Less Alcohol - January 2019 - One Day at a Time

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Replies

  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,388 Member
    Fitness327wk wrote: »
    Happy Dry January! I have saved over 10,000 calories of not drinking wine! I am going to do dry January besides for a few days! What are your plans in Feb?

    I have saved so many calories and so much money over the past few weeks!

    I plan to continue AF in February, minus my birthday dinner at a local German restaurant/brewery. My over all plan is to stay (minus two days) AF till I hit my goal weight, which may take up to three months (hopefully not that long but however long it takes, I'll do it!).
  • Sub4_2018
    Sub4_2018 Posts: 52 Member
    Fitness327wk wrote: »
    Happy Dry January! I have saved over 10,000 calories of not drinking wine! I am going to do dry January besides for a few days! What are your plans in Feb?

    So far I'm at 9933 calories saved so just about there, too! The first week and a half of Feb has a lot going on - a date night with my husband before I leave for a work trip Feb 3-8. I plan to take it easy but not fully abstain the entire time, and once I get back I *think* I'll strive for at least 4 AF days each week, but I haven't quite landed on it exactly. At the end of the day, my goal is to only drink when I absolutely want to - not out of habit, pressure from others, stress, etc - and to drink substantially less than last year. So far so good!
  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
    @cathipa - right there with you too and it feels great. It gives you the feeling that if you can do this you can do other stuff. I joined a gym Jan. 1 and have been going 4-5 times a week. Think I've finally broken the sweets habit. Snowballing, but uphill. Dry January app telling me I've saved nearly 5,000 calories and $100 since Jan. 1. The frugal me loves that . . .
  • springsweet
    springsweet Posts: 184 Member
    So I drank Fri-Sun this past weekend. Some things I noticed:

    ~ Waking up late and hungover on Sunday did not bode well for me. I felt guilty from the start for sleeping so late (til 11) and I realized even though the scales haven't shown much movement, I felt bloated and gross after drinking again. :(
    ~ My drinks of choice weren't that great (wine, party punch, more wine) and I actually got bored with them after a while.
    ~ All weekend I wanted to get some exercise in, but kept making excuses. Finally yesterday I went on a mile 1/2 walk with my dog and felt great. :)

    So I'm back on the wagon now, definitely through January, but possibly beyond. If not, large breaks will occur beyond. I'm just not my best self when drinking consistently.

    Again, congrats to everyone here!
  • springsweet
    springsweet Posts: 184 Member
    MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
    Fitness327wk wrote: »
    Happy Dry January! I have saved over 10,000 calories of not drinking wine! I am going to do dry January besides for a few days! What are your plans in Feb?

    I have saved so many calories and so much money over the past few weeks!

    I plan to continue AF in February, minus my birthday dinner at a local German restaurant/brewery. My over all plan is to stay (minus two days) AF till I hit my goal weight, which may take up to three months (hopefully not that long but however long it takes, I'll do it!).

    I have my girls beach weekend in May I'm working towards. I initially wanted to lose 20 lbs by then, but at this rate, I'll be happy with 10. My goal weight is a lonnnng way away (-60 lbs). Not even thinking about that now.

    @MonkeyMel21 how much have you lost so far?
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,388 Member
    springsweet wrote: »
    MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
    Fitness327wk wrote: »
    Happy Dry January! I have saved over 10,000 calories of not drinking wine! I am going to do dry January besides for a few days! What are your plans in Feb?

    I have saved so many calories and so much money over the past few weeks!

    I plan to continue AF in February, minus my birthday dinner at a local German restaurant/brewery. My over all plan is to stay (minus two days) AF till I hit my goal weight, which may take up to three months (hopefully not that long but however long it takes, I'll do it!).

    I have my girls beach weekend in May I'm working towards. I initially wanted to lose 20 lbs by then, but at this rate, I'll be happy with 10. My goal weight is a lonnnng way away (-60 lbs). Not even thinking about that now.

    @MonkeyMel21 how much have you lost so far?

    Well, on January 1st I weighed 147 (after a lot of alcohol and fried foods the night before) and now I weigh 141. But I got to 141 like two weeks ago so it’s blah. I’m only trying to get to 135 but with .5 lb loss a week calorie goal it’s still likely to be another 2-3 months. Which is really hard for me to grasp, but it’s the only way I’ll be able to stick with it because when I’m “starving” each day I end up making bad choices. I’m not eating back my work out calories but so far it hasn’t helped much. I’m definitely noticing more changes in the mirror than on the scale at this point.

    FYI: I haven’t been able to get back down to 135 in over three years, after no less than two failed attempts per year.
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,543 Member
    My goal is 4-5 AF days per week.

    January 1st - AF
    January 2nd - AF
    January 3rd - AF
    January 4th - 3 drinks Friday night. I actually had 4, but then threw up lol. This is the reason that I never have more than 3 if I choose to have drinks. Good reminder. Yes, I can never be "drunk" because I can't have more than 3.
    January 5th - AF So curious that each and every day that I have drinks I am down 2 pounds the following day. I think that I read somewhere on this post that it dehydrates you. It comes back the next day of course : - )
    I don't log my AF or not AF until the following morning for the night before.
    January 6th - AF - 5 days out of 6. Very busy week, so more AF days to come.
    January 7th - AF - 6 days out of 7 for the month
    January 8th - AF - 7 days our of 8 for the month so far
    January 9th - AF - 8 days out of 9
    January 10th - 1 champagne, later on 3 drinks
    January 11th - 2 drinks - 8 out of 11 AF. I am pleased with that.
    January 12th - 3 drinks - 8 out of 12 AF. Going to rack up some more AF days.
    January 13th - AF - 9 days out of 13
    January 14th - AF - 10 days out of 14. Began logging at night before bed instead of waiting until the next morning. No danger of sleep drinking I don't think : - )
    January 15th - AF - 11 days out of 15.
    January 16th - AF - 12 days out of 16
    January 17th - AF - 13 days out of 17 - I took December 31st out of the count.
    January 18th - 3 drinks - 13 AF days out of 18, definitely ahead of where I was in December.
    January 19th - 2 drinks
    January 20th - AF - 14 AF days out of 20
    January 21st - AF - 15 out of 21
    January 22nd - AF - 16 out of 22 - I believe that I had 16 AF days total in December
    January 23rd -
    January 24th -
    January 25th -
    January 26th -
    January 27th -
    January 28th -
    January 29th -
    January 30th -
    January 31st
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,542 Member
    springsweet wrote: »
    So I drank Fri-Sun this past weekend. Some things I noticed:

    ~ Waking up late and hungover on Sunday did not bode well for me. I felt guilty from the start for sleeping so late (til 11) and I realized even though the scales haven't shown much movement, I felt bloated and gross after drinking again. :(
    ~ My drinks of choice weren't that great (wine, party punch, more wine) and I actually got bored with them after a while.
    ~ All weekend I wanted to get some exercise in, but kept making excuses. Finally yesterday I went on a mile 1/2 walk with my dog and felt great. :)

    So I'm back on the wagon now, definitely through January, but possibly beyond. If not, large breaks will occur beyond. I'm just not my best self when drinking consistently.

    Again, congrats to everyone here!

    One day at a time @springsweet. You'll get there.
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,542 Member
    edited January 2019
    Stockholm_Andy wrote: »
    Having not drank at all since the New Years day holiday I had my first drink on Wednesday last week. We got the keys back to our apartment back, after being in temporary accommodation for 17 months due to renovations, so to celebrate we shared a bottle of Champagne.

    That was fine I planned for it and made the decision. Plus it fits with my goal of the sorts of occasions on which I'd like to drink. However, that ended up with me drinking on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. True I drank much less than a regular weekend but I still drank out of habit. FWIW I want to move from being a daily drinker to an occasional drinker.

    What really annoyed me though is that I then drank, a little, on Monday after a really *kitten* day working day. My number one goal is to not use alcohol to relieve stress.

    I was back to AF yesterday.

    The good news for me is I'm 16 days AF and 6 drinking for the month so it's certainly my cleanest month for years.

    Last week was just a blip. I'll focus on the rest of this month and then I'll focus on February.

    The good news is you recognized alcohol as a creeping habit @Stockholm_Andy. Yes it is a new day and that means a fresh start. Welcome back to your renovated home.
  • Lilylady3k
    Lilylady3k Posts: 3,814 Member
    January accountability ~22 days so far
    Me (no alcohol): 14 days
    Alcohol: 8 days (16 drinks)
    Goal: AF days 4 per week / 16 per month

    This week I have three scheduled challenges with a plan to limit my consumption. The other 4 days I need to stick to my AF plan.
    Jan 21 - Bookclub - limit 1 glass wine; finally lived up to my plan to not have a second glass in a social situation!
    Jan 22 - AF
    Jan 23 -
    Jan 24 -
    Jan 25 - Planned dinner out to begin celebrating my early retirement next week. Plan: Limit 2 gasses of wine
    Jan 26 - Hiking with my son & his Fiancée then they want to go to a brewery. Plan: Limit 1 beer
    Jan 27 -
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,542 Member
    dawnbgethealthy wrote: »
    My goal is 4-5 AF days per week.

    January 1st - AF
    January 2nd - AF
    January 3rd - AF

    January 5th - AF
    January 6th - AF -
    January 7th - AF -
    January 8th - AF -
    January 9th - AF -

    January 13th - AF -
    January 14th - AF -
    January 15th - AF -
    January 16th - AF -
    January 17th - AF -

    January 20th - AF -
    January 21st - AF -
    January 22nd - AF - I believe that I had 16 AF days total in December

    @dawnbgethealthy you have some pretty great AF streaks tallied up. 😊
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,542 Member
    @Lilylady3k I really like how you are planning your stratigy to either drink or be AF for the month. Impressive.
  • Lilylady3k
    Lilylady3k Posts: 3,814 Member
    MissMay wrote: »
    @Lilylady3k I really like how you are planning your stratigy to either drink or be AF for the month. Impressive.

    It is a daily / weekly challenge for me. I appreciate and enjoy wine. I have 3 adult kids plus their significant others in their mid 20s that visit often that like wine/beer so we seem to always have it in the house. I have a sister that enjoys making cosmos which she brings over along with more wine. Then I participate in many social groups ... multiple alumnae groups, 2 book clubs, dining out group, bunco, etc all which serve wine! My husband I got into the routine of drinks every night ... I cannot remember a week of being more than 1 night AF in 2018. And I know for myself that I can count drinks 1-2 but after 3 I start losing the desire to count and forget my goals regarding weight loss.

    After Christmas my husband and I decided to reduce the consumption and stop falling into old bad habits which is a work in progress. We find picking up 1 bottle of wine instead of 6 to get the discount helps! I find that focusing on the challenges and planning for them keeps me more on track ... and it is proving to show up on the scale. Not only for me but for my husband, too.
  • BuffMom84
    BuffMom84 Posts: 180 Member
    This week has been really difficult for me! I've been in such a bad mood and I don't know why. Probably because I never have a break from the kids and the weather has been horrible. We're at that point in winter when I'm so sick of it and want it to be over with but it's going to drag on for at least two more months. I wanted to cave every night this week so far and have a drink but I haven't. Because I know one beer turns into 4 or 5.

    I gave up on the drinking app because the one I had seemed too negative for me. It set its own rules "you can have a few drinks per week" and it would show a big red bar on the screen even if I went a little over. I want to focus on the fact that I am only drinking one day per week now which is awesome for me because last year I was drinking 2-3 days per week! I figured I saved about 6000 calories so far and about $75 just by cutting out those extra drinking days (assuming I was drinking 3 days per week which I was for a while at the end of last year).
  • SallyLuvsFitness
    SallyLuvsFitness Posts: 13,724 Member
    Lilylady3k wrote: »
    MissMay wrote: »
    @Lilylady3k I really like how you are planning your stratigy to either drink or be AF for the month. Impressive.

    It is a daily / weekly challenge for me. I appreciate and enjoy wine. I have 3 adult kids plus their significant others in their mid 20s that visit often that like wine/beer so we seem to always have it in the house. I have a sister that enjoys making cosmos which she brings over along with more wine. Then I participate in many social groups ... multiple alumnae groups, 2 book clubs, dining out group, bunco, etc all which serve wine! My husband I got into the routine of drinks every night ... I cannot remember a week of being more than 1 night AF in 2018. And I know for myself that I can count drinks 1-2 but after 3 I start losing the desire to count and forget my goals regarding weight loss.

    After Christmas my husband and I decided to reduce the consumption and stop falling into old bad habits which is a work in progress. We find picking up 1 bottle of wine instead of 6 to get the discount helps! I find that focusing on the challenges and planning for them keeps me more on track ... and it is proving to show up on the scale. Not only for me but for my husband, too.

    Understand! My husband and I enjoy wine and has been a daily habit for a very long time. We love going to Italy and have wine shipped here, full wine cellar. We have a full bar at our house, my husband loves a Manhattan. When I decided that I needed to make changes in my life and stop drinking that it would still be very accessible to me. Thankfully my husband hasn’t popped the cork while I am cooking and eating dinner. It has been nice him not drinking wine during dinner; however, after he drinks manhattans. I am benefiting from all the positives of not drinking and thankful for the decision I have made. Of course I want a glass of wine; however, my glass of wine turns into 3+..... I think back to the nights that I don’t remember of what I said or did and the shame I feel makes it quite easy for me to enjoy AF.

    When we go out to dinner he drinks, which I am fine with as this was my choice to stop. I am getting use to ordering my hot tea. We have been out with friends and at first I felt odd not having wine with everyone, now I don’t!

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