Less alcohol- January 2018- one day at a time

Goal — January under 7 drinks a week- for my health.....my mind.....my body....Freedom from alcohol ruling my life!

1/1 =alcohol free
1/2 = 4 wine spritzers
1/3 =alcohol free
1/4 =alcohol free
1/5 =alcohol free while my husband must of drank almost 2 bottles of wine....I wasn't tempted, which was great!
1/6 =alcohol free while my husband must of drank almost 2 bottles of wine
1/7 =alcohol free while my husband must of drank almost 2 bottles of wine-I copy and paste! Rerun! I feel that now I don't even want one drink as it is never enough...I always want more! I will see how long I can be FREE from alcohol. Losing weight and feeling great!
1/8 =DITTO...I slept better last night--had an Atkins bar around 8...maybe that was it...I also had to go to my guest room again for my husbands snoring started again!
1/9 =DITTO and lost another pound---Wow! 7 days alcohol FREE!! This is the longest I have gone for years!
1/10 =8 days freedom
1/11 =9 days freedom- looking forward to reading my new books...This Naked Mind and Blackout-Remembering The Things I Drank to Forget...
1/12 =10 days clean! My hubby only drank during the day, not last night. He didn't snore last night, so I didn't have to go to our guest room to sleep. Read the first 2 1/2 chapters of This Naked Mind and finding it interesting.
1/13 =11 Days freedom! It is actually getting easier at this point...I just ordered some liver detox....
1/14 =12 Days freedom! It really helps to have all you on MFP for support! Thank you all!!
1/15 =13 days---Wow! I am finally sleeping in my own bed now because my husband cuts off his drinking at night and he doesn't snore so loud to make me go into our guest room! LOL! He didn't like me going into the guest room, so he cut down...
1/16 =14 days freedom! 2 weeks!! YAY! I have to note how yesterday was a bit interesting when my hubby just bottle a bunch of wine and said to me, "Taste this, it is better than the usual Concord that we make". I told him immediately that I was just drinking green tea and it wouldn't taste good. I was so glad that I was drinking tea, as I would have been tempted to taste it. I feel that if it happens again that I am prepared now and will decline. I am going to tell him today not even to ask me to taste.

1/17 =15th day freedom! Had another great morning of working out...ready to play some music!
1/18 =16th day freedom! I am going for a month!! I joined the "Alcohol Experiment" Super informational...I have been just reading and listening..this weekend I am going to start writing in the journal. I recommend this to you all, if just to read and listen to all the interesting information.
1/19 =17th day- my husband drank through the day until bedtime and I had to go to the guest room to sleep because he snored again. A definite pattern of loud snoring when he drinks wine at night. I caught up in the "Alcohol Experiment" yesterday and started writing in it. It really is helping me in so many ways. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be able to go through it, and I highly recommend it. There is no pressure about your alcohol intake.
1/20 =18th day of freedom from alcohol addiction. My mind and body are really loving it. Yesterday was my first social event to go to. I had no problem in saying that I wasn't having any wine, when asked twice. I said I was on a cleanse and I have to stay away from the sugar. My doctor did say that I have to stay away from sugar last year, as I have a hereditary condition called GSID-Genetic Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency. I have been following the diet fine, except for the alcohol, until now. I have even another reason to stay away from it.
1/21 =19th freedom day
1/22 =20th day...a tempting day in that I just don't feel up to doing much. Previously, this is when I drank. I am hanging in there.
1/23 =21st day...did intermittent fasting and just love it! Started a Thread on Challenges!
1/24 =22nd day of freedom. I went way past my goal of under 7 drinks a week. I have no cravings and am loving my life without alcohol.
1/25 =23rd day of freedom! I finished This Naked Mind last night! Such a great book! I will continue to refer to it!
1/26 =24th day...6 more days and I will hit the 30 mark! I was thinking about how it was so difficult to hold my drinking until 2 pm...I was drinking daily at noon...I feel so blessed now to be away from that addiction. Thank you God!!!!
1/27 =
1/28 =
1/29 =
1/30 =
1/31

Reading about the health effects of drinking is helping me cut back as well. At my last physical my liver enzymes were fine but my cholesterol had gone up 100 points! Sure enough when I got home I read online that too much booze can raise your cholesterol numbers. Even more incentive to help me stop or at least tone it down. Also when I looked back on my recorded weight on My Fitness Pal from 4 years ago I have gained 27 lbs. I know that is from my wine habit. I eat very healthy otherwise. I am so glad I had recorded it or I would never have believed it. I am determined to get it back off and have lost 5 lbs this month and have YOU all to thank for the motivation. Your stories humble and inspire me.

@JenT304, I, too, am hoping this experiment shows in my blood work at the end of February. I'm fairly convinced there will be a dramatic difference. In the past, I have found that not drinking really helps my blood pressure, too.

Several people have referred to DUI's in the past few days. I want to preface what I say by saying that I am NOT judging anybody. God knows I could have been in just about anyone's shoes at some point in my life. However, it just so happened that around 1999-2000, I was a teacher at a high school when one of our students went to a party and got drunk, probably for his first or second time. He was a good, straight kid. On his way home, he crashed head-on into a car carrying college students, all but one of whom died immediately. The survivor (I would say "unlucky survivor" perhaps) was a beautiful girl from South America. She underwent multiple, multiple surgeries to recreate a face. She became a national symbol for what drunk driving can do (She was on Oprah, etc.). Our student went to prison for a few years. But I know that was the least of the hell he went through. Since that time, I have not once driven a car after drinking more than one glass of wine. Yes, the embarrassment of a DUI and losing one's license, being on probation, etc., are things to be avoided, but my God, there is so much worse than those things that could easily result from one bad decision. Again, I don't want to be judgmental, but I would plead with those of you who continue to struggle with alcohol, as I do, to make that one change and never risk doing that to yourself or others. I don't want anyone to suffer what those students, or our student, suffered.

I have not had any trouble avoiding drinking, luckily. I did pass up an invitation from a dear friend where there would be some wine tasting-- to choose beverages for an important event. I had intended to go, along with the makings for nojitos, or simply some juice and sparkling water, as I've enjoyed a "special" sort of drink in the evenings. On self-examination about whether I was nervous about meeting a few new people and other friends who would be drinking, the answer was no. I felt I could have had a good time, but I did have a headache. Mostly, now on day 27, I've felt pretty good about my "new found sobriety" ... it's kind of like when I quit smoking pot years ago, and it was like another drug to not be stoned (high? dank? what do people say now?), with the added benefit that dreams in my sleep began again. Now, with leaving alcohol alone, I've had a couple of nights, last night especially, where I just could not sleep, although I felt very sleepy while preparing for bed. As my life is not rife with commitments presently, this was really of little consquence. However, next time I might avail myself of the benefits of melatonin --- I don't want to get on too weird a schedule.

Have been very inspired and moved by so many posts here. This is really a special group.

Been a bit quiet this week, but reading the thread. Your posts inspire me! I’m definitely carrying on into February. It is helping hugely with my marathon training. In time, I will probably end up having a couple of drinks on a Friday and Saturday, but I intend to stay primarily dry until mid-March (bar the very odd glass). I’ll be keeping following our thread!

I wrote a post earlier and I can't find it, so I'm sorry if this posts twice.

So far, I've only had 2 beers in one specific evening since January 2, and I planned to not drink until Feb 2. Today, it has been difficult. My husband and I are disagreeing about finances and I found out about some hidden debt, and my stress is so high! I've taken a walk, listened to music, cleaned the house, and now I'm watching a school play. But I really just want to relax and have a beer or two to relieve some stress.

What do you do to avoid using alcohol as a stress relief? I need inspiration tonight!