No Alcohol August

@fiddletime I agree, it is easier at this point to just say no, and perhaps I'll do just that when that snowy night comes around but if I cave, I'll be on guard for the first sign of when is it to soon to have my next and I will decide then to cut it off completely. Then again, maybe I'll just warm up some cider and avoid it all together. A warm cup of cider and a fire sounds nice
@Brooke1076 Thanks for getting September up in advance. I can't believe I've been alcohol free for 25 days straight. Looking forward to keeping this up.
@ThysbeEverbloom So glad to hear that it's going well for you. Keep up the great work.
@tmbg1 Fortunately I never having trouble sleeping. I live by a river, sleep with the window open and listen to the "white noise" of the water flowing by and that does it for me.
@SandiRemedios Looking for you! If your reading this, let us hear from you

You know, my father was a severe alcoholic, all of my life I watched it and hated it! You'd think that hating seeing that and how it affected my family would be enough to steer me clear. Started in my teens for "fun", kept it going as a form of "self medication" and then a "reward". Now I see it for what it really is, a "Crutch", unfortunately, if we lean on it too much it slips out from under us and we land on our face.

jesha00 wrote: »

Does anyone here live with someone that drinks regularily! I think it would be much easier to get away from the stuff when it's never in the house, or being enjoyed by someone else in front of me plus everything we do seems to involve alcohol.

My husband was my partner in crime but he is doing this NAA thing with me. I do have a sister though who is a severe alcoholic. Her husband drinks and says he doesn't believe in alcoholism. His motto is "just don't do it if you don't want to", while he drinks from breakfast till bedtime but never appears drunk, just a little red faced now and then. It has been a real struggle for her, to the point where it almost cost her life. She is in therapy now, taking one of those drugs to block the desire to drink. Only started that after she lost her job and her darling husband threatened to leave her. It is a hard row to tow but with the right help and the real desire, it can be done. When it comes to life or death, choose life.

Sparking water x 3 days now.

Survived with sparkling water last night. No real cravings yesterday so it was easy. I keep thinking of the health benefits and money saved when I want a glass of wine. That helps a lot.

@fiddletime are you a violinist? Just curious cause of your name and pic. Tonight I am enjoying deer Park sparkling water Mandarin orange flavor.

fiddletime wrote: »

Cascade Orange Mango sparking water for me tonight. I fiddle. Which is to say I play Scottish and Irish, mostly, folk music in my violin.

My Grandfather was a fiddler. He's been gone for quite sometime now but I remember fondly ever precious moment I heard him play.

Indulging in a diet A&W root beer. Still alcohol free since the end of June!

Day 20 - and its going well.
will try to moderate in september and then see how this works - if alcohol gets me back to getting oer my calorie goals (which it did) its back to "just say no".

ThysbeEverbloom wrote: »

Day 20 - and its going well.
will try to moderate in september and then see how this works - if alcohol gets me back to getting oer my calorie goals (which it did) its back to "just say no".

I added it back after taking a month off. The month I went dry I lost 6 pounds, and the 4 weeks after I've only lost 1 pound. A lot contributed to this as I moved, had people in town, and went out to eat instead of cooking at home for two weeks, but I do know that alcohol hurts my deficit.

I will say that I'm proud of myself for not gaining since adding it back, and I'm optimistic that I can keep alcohol in my life and still lose weight. For me it'll be about moderation and accepting that I might lose a little slower than I'd like to.