Less Alcohol - September 2018 - One Day at a Time
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Great thread, I am happy to say I finally have started my nearly-free alcohol journey. Cheers to us all for our efforts!!3
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OMG I found you guys! I have not been on this thread since May.
June, July and August are my travel, party, drinking, do it all before Winter months. I've picked up some weight. I don't regret it. I am back on track, I haven't had a desire to drink. But it feels good being back. I will have to catch up and do some reading.
Holy smokes....look who's in da house -> @dbanks80 welcome back.
Being aware of where you now stand with alcohol and wanting to cut back is a huge achievement for you @FeelinFooFoo. It truly foes take baby steps for the majority of us doing this. More power to those who can quit cold turkey ( what ever the vise may be that they are trying to control)
It sounds as though you plan is well thought out and having your partner on your level makes it a heck of a lot easier. Cheering for you.winnerinky wrote: »Great thread, I am happy to say I finally have started my nearly-free alcohol journey. Cheers to us all for our efforts!!
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I read today that the UK have a new campaign called "Drink Free Days".
https://www.drinkfreedays.co.uk/
The site has a calculator that converts your glasses of alcohol to standard units.
Woah, I was drinking a lot!
I recommend doing the check.
PLUS, the site has an app!
Orphia, I have belonged to this site since this past Spring. EXCELLENT tools and references for cutting back or quiting. I love the daily calender to keep track of either no drinking day or how many and what type you did have.
The only thing is I am SHOCKED that the UK has higher drinking standards ratios. Women are allotted 14 drinks per week there compared to the 7 for the USA standard.( I will stick to the USA standard thank you! )
@viceam yes I am finally feeling better as of yesterday. That darn goldenrod going in my field was getting the best of me.
No, the UK standard drink is only 0.564 of a US standard drink.1 -
I hate to say that, for me, it's all about La Croix or club soda.
We're attempting two different themed months: September to Remember (only one or two days where drinks are allowed) and Sober October (cold turkey, baby).4 -
@MissMay - The only thing is I am SHOCKED that the UK has higher drinking standards ratios. Women are allotted 14 drinks per week there compared to the 7 for the USA standard.( I will stick to the USA standard thank you! )
Ok I see now.
The UK uses the term UNITS. Women are suggested to stick to 14 UNITS or less per week which would be equivalent to 7.89 US drinks by measure.
Makes my head hurt "to do the math".
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I went to Italy couple weeks ago. I have to say the wine there is phenomenal. I did overindulge but what was great is that I did not have a hangover not once. It is to the point that I really dont want to drink wine here because I am so turned off by the hangovers and lethargy. Maybe that is a good thing. What is in our wine that makes it so different from theirs.2
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Really enjoying everyone ‘s comments. I have managed 9 out of 11 AF days this month so far. I decided to allow myself 1 bottle over the weekend and that worked out fine. I managed to return to AF on the Sunday and sticking with it. I feel much more in control5
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@dbanks80, I remember you looking forward to Italy! It’s funny because just today I reread the journal I kept on my March trip. Such wonderful memories! Lots of mentions of vino and yes, no hangovers. I think it was the travel and the fact that my consumption was really more moderate than I realized because every experience there was just so rich. No need to drink crazy volume like I used to at home. Today is Day 42 AF and I’m loving it a lot.5
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This was very helpful to read! Thank you!4
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@MissMay - The only thing is I am SHOCKED that the UK has higher drinking standards ratios. Women are allotted 14 drinks per week there compared to the 7 for the USA standard.( I will stick to the USA standard thank you! )
Ok I see now.
The UK uses the term UNITS. Women are suggested to stick to 14 UNITS or less per week which would be equivalent to 7.89 US drinks by measure.
Makes my head hurt "to do the math".
Sorry, I replied very briefly earlier. I totally agree about the maths!
It's so confusing all the differences in standard units between countries, and I assumed the UK and Australia and the US were all the same.
I haven't got my head around it at all!
All I know is, the calculator said I was drinking more than 95% of women, and I'm so glad I've quit!
I should add, that I'm pretty sure that the women they're comparing me to all probably lied about how much they drink!
I wonder what the real percentage of people who drink more than the Australian 5 drinks a week is. I would guess 80%3 -
This was very helpful to read! Thank you!
Read all you want...we have plenty to say and lots of great inspirationalists on here.thesnackmonster wrote: »Really enjoying everyone ‘s comments. I have managed 9 out of 11 AF days this month so far. I decided to allow myself 1 bottle over the weekend and that worked out fine. I managed to return to AF on the Sunday and sticking with it. I feel much more in control
9 out of 11....that is so FANTASTIC. And at the same time you felt in control enough to have some alcohol and then resume your mission. Great job.
@Orphia Good to know I was not the only one scratching my head to make sense of the different standards for different countries. I did the drinking evaluation with my present life and my past life. I was in the severe red flag zone before. Now I am in the below average zone which is my happy place.
Thanks to you again for taking over this thread and giving us a new place every month to continue our journey. 😊
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I wanted to share a recent conversation with a former co-worker:
Me: we should get together for lunch again and invite Sue
Lisa: Sue says she can't do lunch, she can only do "happy hours"
Me: I don't do happy hours anymore (this really rolled off my tongue without thinking!)
Lisa: WHY? WHAT'S WRONG??? (she had a mortified look)
Me: (thinking geez, are all my friends alcoholics?) Nothing's wrong, it's just that I find it doesn't make me feel well. I drink wine on an empty stomach, wind up eating chips, go home to find myself eating dinner and drinking more because my blood sugar took a nosedive. Then I get on the scale next day to find I gained weight. Done with that!
Lisa: (smiling) I know what you mean
Me: Brunch on a Saturday would be great, let me know if Sue wants to come
Learning moment: This is a lifestyle change. Don't be afraid to re-direct your friends. For all you know, they may look up to you and be inspired to change as well5 -
Still taking baby steps. Blew my day 7 on Monday. Now on Day 2 again. Anniversary celebration today. Can I skip the champagne? Or, if I do not, can I stop at 2 glasses? We’ll see. I do not like how I woke up feeling yesterday. Headachy. Nauseous. Exhausted. Regretful. Work tomorrow will be torture if I do a rerun of Monday night.
I like what you said viceam... so true... Learning moment: This is a lifestyle change. Don't be afraid to re-direct your friends. For all you know, they may look up to you and be inspired to change as well3 -
Are you really on your way if you quit counting the individual days, and just count the months ?? Friday will be the end of my 3rd AF month. Or the beginning of the 4th month
Not many cravings til last weekend, when I thought that it might not be a bad idea to curl up with a good book and a glass of Chianti. Or two.
Thankful that I drank my wine cellar dry when I started this, and that my area is flooded, so it would be a tough job to get to a wine shop.
Vintage 2018 Agua in my glass.
Keep on keeping on, everybody !!6 -
I too blow it sometimes but not too badly and it's becoming less and less frequent. This is helping - Starting the day with 1) a positive intention, 2) declaration of what my plan is for the day, and 3) being prepared and expecting to deal with thoughts that don't benefit me. Can we stop at 2 glasses? Absolutely, if we plan for it. Maybe drink 1-2 glasses of flavored sparkling water in between to fill up. Maybe keep bite size candy to help work through a craving, or maybe just not have anymore drinks on hand in the house. Drink an herbal tea a few hours before, eat a few hard boiled eggs, you name it, whatever helps keep your blood sugar on an even keel. Plan and prepare for success. The questions we ask ourselves need to change from "can I" to "I will". When a negative thought comes to mind, I tell myself I am the boss of me - nobody else- and certainly not alcohol. Time to get tough!8
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It’s so good to see that moderation is working for many of you. It’s all about self awareness.... What you can or cannot handle or live with. I think this thread is so helpful because it let’s us process our thoughts about alcohol with each word we type. For some, you may find moderation is too difficult to deal with and you may want to try a 30 days fast from alcohol-Just to see if you can and how you feel without it.
@forestdweller1 Congrats on 3 months AF.2 -
Great learning moment @viceam. I wish all conversations were that easy when discussing cutting back on alcohol. When I was seen drinking iced tea out this past Winter a person took my husband aside and wanted to know if I were pregnant because I was having iced tea. BHAhahahaha...really???? At my age?
Weather it be baby steps or a few steps backward. they are all steps in the right direction. I have started over with day one many many times. But at least I can say I have to start over. Drinking in access or heavily or what ever you want to call it did not start all in on day or night. And sometimes it takes a few restarts to have it click. No one is in the wrong in any of this.
I am proud to say my other new challenge is going well to. No late night snacking after my dinner. So far, day four and I have 4 stars on my side!!!
Great day to all.8 -
Just wanted to pop in and say good job to those making strides in moderating, abstaining, and/or supporting others in their individual goals. This thread and group were a great support to me early on in the year.5
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