LESS Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2025 ~ One Day at A Time

MissMay

SparkSpringtime69 wrote: »

Jan:
AF=6
A=10

Yesterday was AF for me, and I have to tell you I think my attitude has totally changed. I really don't think I'll be drinking any more.
Here's the story:
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Your story is very moving, your courage to make the right decision to be AF is such a strong realization. It hit home for me.

In 2001 someone in my home went missing. They had issues with medicine they were taking for a surgery they had recently. I could not go look for them because I could not walk around my neighborhood or drive since I had been drinking heavy.

Your a hero for being AF during all that.

MissMay

Accountability January 18 2025

0 ZERO alcohol
AF - 17

I am at day 100+ sipping my non alcohol drinks in fancy glasses. Some with mini umbrellas even.

I don't do hair extentions, false eye lashes, spanx, botox or acrylic nails. I do however elude my drinking friends questions by putting my non alcohol beverages in gorgeous glassware accented with pretty garnishes. 🤣🤪

Womona

@MissMay oh man, thank you for sharing that story. You must have felt awful. But, I hope you have yourself grace because you didn’t know what you know now.

Also goes to show that these things happen more than we realize!

It’s ALL about the fancy glass! Makes a huge difference when having a NA drink!

SurferGirl1982

I messed up my streak just a little while ago. I didn't have any cravings or anything. I was just having a lousy day. I feel very bored and lonely where I live. The town that I have listed on my profile is where I used to live and I would prefer to still live there. I actually live about 13 miles north of there. But, I refuse to claim to live in this boring, little town.

When we first moved here we had come across a good deal. And, we thought, what's 13 miles? But, we were younger then. Now, I'm unable to drive there by myself. At first, it was anxiety. But, I planned to start driving into town and have someone with me just in case. Then, I had this episode with my eye.

In 2013, I got a job with the county. Not a great job. But I took it thinking that I may be able to get into another position with the county. I was a floater at the county transfer sites. I basically supervised the offenders (people on probation, etc). My first assignment was in a town 35 miles south of here. I got on the freeway and it was foggy. I started feeling anxious and I thought about getting off of the freeway at the next exit, about two miles down the road, and calling and saying that I quit. But I thought to myself that I couldn't do that. So, I white-knuckled it and got there. When I was done for the day, I locked the gate and I had this feeling of satisfaction. I had driven there and put in a good days work. Driving home was smooth sailing. Anyways, I got over my fear really quick. So I know I could do it again. Sometimes when you have a fear...you just have to get back on the horse. But, with driving, I've been more like a mule digging in his back heels.

I'll be back on track by Monday. Normally, I would say tomorrow. But, I bought a pint (375ml). I know that I won't drink it all. And, I'm tired of pouring it down the sink.

January:
AF - 6
A - 13

itladyee

Setting up for success!!!
Goals for January - 85% Dry (AF = 26 A=5)
Monthly Stats - On Target If When I finish strong, the best I can do is 81% Still a win!
AF = 12 ~ 67 %
A = 6 ~ 33 %
Current Streak - AF = 1
Longest Streak - AF = 7

I did “want” a glass of wine but just pushed through it. I already had 3 days. #bebetter.

@surfergirl1982 - today is just one day. Try to be AF tomorrow. Don’t wait for Monday. You can do it!

Month Recap by Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tracker ✅️🍷🍸

1/1 - 1/7 ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅
1/8 - 1/14 ❌✅✅❌❌✅✅
1/15 - 1/21 ❌❌❌✅
1/22 - 1/28
1/29 - 2/4

Exceptions for January
1/8 🍷🍷🍸 ~ Husband's birthday
1/11 🍷🍷🍷 ~ Lunch out prior to MIL birthday celebration
1/12 🥂🥂~ Mimosa's at brunch
1/15 🍷🍷🍷 Book club
1/16 🍸🍷 Unplanned Pizza and cocktails
1/17 🍷🍷🍷 Dinner out with friends

2023 - 2024 Stats
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2024
January AF =87% A=13%
February AF =58% A=42%
March AF = 0% A = 100%
April AF = 0% A = 100%
May
June AF =58% A=42%
July
August
September
October
November
December AF = 13% =87%
Best AF Month = January

2023 St AF =12% A=88%
Best AF Month = January

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Womona

@SurferGirl1982 sorry to hear you had a bad day and a setback. Hey at least you recognize that it’s because you were bored and realized you were unhappy with your town. It’s moments like this that make moving to where you prefer to live easier. Back on that horse, girlie. We are all pulling for you!

Womona

I was going to do AF tonight, but I saw that we were almost finished with one of my favorite bottles of wine, and I wanted to get some before my husband finished it. I had it with dinner and stopped at one. I’ll take that win, but I could have lived without it. I think my tastes are starting to change, I’m not loving it the way I used too!

We are going to get pounded with snow tomorrow. Will avoid day drinking. I see a nap in my future though!

tobinross

@SurferGirl1982 - as @Womona mentioned, you know the reason why you picked up the pint and that is a small win....and you only bought a pint...another small win...use those small victories to carry you to more wins. You have a great deal of support here and we have all been there so absolutely no judgment coming your way out of this forum!

@MissMay - like that style with dressing up NA drinks in fancy glassware - and no suspects anything!

tmbg1

11 AF
4 LA (LA means 1-2 drinks)
3 A (A means 3+ drinks)

NonnieDoiron

AF - 7
A - 11

1 glass last night. It’s a wine my son’s gf’s mother gave me for my birthday, but this particular brand makes me mean when I drink more than 1 glass. So, this one will last a min of 4 days. Maybe I need to start buying that one, so I know I can’t have more than 1 glass when I drink.🤔

@SurferGirl1982 I want to give you my phone number, so when you’re feeling that way you can call or text me. How do we do that on this app without me giving the whole world my number?? lol We could talk through it. Do you have anyone you can do that with? I know it’s not someone in-person, but it might help change that feeling in the moment. If you figure out a way to make that happen, let me know. I’ll happily be your lifeline!😁

MissMay

@SurferGirl1982 and this is why we have ONE DAY AT A TIME in our title.

So many ways you won that A episode.
•you bought a smaller amount
•you recognized why you did and how it made you feel.
•you got in here and owned your drink day and hiccup in your AF streak.
•you declared more AF in your future.

You and @NonnieDoiron can friend each other within MFP, accept each other request and than privately correspond with each other and swap numbers or emails.

You got this! And thank you @NonnieDoiron for that gracious offer for surfergirl to take you up on.

MissMay

Today markers week 15 of my no alcohol run.

We here in Florida are supposed to get temps in either low teens or single digits and possible 1-3 inches of snow. WTH???

In the past, I would be panicking. My husband is quietly doing this in his head. He has stocked up on all his alcohol.

I am going for the life essentials in case we need them. Gasoline in car, water, camp propane bottles for camp stove, healthy foods, etc.

He will and has begun to tell me STOP WORRYING. When in fact me preparing is not worrying it is, well, preparing as a sensible person does. Right?

I will be AF through it all no matter how significant or non significant this arctric blast to Florida becomes.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

SurferGirl1982

Hi everyone, I drank about half of the pint yesterday afternoon/evening and decided to dump out the rest. It was difficult. I picked up the bottle about three times and kept putting it back down before finally deciding to dump it down the sink. Immediately afterwards, I regretted it. I thought, "I should have freshened up my drink first!". But this morning, I'm glad that I did. So I'm beginning Day 1 again 😕

@Womona I would love to move but I really can't afford it right now. To buy a house that I liked in a neighborhood that I liked would cost more than my current home. I'm afraid to get in over my head. I tend to get cold feet also.

@tobinross Thank you for your support! You're doing amazing!

@NonnieDoiron Thank you for your offer. But I'm really not much of a phone person. My brother and I talk every month or two (he's not a phone person either). I have a high school friend that I talk to occasionally. I think she's more into Facebook. I've tried Facebook. But I didn't like it. Two of my high school friends came up not that long ago. One of them has a nephew who lives in my area. We all met at a nice restaurant nearby. I hadn't seen the nephew Freddy since he was about 12 years old. Now he's grown with a wife and kids. At the restaurant, he said that he had tried Facebook. And every time he got off the computer, he would feel sad. He's much younger than me. But that's how I felt with Facebook too. This is the only form of social media that I use.

@MissMay I do think the one day at a time is a good motto. I'm not a complete failure if I decide to have a few drinks from time to time. As long as those days are far and few between. One thing that I've tried for years (not very successfully) and it is helpful...is to not drink two days in a row. It helps with not becoming physically dependent.

Well...off to Day 1!

Michieb125

Repost with reviews!

A definite and surprising YES. Pinot Noir by Meiomi called Bright at Total Wine. So close to the original taste and exact color of their popular Pinot Noir - very full bodied for a low abv%. Had 2 glasses and put away for Tuesday or Wednesday. Worth the price of $22.99 to save on alcohol and calories.

YES - Mingle brand - a new NA lightly sparkled flavored beverage: Pinapple/Paloma. Light fruity effervescence balanced with a hint of grapefruit.

Didn’t try yet but I’m sure it’s yummy. Rose’ N.A. sparking beverage for 50 calories in a can for $1.99 at Trader Joe’s.

I went on a wonderful long winter hike in the hills with my son and wife yesterday morning. So special!
Did weight training the day before and now my body is so sore!

Ate ribs, salads, and me wine after the football game. Today I feel like I’m coming down with a tiny cold so will try to fight off with zero A, soup made with bone broth and a restful day! Time for a reset.

SurferGirl1982

@MissMay Congratulations on your 15 week streak! I don't even think you had planned on having a streak like this?

We're having a bit of a cold snap ourselves. My husband said that when he first got up our temperature gauge said 32°. But later it dropped to 27° and frost formed.

You are being very sensible stocking up on supplies. We had a snowstorm in February 2019 and there was no warning. We had tons of snow and it was very wet. So it took down trees and power lines with them. We were without power for four and a half days. It was miserable.

Fortunately, we have a gas stove and a gas BBQ on the back porch under cover. So, we were able to cook and heat water. I would also light the burners on the stove to warm up the house. But only when I was sitting just feet away. After about 15 minutes the thermostat would say "70". And I would turn them off. I would turn them on for a little bit before I went to bed. We stayed pretty comfortable. But there were no lights or TV or internet. Even our cell service went out on day 2. One thing you may want to pick up are Lightsticks. They are tubes that you break and they give off light for some time. We hung them up in our bathrooms. Because with no lights (even streetlights), it's pitch black and hard to use the bathroom at night. We also have LED lanterns. And, make sure you have batteries for lanterns or flashlights.

My neighbor across the street didn't have gas. So, we brought her our little camp stove like you're talking about so she could at least cook some basics. One of the worst things for me was that the liquor store was closed. And, since it happened without warning, I hadn't stocked up. They finally opened a couple of days later. Some areas had their power restored more quickly than others. In town, it was restored after two days. After a couple of days we went into town to charge and use or phones. No fun!

SurferGirl1982

@MissMay I was telling my husband about you getting snow in Florida. He told me a story. Many years ago, he lived in Alaska (before I met him). A few of his friends decided to go to Florida during the winter to get away from the cold. He didn't go with them. When they returned, they said that it was colder in Florida than it was in Alaska! I guess it was just one of those years 🤔

SparkSpringtime69

@surfergirl1982 First I have to say congratulations on the 6 AF days so far this month!
Next, even bigger congrats on pouring the rest of the pint down the sink yesterday!
Third, a big nod of agreement to everything everybody else has said yesterday and today.

SparkSpringtime69

@MissMay we're supposed to get snow/ice here in SC too, although I think it's going to be west of us.
Love the fancy glasses and umbrellas idea.

Thank you all for support and well wishes. Quick update: My SO took his brother to a doctor yesterday after he spent the whole day before falling to sleep on the couch. They did a chest xray and found some pneumonia so they gave him an antibiotic and some other stuff and sent him back home (all of his vitals were in normal range). He spent the rest of the day yesterday and most of this morning also falling asleep while sitting on the couch, but this afternoon seems to have perked up a little. I think the cough is getting a little better too.
The PA at the doctor's office said that when people his age get sick they can get very sleepy and sometimes lightheaded. Hopefully he'll keep getting better day by day.
I'm on my fourth day today and am already sipping on herbal tea so I'm going to call it AF today. I haven't had four days straight in a very long time.

Jan:
AF=9
A=10

SurferGirl1982

@SparkSpringtime69 Congratulations on the four days AF!

Yesterday I was feeling a bit stressed out, so I just felt like having a few drinks. I think I kind of needed it. I feel much more relaxed today. So, today, it's back to the drawing board 🤔

I'm glad you're SO took his brother to the doctor. Hopefully, he'll be feeling better soon!

tmbg1

11 AF
5 LA (LA means 1-2 drinks)
3 A (A means 3+ drinks)

SurferGirl1982

AF today!

January:
AF - 6
A - 13

chicbuc

Way to get back up, @SurferGirl1982 I’m so proud of you!!!

SurferGirl1982

Thanks @chicbuc 🙃

shpuniarsky

hi everyone,

i have been a lurker on this thread for some time now but i have never posted, i have always been too shy. i was trying to do a dryish January (which started a little late) and broke my streak on saturday, so i am feeling a little down on myself. i decided to post because everyone on here is so supportive and kind. additionally, i think i need the extra support to get through weekend cravings. red wine is my downfall and i'm usually dry through the week but on saturdays i tend to overdo it (and pay the price on sundays). i really want to stop this cycle. also, i want to lose weight and improve my health. when i have too much wine, i tend to eat poorly and that has caused me to gain weight over time. so, today is day 2 alcohol free in a row and i'm aiming to rebuild my streak. thanks to all the contributors on this thread, reading your posts inspires me and helps me with my own goals.

Jan:
AF=17
A=3