Less alcohol - Nov 2017 - one day at a time

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  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    ali3boys wrote: »
    So last night went okay; I made my "mini" goal weight today; but I can do better. So far I just been cautious of how much I'm drinking; but tonight I'm going to try and visualize before I even start what exactly I'm going to have and stick to it !!! any other ideas ?!? I think keeping my goal weight over the weekend will help. Hopefully... Lol

    Day by day! My husband and I both love wine so we agree before hand - okay, only one bottle between us. that makes 375mls each. Also we use specific wine glasses and know the volume of each. When the bottle is done, it is done. Maybe you can figure something similar out?
    Goo luck, K
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    I did awesome last night. Only one vodka and water. Tonight I bought a beautiful wine and shared with my dinner guests. I only had about 2
    5oz glasses. Getting better.

    Great!!!
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    The only control that counts in life is self control. Don't want to admit that I cannot exercise self control of alcohol along with the rest of a healthy diet.
    A day without wine is like a day without sunshine, which makes Wisconsin in November even more gloomy! LOL

    Oh, la. you his the nail o the head with your second sentence.That is why I am here - to prove to my self that I can control this! And you can too!
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    Okay! Monday is here. Back on track. I enjoyed some wine Fri, Sat and Sun as I had planned and now no wine until Friday.
    Anyone else joining me?
    :smiley:
  • Cassieabc
    Cassieabc Posts: 75 Member
    I'm in! Been thinking of doing alcohol free November all weekend. Like another poster it's not the wine but what I eat along with/after it!!
  • xkitxkatxkaix
    xkitxkatxkaix Posts: 368 Member
    Absolutely in on this one! Working retail (especially before the Holidays and dreaded Black Friday) it is so easy to use a hard day as an excuse to have a couple cocktails after work to ease the stress. It's definitely time to slow it down a bit and start fresh. Good luck everyone!
  • dmarsh1018
    dmarsh1018 Posts: 70 Member
    OK I'm in for this one. I tried one of the earlier "challenges" and failed pretty much the day after I started! My own rules are no alcohol on work nights, and trying to stick to only one or two nights per month (Nov. 11 I already have a planned party) so we'll see how that goes!
  • flippy1234
    flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
    Blew it over the weekend. Got together with friends and had a little too much. It's Monday. a clean slate to start all over. Lets see how good we can all be this week. Nothing til Friday!!!!
  • xkitxkatxkaix
    xkitxkatxkaix Posts: 368 Member
    dmarsh1018 wrote: »
    OK I'm in for this one. I tried one of the earlier "challenges" and failed pretty much the day after I started! My own rules are no alcohol on work nights, and trying to stick to only one or two nights per month (Nov. 11 I already have a planned party) so we'll see how that goes!

    I'm taking a note from your rule book. The challenge begins today for me!
  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,152 Member
    I'm in. Have dropped to two drinks a day/night as I was drinking a bit more when I wasn't logging my food for the past few months...that extra drinking might explain why I wasn't exercising either (so for me it's less about bad food decisions than is it about bad working out decisions).

    Eventual goal is no more than one/day on a weeknight, and average of no more than 2/day on weekends...but I want some consistency with no more than 2 a day first. Baby steps!

    I've been getting better at dropping to 1oz shots instead of 1.5oz shots of liquor and only having two instead of three (as 1.5 x 2 = 3 oz = 1 x 3). I also make spritzers with my wine now for the volume, but zero additional calories. Sometimes the volume helps...sometimes it doesn't. :/
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    Hard day yesterday. Mondays. Suck.
    But I stuck to it. Well under calorie goal and no wine!! Yippee.
    Two cookies instead.

    JFT - logging everything and no wine!
  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,152 Member
    Did pretty good today, but Mondays are typically busy days for me. By the time I got home, it was so late that it made it relatively easy to not grab my usually nightcap glass of wine, though I thought about it. I sort of have a mini-goal to not drink at all on Sundays and Mondays due to my schedule. Yippie, one day of success.
  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    Well, I’ve managed to keep to two glasses a day all this weekend m, except Friday night, when I had some at dinner, and then wanted a glass after. I really need to keep my wine consumption to one glass at dinner, or work, so that I can have a glass when I’m winding down for the night.
  • pennyks88
    pennyks88 Posts: 167 Member
    Count me in! It's so easy to just plop on the couch with a glass of wine in the evenings instead of working out or doing something productive. I definitely need this challenge.
  • Rojotoro
    Rojotoro Posts: 1 Member
    I'm In for this challenge!! Don't need the empty calories through out the week. Will only consume alcohol on Friday, Saturdays and some Sundays in moderation!!
  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    Well, I’m already 12 oz in tonight. :/ I’m going to put a seltzer in the fridge. So fun to sip wine while passing out candy. Ugh.
  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,152 Member
    Today was programming at the computer with my bourbon and coke zero in hand...but I limited it to two, and they were light shots (1 oz of bourbon instead of 1.5 oz each). So, not too bad as alcohol content-wise it was only 1.33 drinks instead of two. Actually, worse part is that it's late and I'm still a bit wired from the caffeine in the soda. :o
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    edited November 2017
    Hi everybody!
    Well, I succumbed last night to a bottle of red last night with my husband. Celebrating the holiday here today - All Saints Day. Any excuse will do, right?
    Well, will not beat myself up too much. Just means I am back on the bus today and no wine till the weekend. Day by day.
    Good luck everyone.
  • mmccool719
    mmccool719 Posts: 28 Member
    New to this app but I need it. So glad to have found this challenge. I am ashamed to admit 2-3 glasses of wine 6 nights a week. I am challenging myself to cut it down to 1 night a weekend. It’s the empty calories, but the complete loss of will power after that second glass. Goal weight loss is 158 to 135 before mid February.
  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    I managed to keep it to 12 oz last night :) I had a soda water, and a big mason jar of water. I know not to take sleeping pills while drinking, but I took one at ab 9:45, once the wine had worn off. Planning on taking one, stops me early, and I look forward to the good night of sleep enough that I’m not tempted.
  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    mmccool719 wrote: »
    New to this app but I need it. So glad to have found this challenge. I am ashamed to admit 2-3 glasses of wine 6 nights a week. I am challenging myself to cut it down to 1 night a weekend. It’s the empty calories, but the complete loss of will power after that second glass. Goal weight loss is 158 to 135 before mid February.

    I have the same issue after the second glass, if I drink too fast. Don’t feel bad. I drink at work, and it was normal for me to have four glasses total a day, and I’m only 4’11”. Having to record it really helps me.
  • joeshafer88
    joeshafer88 Posts: 1 Member
    I'll give it a try ....I really need to...
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    I am in for this. I read somewhere that a reasonable amount of alcohol for women is no more than 7 drinks per week and no more than 3 in one day. Of course, by "drinks", they mean the standard definition of an alcoholic beverage (12 oz beer, 5 oz wine, 1oz liquor) and most of mine are more like two drinks. I am going to try and keep within those suggested guidelines. I am starting by getting out the measuring cup (and my smaller wine glasses)! Good luck all!
  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,152 Member
    lporter229 wrote: »
    I am in for this. I read somewhere that a reasonable amount of alcohol for women is no more than 7 drinks per week and no more than 3 in one day. Of course, by "drinks", they mean the standard definition of an alcoholic beverage (12 oz beer, 5 oz wine, 1oz liquor) and most of mine are more like two drinks. I am going to try and keep within those suggested guidelines. I am starting by getting out the measuring cup (and my smaller wine glasses)! Good luck all!

    My doctor said no more than two glasses a day for a woman...no restriction on weekly intake, but I'm sure it varies from health professional to health professional. Then again we were having a discussion on if I was drinking too much when I was only drinking a glass a night, not specifically on what a 'reasonable' amount would be.

    Also, I've seen other lists that a typical shot of liquor is usually 1.5 oz (which is why I try to do only 1 oz shots...lol), but I'm sure there are different sites that promote different amounts as the equivalences to beer and wine.

    Recommend just using the liquid measure on your food scale rather than breaking out measuring cups. My scale stays on my counter 24/7, and for me, it's easiest to put a wine glass on it, change the mode from grams (for food) to liquid ounces and pour, but YMMV.
  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,152 Member
    edited November 2017
    Not that I'm an expert, but one thing I've learned is that trying to stop anything cold turkey is harder than replacing a bad habit with a good habit. Something needs to fill the void. This actually applies to all habits, not just drinking. So, for me, creating volume or choosing substitutes for the extra drinks helps me the most to stay on track and moderate my drinking...here's some of my moderation tips that I typically use when drinking:

    1. When drinking in bar, also get a big glass of water. Alternate between drinking the alcohol and the water. It keeps you hydrated, and often it's more the illusion of having a drink in your hands when you are out with the group at happy hour than how drunk you get that matters. Plus the water will fill you up a bit, so you don't guzzle the drink. Guzzle the water, nurse the drink.
    2. Another happy hour tip - get a virgin drink from the bar. Your friends don't have to know it doesn't have alcohol in it...just watch the calories if it's juice or a high-calorie mixer/soda. I had one friend who never drank, but our group would sometimes have team events in the local bars, so he always got a glass of pineapple juice...no one was the wiser (except me, as I was standing there when he ordered it), and most thought he had a mixed drink. I thought it was genius, as having a soda typically brands you as the DD, and you may still have to deal with some peer pressure depending on the (maturity of the) group.
    3. Make your glass of wine into a spritzer, by adding no calorie seltzer water (note: tonic waters have calories, and be wary of spritzers at bars as they may use other high calorie mixers like sodas, etc), and a twist of lemon or lime. It adds volume with no calories.
    4. Figure out some skinny drinks that you like - drop the shots from 1.5 oz to 1 oz - use mixers that are zero calories. My favorite - 1 oz watermelon Vodka; Glassful of Walmart's (Clear American) Watermelon Seltzer. Only calories are the calories from the vodka, and it's totally yummy. My other go-to is 1 oz of Jim Beam and a can of Coke Zero. I typically use a lot of zero calorie seltzer or soda for volume.
    5. Just drink a yummy zero calorie flavored seltzer instead of putting any alcohol in it. I did this during "Dry January", and it really helped to curb the desire to drink. I really like a number of different flavors of the Clear American Seltzers mentioned in #4, and drank those most of January. I'm sure there are other brands that are good too.

    Anyone else have moderation tips?