Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time
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Looking forward to a moderated February. My body is going to force me to stay dry for a while - I’m on antibiotics for an infected surgical site and caught a cold from my 5 yr old boo!5
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@salleewins - I'm with you on this: "I can't keep bags of chocolate in the house or alcohol...." I think I'm replacing alcohol with chocolate, so that's something I'm going to need to work on, LOL. Love the french vanilla tea and other drink recommendations, so thank you. Some of the teas I've been trying are a bit too sour for me, like the Tazo Wild Sweet Orange. Keep looking for cinnamon-y and citrus-y, without a lot of bitterness.
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@salleewins - I'm with you on this: "I can't keep bags of chocolate in the house or alcohol...." I think I'm replacing alcohol with chocolate, so that's something I'm going to need to work on, LOL. Love the french vanilla tea and other drink recommendations, so thank you. Some of the teas I've been trying are a bit too sour for me, like the Tazo Wild Sweet Orange. Keep looking for cinnamon-y and citrus-y, without a lot of bitterness.
Right there with you. I actually gained 3 pounds in January. To be fair, I did not put too much energy into hitting my calorie goal most days.1 -
@salleewins - I'm with you on this: "I can't keep bags of chocolate in the house or alcohol...." I think I'm replacing alcohol with chocolate, so that's something I'm going to need to work on, LOL. Love the french vanilla tea and other drink recommendations, so thank you. Some of the teas I've been trying are a bit too sour for me, like the Tazo Wild Sweet Orange. Keep looking for cinnamon-y and citrus-y, without a lot of bitterness.
I have a bit of chocolate with unsalted nuts every night after dinner. For some reason, I can keep it to a reasonable portion. If I couldn't-- out it would go!
My favorite juice is Pom wonderful pure pomegranate. Deep red like red wine and almost cost as much. I splash a couple of ounces in seltzer and also add lime juice. (And, I make the seltzer using a SodaStream so I'm not constantly having to run out and buy bottles.)
As for Tea: I like the Pukka "Detox" a lot. You can get it on amazon, but it's actually cheaper at my grocery store (and sometimes goes on sale). It tastes a bit of fennel.2 -
Thank you for all the mocktail recommendations. I keep the cans of La Croix seltzer water on hand and mix them with a splash of pink grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, or whatever I have on hand. I put them in a large wineglass with a lime wedge and feel like I'm having a party. I plan to stay dry for the Super Bowl but if I were a Philly or Pats fan it would be hard for sure. I'm indifferent this year and we don't have a party to attend so I'm not too worried. I have found I am craving sweets, but I understand that is normal at first since wine has so much sugar, you end up craving it. I bought some lollipops and that seems to help. I'm not going to beat myself up over a few sweets. They are better for me than an entire bottle of wine and all the junk food I would eat along with it.5
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I have cut way down and am happy about it :-)
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Hello! I am going to be cutting down but not out completely. I am getting married in a few months and want to do all that I can to get in better shape. We have slipped into a routine of drinking too much wine after work and its getting in the way of exercising more or sleeping better. I want to cut back to no alcohol during the week and less alcohol on the weekends. I already volunteered to be DD for a super bowl party we are attending to help me avoid temptation.
We have planned a very short engagement so I know I am going to be getting lots of curious looks for not drinking. I am sure everyone will be convinced I am pregnant. Sorry family! lol.3 -
Dry the first half of Feb (til my birthday on the 17th), and shooting for a "moist" remainder of the month. Although I made it through Dry January, considering the guys I hang with, coupled with my penchant for kicking my liver against the curb, this will still be no easy task. Good to have folks like you guys around for encouragement.8
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count me in! One exception: February 13 is my birthday. I'll drink as much as I want then. The other 27 days are AF.4
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Dang, February thread is already poppin'! Nice job and welcome to everyone. I am so looking forward to this continued motivation.
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I did not know that, and that explains a lot. I AM craving sweets for sure. Getting by with Hershey's dark chocolate kisses and Trader Joe's mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I'm trying hard to limit quantities, but I have both every day. Guess we know where those alcohol calories are going . . .I have found I am craving sweets, but I understand that is normal at first since wine has so much sugar, you end up craving it.
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I did not know that, and that explains a lot. I AM craving sweets for sure. Getting by with Hershey's dark chocolate kisses and Trader Joe's mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I'm trying hard to limit quantities, but I have both every day. Guess we know where those alcohol calories are going . . .I have found I am craving sweets, but I understand that is normal at first since wine has so much sugar, you end up craving it.
That is really interesting. I would never had thought about that! I have never been a sweet eater but within the last 2-3 weeks I've been craving peanut M&Ms. It got so bad I called my husband at work to buy a pack from the vending machine and bring home LOL!!! I work from home and I was too lazy to go get some LOL!!!
I almost called him today but I resisted. How long does the craving last?5 -
Oh not I'm having the same sweet issue! Now it makes a little more sense. I don't normally even eat sweets except on very rare occasions. Yikes!3
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@kittybenn, I love that Tazo wild sweet orange, lol. I like the Passion one, too. I am eyeing a cinnamon one now by them. It might be sweet cinnamon.
I can't find that Puka Detox in the stores here. Bummer. I will check Amazon.
I have not tried the Pomegranate with seltzer and lime wedge. I wonder if I could sub cranberry instead with the lime...Not sure..
Well today I am dreaming of a diet half and half (grapefruit and lemon soda) by Polar. Used to add liquor to it. So now, maybe I can use water, fresh lemon juice, stevia powder and a splash of grapefruit juice and add the Polar seltzer. Adding water to the seltzer makes it a bit more smooth and less bubbly. I am going to try it and see how it goes with a marashino cherry on top!
Everytime I want to go to the liquor store or go get beer, I check out the store aisles and get something new or proceed with my plan and items that I already have on hand to go. I find that now, with this new approach that I am staying within calorie range almost every single day and losing weight.
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »
I LOVE it!!! Freedom February it is!!!!
P.s. That's my word of the year for 2018. Every year I choose a new word to live by. And so FREEDOM is perfect !
Julie, I love that you do a resolution word also! I do one every year too. My word for 2018 is adventure!
I look forward to hearing from you guys and sharing with you as well!1 -
My mom is a freak of nature. She's about a year older than Jane Fonda, and she looks pretty much like her in terms of nothing like an 80-year-old. In keeping with her perfect appearance (and weight and house and car . . .), there could be 999 things perfectly right in a room, but her eye would zero in on that one thing that's slightly off kilter. I truly love her to pieces, but obviously there are issues in mother/daughter world. Anyway, today she came to my house, and the first thing she said was, "Wow, you look great! What have you been doing?" I can't describe how shocked I was to hear that come out of her mouth. The thing is, I know I look a lot different, and I've probably lost weight. I can't let myself weigh just yet because knowing my head, if I were at all disappointed in the number on the scale, that might well be what drove me back to drinking. But I inherited enough of my mom's vanity to be really motivated by the fact that I know my appearance has changed with just 24 (non-consecutive) dry days in 2018 so far. Not as drastic a change as @crazykatlady by any means, but still a noticeable change. It's weird that alcohol has such an affect on overall "look" and bearing, because I know my mom was not commenting only on a perceived smaller me but on my vibe overall. That's kind of cool.13
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Count me in on the sweets issue. I never thought that it is linked to alcohol being sugary. And my body is craving it.
I even found myself dipping a spoon into peanut butter and decorating that with chocolate chips to get the sugar fix.
I will have to make my Freedom February into less alcohol AND less sugar.1 -
For anyone starting new in February or even the January friends on the thread. Not a bad idea to take a picture on Feb. 1 of yourself. And then fast forward 28 days , take another to see if you can notice any changes in your skin or face. It was evident with the two totally different selfies on @crazykatlady 's post a few days ago. Now, she is glowing and so bright eyed!
@donimfp That's a beautiful story. I'm sure you look vibrant!4 -
Me, too for sweets. As I understand it, it's not so much that alcohol "contains" sugar but that the body processes sugar and alcohol exactly the same way, so as far as our body is concerned, it can't really tell the difference. I have never been a sweets person. My cravings have always been for salty/crunchy nachos, pizza, Cheetos (OMG, Cheetos and red wine . . .), but like y'all, I want something sweet every day now. I've been having either 3 Triscuits with peanut butter plus a small glass of milk or 1 oatmeal cookie plus a small glass of milk. For some reason, the milk is comforting and makes those small doses of sugar enough for me. Our bodies are pretty amazing.3
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I did not know that, and that explains a lot. I AM craving sweets for sure. Getting by with Hershey's dark chocolate kisses and Trader Joe's mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I'm trying hard to limit quantities, but I have both every day. Guess we know where those alcohol calories are going . . .I have found I am craving sweets, but I understand that is normal at first since wine has so much sugar, you end up craving it.
@kittybenn OMG I have been having 2 dark chocolate squares a night, my little reward, but I almost had a third so I cannot let chocolate replace alcohol calories, but in the long run it won't hurt our body but may stall weight loss. Which is more important, I think you and i know, no alcohol. Keep up the good work.2
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