Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time

I'm in. Thank you Julie for keeping this going. I'm on Day 8 of no alcohol after abstaining Jan. 1-14, drinking Jan. 15-21. So, I'm planning to stay dry for Feb. My biggest test yet will be this coming weekend, traveling to a big family event with lots of drinking. My intention at this point is to let myself savor a nice glass of wine or two when I head to Italy in mid-March but to stay away from alcohol completely until then. It's still a daily struggle at this point, though.

I started re-reading Drinking: A Love Story last night. It was on my Kindle from when I read it about 3 years ago. At that time, I thought, "Wow! She's way worse off than I am," and that reassured me that I was "fine." This time, though, I realize that if I'm honest I identify with much of her thinking if not with the extremity of some of her actions. I can totally relate to a feeling of discomfort thinking that alcohol will be absent or that there will not be enough alcohol. And although her sneaking alcohol into her parents' home seemed bizarre to me the first time I read the book, this time I think, "Yep, that's probably what I'd do, too, if I were "stranded" at my parents' home and was 45 minutes away from the nearest liquor store." My drinking hasn't changed in 3 years; I'm just being more honest this time. One of the perks of getting older, I guess.

For those of you joining this thread for the first time, welcome. You will love it here. A great group of supportive, non-judgmental, and even funny people. I'll miss the hilarious Norminv who completed his dry January and has now joined the "lush February" group.

I'm in again. Honestly I only succeeded on my cut back about 50% of January. This month will be better!

Good morning. I blew it last night and had way to much wine while binge watching The Americans. Now I have to go online and read the recaps because I don't remember any of it. As usual, I feel regret when I overdo it. Sadly, I can't moderate like some of you. I wish I could because I do love wine. I am glad it is a new month soon and am really going to try hard to not drink, not even Valentine's Day. Thank you for this group. It helps me dust myself off and start over when I fail.

I'm in for a Dry February! I joined the previous month's group, planning for a Damp January as I had a few glasses of wine the first couple days of the month. I ended up not drinking at all past those first few days. I generally don't miss it and see no reason now to drink at all.

Good luck to everyone with your goals, whether it's to be Damp or Dry for February!

The Dry January group was key to keeping me on track this month. I'm in for at least a very damp February. Thank you so much, @JulieAL1969, for keeping this going and for setting such a lovely, non-judgmental and encouraging tone.

I'm in again! After not losing any of my holiday weight last month, I need to take this more seriously. Snacking more than I knew I should was a factor, but so was the drinking, even though I tried cutting down. But I didn't try hard enough.

So goal is to stick to one night during the week, and then only one or two drinks, and then maybe Fridays and Saturdays depending on what's going on.

Here are some tips that I know have worked for me in the past that have helped me avoid drinking:

- Play an evening sport with a rec league (but skip the beers after!)
- Commit to working out first thing in the morning both to yourself and to someone else (e.g. a workout buddy or fitness class instructor)
- Give yourself some errands to do in the evening
- Whatever you do, just stay out of the kitchen (except to make meals)
- Avoid routes to work or home that have beer or liquor stores on them (this is a big one for me as there is a liquor store right by my bus stop on the way home from work)
- Tell your significant other you are trying to cut down (or eliminate) and ask for their support
- Promise yourself you won't drink the night before a big meeting, presentation or other important event where you need to be on your game
- Consider taking a supplement like Kudzu (personally I have found this to help but it might have been placebo - either way!)
- Write down your feelings in a diary (if you struggled that day, how great you felt that morning because you didn't drink the night before, etc.). This helps identify your triggers and figure out ways to cope
- Visualize your success
- Keep coming back to forums like this

I'm in too. I stalked the January post and followed and I absolutely love the honesty from everyone. I was mindful some in January but it wasn't enough. I'm working my *kitten* off in workouts only to ruin it by drinking it back then snacking on top of that after a few drinks. I don't even want to work it into my daily calories, I'm ready to kick the habit. I'm one of those people too, that I can't have it in the house and show any restraint. Just don't buy it!!! I hate the way I look and I'm pissed that I can't get myself to stop drinking to loose the 10 pounds I need to. Looking forward to really, really trying in February. I'm also tired of reminding myself how good I feel the next morning on the nights I don't drink. I need to constantly remind myself of that and not let the thought wear off by 6:00 pm.
Thanks for keep the post going!

I'm in. Today marks 3 weeks alcohol free. I cannot moderate. Incidentally, I lost 9 lbs in these 3 weeks.

@JulieAL1969, I choose a "word of the year," too. Each year, I change my work email password to incorporate that word so I have to think of it at least once a day.

My goal was to only drink on Saturdays in January. I did better than that and only drank 3 times. That, along with a much better diet and working out 3-4 times a week I was able to lose 11.6 lbs

I am going to aim for the same goals. Saturday only drinking, same diet as January, working out 3-4 times a week. Hoping I can lose another 4 lbs and be down a total of 15+ by the end of the month.

But I am gonna start off rocky (but I am making that conscious decision ahead of time). It’s not often my home team makes the Super Bowl (only the 2nd time in my 36 years) and I am going to be heading into the city to celebrate the festivities!
Just gonna have to work harder those other three weeks ...