Alcohol Free August 2017

lporter229 wrote: »

Can I join even though I am only planning to better moderate rather than eliminate my alcohol consumption?

I was reading a magazine article at the doctor's office yesterday and the author was saying that, while she does not abuse alcohol, she needed to re-evaluate her relationship with alcohol. Too many social situations found her consuming way too much alcohol. She stated (and I do not remember the source) that the guidelines for women are no more than seven drinks per week and no more than three in one day. It made me realize that, even though I don't consider myself a heavy drinker, I generally consume a lot more alcohol than this and I thought perhaps maybe I should also re-evaluate my relationship with the stuff.

I cook every night. I generally like to have a glass of wine, often two, to compliment my meal. I don't want to give this up. I also spend time on the weekends with friends and family in party type situations where alcohol is involved. Sometimes they last for many hours and over the course of the day I find that I may have drank an entire bottle of wine along with a cocktail or two that someone has offered me. No wonder I feel sluggish and sore on my run the next day.

So my plan for August is to stick to those guidelines suggested in the article. No more than 3 drinks in any given day or seven in a week. I will still have a glass of wine with dinner, but not every night so that I can bank some of those drinks for social days when I may want to have my max of 3 drinks. It's going to be interesting because we will be going on vacation on Aug 20th, but i know I can do it.

msp612 wrote: »

Does anyone have recommendations on what to drink if not alcohol at a party? We are very social and if I don't have a glass in my hand everyone thinks there is something wrong. I am also trying to do no alcohol in August. Thinking seltzer water or Kombucha to "mimic" a cocktail.

aaaaxx wrote: »

I'm gonna look for that book. The naked mind. Hope it helps. Nearly a week done and feeling great. Temptation hits every eve about 8 pm. It's gone by 10 pm. Phew. Have a party sat night in a situation where everyone will try to get me to drink. That will be a good test

VinslomBardy wrote: »

angelafaithheart wrote: »

I also just read The Easy Way to Quit Drinking by Allen Carr. I am going to look for/order The Naked Mind as well.

I also read the Allen Carr book and found it somewhat wanting. What irked me the most is how he seemed to take another book on how to quit smoking and merely did a global search for the word "smoking" and replaced with with "drinking". I'm planning to check out The Naked Mind as well. Thanks for the tip.

My advice, should anyone want it (if you don't, just tell me to STFU...) is to recognize the reasons why you drink more than you really want to. For so many people, alcohol is identical to food in the sense that it provides comfort and securty. Much like food, it can mask unpleasant feelings - depression, anxiety, loneliness, etc.

My coming to terms with my constant over-consumption of alcohol was very similar to my coming to terms with my over-consumption of food. I had to work on the reasons inside of me that made being constantly fat and drunk a more appealing place.