The Sober Squad- Alcohol Free Living
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Morning friends,just want to wish everyone a happy AF Sunday!
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@donimfp Br-r-r-r-r-r!! Chillsville!! Hope your chilly dip was healing for you. I can imagine you will need some downtime to process all the emotions from your stressful job, almost like withdrawal. I'm sure the kids will miss you too.
The thread has been quiet the past few days. I'm hoping it's because everyone is having lovely weather in their part of the globe and lots of activity in the sun
We are finally getting some half decent weather here. Still on the cool side, but lovely sunshine!! The craft/blues festival wasn't exactly what I was anticipating, but I had a lovely day in the sunshine so what more can I ask for. I LOVE spring, tis my fave season. Fall is 2nd.
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Hello friends,yup Lorraine it's been very quiet here,alot going on with graduation time tho so I'm sure peeps are just busy, wishes for a happy and healthy AF day!6
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Hi all, yes it has been quiet here. I've been to 3 grad parties and have one more this Friday. Tis the season! Update on the benefiber; I've been putting it in my black coffee first thing in the morning, then eating only between 11 and 7....intermittent fasting. I have more around 3 in some iced tea or something no cal. I've lost 2 lbs and I'm not hungry so it's working. I am hoping to lose at least 20 lbs. Obviously avoiding the calories in alcohol is helping as well!7
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Hi there. New to this thread. I have gone one day alcohol free, which is kind of amazing for me. I’m a heavy drinker, which I’m sure contributed to my 60 pound weight gain. I estimate I drink over 600 calories a day. I’m hoping to see a dramatic difference in my weight loss efforts. Is that your experience? Or did you just replace the calories with some other bad habit? I appreciate any help. I’m committed to stopping the drinking this time.10
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Yes busy month prom graduations and lots of birthdays. @D_squareG. I started in January and so far Im down 19 pounds. But sugar has really gotten the best of me. I'm refocusing today after 2 week sugar bender.
Cake cookies ice cream. And I think what started it all was a big bag of lindt truffles my son got me for mothers day. I couldn't give his hard earned money away so mama ate em. Most of them anyway. Its over. New start. Goodluck to all.7 -
Welcome to our thread, @D_squareG. There is no question drinking contributes to weight gain...that has been my experience as well. You CAN replace the alcohol calories with sugar, sweets etc. A lot of us got those cravings right when we first quit drinking and it common as your body is shouting for the sugar you are depriving it of when you dropped the alcohol. I suggest you give yourself some leeway and go ahead and some the sweets until you get rid of the alcohol habit. We can't give up EVERYTHING all at once! Then you can cut back on the sweets. That strategy been sort of successful for some of us. Best of luck to you and again, welcome!7
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Good Morning All
I've been one of the quite ones for a few days. I haven't been feeling very motivated in general. I haven't been drinking at all - and I haven't wanted to which is joyous - but I just haven't been giving 100% to everything else. I'm not losing weight as fast as I had hoped. This isn't the end of the world - I know I've got a long road - but still if the scale gave me a few pounds down it would certainly help my mood. Anyway without that little extra motivation I can't say that my diet and exercise this past week has been fully on point, I haven't been pigging out or eating like a total jerk or giving up, just slacking on the paying attention and putting all the effort in department. Either way I need to look at the bright side - without drinking I feel a lot better overall. As I think about alcohol less and less I'm working to turn my attention to making diet shifts until I hit the sweet spot and start melting pounds. A little bit of happy news - we adopted a new cat last Friday, a very handsome older gentleman. He's a total ham and so far things have been calm introducing him to our other old cat who is rather grumpy. It's been really great having a fresh face around the house.
@D_squareG welcome! Personally for me alcohol has been a massive contributor to my weight gain. I've got a lot of weight to lose. I've lost a few pounds this month since giving up the booze but it's not exactly moving as rapidly as I'd like but without the alcohol cloud I feel a lot better and am easily up early and in a better attitude to focus on health and fitness. Right now I'm playing around with dietary changes until I start losing at a better pace. I can't say I've replaced the alcohol with anything bad - thankfully I didn't have the sugar cravings that many do - and by not drinking I'm also not eating any of the garbage that I would blindly eat after drinking. Stay the course - it's not easy but it's so very worth it to feel better.6 -
Welcome @D_squareG !! YES, alcohol is a definite contributor to weight gain especially for those of us who are foodies...coupled with "blindly eating" after drinking that some of us have had an issue with. Plus alcohol metabolizes first before calories from food & like you mentioned the eXtra calories on top of it all. I focused on giving up the alcohol and wasn't as focused on the food end of things initially, but I did drop 15 lbs just from taking the booze out of the equation. Can't remember how quickly, but somewhere within the first couple of months.
Food & booze are 2 of my biggest issues BUT stopping alcohol took priority for me. Now I have more energy & clarity & motivation to work on the food end as @Sunshinelinzee expressed above. So that's where I'm at. Everyone has to find their own path & you will find yours.
Please be kind to yourself as you navigate being sober. THAT in itself is a huge task and it's ok if that is your only focus for now...Hoping good things for you and happy you have joined us.
I'm off to see my youngest grandboy goaltend for his Lacrosse team....woohoo!!!
Hoping to see a few more comments by the time I get back this eve 6 -
GOOD MORN: I received an email from Kate at The Sober School this morn entitled "How to Stay Sober At A Wedding. Of course it can be applied to bbqs and all the other seasonal events...it's worth a read if anyone is anticipating the summer season of temptations to drink. One line that I want to share is this, "Culturally, we are so trained (I say brainwashed actually) to associate booze with celebration, we tend to forget we can have one without the other." She then goes on to list some ways we can have fun without booze, but also how we can have booze without having fun.
Hopefully, everyone has another AF day and perhaps some fun along the way I LOVE sun!!! which I am sitting in at this moment 7 -
OK so this thread is beyond quiet LOL Is everyone on vacation?2
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I was just going to say the same thing! I think typically these things slow down in the summer. It's ok. We are off to the last graduation party of the season that we have been invited to tonight. Maybe I'll watch a Craig Beck video before we go to help me stay strong. Anyway, I'm wishing you all a happy AF weekend!6
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Hi All
I'm a quite one. Not for any particular reason - work has been busy, weather is getting better, allergies are killing me, playing with the new cat. Just trying to keep myself busy and try to stay focused.
I'll probably be scarce in general on weekends (I mean really we only get a couple of months of nice weather here so I do my best to not spend it behind a screen
so everyone have a wonderful weekend! 7 -
For me community was unavailable practically all day,think mfp was doing maintenance or something, maybe the threads here have been quiet though cuz peeps are just busy out enjoying the warmer weather cuz even the less alcohol thread hasn't been as busy as it had been, yesterday was a doozy for me cravings wise! All I could do was bide my time til bed it was that terrible,I don't wanna drink after all this time,I didn't come this far to only get this far! Just those nerve grating weeks make my head want to escape,waves to all and wishes for a happy and healthy AF day 7
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I was quiet too. Made a choice to imbibe last week.. One of only 2 childfree nights in the last 14 months.. Got right back on track though, so 12 weeks today (minus one slip). Hope everyone has a nice weekend.. I'm staying strong through the rest of my 90 days7
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Hi everyone! Just popping in to say hello and catch up on everyone's posts. Sorry I haven't been posting much here or checking in. I'm at a place where I'm not thinking about alcohol every day, so I honestly don't think to check this thread as much. It feels great to not be dwelling on alcohol, planning for it or lamenting over the absence of it. I'm doing well. Still struggle with anxiety over work issues, but finding other ways to cope. Oh, I had a wellness visit at the doc recently and when asked if I drink alcohol, I was able to say no for the first time that I can remember!
Wishing all of you a wonderful AF weekend!
And @Sunshinelinzee congrats on the new kitty! There is nothing so wonderful as adopting a pet, IMHO. 7 -
Hi Friends! Just leaving Florida today - I enjoyed the vacation with my daughter. This week I’ll focus on getting a routine in new apartment and for summer vacation (I’m a teacher) I am tutoring a few children. Nothing else is new. Sometimes the “community” link doesn’t work and I’ve tried to post a few times but can’t get it to work.5
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For me community was unavailable practically all day,think mfp was doing maintenance or something, maybe the threads here have been quiet though cuz peeps are just busy out enjoying the warmer weather cuz even the less alcohol thread hasn't been as busy as it had been, yesterday was a doozy for me cravings wise! All I could do was bide my time til bed it was that terrible,I don't wanna drink after all this time,I didn't come this far to only get this far! Just those nerve grating weeks make my head want to escape,waves to all and wishes for a happy and healthy AF day
Wishing you a peaceful week! You are very strong! Proud of you ! ❤️3 -
lorrainequiche59 wrote: »GOOD MORN: I received an email from Kate at The Sober School this morn entitled "How to Stay Sober At A Wedding. Of course it can be applied to bbqs and all the other seasonal events...it's worth a read if anyone is anticipating the summer season of temptations to drink. One line that I want to share is this, "Culturally, we are so trained (I say brainwashed actually) to associate booze with celebration, we tend to forget we can have one without the other." She then goes on to list some ways we can have fun without booze, but also how we can have booze without having fun.
Hopefully, everyone has another AF day and perhaps some fun along the way I LOVE sun!!! which I am sitting in at this moment
I remember going to a wedding reception last summer when I was newly sober and found myself jealous of everyone else. But the next morning I was so happy that I woke up so refreshed and knew some woke up with serious hangovers.4 -
GOOD MORN @Sunshinelinzee your post of a new kitten is a perfect eg of me reading & not registering something...I love kittens & puppies...but am more of a dog-lady than a cat-lady...baby anything is adorable ... enjoy your cat's kittenhood...
@RubyRed Glad you had a great holiday with your girl
Our school holidays in Canada don't begin until the end (ish) of June so we are all still in work (ish) mode here. Although there are some who begin there summer vacation schedule after the May long weekend. I usually wait until July/August. I am ready for a break NOW! but must wait
I LOVE having something to look forward to...in fact, I think the anticipation is often better than the actual thing...even drinking as we've discussed here before...the rituals or pre-drink stuff OFTEN was better than the actual drinking cause after the 1st one, it was usually, "slippery slope, here I come!!" and most of my good intentions remained to be intentions. and THAT doesn't count for much...
I LOVE my life now, even in the down days, it (the drinking issue) is one less thing to be down about.
Hoping everyone is happier, healthier and more content this day AND one last thing, IT HAS BEEN SUNNY FOR 3 DAYS STRAIGHT IN MY PART OF THE WORLD & I am sitting in the warmth of our sun feeling really grateful. 5 -
Hi! I don’t drink bc I like eating my calories haha. Anyone else??
I enjoy an occasional glass of wine (MAYBE once a month). Otherwise I save it for special occasions like weddings (not even birthdays....ok maybe my own?). Just doing my best to gain some muscle and I know alcohol isn’t the ticket.
I stopped social drinking a few months ago and I’m going strong!7 -
RubyRed427 wrote: »lorrainequiche59 wrote: »GOOD MORN: I received an email from Kate at The Sober School this morn entitled "How to Stay Sober At A Wedding. Of course it can be applied to bbqs and all the other seasonal events...it's worth a read if anyone is anticipating the summer season of temptations to drink. One line that I want to share is this, "Culturally, we are so trained (I say brainwashed actually) to associate booze with celebration, we tend to forget we can have one without the other." She then goes on to list some ways we can have fun without booze, but also how we can have booze without having fun.
Hopefully, everyone has another AF day and perhaps some fun along the way I LOVE sun!!! which I am sitting in at this moment
I remember going to a wedding reception last summer when I was newly sober and found myself jealous of everyone else. But the next morning I was so happy that I woke up so refreshed and knew some woke up with serious hangovers.
Ugh that was me last weekend!! I quickly got over it bc I don’t drink that often anymore tho. Self forgiveness.4 -
Good morning. I've been quiet for a while, too. May 31 was my last day of school (stressful year teaching English in juvenile lock-up), and I was SO looking forward to my first relaxing week "in the free." However, for some unknown reason, one of my feet/ankles became bizarrely swollen on the last day of school, so then I had medical junk to deal with for the next week.
The interesting thing regarding the alcohol issue was this: My mind immediately went to: "OK, I finally stop drinking and then a health issue arises." Then, when the Dr. said we needed to do blood work to see what was up, I thought, "Oh, I'm sure my kidneys and liver are a mess because of my previous drinking . . . but I stopped that over 60 days ago so no fair." THEN, the "d. dimer" (or however you spell it) test came back as positive for a possible blood clot (By now, I've got my whole funeral planned). So I went for an ultrasound and it came back normal--no clot. THEN, my doctor told me my kidney and liver functions and blood sugar all looked great. I feel sure that would not have been the case 2 months ago (72 days, but who's counting). So she prescribed a diuretic and the foot is now just about back to normal. We still don't know what caused it, but I suspect a very violent chair massage from a lady they brought in for us for teacher appreciation week. She dug into my kidney really hard. But who knows?:
Anyway, the takeaway for me was that I realized how much I've had my head in the sand because of drinking, just "knowing" that I was probably damaging my health but not really wanting to know. I really let myself be in denial for a long time because of drinking, and I was afraid that denial was catching up with me in a terrible way. I am so relieved to have the clean blood work, and even more determined not to undermine my health now that I feel I've dodged a bullet.
I have a big special occasion coming up in early July, and I really liked what Kate at The Sober School said, that going into it with a "maybe" attitude almost certainly will end up a "yes." Instead, I'm working on defining myself as a non-drinker. Period. Not taking a break for a while. Just a plain ol' non-drinker. To my fellow teachers, I say enjoy the summer. It sure goes fast, doesn't it?9 -
@donimfp I hope your foot issue is resolved and how wonderful that your tests came back normal and your liver, kidney & blood sugar are at healthy levels. What a relief!!!! I'd be exactly like you on hearing a health scare, planning my funeral LOL..."plain ol' non-drinker" Yup!! THIS inspires me...thank you 6
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Inspired here as well. Congratulations on those good test results @donimfp
I actually wont be dreading my physical coming up like I normally do at least not as much.
I was feeling sorry for myself yesterday. Was really wanting a beer or 2 or 3. But a thought ran thru that someone oh here said. I didnt come this far to only come this far.
You really are a helpful group thank you.6 -
Hi everyone. My long ago best friend is flying in from FL for a 3 day visit. She is a non drinker and thus there will be no temptation. It is such a relief that I won't even have to worry about it. We are going to try some new restaurants and like someone just said, will be eating instead of drinking our calories. Wishing you all a happy healthy week!6
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Morning friends, shortly after I posted on Friday I chose to drink,,alot then drank again on Saturday,ruined my anniversary weekend cuz I chose to be selfish! Ugh and here it is Monday and I still feel hungover,dumb,I just want to be in a place where I'm not thinking of drinking or not drinking constantly,I'm very annoyed with myself but at least I ain't drinking today,have a great day all 8
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@whitpauly seriously don't beat yourself up. You have a lot of days under your belt. I'm feeling the nagging too. Im watching my husband drink beers on the patio and it doesn't make it any easier. This weather and the barbeques, the pools open. I feel like theres a magnetic force between me and the fridge. Feel better.7
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Hey crew! Haven't checked in in a while. Today is 3 months (93 days) alcohol free... Have had a few tough days, been considering trying to moderately drink again, until I get reminded hownitnhas turned out EVERY FREAKING TIME I TRIED IT! Keeps me on track. We know it doesn't work. Why play at it? Also, I've got some solid friends that check on me daily, and it really helps. Get someone who gets real with you...
Have lost 25 pounds since stopping drinking. Workouts are going insanely well... have started our own HomeWOD Facebook page, and have a few family and friends on it with me. Kind of miss running a gym, but just ain't got that kind of time.
Stay strong!12 -
@whitpauly @alexmose said it best, "self forgiveness" AND to quote, @aroze0928
Hugs, hugs & more hugs to you @whitpauly from moi@whitpauly seriously don't beat yourself up. You have a lot of days under your belt. Feel better.
@FeelinFooFoo Thanks for checking in with us. I've wondered how you're doing. Please continue checking in while you are "working on it"
@kevinrfletcher Always good to hear from you.
@JenT304 Have a blast with your friend...best friends are the best LOL
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