LESS Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2025 ~ One Day at A Time
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Dry(ish) January check in….
Last night I went on a 65-minute walk at dusk instead of having wine and listened to a mindful walking meditation. It really connected my physical body to my mental thoughts, it was so good. Poured a Stella NA 0.0 while making dinner and then had herbal tea later.
Football is this weekend and I’m planning on split pea soup and baking low sugar oatmeal cookies at some point.
I do have a planned wine day for this evening’s game. Small bottle only so limits in check.
I can see my skin is even thanking me for cutting way back amongst other positives like lots of residual sugar calories avoided and improved metabolism.
Take care of yourselves this weekend!
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I’m in. I am aiming for more alcohol free days in 2025. I happened to have a sheet of stickers, 12 colors, 22 of each color. So, I’m going to aim to be able to put a sticker on 22 alcohol free days of each month in my planner.
I have already faced the surprise of having withdrawal symptoms. I didn’t drink heavily, but I was very accustomed to one drink a night (one glass of wine or one beer), two on weekends. And I guess that is enough to get headaches and achy body in the first few days without! A little scary to realize that my body expected the alcohol.
I have been having hot herbal tea in the evening or putting sparkling water with a bit of fruit juice in a big wine glass to have my sipping habit without the alcohol.9 -
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globalhiker wrote: »Happy New Year friends! What new fun activities will you be adding to your life transformation to replace drinking?
2024 Goals to continue in 2025:
AF for the month
Continue gym weight and kickboxing classes
New January goals:
1-Add at least 4 spin classes
2-Track sleep hours
3-Track the calories (I've been in calorie denial and need to face it)
4-Add running 2 more days a week to make it 3x weekly
5-Cut my grocery bill (including restaurant takeout) by 40% (this will be interesting)
@MissMay BIG thank you for keeping the thread and the team going strong
@SurferGirl1982 I completed 4 months and starting month 5 AF today. Counting months is working for me but I did benefit from counting days the first two months. There's a bit of psychology behind it. A hundred plus days sounds like a big accomplishment and it was tempting me to stop because I got to a goal line. With months, 4 months sounds so small (well 4 is a low number) so I feel compelled to continue and have a stretch goal of a year.
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@NonnieDoiron Happy Happy birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day. We are all celebrating alongside you in spirit!4
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@MissMay, wow, that is really scary about your friend. So glad it wasn’t way worse. Hope she feels better soon, and no more bad mixes!
@jlg1982 That’s a really interesting observation. Who knew that just a bit of moderate drinking can cause withdrawal!
AF today. I tried mixing the One to One with the Giesen NA wines, and it helped a little, but still pretty…. Not good. But I am determined. I think when these are kicked I’m going to go back to club soda with a splash of cranberry, and pretend it’s a sparkling rosé. It must be in a wine glass though, I miss the feel of the glass.
Yesterday had an Old Fashioned with a half glass of wine. Not horrible. I started hiccuping halfway through my wine, which means I’ve had enough.5 -
Setting up for success!!!
Goals for January - 85% Dry (AF = 26 A=5)
Monthly Stats - On Target
AF = 9 ~ 82 %
A = 2 ~ 18 %
Current Streak - AF = 2
Longest Streak - AF = 7
Today was a planned day. Celebrated my MIL's 95th birthday. Ironically, the drinks came before and after. The plan was for everyone to "bring their own food" and we'd cut cake and have cake and ice cream later in the evening. Bringing food, meant the we'd be sitting helter skelter and probably with plates in our laps.... just wasn't in the mood so we decided to go have a sit down meal prior to...
We had gift cards to Coopershawk and enjoyed a leisurely lunch that included two glasses of wine. One thing that it's interesting/cool....when you go without for a few days... the smell, the taste is so vibrant and enjoyable. A good thing (I think) in my case.
After lunch, we headed to their house. It was ok, but remember I am in introvert and don't have any commonality with these folks... so it was a little painful...think nails on a chalkboard. And ...no one really drinks ... which isn't a bad thing. 4 hours later and I've had my max. I didn't eat (cake or icecream) or drink anything. I was actually kind of annoyed at one point but that's a story for another day.
We drove home (about 90 minutes) and...while I was at Coopershawk, which I'm a wine club member, I picked up my wine....so I was able to enjoy one more glass of wine (right now) before retiring. It's a nice decompress and I'm kinda In a funk, but this too will pass.
Tomorrow supposed to go to brunch with my husbands daughter and company to celebrate his birthday. Rumor has it, the price of the brunch includes unlimited mimosas.....Good news...even with lunch out and wine, I stayed within my calorie budget....Tomorrow...game time decision!
@tobinross ~ welcome, I hope you will stay and support.
@NonnieDoiron ~ Happy Birthday to you!!!! I hope you enjoy it and create some super fond memories. I hope you parents surprise you too!!
@globalhiker @tmbg1 ~ good advice. i will probably go back to tracking LA days once I feel more in control.
@surfergirl1982 ~ I have a roll of quarters and dimes and nickles laying around!!! I don't seem to get "change" much any more, but when I did, I'd throw them in a jar and periodically roll them. There used to be changed machines that you could dump your change into and get dollars back, but now they want to charge a fee. Instead, rolled coins can go to your bank for even exchange. Good Luck with your Sunday start!!! We are all in your corner!
@Sunnydays930 ~ OMG...that's amazing. I have a feeling a LOT of aches and pains will go away once I'm truly in control and lose a few pounds. Glad to hear it's relieved your pain.
@MissMay ~ OH MY!!! Can't even imagine and I feel the agony. I hope she's ok and learns to be very careful with over the counter meds. Did she call 911? How did she get to ER? Very scary stuff. I hope she listens to you.
@JLG1986 ~Welcome and I've started doing stickers for EVERYTHING. It's kinda fun!
Happy Sunday....
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
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 = January4 -
@JLG1986 I love the idea of using colored stickers in your calendar, welcome here!5
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My weight is finally starting to come down. Definitely want to be AF until Thursday.6
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8 AF
2 LA (LA means 1-2 drinks)
1 A (A means 3+ drinks)7 -
Today I set my new weekly targets - 5 AF days this week.
The beauty of creating my targets is…..if something comes up and I want to switch a wine day I can. Really appreciating a mindful approach! I have found that progress is definitely not a linear journey.6 -
SurferGirl1982 wrote: »SunnyDays930 wrote: »I have a list of reasons to quit drinking. Inflammation doesn't just cause hip or knee pain. But it causes problems with just about every system in our bodies. Thanks, I will be adding reduced inflammation to my list!
So TRUE! That was a realization that really hit home last year. Inflammation/water retention can add big time #'s. Not to mention it makes several parts of my skeleton plenty unhappy. The list is big!
Keep keeping on SurferGirl5 -
@Surfergirl1982 Yes I totally see a difference in my skin and even my hair when I am drinking. My skin is nice and soft and not red now at day 14 AF. And my hair is softer and shinier. This is because alcohol is a major dehydrating substance. Not only will it suck the moisture out of your skin and hair, it sucks it out of your brain. From AI:
Alcohol is a diuretic
Alcohol causes your body to remove fluids from your blood more quickly than other liquids. This can lead to dehydration if you don't drink enough water with alcohol.
Dehydration causes the brain to shrink
When your body is dehydrated, your brain shrinks in volume. This can cause headaches, dry mouth, and moodiness.
Alcohol damages brain cells
Alcohol can damage brain cells, especially if your body doesn't have enough water.
So....yikes7 -
When I went to the hairdresser a couple of months ago, my hairdresser actually told me my hair felt terrible and asked me if I had a thyroid issue. I came home and immediately googled it and it's a fact that booze dries out your hair.6
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Setting up for success!!!
Goals for January - 85% Dry (AF = 26 A=5)
Monthly Stats - On Target
AF = 9 ~ 75 %
A = 3 ~ 25 %
Current Streak - AF = 0
Longest Streak - AF = 7
Brunch was great and the mimosas just kept coming.... And I can't wait to have an AF day tomorrow!!!! My next potential glass of wine will be on 1/15 when our book club meets then 1/17 after that, dinner with friends. The rest of the month should be good. That would put me exactly at 5 days and meeting my goal!!
Hope your Sunday is going well.
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
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 = January5 -
SurferGirl1982 wrote: »SunnyDays930 wrote: »@Surfergirl1982 Yes I totally see a difference in my skin and even my hair when I am drinking. My skin is nice and soft and not red now at day 14 AF. And my hair is softer and shinier. This is because alcohol is a major dehydrating substance. Not only will it suck the moisture out of your skin and hair, it sucks it out of your brain. From AI:
Alcohol is a diuretic
Alcohol causes your body to remove fluids from your blood more quickly than other liquids. This can lead to dehydration if you don't drink enough water with alcohol.
Dehydration causes the brain to shrink
When your body is dehydrated, your brain shrinks in volume. This can cause headaches, dry mouth, and moodiness.
Alcohol damages brain cells
Alcohol can damage brain cells, especially if your body doesn't have enough water.
So....yikes
That's a definite "Yikes"! I'm going to try not to drink tomorrow. I know it will be tough. But, I'll do my best.
Ewww, alcohol shrinks your brain????? I guess it makes sense, but still…. Ewww! I did not know that’s what causes the headaches.
I find I start looking haggard when I drink too much, or for too many days in a row. My skin looks much more youthful when I don’t drink, or really dial it back.
I do drink a lot of water (one bottle contains an electrolyte ) to counteract the 3 cups of coffee I have every morning. Between the coffee and the alcohol, my skin doesn’t stand a chance! Trying to change that around. And I am NOT giving up my
coffee!!!!
Af again tonight, but I was really tempted to have wine with dinner, believe me! The one good thing is i generally don’t go over calories when I’m AF.
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9 AF
2 LA (LA means 1-2 drinks)
1 A (A means 3+ drinks)6 -
11 days AF done for Jan.
Working on developing the skill of "how to sit at the bar and have a good time without alcohol".
I sat at the bar today - we had a planned "date" day so husband and I went on a 3 hour hike/run together (during the time when he'd habitually start day-drinking) then off to our old Mexican happy hour place. This was my second time since I stopped drinking in Sept. that I sat at a bar. We did great, he stopped at 2 beers and I had diet coke with tons of lemon. Our fajitas were amazing and we moderated when presented with the free tortilla chip bowl. At the end, he was shocked that the bill was so cheap and said we need to do this again. Another benefit of not drinking- more dates in my future !
The bartender didn't say any comments to me about not drinking and other people at the bar were drinking regular ice tea so I wasn't self-conscious or tempted and it was a totally pleasant experience.
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Sending you positive thoughts @SurferGirl1982 and a little prayer that you are completely safe as you navigate this next step.
Just make sure you have electrolytes and anything else that makes you feel comfortable nearby. You know we are rooting for your success and if you need medical assistance there is absolutely no shame in that. I say this after reading your post above on your physical experience from a previous time.6 -
Zico coconut water is good indeed. Have as much as you can! I can tell you are resilient and have a can do attitude. There are some good calming meditation's on YouTube if you like that kind of thing. Big hug!4
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@SurferGirl1982 I do not want to overstep here but it sounds like you need medically supervised withdrawal from alcohol. There is no shame in this at ALL, it just appears that you are in that danger zone where it is not advisable to try this alone. Please tell your doctor about these withdrawal symptoms at your upcoming appointment and don't sugar coat it. The only way I could get my Dr to say to me "stop drinking now", was when I was completely honest with her about my habits. I was embarrassed but she waved that off and said, "I wish more people would tell me the entire truth about their drinking.". It was a relief actually. We all here care deeply about you and are rooting for you. XXOO9
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SurferGirl1982 wrote: »It's shortly after 8 pm and I poured out the rest of my whiskey. So, I won't have any in the morning. I think it's for the best.
Wish me luck 😕
We're all here for you, take care and please do get medical help if you need to. Hugs6 -
@SurferGirl1982 I hope you make great strides in getting LESS into your daily routine.7
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Day 100 AF 🤸♂️
I have never said I will quit completely. For now....this is my LESS.11 -
@globalhiker oh my gosh I was unaware that you were staying clear of sitting at a bar all this time. I am glad you both had a good experience.
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We're all rooting for you, @SurferGirl1982, but definitely be safe!5
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I drank A LOT yesterday and I'm ready for a break starting today. I will not drink at home for the rest of this month. I do have a girl's night next week with my best friend at bar/restaurant, and I am planning to not drink then, but we'll see how it turns out. For now, no drinking at home for sure.
@MissMay Incredible streak! Proud of you! @itladyee Way to meet your goals! @globalhiker Good job sitting at the bar without alcohol! That's a tough one and you nailed it! @tmbg1 Doing awesome with LA!
AF = 3
A = 9 Gotta work on flipping these numbers!10 -
So far, dry January intact with this being day 13...completely surprised my wife based off my normal alcohol consumption. She said something about being stubborn as a mule runs in my family...
@itladyee - thanks for the shout-out!
@Mike_Check - totally understand about having a couple of beers after work...I have been trying some NA versions and found a couple that work for me...Clausthaler has a dry-hopped IPA that is pretty close and only 56 calories, Best Day Brewing has a Hazy IPA version that also has under 60 calories...beyond that, have not found any others I would recommend.8 -
AF last night - chose a glass of Be Well NA wine and one Stella 0.0 yesterday. Liked the experienced without feeling the effects of alcohol.
Current Stats - 8 out of 13 days AF!
AF - 8
A - 4
LA - 1 (2 Prosecco)
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Yay! You're doing it, @SurferGirl19826
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