Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time

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  • runtodayamyrun
    runtodayamyrun Posts: 59 Member
    lporter229 wrote: »
    2/1- Dry

    Feb 1st is in the books. No alcohol, but I didn't sleep well and woke up feeling pretty crappy anyway :/ Tonight I am going to go for *gasp* another dry night. I almost always have 1-3 drinks on a Friday night to cap off my work week. I meet my running group on Saturday morning for one of my longer runs and it isn't always that easy to make myself get up. Tomorrow we have 9 miles on the schedule and then I will go straight to the food pantry where I volunteer. I am looking forward to doing this all with a clear mind tomorrow. but, I admit that the thought of a dry Friday at home is a bit daunting. Wish me luck!

    Your run will be so much better in the morning without the drink. From one runner to another for encouragement!
  • NormInv
    NormInv Posts: 3,303 Member
    JulieAL1969 wrote: »
    Random thoughts... after being dry for a month:
    1) A scar on my chin has disappeared this month. I think it's my skin rejuvenating. Skin is so clearer and smooth, too. Face looks narrower.
    2) In the Fall and part of winter, I had bleeding gums when I brushed. Gross, I know. But now, no more bleeding gums since quitting.
    3) Flatter belly and stomach, although I didn't change my workout or anything.
    4) Even tempered mood- no anxiety. Able to deal with stressful situations calmly. Had a major death in the family early January, and I didn't use alcohol to numb me, like I would have.
    5) Wake up with a pep in my step. Although for the last week, I have not slept deeply; I feel still energetic.
    6) Negative effect: Craving chocolate more than I have. *seems common at the start of quitting.
    7) Save a lot on grocery bill. Would buy at least 3 bottles a week. Sometimes $15 each. Also, bar bills when going out with friends is much less.
    8) Kept a journal each day. Not all of it focused on my alcohol free journey, but I felt I had more time to write. Read four books this past month.
    9) Reading this thread every single days was so motivating. I felt ashamed that I drank too much and couldn't stop at just one. I see that we all have something that needs attention or tweaking. For me, it was that I needed to truly test myself to see if I could still have fun without alcohol. I could.
    10) I think my teenage daughter is very proud of me. Today, I told her I finished day 32, and she just smiled so brightly. And she asked, "Are you going to continue?" I asked her if she thinks I should. And she said "YES!" I told her that I realized that I didn't have to depend on drinking wine for fun or relaxation. And she replied, "Of COURSE."

    Thanks for humoring me by reading these thoughts. Love you all! Xo

    Love this so hard
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    JulieAL1969 wrote: »
    Random thoughts... after being dry for a month:
    1) A scar on my chin has disappeared this month. I think it's my skin rejuvenating. Skin is so clearer and smooth, too. Face looks narrower.
    2) In the Fall and part of winter, I had bleeding gums when I brushed. Gross, I know. But now, no more bleeding gums since quitting.
    3) Flatter belly and stomach, although I didn't change my workout or anything.
    4) Even tempered mood- no anxiety. Able to deal with stressful situations calmly. Had a major death in the family early January, and I didn't use alcohol to numb me, like I would have.
    5) Wake up with a pep in my step. Although for the last week, I have not slept deeply; I feel still energetic.
    6) Negative effect: Craving chocolate more than I have. *seems common at the start of quitting.
    7) Save a lot on grocery bill. Would buy at least 3 bottles a week. Sometimes $15 each. Also, bar bills when going out with friends is much less.
    8) Kept a journal each day. Not all of it focused on my alcohol free journey, but I felt I had more time to write. Read four books this past month.
    9) Reading this thread every single days was so motivating. I felt ashamed that I drank too much and couldn't stop at just one. I see that we all have something that needs attention or tweaking. For me, it was that I needed to truly test myself to see if I could still have fun without alcohol. I could.
    10) I think my teenage daughter is very proud of me. Today, I told her I finished day 32, and she just smiled so brightly. And she asked, "Are you going to continue?" I asked her if she thinks I should. And she said "YES!" I told her that I realized that I didn't have to depend on drinking wine for fun or relaxation. And she replied, "Of COURSE."

    Thanks for humoring me by reading these thoughts. Love you all! Xo

    All great things!!! I can relate to the dinner bill. Our bill use to be over $100. Now it's like $50. So nice!!

    It's sooooo sweet your daughter is super supportive of you! <3<3<3<3
  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
    Love these drink ideas, thank you! Bought the Polar, and it's really good. Am adding a little grapefruit juice and slices of orange to the plain. The cranberry lime is exceptional, I thought. Bigelow French vanilla- yessss! Great suggestion, am loving it. And figured out how to cope with the Tazo wild sweet orange, that tastes sour AF to me. Added a packet of stevia and it's now perfect. I am usually such a sourpuss that I never add sugar to tea or coffee, but this is an exception. Bought a bottle of Fre "alcohol removed" wine. I suspect it will be hideous, but thought I'd give it a try. Will let you know. Big dinner out tonight with wine to celebrate 31 days of Dry January and two days of Freedom February. Really want to hold this to two glasses, max.
  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
    @JulieAL1969 I love your random thoughts. You continue to inspire!
  • islandbeez
    islandbeez Posts: 162 Member
    NormInv wrote: »
    I feel great, irregular heartbeat gone, morning bloat gone, cranky depressed mornings gone..... Ready for Valentine's Day :)

    Bow chicka wow wow ;-) Glad you stuck with us, @NormInv !
    My fast and irregular heart beat has decreased significantly. That brings big peace of mind!

    Wishing you all a strong finish for Friday, whether you are moderating or abstaining. <3

  • SanDiegofitmom
    SanDiegofitmom Posts: 303 Member
    kittybenn wrote: »
    Love these drink ideas, thank you! Bought the Polar, and it's really good. Am adding a little grapefruit juice and slices of orange to the plain. The cranberry lime is exceptional, I thought. Bigelow French vanilla- yessss! Great suggestion, am loving it. And figured out how to cope with the Tazo wild sweet orange, that tastes sour AF to me. Added a packet of stevia and it's now perfect. I am usually such a sourpuss that I never add sugar to tea or coffee, but this is an exception. Bought a bottle of Fre "alcohol removed" wine. I suspect it will be hideous, but thought I'd give it a try. Will let you know. Big dinner out tonight with wine to celebrate 31 days of Dry January and two days of Freedom February. Really want to hold this to two glasses, max.

    I tried Fre when I was pregnant and it tasted like grape juice to me! I had a glass and a half of wine last night and was totally Meh about it! It’s a great bottle and tasted good but I felt almost happier just drinking my sparkling water. Hoping this month has changed my brain a little :)
  • NormInv
    NormInv Posts: 3,303 Member
    islandbeez wrote: »
    NormInv wrote: »
    I feel great, irregular heartbeat gone, morning bloat gone, cranky depressed mornings gone..... Ready for Valentine's Day :)

    Bow chicka wow wow ;-) Glad you stuck with us, @NormInv !
    My fast and irregular heart beat has decreased significantly. That brings big peace of mind!

    Wishing you all a strong finish for Friday, whether you are moderating or abstaining. <3

    I'll stick around for your sweet and funny messages :)
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,377 Member
    PhotogirlTX wrote: »
    JulieAL1969 wrote: »
    10) I think my teenage daughter is very proud of me. Today, I told her I finished day 32, and she just smiled so brightly. And she asked, "Are you going to continue?" I asked her if she thinks I should. And she said "YES!" I told her that I realized that I didn't have to depend on drinking wine for fun or relaxation. And she replied, "Of COURSE."

    Julie.. I love that. Yesterday, I was driving my 18 year old daughter to school.. and was telling her about my successes in January.. that I had a completely dry January.. she turned to me and said that is great mom.. ME TOO! :-) We laughed and high fived each other. To be back to an age where that is just the normal.. wouldn't that be great! We are doing this for ourselves, but our loved ones do notice and appreciate it too! My dad was an alcoholic so I always have that in my mind... don't do that to my family.

    That's so cute! "ME TOO!". I love that!

    Annie Grace (author) says to think back on when you first took a drink and how awful it tasted. And remember when you were younger, and you didn't need to have alcohol to enjoy life.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,377 Member
    KimmySophia wrote: »
    This is ironic, my son and I just decided to do this ourselves (AF) as well as get back on the good eating fitness regime. I came back today to my fitness pal after a year's absence and lo and behold, it's nice to have a support group surrounding less alcohol and all the rest. Thank you, I was surprised and pleased to find this!

    Welcome to our thread! Wishing you and your son great success on your goals. Looking forward to hearing how things are going. xo
  • redredy9
    redredy9 Posts: 706 Member
    lporter229 wrote: »
    2/1- Dry

    Feb 1st is in the books. No alcohol, but I didn't sleep well and woke up feeling pretty crappy anyway :/ Tonight I am going to go for *gasp* another dry night. I almost always have 1-3 drinks on a Friday night to cap off my work week. I meet my running group on Saturday morning for one of my longer runs and it isn't always that easy to make myself get up. Tomorrow we have 9 miles on the schedule and then I will go straight to the food pantry where I volunteer. I am looking forward to doing this all with a clear mind tomorrow. but, I admit that the thought of a dry Friday at home is a bit daunting. Wish me luck!

    Your runs are going to feel so great without alcohol in your system. As a runner myself, I can say this from experience. Nothing helped my running more than not drinking before long runs and getting to bed early.
  • springsweet
    springsweet Posts: 184 Member
    islandbeez wrote: »
    NormInv wrote: »
    I feel great, irregular heartbeat gone, morning bloat gone, cranky depressed mornings gone..... Ready for Valentine's Day :)

    Bow chicka wow wow ;-) Glad you stuck with us, @NormInv !
    My fast and irregular heart beat has decreased significantly. That brings big peace of mind!

    Wishing you all a strong finish for Friday, whether you are moderating or abstaining. <3

    Mine has too, if not, gone away completely (except when I'm anxious).
  • DCRunnerGirl78
    DCRunnerGirl78 Posts: 508 Member
    I managed 21 AF days in January, but the 10 drinking days were doozies. I'm starting with a clean slate for February, and plan to stay dry all month. I'd really like to keep it up all the way through my yearly check-up in April, but I'm just taking it one day at a time.

    2/1-dry
  • eddie_fields
    eddie_fields Posts: 55 Member
    First big challenge is the weekend. Looking forward to staying dry. Good luck all!
  • redredy9
    redredy9 Posts: 706 Member
    edited February 2018
    kittybenn wrote: »
    Love these drink ideas, thank you! Bought the Polar, and it's really good. Am adding a little grapefruit juice and slices of orange to the plain. The cranberry lime is exceptional, I thought. Bigelow French vanilla- yessss! Great suggestion, am loving it. And figured out how to cope with the Tazo wild sweet orange, that tastes sour AF to me. Added a packet of stevia and it's now perfect. I am usually such a sourpuss that I never add sugar to tea or coffee, but this is an exception. Bought a bottle of Fre "alcohol removed" wine. I suspect it will be hideous, but thought I'd give it a try. Will let you know. Big dinner out tonight with wine to celebrate 31 days of Dry January and two days of Freedom February. Really want to hold this to two glasses, max.

    I was at a party last weekend and some Dry January folks brought some alcohol free distilled "spirits" to make AF Gin and Tonics.

    They were really tasty! Had lots of the juniper botanical flavor of real gin. Its called Seedlip.

    Found an article about it: https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenbobrow/2017/09/18/distillation-without-inebriation-seedlip/#7eff243552b1



  • AlainaKayy
    AlainaKayy Posts: 206 Member
    Had my first social outing in months last night, so I am 0 on the free days for February. Tonight I should be able to manage though.
  • redredy9
    redredy9 Posts: 706 Member
    edited February 2018
    Day one AF was easy peasy.

    This weekend I am getting together with my GF's for wedding dresses and bubbles. I will try to go easy on the bubbles though. I just realized that our (Fiancé & I) rules mean I have to get in a run or a workout tomorrow before I leave in order to drink anything! FUN!

    I think I am going to like these rules.

    ETA: last night I did some YouTube yoga. Yoga with Adriene has a 30 day TRUE program that's free. I did day 1 and a 10 minute self care practice. It was very nice. it was gentle and I would highly recommend it to beginners. The self care was mostly self massage and felt great. It felt like a treat. It also helped me fill the time with something other than drinking.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    SanDiegofitmom wrote: »
    kittybenn wrote: »
    Love these drink ideas, thank you! Bought the Polar, and it's really good. Am adding a little grapefruit juice and slices of orange to the plain. The cranberry lime is exceptional, I thought. Bigelow French vanilla- yessss! Great suggestion, am loving it. And figured out how to cope with the Tazo wild sweet orange, that tastes sour AF to me. Added a packet of stevia and it's now perfect. I am usually such a sourpuss that I never add sugar to tea or coffee, but this is an exception. Bought a bottle of Fre "alcohol removed" wine. I suspect it will be hideous, but thought I'd give it a try. Will let you know. Big dinner out tonight with wine to celebrate 31 days of Dry January and two days of Freedom February. Really want to hold this to two glasses, max.

    I tried Fre when I was pregnant and it tasted like grape juice to me! I had a glass and a half of wine last night and was totally Meh about it! It’s a great bottle and tasted good but I felt almost happier just drinking my sparkling water. Hoping this month has changed my brain a little :)

    Same here - when I was pregnant and drinking n/a beers - there are some pretty decent ones but Fre was absolutely terrible. My husband doesn't drink but enjoys n/a beers - there's a new craft brewery in town that focuses exclusively on craft N/A beer - hoping they start having it in stores soon.

    Also similar experience recently with a glass of wine that just didn't taste as good as I *thought* it would. Finished it, went and brewed a cup of tea instead of getting a second glass. Agree that it would be nice to have more of a mind shift around alcohol to where it's more of a question of "what beverage would hit the spot" instead of "is it wine time yet?" and the choices I consider are not only alcoholic in nature!
  • SanDiegofitmom
    SanDiegofitmom Posts: 303 Member
    springsweet wrote: »
    Happy Friday everyone!
    So I am on day 13 AF. I feel good. It hasn't been as difficult as I worried it would be, honestly. I've had a couple of tempting times/cravings but overall, it's been ok.
    Tomorrow will come my first true test. I am going to a wedding. I don't plan to drink. But honestly, I've been worrying about it since the day I decided to do this 30 day challenge. Funny thing is, over the past few days, I've had thoughts come and go of just letting myself drink tomorrow... that it's no big deal really, since I don't plan on quitting completely. But every time I have a thought like that, I counter it with thoughts like, "what good would it do?" "What benefit would I gain?" "I would only let myself down"... etc.
    Simple fact is I'm pretty sure I'm not going to drink because I can't think of a single reason why I should. But I can think of so many reasons why I shouldn't. :)

    I'm so happy I decided to do this challenge! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

    I did it last month and the first 30 minutes were hard because usually I immediately go to the bar at cocktail hour. After that it was pretty easy, but I did always have a glass in my hand it was just club soda or a lemonade. I also found that telling people off the bat I was doing an AF challenge kind of heightened my resolve because then people knew :) overall I still had a fun time! Good luck
  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,817 Member
    NormInv wrote: »
    When I see AF I immediately think As Duck, as that's what it stands for on the interwebz

    Right? :lol:
  • Alzzi76
    Alzzi76 Posts: 504 Member
    eddie_fields wrote: »
    First big challenge is the weekend. Looking forward to staying dry. Good luck all!

    We r with u Eddie... l agree its a real chellenge at first but u r in the right place .lots of awesome encouraging conrades here. I have made 25 days and a bit ;):p bit with 2 slips. I dont think i woukd have lasted 1 day on my own.

    All the best Eddie !! o:)
  • Alzzi76
    Alzzi76 Posts: 504 Member
    MichSmish wrote: »
    NormInv wrote: »
    When I see AF I immediately think As Duck, as that's what it stands for on the interwebz

    Right? :lol:

    :D
  • Alzzi76
    Alzzi76 Posts: 504 Member
    DCRunnerGirl78 wrote: »
    I managed 21 AF days in January, but the 10 drinking days were doozies. I'm starting with a clean slate for February, and plan to stay dry all month. I'd really like to keep it up all the way through my yearly check-up in April, but I'm just taking it one day at a time.

    2/1-dry

    Good, good that sounds a plan. I have found taking a day at a time is best. I set lots of high goals and find i cant keep them. I get extreamly disappointed with myself , its just not worth the stress. Best os mini goals.
  • Alzzi76
    Alzzi76 Posts: 504 Member
    Ive found a new idea for when theres a special occasion and thats a strawberry and raspberry tea bag in soda water.. it can be a really nice mocktail. <3:)
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    Friday nights are the hardest for me. Need some way to unwind. Proud to say that I hit the pool hard at lunch and now I feel mellow for the few hours left at work.
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