Less Alcohol - MARCH 2020 - One Day at a Time

forestdweller1 · March 2020

Wow, @globalhiker , sounds like my kitchen, with trays of veggies roasting in the toaster oven. For the "I gotta nibble on something" times, how about homemade kale chips ? Good with ethnic spices, and they keep crispy.
My proteins [including fish and venison ] are usually served on a bed of romaine and other colorful greens instead of my beloved carbs. I almost don't miss them. Almost.
Bonus...a nice glass of vino is really not compatible with the sprinkle of vinegar or lemon on my greens. Less alcohol !!
P.S. don't confuse iceberg lettuce with real food....

brittgreenlikethecolor88 · March 2020

Old habit: 1-4 drinks/evening.
Goal: Ease into only drinking on Friday & Saturday! Consistently be AF 5 days a week. ( 22 AF / 31 days)

January - 15 AF / 27 days.
February - 17 AF / 29 days.

Mar 1- AF

Mar 2- AF

Mar 3- AF

Mar 4- AF

Mar 5- AF

Daily note: Made it all 5 days AF!! Yay me!! #PROUD

5 AF / 5 days

shorepine · March 2020

Good morning!

@dawnbgethealthy I have found Kava to be wonderful for helping me drink less alcohol. In the evenings I've been drinking "Kava Stress Relief Tea" which is made by Yogi tea. I can get it at most grocery stores around me. I have found that it has an almost narcotic feeling of relaxation, a little bit akin to what I get from wine. I have a cup in the evenings before bed. I recommend it!

I'm proud to say I had another AF evening yesterday. I wasn't even tempted to drink, even when my husband came home and cracked a beer while we were chatting. Unfortunately my husband's attempts at drinking less seem to have vanished with January. I'm still proud of him for taking a break, but it's been a little sad to see him turn back into a daily drinker.

Mar 1: AF
Mar 2: AF
Mar 3: AF
Mar 4: AF
Mar 5: AF

So far in March 5/5 days AF

I'm starting to feel that I have what it takes to be a moderate drinker! Now it's Friday and I'm unsure about whether I'll have anything to drink. I have some really nice bubbly that I bought a few weeks ago at the wine festival. It comes in little single serve cans and it's been chilling in my fridge. I will see how it goes and listen to my body.

LoveyChar · March 2020

Hi lovely people! I do read all posts and hug or like, even though I do not always comment. I'm glad everyone seems to be doing well, for the most part, and pushing on.

Last Thursday, my husband spent a few hundred dollars on whiskey and bourbons at the Dollar Days Sale at our local spirits store; it's a twice a year sale and he's like a kid at Christmas. I had some drinks last Friday night and stayed up until 2:30 am. I started in the late afternoon/early evening watching the first of four National Lampoon's Vacations. My family went to bed shortly after midnight but I stayed up and enjoyed myself...too much. And I felt awful the next morning. Anyway, I'm glad for the fun but I'm also glad that those days are few and far in between. This weekend = AF. I hope y'all have a lovely weekend...

marcvb35 · March 2020

3/2 - less than usual. hopefully i skip buying a bottle on the way home today. no AF days yet in 2020
3/3 - dont ask
3/4 - 3/4 of normal. went to bed on time instead of passing out in front of TV
3/5 - about 1/2 of normal but had way to much feed yesterday. fell asleep fine but woke up many times.

WinoGelato · March 2020

So far 4/5 days AF. Weds I had also planned to be AF but I had a decent day at work, got suckered into signing up for a PTO board position at my kids school for next year, and husband and I ate a late dinner catching up on some Netflix after the weeknight madness. Decided some Pinot Grigio sounded good - opened a can (yes! They are great for portion control) and had 1.5 glasses and poured the rest down the sink.

This weekend finally everyone in the house is feeling better from winter bugs and the temps are warmer so we decided to rent a cabin on a nearby lake to get away a little bit. Planning to hike, fish, read magazines, eat s’mores and drink wine by the fire pit.

helen_goldthorpe · March 2020

Tonight will be 6/6. Some significant challenges this week (free wine at an event, work stress) but I've managed ok. I'm racing tomorrow morning so resisted the temptation to open Friday night wine, which always used to be my routine. I might have a drink tomorrow depending how the race goes.

LoveyChar · March 2020

@helen_goldthorpe Passing up free food or wine is usually very difficult for me! Good luck 🍀 on your race tomorrow!

MissMay · March 2020

Hey guys thanks for all the nutritional information. Can always benefit from it. For fiber I love to make good old fashioned oatmeal or roast butternut squash and eat that.

Never had heard of sour belts so I Googled it. Those are all new to me.

So far 5/5. Last night I almost slipped some liquor in my hot tea. I had not taken it out of the cabinet yet, but I stopped and thought about waking up in the middle of the night and having a crappy nights sleep. So I grabbed the tea mug and kept walking past that cabinet. Not sure why I was having an erg to spice up my tea. I was not bored or anxious about anything. Glad the thought passed quickly. I slept great and had an awesome early workout.

Have a fantastic Friday.

LoveyChar · March 2020

Wine, pizza and cake happened and I failed.

CliveSmith2015 · March 2020

marcvb35 wrote: »

3/2 - less than usual. hopefully i skip buying a bottle on the way home today. no AF days yet in 2020
3/3 - dont ask
3/4 - 3/4 of normal. went to bed on time instead of passing out in front of TV
3/5 - about 1/2 of normal but had way to much feed yesterday. fell asleep fine but woke up many times.

Baby steps mate, you sound like me as late as December last year, I was regularly drinking 8 -12 drinks a night
If I only had 6, it was a step in the right direction
Next it was 4,and so on
You will have that moment when it will ‘click’, that you don’t need to, it might not be today, or tomorrow , but the fact your posting on here means that you are at the start, keep the faith 👍

dawnbgethealthy · March 2020

Thank you so much @globalhiker
Really good tips and suggestions.
I have a big garden and freeze lots of stuff, but many of the vegetables don't have much fibre at all.
I have been trying to have a serving of lentils or beans each day for the fibre, and a friend got me on to Metamucil which is 3 grams. I hadn't thought of cabbage (coleslaw) I will check it out.
I will have to look into adding some more grains too.
I will indeed Google high fibre foods that control cravings, and I will definitely be trying out some of your suggestions : - )

I went from 6 grams of fibre per day up to around 11 grams on average, but 22 grams per day is the suggestion for optimum.

Frosted mini wheats @whitpauly ? What a fabulous idea! I never think of cereals, but I will have to check out the fibre and calorie content. I rarely get enough carbs either, so that could be a win win.
Half of my pie chart each day is fat, every time I try to get more protein the items contain a great deal of fat, like meats, eggs, unsalted nuts etc.

dawnbgethealthy · March 2020

As usual, I am going to try for 16-20 AF days for the month.
I had 18AF days for January
I had a surprising (and record setting for me) 21AF days for the short month of February!

Sunday March 01 - AF - The month kind of came in like a lamb out West.
Monday March 02 - AF - Tomorrow is my designated drinks day, we'll see. It could have been the strategy that led to 2 AF days in a row, knowing that I have a drinks day coming up. Definitely going to stick with my newest rule to have at least 2 AF days in a row in between which will add up over the month.
Tuesday March 03 - AF - It is my designated drink day, and I felt like having drinks but decided not to today.
Wednesday March 04 - AF - I just read up on Kava, it is banned in Canada due to severe liver damage and deaths! Yikes. Guess that I won't be trying that as a relaxing alternative to booze. I will stick with my sugar free jello on AF days.
Thursday March 05 - 3 drinks, started from work stress (so using it as a stress reliever still) but after the first sip I was feeling better. I have been applying for new jobs, I have known that I have to make a change in that area for quite some time. I already feel like I have made changes to drink less and am feeling pretty successful at that so far. Coming up to 60 this year and know that I need to define how that is going to be. I think that the days of daily drinking are behind me now. Posting daily on this thread gives me the impetus to keep that in check. Quitting smoking will be a big challenge, but that is on my radar too. Losing weight, cutting down drinking...well, I can't quite quit everything just yet. Baby steps.
Friday March 06 - AF - Felt like having a few drinks, but didn't because of my recent 2AF days in a row rule.

Running tally: 5AF days out of 6 days so far.

dawnbgethealthy · March 2020

forestdweller1 wrote: »

Wow, @globalhiker , sounds like my kitchen, with trays of veggies roasting in the toaster oven. For the "I gotta nibble on something" times, how about homemade kale chips ? Good with ethnic spices, and they keep crispy.
My proteins [including fish and venison ] are usually served on a bed of romaine and other colorful greens instead of my beloved carbs. I almost don't miss them. Almost.
Bonus...a nice glass of vino is really not compatible with the sprinkle of vinegar or lemon on my greens. Less alcohol !!
P.S. don't confuse iceberg lettuce with real food....

As well as Iceberg, Romaine has got a pretty bad rep for having little or no nutrients also. I do grow it, but the environmental cost of trucking it around if it doesn't have nutrients doesn't add up.
I know what you mean about some foods not lending themselves well to alcohol. I eat completely differently on the days where I do plan on alcohol, which is another reason that alcohol is very bad for the waistline.

dawnbgethealthy · March 2020

Oatmeal! Yes, good suggestion @MissMay!
I will have some tomorrow : - )

dawnbgethealthy · March 2020

helen_goldthorpe wrote: »

Tonight will be 6/6. Some significant challenges this week (free wine at an event, work stress) but I've managed ok. I'm racing tomorrow morning so resisted the temptation to open Friday night wine, which always used to be my routine. I might have a drink tomorrow depending how the race goes.

Good luck on your race, let us know how it goes. (and we do like photos)

alrightmsjenkins · March 2020

Good morning! Happy Saturday! I fell asleep and forgot to post. Still AF going into the weekend. Feeling good and ready for a lazy Saturday. The plan is to stay hydrated and rest.

globalhiker · March 2020

Day 6 AF done! Friday nights are always a bit tough. Husband calls at 5pm to ask if I want anything from the store and my brain automatically thinks YES, WINE. But I stop myself and respond No, I am fine. I hang up. Then I have a very strong impulse to call him back and say, wait, it's Friday, can you pick up wine?

But I negotiate with myself and say No, silly. Because if you start Friday, you know you will "blow it" for the weekend and drink Saturday and Sunday. Then you will feel bad because you blew your monthly goal and you will just rationalize that you will start next month. Quit thinking stupid.

So I didn't call him back. 30 seconds or less of really strong irritability passes then I pour myself a cranberry juice in my wine glass and distracted myself by cooking dinner. The whole mental struggle passed. We had a happy dinner at home at forgot all about wine.

whitpauly · March 2020

6:32 am in Vegas another 24, I wonder if growing lettuce would work in Vegas? I happen to love iceberg btw, I know it's useless but sometimes I like the ingredients in the salad to be the star and iceberg is so bland it doesn't overpower the cheese, bacon, croutons, etc! Anyone concerned about this coronaviris? Or do you think it's just a media hype? I've read of people stocking up on tp, water, food and of course booze, went to bath and body works yesterday and they had a sign on the door "out of all hand sanitizer" and the line around Costco was wrapped around the building like it was black Friday! Hope everyone has a fab day 💖

WinoGelato · March 2020

globalhiker wrote: »

Day 6 AF done! Friday nights are always a bit tough. Husband calls at 5pm to ask if I want anything from the store and my brain automatically thinks YES, WINE. But I stop myself and respond No, I am fine. I hang up. Then I have a very strong impulse to call him back and say, wait, it's Friday, can you pick up wine?

But I negotiate with myself and say No, silly. Because if you start Friday, you know you will "blow it" for the weekend and drink Saturday and Sunday. Then you will feel bad because you blew your monthly goal and you will just rationalize that you will start next month. Quit thinking stupid.

So I didn't call him back. 30 seconds or less of really strong irritability passes then I pour myself a cranberry juice in my wine glass and distracted myself by cooking dinner. The whole mental struggle passed. We had a happy dinner at home at forgot all about wine.

When I first joined this group I had a lot of those internal debates between drinking brain and sober brain. I don’t have them that often anymore but I have been thinking to myself - do I need to plan out my days that I will be “allowed” to drink at the beginning of the month or can I go back to more of a casual approach where if I decide to have a glass of wine with dinner on Weds then it’s not something to feel like I have failed. I’m still trying to figure that out.

On one hand I no longer feel as concerned about proving that I CAN have AF days regularly without white knuckling it. Secondly, I sometimes think that now I have it in my head that I’m only drinking on x, y and z day each week I then take that to the extreme and drink one or two more glasses than I probably should.

On the other - I plan out my indulgent eating days so why wouldn’t I take the same approach to consuming alcohol and consider when and how that fits into my overall plan.

So yeah even after 2 years of practicing mindful moderation ( has it really been that long @MissMay !?) I still realize I need to be mindful about this. Which again - I’ve been a dedicated MFP member for 6 years and while I reached my original weight loss goal and stuck around to track during maintenance, when I wasn’t as diligent about it in the last year, the weight crept back on. So I’m back to paying more attention to that too - I suspect I need to keep a close watch on the alcohol also and not get too casual about it lest mindful moderation turns into mindless routine.

Less Alcohol - MARCH 2020 - One Day at a Time

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