Less alcohol - Nov 2017 - one day at a time
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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, K4 -
AmandaPoole2 wrote: »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!!!
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Westschmeis wrote: »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!1 -
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?
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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!!2
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I've been in the Sober October thread and it has definitely helped me redefine how I treat alcohol. I don't want to completely live without something I feel CAN be a part of life, but that sometimes crosses over from being a good experience – nice flavour, a nice way to wind down at the end of a day or socialise with friends into a downward spiral of head-spinning, drinking for the hell of it and not for taste and waking up the next day having thrown my plans out the window.
I’ve done well so far – originally I planned a completely sober October, but for various reasons that didn’t happen and I’m not beating myself up for that. Only ONE of the days I drank did I go overboard (good to have a reminder of why to slow it down!1) and the rest I had only the one glass and felt good with that.
I’m keen to continue exploring alcohol as something to enjoy and not to push the limits with. I’m recording my drinks with an app called Drink Less, which is helping show me what I’m consuming over the month.
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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!4
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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!2
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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!!!!2
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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!2 -
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.
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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!2 -
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.1
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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.2
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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.1
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I love to cook primarily, because when I cook I open a bottle of wine and pour a few. Last night, small victory, had one glass only and survived with Perrier in the wine glass rest of evening. Made me happy!6
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My first post here. I need to cut back severely on my drinking as I am consuming way too much. This is causing problems, one of them being the large number of empty calories is affecting my weight loss and fitness goals. Aim to not drink every second night and no more than two standard drinks. I can see how a lot of it is habit so I have started replacing my drinking with new habits. All the best everyone.5
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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!!4
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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. 4
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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.
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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.
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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.3
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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. 1 -
This has been on my mind for months and I finally decided this was the month! I'm in!5
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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.2 -
I'll give it a try ....I really need to...1
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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!2
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I'm on-board, have been trying to practice "mindful moderation" the past week or two with some success. After almost breaking my own nose and knocking my own teeth out during a really scary blackout weekend a couple of weeks ago I decided I simply can't drink the way I had been any longer. It also doesn't help that I've gained 40 lbs in the past 2 years by sucking down gallons upon gallons of beer at the brewery that I work at. Time to take control and get back to actually enjoying a glass of wine or a mug of beer, not just swilling it down for the sake of doing so and because it is so available. My intention is to eliminate weekday drinks and keep weekends to very few. I've been trying to keep the "healthy drinking guidelines" in mind and will try not to exceed them, no more than 3 drinks any given occasion, no more than 7 a week (for women). Here's to a healthy November!!8
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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.0 -
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?3
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