A break from drinking after the holidays!

I totally have the same issue!! Stress sets me off and lately it's been bad.

Same issue. I weigh myself on Mondays to help me to not overindulge during the weekend, and I make a deal with myself that if I've gained any weight that Monday, I'm not allowed any alcohol that week at all. It helps. Quiksylver296, I sincerely wish you luck with your goal - I haven't let go of booze for that long since pregnancy!

I'm in! Lately I've been in a bad 2-3 glasses of red wine per night habit, not to mention all the sugary speciality cocktails I consumed over the holidays. The booze is definitely showing on my waistline. So I've decided to cut out (effective yesterday) any alcohol consumption unless I'm out for a social engagement, such as a mimosa or bloody Mary at weekend brunch with friends or a glass of wine while dining out. I feel that it's reasonable for me to have 1-3 drinks per week and still stay on track with my goals...I just can't have 1-3 per night.

julesrules611 wrote: »

I know that alcohol has had a hugely negative effect on my health. It has caused weight gain, lethargy, and guilt, and leads to bad habits like smoking and eating late.

Even though I know drinking's bad for me, I still want to do it. I don't drink every single day, but I do binge on weekends and perhaps one weekday. So right now I could use some support as I take a break from alcohol. Anyone else go thru this??

I could have written this exact same thing. I gain weight, feel anxious/down after the nights where I drink too much, and get the craving to smoke. It's completely non-productive towards my goals and negatively affects my workouts, too. I'm currently doing dry January and already feel better just having 5 days off.

All this to say, you can do it! For me, the hardest part is the habit of it. Sometimes I just want to pour a glass of wine out of habit but that seems to fade after a week or so. I've found that journaling helps so when I'm tempted to have a drink, I can look to the reasons why I'm abstaining for now. Good luck!

I think its a fantastic idea. I have been punting it around in my head that I need to lay off the beers till I hit my next goal. I don't go out often, but when I do, I over indulge and the next few days are shot for exercise and for logging. It also takes forever for that waterweight that I gained that day from over drinking and salty snacks to come off, so it constantly seems like I am backtracking.

I can totally sympathize with what you have going on. I am in the same boat. I set the goal of no alcohol until Feb 13th. By then, I feel as though I should have hit a few milestones in my workout/diet plan. Maybe if I stop drinking for this amount of time, whenever I decide to have a drink again, I won't swim in it.

I am also looking into more positive ways to cope with stress. Drinking is a simple yet very temporary solution. The struggle is definitely real.

@julesrules611 @MrsVelapanur - I'm totally with you. It's taken a while but I finally accepted that I'm just not good at moderating alcohol. Once I have 1-2 glasses, I want to keep going. I really want to get to a place where I can learn to moderate, and I think completely abstaining for a while will help with that.

I'm on board! I too am cutting way back (once a week, if that, and only if we are having company or at a friend's for dinner). My goal is to make this my new way of enjoying wine, in moderation, once in a while. I have dear goal to reach that I've not reached in my 20 years of trying to slim down. I work too hard (training) to let my dream slip away into oblivion! Let's do this! Add me if you want a friend on the journey.

AJMB704 wrote: »

MrsVelapanur wrote: »

I have belonged to the same wine club for over 4 years and I love going for pick up times.

I love our wine clubs too! We belong to 2 different ones and like going wine tasting once every couple months or so. We have a stash of about 30 bottles at any given time.

I stopped drinking alcohol (mostly) on "school nights" back in August/September, unless we are out socializing. If you guys want to join a group, check out our group "No booze on school nights!" It's been helpful to me although it's pretty quiet in there. We could use some more active folks!

That's the same with us. I've been thinking a lot about how I'd like to incorporate alcohol back once dry January is over and I've definitely been considering the no drinking on school nights route. Glad to know there's a group for that!

I first stopping drinking wine on week nights. That helped me with weight loss, but I was doing a countdown to Friday night every week, and my glass or three of white wine. So I stopped buying it completely so it wasn't in the house. That helped a ton and after a few weeks I was forgetting about it.

I decided to only drink it on special occasions. But then the holidays came and parties and lots of special occasions, so I'm only drinking now on "very special occasions". I still find it very hard to just drink one glass, and I occasionally have a little scotch, but I don't look forward to that. Overall I probably have wine twice a month now and I don't plan for it and it doesn't drag on my thoughts anymore.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/34994098#Comment_34994098

Dry January challenge thread here.

fiddletime wrote: »

I first stopping drinking wine on week nights. That helped me with weight loss, but I was doing a countdown to Friday night every week, and my glass or three of white wine. So I stopped buying it completely so it wasn't in the house. That helped a ton and after a few weeks I was forgetting about it.

I decided to only drink it on special occasions. But then the holidays came and parties and lots of special occasions, so I'm only drinking now on "very special occasions". I still find it very hard to just drink one glass, and I occasionally have a little scotch, but I don't look forward to that. Overall I probably have wine twice a month now and I don't plan for it and it doesn't drag on my thoughts anymore.

That is great to hear - I really want to get to this place, too!

I made a decision to quit drinking some time a go. I find it easier just not to drink than to wonder how much should I cut back, should I drink today, etc. etc. While this approach is not for everyone, it has worked for me. Drinking can be such a crutch, and for me once I started I couldn't stop. Also, I never felt like exercising when I drank the night before. I say great for those who can drink in moderation, but that wasn't me. There are helpful programs out there for those who want to stop drinking. And the great side effect of not drinking is that I get to use those calories for yummy foods, and still eat within my calorie macros for weight loss.

Ugh..I typed a long post explaining why I need to give up wine while on this weight loss journey, but only a small portion posted

I've been drying myself out a little too. Feels good. We went out for a draft beer on the 2nd and that has been it so far.
Be strong crew!