Less Alcohol - September 2018 - One Day at a Time

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  • donimfp
    donimfp Posts: 795 Member
    KKHKISHZKH wrote: »
    Day 2: My fiance decided to have a glass of gin to celebrate finishing his degree. I had a glass of squash then went and brushed my teeth to avoid temptation. :neutral:

    That's awesome! Brushed teeth never stopped me!! >:)
  • Ke22yB
    Ke22yB Posts: 969 Member
    @KKHKISHZKH considering Gin was my mouth wash at the time, take a mouthful swish around and then swallow great way to start the day. Never minded the brushed teeth taste the gin used to be the same burn as the listerine . Glad you avoided the temptation it so much more satisfying to look back after temptation avoided than it is after temptation succumbed to.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    viceam wrote: »
    Welcome any tips and tricks for dealing with anxiety and excess energy from cutting down or cutting down alcohol (that doesn't involve eating). Maybe any good herbal teas to take before bed? Natural remedies?

    Go for a walk! Embrace the energy. :smile:

    I found I needed less time in bed trying to sleep, and have also started doing things like drawing and writing with my extra time.

    I was reading lately that stress doesn't have to be suppressed but can be seen as an opportunity to enhance your health and zest levels.

    Maybe check out the self-care challenge threads, too, for ideas on creativity and relaxation at bedtime.
  • USCBMOM22
    USCBMOM22 Posts: 31 Member
    Good morning all! I hope everyone enjoyed a long holiday weekend. We spent the weekend with some friends at the beach. I indulged a little too much on Saturday evening, but I did great the rest of the weekend. I am not going to beat myself up over a slip up. I may have stumbled a little, but at least I didn't fall completely off the wagon, roll down the hill and end up face first in the ditch for the entire weekend :D I got up early this morning and went for a run before work. I packed my healthy foods for the day. I'm back on track. The goal for me this week is to stay AF. One day at a time.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    USCBMOM22 wrote: »
    One day at a time.

    AWESOME ATTITUDE, That is how you deal with it ▪one day at a time▪.

    No one says you have to become completely AF for your entire life. There are ways to cut back for many of us and be happy.

    Glad you were able to regroup and get back on track so quickly.

  • jacq0220
    jacq0220 Posts: 27 Member
    Hello, I'm new here. I like what you're doing here. I'd like to be more free of alchohol. I'd like to work on the next 7 days. Alchohol derails my good work during the week. A glass of wine turns into a bottle, and the snacks...so this week. None.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    jacq0220 wrote: »
    Hello, I'm new here. I like what you're doing here. I'd like to be more free of alchohol. I'd like to work on the next 7 days. Alchohol derails my good work during the week. A glass of wine turns into a bottle, and the snacks...so this week. None.

    Hello and so glad you found our group. No matter what your goals are with less alcohol, you can share it here. Get through today and then move onto tomorrow. Step by step.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    FeelinFooFoo wrote: »
    Day 3 of less alcohol. I'm still a novice & feeling like 1 lol.

    Already got plans for weekend. AF. But I'm gona treat myself to some yummy food and make some healthy smoothies.

    The weekend really is my danger zone.

    Nice job!!

    Oh those darn weekends......to full of temptations, I know all about that.

    BE STRONG I know what your going through.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    FeelinFooFoo wrote: »

    Spent too many weekends suffering from hangovers. Ready for a change.

    I'm also really excited to actually try moderate drinking at some point. I know it's wierd to be excited but have you seen those tiny bottles of wine? They are cute haha. I think 2 of them would be adequate instead of a full bottle. Can only try.

    That is too funny and yes they are cute. I buy them in the 4 pack for the purpose of adding them to sauces or chowders only. I feel your excitement. It is a goal worth striving for.
    At one time I thought I needed to go totally AF. But just like eating and exercising I found routine and satisfaction from just cutting back and engaged my willpower muscle to help out.
  • USCBMOM22
    USCBMOM22 Posts: 31 Member
    edited September 2018
    I am currently tackling the weeknight red wine habit and doing pretty well with that. I usually have sparkling water with lime or mix cranberry juice with club soda. I sometimes put it in a wine glass just to be fancy and that seems to do the trick. I crochet, so I recently pulled out my yarn and that keeps my hands busy from sipping on wine and snacking.

    The weekends are much more challenging. I am training for a half marathon, so that keeps me from drinking anything on Friday evenings as it is impossible to do a long run on a Saturday morning with the "wine flu." Saturday is the day I will allow myself a treat, but this past Saturday I indulged a little too much. I need to learn moderation on my treat day. At least I have managed to cut down from drinking wine almost every evening to just one or two evenings on the weekend. That's progress.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    USCBMOM22 wrote: »
    I usually have sparkling water with lime or mix cranberry juice with club soda. I sometimes put it in a wine glass just to be fancy and that seems to do the trick.

    Hahaha this was so me back in Feb or March. I think I may have even posted a pic on here of a mocktail I made and put into a stem glass just to "feel" as if I was drinking. The problem I than ran into was those mocktails were too sweet and I was taking on to many carb calories. So I switched to enjoying the ZERO Arnold Palmer tea. Light and satisfyingly in between when I decide not to have an alcoholic drink.

    Thanks so much for sharing. Every story and every post helps us all along on path.

  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    And yeah I think my weakest muscle is my willpower. Gotta start using it ! Thanks for the encouragement.

    You are so welcome, day off today for me so I have time to bounce back to people on here.
    Sounds like a perfect plan. And you can change your mind at any time as to how you want to handle your own journey to less.

  • mainelylisa
    mainelylisa Posts: 375 Member
    I'm reading The Naked Mind, and while I've read a lot of other quit/reduce drinking books, this one is hitting home with the physical effects and subconscious effects of even small amounts of alcohol. I encourage anyone to read, read, read different content until you find what hits home with you.

    I do so well working out and tracking food and eating healthy (for the most part through the week). And then BAM! Weekend>drinking>hangover>bad sleep>lots of junk food...all the way into Monday/Tuesday. It's craziness.

    Besides the addiction factor, has anyone figured out why they like to drink and successfully replaced it? I think back to how much I enjoyed life as a kid. That excitement to wake up (and I had a pretty f*(^ed) up childhood). I want that back (the excitement to wake up, not the messed up).

    Thank you for this community and for sharing and support.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    edited September 2018
    Mainelylisa yours is such a good post.

    Back in the Spring on here we had a session on how it was when we were growing up and how simple and fun our lives with our friends and families was. It was touching.

    I believe we associate drinking with having fun. The next day after a hefty hangover I recall someone from the night before clueing me in on "how much fun we all had and that it was one of the best times ever". Did not feel that way at noon by the time I woke up. It seemed that the side of me that wanted to be accepted into that circle of "fun" believed alcohol and a lot of it must be the key to this.
    Which now I know is baloney. That is why after dealing with being obese at one time and dropping 90 pounds. Exercise is my key. I can not exercise with a hang over and I need exercise for a clear head.

    I am sure others have some excellent motivation as well. Hope to hear some other ways to battle the booze.

    .
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,670 Member
    Good inspiration from Orphia on planning other activities to burn up excess energy & replace what used to be time drinking. Will incorporate some new activities in my schedule. Adding something new and fun to do can only work in our favor.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    RubyRed427 wrote: »
    Back in January when I quit drinking for 76 days, after the first month of being AF, I told my daughter that I realized that I could still have fun and not drink. She’s a teenager and I remember her comeback as clear as a bell..... She replied incredulously, “Well of course! Duh! I do it all the time.”

    I remember that post of yours back then. Oh my how far we have come. 😎
  • jacq0220
    jacq0220 Posts: 27 Member
    Hi, well here's counting day 1 victory. Relaxing with a cup of sleepy time tea. I know when I don't drink I sleep so much better. Alcohol disrupts my sleep badly. I thank you for the list @MissMay. Congrats to everyone else on you many days.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    Now the AF thread has been sparse,I like to post on both,,while my focus is to be AF I like the idea of breaking it into months it makes it easier for me to focus on each day that way
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,355 Member
    mainelylisa wrote: »
    MissMay wrote: »
    Mainelylisa yours is such a good post.

    That is why after dealing with being obese at one time and dropping 90 pounds. Exercise is my key. I can not exercise with a hang over and I need exercise for a clear head.

    I am sure others have some excellent motivation as well. Hope to hear some other ways to battle the booze.

    .

    Thanks, MissMay. I was fat as a child--anyone remember size 6X? I used food to escape/comfort. But I also used my bike for that. I got bullied and pushed off my bike and called freckle-face fatso. Yet...I still felt excited to be alive and have adventures catching tadpoles and snakes, swimming underwater in the apartment pool at night towards the light, blowing buttercups, picking up comics with Silly Putty, and climbing power poles. And eating a box of Cap'n Crunch on Friday nights while watching the Brady Bunch, lol.

    My family time pretty much consisted of my dad taking me to his favorite bar--The Embassy Club--almost every night. It's not as bad as it sounds. My mother was severely mentally ill. So it was an escape for both of us. I had my own bar stool and my own Lisa (Temple) drink. Hmmmm...guess that's a pretty strong positive association with drinking. Though I never developed an even remotely positive association with a maraschino cherry. Go figure.

    I'm rambling, but want to challenge all of us who have forgotten the simple pleasures in life (as well as the daring ones) to rediscover and experience them. Why have we gotten so serious...to the point we need to drink to feel silly or giddy or sleepy?

    We have a list of 100, but I challenge everyone to think back to childhood fun and keep adding.

    What a beautiful post- honest and incredibly inspiring. Made me chuckle to think of Silly Putty and Brady Bunch! What a great question to think about... why have we gotten so serious....
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,746 Member
    Oh wow - digging back to our childhood fun times, here goes.
    I was the youngest of 4 kids and the obese kid at that, 220 pounds at 12 years old.
    But still I/we had a great time. Never a dull moment. Playing lots of board games - monopoly being our favorite. Making creepy crawlers, building underground forts in the back woods. Riding mini bikes. Playing outside until it got so dark and we couldn't see our hands in front of our eyes, then we would listen for our Mothers or Fathers calling us to come in to clean up for bed time. Family vacations up on the shore of Lake Erie. Trips to Vermont to visit Uncle and Aunt. Always a history lesson along the way from my Dad(as us kids all rolled our eyes).
    Thanks for asking us to remember those.......it was a wonderful reminder.

    Think I will get out my original Monopoly now to see if the score pad from years ago is still in there.

    Another AF day

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