Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time
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I did a dry January with no problems and I felt awesome! Weight loss was steady and I had such clear thinking. This month I haven’t had any binge drinking but I still have 1 or 2 drinks several times a week. Since I’m keto those two beers or glasses of wine hit me extra hard. Also it’s slowing my weigh loss greatly even though I count the calories and mostly stay within my macros. Love this group and I’m late to February but love following everyone’s progress and reading your stories.
I also found that having a definite Dry month was easier than the mostly dry month - its psychological6 -
Epic fail last night! I went to my grandson's bday party. I did good there with 2 small cups of red wine. THEN my husband being the alcohol bully that he is took us to the neighborhood pizza place with my parents and the wine flowed there!!!
One good thing I guess I can say came out of it is that I didnt smoke!
Its ok, that was your cheat Saturday, dont have another for at least a month3 -
@dressagerider1020 I'm pretty old! I quit smoking July 22, 1990, age 35 after 22 years of smoking, 15 of them "trying" to stop. Those times when I started again, I guess I learned, but with that addiction it does seem to be that when I reverted to smoking after a long (or short) quit, I smoked more and more! It was very important, when I finally did quit, to be able to be around people smoking and to be non-judgmental. This had been a stumbling block during previous successes with leaving it alone. Also, I wanted to quit because I was embarrassed to smoke. I don't miss it a bit, and haven't for years, but the first year, I was really depressed and crazy. I learned a lot about that addiction, and to this day quitting is one of my proudest and most important accomplishments. One thing that is really important is to have a very personal reason to quit -- for me it was vanity, or how I identified or thought of myself. I did not like smelling of cigarettes, etc. and wanted to be a person that did not smoke, so I tried to think like a person who did not smoke. For instance, a non-smoker does not deliberate about whether to smoke when under stress. I learned that there is an incredibly strong subconscious inclination to smoke (well trained over the years!). About 5 years cigarette-free, I mused whether there were circumstances under which I'd smoke, and I questioned whether I would smoke if I had a terminal illness. I cut that thought down immediately, knowing that if there were circumstances which would allow me to smoke, then there might even be an unconscious volition to create those circumstances! I know that would seem very far-fetched to a lot of people, but not to me. Bottom line, it is a matter of reinventing oneself and identifying with the new, improved version. Thanks for asking about this ... it really is a huge deal to stop smoking, and ... to redefine our view of alcohol, as I'm now learning.3
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Cardinals_3 wrote: »Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.4 -
@dressagerider1020 I smoked from age 15-45 with the exception of when I was 9 months I was pregnant, twice. I'm 9 years smoke free. I think it got easier to quit (I tried several times) as it got more and more frowned upon by society plus when they made our bars and restaurants smoke-free that made it easier to quit. I was sick of trying to hide it from my kids and neighbors etc. Anyway, I used the patch. I just cut it in half every 3 days or so until it was just about gone and so I weaned myself slowly. I wish there was an alcohol patch but there is no such thing unfortch.4
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For me quitting smoking was easier than alcohol struggle. I had aids like the gum and vaping. Plus smoking required effort, had to find time to go out to smoke.....the smell on the clothes was horrendous, social stigma was bad.7
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Cardinals_3 wrote: »Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.
I am doing 5-7 most night, try and make it up on weekends.2 -
Cardinals_3 wrote: »Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.
At my meditation workshop today, they also mentioned that people like "Headspace". Other meditation experts the teacher mentioned were Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. At the session today, I learned that there are many forms of meditation. The teacher said meditation can be life changing and it doesn't have to be complicated. A person can start with 2 minutes. And then work towards 5 minutes. Sitting quietly , focusing on breathing in and out. That's how simple it can be. Hope Headspace is good. I am going to download it too!3 -
One of the books or videos I've seen had an interesting point:
If you tell someone you quit smoking, they say good for you! Wow! Wonderful.
When you tell someone you are quitting drinking, they say "Why would you do that? How boring would that be. " Recently, I told a guy I know that I am quitting drinking. And he sarcastically said, "Good luck with that!" And bought my friend and himself a shot! And they drank it in front of me.
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It’s taken me a long time to realize this was contributing to my weight loss fails...6
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »springsweet wrote: »springsweet wrote: »It still baffles me that some people have never experienced a blackout.
I guess I am not really understanding what your experience of blackout is. I have had too much to drink at times and passed out. Or to much to drink and don't recall the entire evenings events. Is either of those what you mean?
Please refer to pages 14-16 in 'Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget' by Sarah Hepola. She describes it well, as only someone who repeatedly suffered from blackouts can.
But to paraphrase, at some certain point, your blood reaches a saturation point and shuts down the hippocampus, the part of your brain which makes long-term memories. Just shuts down. No more memories. Your short-term memory still works but only lasts less than 2 minutes (which explains why wasted ppl repeat themselves). They vary from person to person, and are very sneaky. And you can be highly functional during a blackout. I'll never forget my good friend from college telling me about the night we met when he helped me puke up a bunch of whisky, but in between barfs, my speech was completely coherent. I seemed fine, besides the fact I was slumped over a stranger's toilet. Some blackouts are worse than others. Sometimes you may have a "brownout", which Sarah explains with the example, "Perhaps you remember ordering your drink, but not walking to the bar." I've had too many brownouts to count.
Many people confuse blacking out with passing out. Oh how I wished I passed out instead of blacked out. All those nights I said hurtful things to people I loved... so much damage and regret.
Anyway, hope this answered your question. I highly recommend that book though. I hated for it to end.
Yes, it was a great book. Excellent. It was a journey reading it. Sometimes, I thought, wow she was a serious alcoholic. Most other times, I thought "Oh my, I did that, too." Hiding how much I drank. Stopping after work for a few drinks before going home pretending I worked late. Happy when husband left to go out, and I would throw myself a little party making manhattans since no one was home. I didn't have to quietly get the bottles out of the cabinet so they wouldn't clink as I took them out. Falling asleep on the bathroom floor, because the room was spinning. Crying and saying things I regret to my husband. Ouch. Accidentally calling my mother at midnight after drinking and waking her up. Trying to speak normally to her so she wouldn't know I was slurring.
I agree , it would have been better to just pass out. The blackouts or brownouts left so many unanswered questions of what I said or did.
Thanks for sharing how the brain works. Very important information. Xo
I am just reading it now...about half way through. It is a great book.1 -
#40...free and feeling great! It is funny how when I started trying to cut down on alcohol, I was just working on holding off for an hour and it was super difficult. That is when I knew how addicted I was. Now, I find it easy as I don't even want it anymore. Thinking back of how it was for me, I am so not wanting to go back to that.11
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@JulieAL1969 That guy sounds like a jack#$*. He is probably insecure about his own drinking habits.
For those interested in trying it, here is a great free site where you can listen to guided meditations. Some are very short so you can just try them out. I just sit comfortably, close my eyes, and it hit play on the computer. Very calming.
http://marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations3 -
Well i planned to drink yesterday...but 7 glasses of wine plus peer pressured into taking a shot....and i definitelty felt some of the dreaded shame today!
Going to revise me plan a bit because ive noticed the last few "planned" drinking days have lead to binges. Id rather drink more days of the week...i.e. a glass of wine with dinner...than be completely dry for days only to let way way too loose on my partying days.
There was a lot a lot of dancing, and all in all it was one of the best nights out with friends ive had post having a baby. We rented a private kareoke room and i am pretty sure the booze DID make that much more fun. Hahaha
But today was not as much fun as it could have been.
Anyway new plan is to keep a running tally/drink total for the week. Hopefully this brings more stability to my alcohol moderating. Current goal is 9 drinks total per week! Considering i CAN drink that in a single day (!) i am hoping i can find success! Keep up the good work everyone!6 -
jenifer7teen wrote: »
Anyway new plan is to keep a running tally/drink total for the week. Hopefully this brings more stability to my alcohol moderating.
This is how I keep track...with a visual tally to see.
Hope it works out well for you too.
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »Cardinals_3 wrote: »Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.
At my meditation workshop today, they also mentioned that people like "Headspace". Other meditation experts the teacher mentioned were Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. At the session today, I learned that there are many forms of meditation. The teacher said meditation can be life changing and it doesn't have to be complicated. A person can start with 2 minutes. And then work towards 5 minutes. Sitting quietly , focusing on breathing in and out. That's how simple it can be. Hope Headspace is good. I am going to download it too!
I have used headspace for about a year and a half. It’s been sporadic lately but it was a life changer when I needed to create some calm in my head during a season of intense anxiety and racing thoughts. Totally recommend!3 -
Second weekend AF. This includes going to a pub and not drinking xs 2. I stuck to seltzer water and lime while family having beer etc. It has been challenging but still AF as of tonight. I feel like I'm gaining back control of my life. Feels good.
This thread is extremely helpful and encouraging to keep going.7 -
My tally in the last 22 days is 18 AF and 4 days where I had some alcohol (but not excessive). I am beginning to believe my daily glass or 2 of wine was just a habit rather than an addiction. I don't really even think about having alcohol now and it doesn't bother me if my husband has a glass and I don't. I don't try to find a NA substitute - just stick with water. This thread is really helpful to me. Now if we only could have the same support for my Diet Coke habit!5
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Hello,
I need to tell u guys so i can stay strong. Im holding a party at my house for my friend. They are really heavy drinkers. I hoping i can get through without being giving in. I want to b able to tell u tomorrow i wasn't a die hard8 -
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