-23058-jump-target10 -
2 - AF
2- A 6 -
Hi Everyone, Kind of new to the group. I have read a few times to get inspiration. I have been retired for 2.5 years now and that helped reduce my alcohol consumption quite a bit. No longer a daily drinker to relax. I still need to get rid of more alcohol to lose weight and improve my health further. So I am doing a "nearly dry" Winter/Spring (Jan - June). Just a few (<20) social occasions where my goal is to limit to 2 units of alcohol. Using the "Try Dry" app to track. I didn't set my goal till Jan 2 but still Jan 1 counts as over the limit.
Goal Results (# of days)
AF: 2
A (as planned): 0
A (over limit): 17 -
I love the idea of "Damp January"! Never heard of it before; only Dry January
Wine has definetly assisted with my weight gain over the last few months. My goals are not to drink at home, only in social situations and stick to vodka sodas. Ive been AF so far in January but have back to back birthday celebrations coming up. I will have a cocktail(s) but not consume as much as I normally would.
Jan 1 - AF
Jan 2 - AF
Jan 3 - AF4 -
@Pokey4321 Adding my condolences to you about your dad. What a lovely thing to be able to say, that you and your sisters are comforted by how he lived. It's truly a beautiful reflection, and I hope my kids feel that way someday (far in the future
)
Eased back into ST this week, emphasis on "ease," and yet the DOMS is real. Worked up the nerve to get on the scale after holidays and a week of travel and am middle of maintenance range. Confirms my mental effort will be best spent on building back that ST routine vs food intake, which on an average basis is pretty consistent.
@Jthanmyfitnesspal and @wendydancer1 I hear you on alcohol calories edging out food. I'm operating at 250 calorie lower TDEE than you (inclusive of cardio). I'm also pretty lean to start with and can't tolerate large deficits for more than a couple days. I lose slow-- 1/2lb per wk. My husband scoffs at such a slow rate of loss (he's taller), but then, I am essentially at goal and he isn't, so maybe it's a case of slow and steady for the W.
I banked calories for wine on weekends for years. Trying to build muscle mass made me realize I needed more food, not less, on ST days which are weekdays for me. Hence calorie banking worked fine for weight goals but not for body composition goals. Feels like the more I focus on health, the less room for alcohol. Go figure.
6 -
Small hurdle yesterday, when my husband's aunt came to dinner on her last night in town. She brought a partial bottle of wine that she wouldn't be able to finish herself before she went home. Husband doesn't drink, so I let my dry January become damp January to be polite. Husband says that it doesn't count, because I stopped at 1 glass (I am not good at stopping at 1, which is why I'm doing dry January in the first place!).
Back to dry January today!
So far:
Jan 1 - AF
Jan 2 - AF
Jan 3 - 1 glass of wine with company
Jan 4 - back to AF12 -
January Goals! AF 5 days/week.
Happy New Year everyone! 🎉 I'm looking forward to a healthier year with you!
JAN 1: 3 Drinks. 🍷🍷🍷
JAN 2: AF ✅️
JAN 3: AF ✅️
JAN 4: AF ✅️7 -
Goals for January
Almost Dry January
Exceptions :
Jan 1 - 2 - Vacation
Jan 8th (ish) husband's birthday celebration
Current Streak - AF = 3~
So far so good. Today was an Oh No moment when I grilled a filet with asparagus that I would normally couple with a glass or 2 of cabernet..... One day at a time!
@pettycoatjunction ~ coming home and pouring a glass of wine is definitely a habit.
@Womona ~ Thanks for the tip re the facebook group on retiring. I'll check it out as well. Hoping to go to 2 days a week later this year and then retirement is the next step depending on how the 2 days works out. You know, you can make a career just staying current on these group posts🙂 And yes, the temptation is REAL!
@OllyBooboo ~ Wine does me in! I attempted an experiment of no wine....ok to drink other drinks to see how that would work. Unfortunately, life got in the way. I haven't decided next steps after January. My #goal is weight loss and assuring health.
@SunnyDays930 ~ Congrats on your loss.
A = 1
W = 1
AF = 3
Month Recap by Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1/1 A2024 Stats
1/2 AF ✅️
1/3 AF ✅️
1/4 AF ✅️January2023 Stats Detailed
AF =
A =
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~January
AF = 53%
A = 47%
February
AF = 29%
A = 71%
March
AF = 0%
A = 100%
April
AF = 14%
A = 86%
May
AF = 23%
A = 77%
June
AF = 27%
A = 73%
July
AF = 0%
A = 100%
August
AF = 0%
A = 100%
September
AF= 0%
A= 100%
October
AF= 0%
Wine=100%
A= 100%
November - Assumed
AF= 0%
Wine=100%
A= 100%
December - Assumed
AF= 0%
Wine=100%
A= 100%5
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