The Sober Squad- Alcohol Free Living
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There are no guarantees of course. It's all about trying to lower the odds of an early death. There is lots of anecdata about chain smoking obese drunks living independently 90+ years but those just stick out in peoples' minds because they are rare. The benefits of alcohol get a lot of press because they are popular stories. Not long ago a huge study did receive some press and while it did confirm the results of light drinking being associated with a slightly lower risk than never drinking, it turns out that light means 3 drinks a week or less. Anything beyond that raises the risk pretty quickly. If you are participating in this thread, it's a pretty safe bet that limiting yourself to 3 drinks or less a week is very unlikely.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/19/health/cancer-risk-alcohol-mortality-study/index.html
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Quote from an article about who funds many alcohol related studies:
Rigorous as this research may seem, though, there are experts who are worried about the alcohol industry's role in it. The New York Times notes that two-thirds of the study's funding thus far has come from money given to a foundation set up for the NIH by five of the largest alcohol companies in the world, including Heineken and Anheuser-Busch InBev; companies that have a vested interest in promoting the idea that alcohol is healthy. Some of the researchers involved also have previous financial ties to the industry.4 -
I agree with all of your posts above about the dangers or alcohol to the body and I assume the mind. Also, @CarvedTones you made me laugh when you said “if you are participating in this thread...” limiting yourself is highly unlikely. So true in my case!
P.s. An aside, I remember reading and seeing the heart healthy seal of approval from the American Heart Association on a box of Lucky Charms cereal. I imagine there are a lot of behind the scenes funding going on from major companies.3 -
Most cereals switched to whole grain as a high enough % and sugar as a low enough % to fall within guidelines that AHA approves of. Biggest dangers of cereal IMO is how easy it is to have multiple servings. If you weigh it out according to the labelled serving (I do), it's not all that much. I eat Lucky Charms sometimes; they are magically delicious.RubyRed427 wrote: »I agree with all of your posts above about the dangers or alcohol to the body and I assume the mind. Also, @CarvedTones you made me laugh when you said “if you are participating in this thread...” limiting yourself is highly unlikely. So true in my case!
P.s. An aside, I remember reading and seeing the heart healthy seal of approval from the American Heart Association on a box of Lucky Charms cereal. I imagine there are a lot of behind the scenes funding going on from major companies.
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HAPPY sober beginning to our week!!
5 more sleeps till I'm back in my own digs!! I'm looking forward to having my normal routine back & am REALLY missing my canine companion. I'll be taking him for a bit of a walk this aft & having a cuddle, but I DO NOT look forward to leaving cause every time I show up he gets SO excited and I know that he's thinking I'm coming to take him back home. Interestingly, my daughter says he's been howling in the middle of the night. He is a Lhasa & I have never heard him howl...so I googled it and apparently one of the reasons dogs will howl is to beckon their owners back home....AWWW!! He's howling for me! I won't do this again though. I had already committed so had to follow through...plus I think lap dogs are my thing...no more big monstrous dogs for me...She is a cutie & very lovable with humans, just not other dogs...
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lorrainequiche59 wrote: »HAPPY sober beginning to our week!!
5 more sleeps till I'm back in my own digs!! I'm looking forward to having my normal routine back & am REALLY missing my canine companion. I'll be taking him for a bit of a walk this aft & having a cuddle, but I DO NOT look forward to leaving cause every time I show up he gets SO excited and I know that he's thinking I'm coming to take him back home. Interestingly, my daughter says he's been howling in the middle of the night. He is a Lhasa & I have never heard him howl...so I googled it and apparently one of the reasons dogs will howl is to beckon their owners back home....AWWW!! He's howling for me! I won't do this again though. I had already committed so had to follow through...plus I think lap dogs are my thing...no more big monstrous dogs for me...She is a cutie & very lovable with humans, just not other dogs...
This reminds me of one time I was drinking and over at my daughter's house all night and my poor dog was howling,,he never howls either! He did it again in the morning and I told him to quiet down! I honestly think our animals can sense drinking is bad for us,I've seen him look at the can,at me,then back at the can accusatory like haha,happy AF week all3 -
Techno-tard strikes again...this is Kona, but we're not quite right!! Story of my life LOL! Do any tech-saavy people know how to turn the pic right-side up?? I just kinda figured how to post a pic, but obviously it needs some tweaking!! BTW, I did this by myself with no help from my tech-saavy daughter, can you tell???
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lorrainequiche59 wrote: »HAPPY sober beginning to our week!!
5 more sleeps till I'm back in my own digs!! I'm looking forward to having my normal routine back & am REALLY missing my canine companion. I'll be taking him for a bit of a walk this aft & having a cuddle, but I DO NOT look forward to leaving cause every time I show up he gets SO excited and I know that he's thinking I'm coming to take him back home. Interestingly, my daughter says he's been howling in the middle of the night. He is a Lhasa & I have never heard him howl...so I googled it and apparently one of the reasons dogs will howl is to beckon their owners back home....AWWW!! He's howling for me! I won't do this again though. I had already committed so had to follow through...plus I think lap dogs are my thing...no more big monstrous dogs for me...She is a cutie & very lovable with humans, just not other dogs...
This reminds me of one time I was drinking and over at my daughter's house all night and my poor dog was howling,,he never howls either! He did it again in the morning and I told him to quiet down! I honestly think our animals can sense drinking is bad for us,I've seen him look at the can,at me,then back at the can accusatory like haha,happy AF week all
I can relate. I was way short on patience, especially with drinking, with the cat and he seemed to cry a lot--like all the time almost and it seemed at the time for nothing. I really was thinking of myself and ignoring him. My son's cat-- and he probably was wondering how my son went to heaven and left him with me.7 -
Bought some non-alcoholic Sangria yesterday along with a lot of dark chocolate. I don't seem to overdose on that type of chocolate much. So it is good. I am happy that this holiday season that I belong to Planet Fitness. I am excited that there is snow covering the rest of the leaves, because they were burning me out. I can't seem to lose much weight raking. I don't know why. I think there is too much raking and not enough recovery time and it is hard to drink the water needed to hydrate. So frustrating every year. Next year I want to be maintaining for leaf season. No shoveling for now and that takes way less time than raking anyways. I guess I will be raking in the spring. I will shoot for maintaining by then. With the snow though, the holiday season seems really here. I have loved this time of year best, but the loss of my Dave has hit me hard again and the d--- liquor store has been yelling louder and louder with my tears. This will be my first holiday season without my enemy alcohol and I am excited to take it on and win. I can't tax myself at all though and have to be extra kind to myself. I want to be successful.8
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@lorrainequiche59 You are adorable and so is Kona
I'm with you on the little dog thing. We had to put our Rainie (yorkie/shih-tzu) down on January 2nd and I miss her terribly. I have no idea how to help with your pic, but it looks cool sideways ;-)
Speaking of tech issues, has anybody had problems with MFP the last couple days? I am having loading issues, message issues, comment issues....you name it....it's mfPeeving me off.
@salleewins I'm thinking of you as these holidays roll in. Do be kind to yourself, it is unimaginable what you have gone through. ((hugs)) I don't eat a lot of sweets but I am in love with the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Sea Salt Soiree. Like you, I won't overdose on that kind of treat.
Happy Monday, peeps. Kinda dragging over here the last few days, but I'm hanging in there.4 -
@islandbeez dragging here, too! Soooo ready for a long weekend MFP has been finicky for me as well, mostly with loading and staying loaded.
Last year I got in trouble with my husband because of how much I spent at the liquor store for the Thanksgiving dinner we were hosting... I thought about it today and chuckled. Definitely under budget this year And we are going to someone else’s house as well! I’m a bit more nervous than I thought I would be for this whole first holiday season without booze... But I keep reminding myself that it’s also the first holiday season without the threat of hangovers!
Happy Monday, party people 🙌🏼5 -
Good morning friends! Last night, my mom text me what do I want to drink on Thanksgiving. She was going grocery shopping. I am happy she didnt waste her money on my usual Chardonnay and that she probably has an inkling I dont drink anymore even though I never told her I quit. So, she’ll have Perrier for me.
Yesterday, all the teachers went to happy hour after work. I just said I had other plans and couldnt go. I felt so much better NOT going. I worked out, went grocery shopping and then to my bible class. Don’t you find you get so much more done when you dont drink?
I feel so much fitter these days. I’ve lost track of the AF days. I think about 120days. I am at my lowest weight in a decade (due to the whole 30 diet too), exercise almost every day, and went back to doing crafts and painting with acrylics. Right now, I feel like I am in a good place.
Hope you all have a wonderful day!8 -
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RubyRed427 wrote: »Good morning friends! Last night, my mom text me what do I want to drink on Thanksgiving. She was going grocery shopping. I am happy she didnt waste her money on my usual Chardonnay and that she probably has an inkling I dont drink anymore even though I never told her I quit. So, she’ll have Perrier for me.
Yesterday, all the teachers went to happy hour after work. I just said I had other plans and couldnt go. I felt so much better NOT going. I worked out, went grocery shopping and then to my bible class. Don’t you find you get so much more done when you dont drink?
I feel so much fitter these days. I’ve lost track of the AF days. I think about 120days. I am at my lowest weight in a decade (due to the whole 30 diet too), exercise almost every day, and went back to doing crafts and painting with acrylics. Right now, I feel like I am in a good place.
Hope you all have a wonderful day!
So good to hear!! You sound happy!!4 -
Have a good sober day today!5
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salleewins wrote: »So this am, I am out in the snow buying high protein cookies and dark chocolate instead of waiting for the store to sell beer with this weather. Drinking has crossed my mind, but I am happier with my plans and goals to get in better shape. I won't be shoveling after drinking. I am quite upset over something this am that I think I got left out of. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think so. It is a significant life event with one of my children and the thought of it makes me want to quit everything, but I am not a quitter. Let us hope I am wrong, but if I am not, there is nothing I can do about and I can see how I have contributed to this decision with my past drinking behavior. We do reap what we sow and usually later than we have sown it. So lest we think that there have not been any consequences,because we don't see the results right away, it doesn't mean that they aren't going to show up.
Oh I am so sorry. That sounds like a painful experience. One of the things I try to do is not to jump to conclusions. So, please dont keep processing every thing in your mind this morning. Or your brain will be so stressed. Once you hear if you were left out and why, you can calmly tell that person that your feelings are hurt but you still love him/her.
Wishing you a peaceful day.
Don’t quit ! You’ve come so far and you can handle anything life throws at you without the numbing alcohol monkey on your back. Xo5 -
@islandbeez dragging here, too! Soooo ready for a long weekend MFP has been finicky for me as well, mostly with loading and staying loaded.
Last year I got in trouble with my husband because of how much I spent at the liquor store for the Thanksgiving dinner we were hosting... I thought about it today and chuckled. Definitely under budget this year And we are going to someone else’s house as well! I’m a bit more nervous than I thought I would be for this whole first holiday season without booze... But I keep reminding myself that it’s also the first holiday season without the threat of hangovers!
Happy Monday, party people 🙌🏼
Like @JenT304 said earlier why dont we take some of that booze money we didn’t use and donate it or share it with someone less fortunate.
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Thanks Ruby. Apparently I had nothing to worry about. This time anyways. I need to continue on my path. I don't want people to remember me drinking until the end. I need to stay done.8
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Glitchy app today... I thought I posted this already but I don't see it. Anyhow, after a very stressful week with medical stuff with my ex, I caught him in a lie and engaging in old habits (nicotine) of which contributed to his medical stuff in the first place. My anger was overwhelming and pure and ... in short, I lost my S**T. There was no fog, only clarity, and the more he tried to explain, then thank me for calling him out, than apologize, than make plans about how it would change... the. more. I. didn't. care. It's sad, really. It's addiction behavior. Hiding, confessing, coming clean, promising to be different, repeat. There is more to the story but that's HIS story. MY story is that I have no more room for this, and I told him so. "Healthy people sometimes have to walk away from unhealthy people," I told him, and he's currently not reaching towards health, but I am, so we are now on different paths. I told him I will continue to help him as I can (I am practically the sole functioning adult in his life), but that I have my limits and that only I get to decide when and where they are reached. I would not have this ability or clarity if I was still drinking and I am so grateful for this forum. Please, be well, my friends, and take care of yourselves.
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@salleewins I don't know if you read/recall how humiliated I was this past May when my daughter was in the hospital having her second baby and I was staying at her house, taking care of the 2 year old? On the list of my written instructions from here was, "Please don't drink." My face face burns even now with shame, thinking about it. As I said then, I never and would drink while taking care of that precious girl, but I didn't say anything about it. She eventually stopped tasting my drinks etc. when I watched the children and I guess she now knows I have stopped drinking though I never explicitly said so. I just have said, "No thanks" every time I am offered one, and she has figured it out. My point is that while we DO reap what we sow, there is such a thing as redemption. Just keep on doing what you are doing. You have come so far! I am so grateful for my sobriety now and winning back my daughter's faith in me.10
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@salleewins I don't know if you read/recall how humiliated I was this past May when my daughter was in the hospital having her second baby and I was staying at her house, taking care of the 2 year old? On the list of my written instructions from here was, "Please don't drink." My face face burns even now with shame, thinking about it. As I said then, I never and would drink while taking care of that precious girl, but I didn't say anything about it. She eventually stopped tasting my drinks etc. when I watched the children and I guess she now knows I have stopped drinking though I never explicitly said so. I just have said, "No thanks" every time I am offered one, and she has figured it out. My point is that while we DO reap what we sow, there is such a thing as redemption. Just keep on doing what you are doing. You have come so far! I am so grateful for my sobriety now and winning back my daughter's faith in me.
Thank you for your kind words @JenT304. I do remember reading that, but see I had forgotten it until you mentioned. You are right. I am sorry that had to happen to you. I am glad it is being restored there as it seems to be here, too.4 -
Glitchy app today... I thought I posted this already but I don't see it. Anyhow, after a very stressful week with medical stuff with my ex, I caught him in a lie and engaging in old habits (nicotine) of which contributed to his medical stuff in the first place. My anger was overwhelming and pure and ... in short, I lost my S**T. There was no fog, only clarity, and the more he tried to explain, then thank me for calling him out, than apologize, than make plans about how it would change... the. more. I. didn't. care. It's sad, really. It's addiction behavior. Hiding, confessing, coming clean, promising to be different, repeat. There is more to the story but that's HIS story. MY story is that I have no more room for this, and I told him so. "Healthy people sometimes have to walk away from unhealthy people," I told him, and he's currently not reaching towards health, but I am, so we are now on different paths. I told him I will continue to help him as I can (I am practically the sole functioning adult in his life), but that I have my limits and that only I get to decide when and where they are reached. I would not have this ability or clarity if I was still drinking and I am so grateful for this forum. Please, be well, my friends, and take care of yourselves.
Good for you!! Yes I am sorry this had to happen. It is so much easier to see with a clear head. You are taking care of yourself. My ex had his addictive behavior, too. I couldn't take it anymore. So glad I divorced.
I began drinking more and more over time when married (24 years total, but really my drinking started in a bigger way with the first affair). The lessons being many, but certainly if someone is throwing you so much stress that you want to drink..... Be gone I say. Be gone--for at least a separation of which I did 2 of. He would change for about 2 weeks each time. I continued to drink in the aftermath. He caused soooo much trouble trying to be free of him, it cost 20 grand. Even at my son's funeral--his son as well--he still tried to cause trouble and I never said one word to him. When there is a will, there is a way. Addictions can be quite powerful as well as other issues. Now I wonder why I wanted to keep the chaos going with drinking. I am so free right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!8 -
@joha5603 You are taking care of yourself which is the most important thing. It is so true that sometimes we have to walk away from certain people, even people we really care about. I am glad you are sober for this trying time in your life 4
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@saleewins Please be extra kind to yourself! You are a very strong person & deserve some peace.
@joha5603 YES, healthy people sometimes need to walk away from unhealthy people. At least draw the line in the sand & it seems you have done that by being very direct with your ex & letting him know the boundaries. He is very fortunate to have you to help him. Most exes would not. I cannot be around my ex...way too toxic for moi!!6 -
Keep strong, @joha5603 your doing a great job..
I have had similar experience and found this forum an awesome support. Ive read the last few posts and i fully agree with what they say. We don't have to put up wth or be used up by toxic company.
Sending you all the best with what u have to do.. xo 6 -
As Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on our blessings, I am thankful for my family, my health, having a roof over my head, and this forum. You all have helped me more than you could possibly know. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Everyone! Much love, Jen4
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Good morning - I am new to this thread. I also haven't posted in the forums in years but this thread popped up on the right side of my screen and I knew I needed to get involved.
Today is day #31 of living the sober/AF life!!! It's been the hardest thing I've ever done (besides losing weight). I look forward to getting to know you all. 10 -
Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
--Emily Dickinson
This was posted on another board I frequent and it just really touched me so I thought I would share. I am a very hopeful person by nature. This last week was pretty down for me for some reason, but I'm done with that nonsense! Keep up the hope and the hard work!
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islandbeez wrote: »Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
--Emily Dickinson
This was posted on another board I frequent and it just really touched me so I thought I would share. I am a very hopeful person by nature. This last week was pretty down for me for some reason, but I'm done with that nonsense! Keep up the hope and the hard work!
hope is a thing with feathers always resonated with me.
i got artsy one day
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@SuzMac1981 Welcome to our lovely, loving group Happy Day 31
@islandbeez "Hoping" the best for you & interesting artwork @mbaker566
@JenT304 I have a wee sign in front of my kitchen sink that says "Count Your Blessings" Very simple, yet so profound because the simple act of thinking about all the things I have to be thankful for can lift my mood & remind me of the more important things and help me to forget the negative stuff that seems to dominate at times.2
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