Less Alcohol - MAY 2020 - One Day at a Time

Just finished a big mixed greens salad topped with strawberries, orange and kamut. The first week of the walking & lobster challenge with Eldest Daughter ends with me losing 2.8 pounds. Yeah, the ".8" counts !! Won't share her stats of course.
As she and her DH snowbirded back to Maine last week, they dropped off a cooler full of frozen Louisiana "mudbugs". THEY get the real deal up there, right off his boat, and better walks on the beach.

IMHO, Chianti does not pair well with most seafood, so I'm drinking a lot less...and enjoying it more when I do. Planning on keeping the habit when the mudbugs run out. Is there a "crossing fingers" emoji ?? Insert here.

Wishing everyone an enjoyable holiday.

I'm working my way off my plateau (2.8 alcohol equivalents). Yesterday was AF (3/19) "...and I didn't die or anything." (credit: @dawnbgethealthy). Right now I'm drinking the unsweetened ginger beer/cranberry juice mocktail. It's good! Except I've forgotten who to credit .

@forestdweller1 what the heck is a mud bug??????????

@sklaw31 glad you’re back. It’s a great group of people to share triumphs and defeats!

I would have loved a glass of wine last night, but not enough calories left over. Alas. But a mocktail in the proper glass is a good substitute. Plus my weight is down today. All good things!

12/21 days AF. I don’t even know what day it is anymore. It doesn’t feel like the kick off to summer happens this weekend. Memorial Day is going to be like any other weekend.

@Womona A mudbug is like the mini-lobster of the South, but a lot more work to eat. The big divider with crawfish lovers is...to suck the head or not. I do NOT. Ahhh the good old days of no roots and pretty nails.

Doing really well! Today is day 4, no drinking this week!! I'm feeling much less bloated and am actually back to losing weight again. Crazy how much alcohol inhibits my ability to lose weight.... whether it be the bloating, extra snacking and/or metabolic effects. Feels good to be back on track!! Keep up the great work everybody & thanks for the support You all inspire me!!

brittgreenlikethecolor88 wrote: »

Doing really well! Today is day 4, no drinking this week!! I'm feeling much less bloated and am actually back to losing weight again. Crazy how much alcohol inhibits my ability to lose weight.... whether it be the bloating, extra snacking and/or metabolic effects. Feels good to be back on track!! Keep up the great work everybody & thanks for the support You all inspire me!!

It’s really true! When I cut way back, the weight just fell off! I blame bloating from alcohol and drunk eating. So glad you’re seeing results on many fronts.

11/21 AF. Had one G &T tonight with dinner.

I am officially sick of cooking.

I have an announcement! I've signed up for a 30 day "Take a Break" from drinking program offered on-line by Rachel Hart. I can't remember who to credit but someone in this group mentioned her podcasts. I listened to 3 of them back-to-back and they resonated with me. So I thought, "Do I REALLY want to commit to this?" My own efforts at decreasing my consumption had only resulted in me building a comfy little "she shed" on my plateau - which I did not feel like vacating. I figured I could use a more structured approach to getting started. Now whether or not I succeed, only time will tell.

She offers weekly live video coaching sessions for people in the program. I watched one tonight. It was intense. Kind of made me want to drink just listening to a couple of the stories. I was impressed with how authentic and honest the women were considering others were watching. There is also write-in coaching, daily exercises, lots of podcasts (available to the public - I used Spotify), meditations, absolutely no shaming, judgement, or binary thinking like "You had some drinks so you failed." She even has a "Learn and Move On" module in case you do drink. Based on what I saw this evening, I think a lot of women are using that module right now! There is no expectation that you stop drinking permanently. Just.Take.A.Break. Oh, and she only works with women (sorry guys) because so much of what is discussed are women-specific issues like body image, sexual trauma, parenting (single and otherwise), people-pleasing behavior, care-taking parents etc.

I'll keep posting here too - probably more than you want. Wish me luck!

Namaste

@Doxmum Sounds like an awesome commitment. I'm going to check out the program as well! (Let me know if you get any kind of referral fee.)

16 AF days/21...you're all making me hungry! Over here, we're going to BBQ ribs and corn on the cob. I found a recipe for Bang Bang Corn on the Cob, looks spicy and tasty. The idea is to enjoy it tomorrow (cheat day) and then give all the leftovers to my grown kids to get the calories out of the house!

@Womona : I too am sooo sick of cooking, I'm delegating all duties to my BBQ master husband this weekend.

As usual, I am going to try for 16-20 AF days for the month.
My goal used to be 8AF days per month, I am pretty happy to try to cruise between 16-20 so as not to put too much pressure on myself. If I get more that is just gravy.
I managed 22AF days somehow in April!!
Thanks @MissMay for keeping us going : - )

Saturday May 16 - 3 drinks. Didn't make it to my 2 AF days in between, but no regrets whatsoever.
Sunday May 17 - AF - Felt like having drinks, but resisted.
Monday May 18 - AF - Fancied a drink, delayed enough times to resist.
Tuesday May 19 - AF - Felt like having drinks, also felt like having Ribs or Pizza, but didn't have any of those, I can have them another day.
Wednesday May 20 - AF - Another day of avoiding alcohol. I might have drinks tomorrow or Saturday, or both. Getting close to my 16AF days.
Thursday May 21 - 3 drinks. Rainy, cold and windy here. It was really nice to have a Cointreau mixed with Bailey's, and some Port Salut. Calling this a "cheat" day. Really nice.
Friday May 22 - AF - I felt rough all day from those 3 drinks last night. I guess that I am not used to it anymore.

16AF days out of 22 days so far

Truly inspiring, @Ke22yB. I'm almost 3 months AF and I'm amazed that I'm wanting alcohol less frequently and with less intensity. I never could picture a life without drinking, or with very limited drinking. I'll know someday if I can moderate. The litmus test will be if I can treat it like I do sweets right now. I really enjoy them, but generally don't crave them. I'll eat them on special occasions, but never binge on them. Oh jeez, I DO want some caramels now.

AF 6/23 for May and 3/3 on Take a Break -> whew! Lots of work today. I finished the "Urges" module which included 3 podcasts and a worksheet. The takeaway for me was that when we feel and urge to drink we have 3 choices: "React" (have a drink), "Resist" (white knuckle thru the urge w/ willpower - not usually sustainable over time) or we can "Allow" an urge. Hart spends a lot of time on the last one. A gross oversimplification of this approach is that we learn to sit with the urge (allow it in), figure out where it is coming from, and eventually deal with the emotion that is causing it so we can ultimately walk away. She says it is really hard depending on what's underneath. Hmmm....A lot to think about. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. It finally stopped raining here, at least for today!

I need this group, you are all very inspiring... I have really not had more that one day away from the spirits in a few months (I think), stopped keeping track. It is hard for me to resist the urge to make a strong drink while starting dinner, and continue with another... I tell myself that it is okay, it helps me to unwind, and deal with issues at work and home.
It is a problem though, when I wake up in the morning (surprisingly no hang-overs), I forget sometimes the conversations, the shows watched, or the mindless snacking, the night before. This has also stalled my weight loss efforts.
I think that I need to abstain for a while, seems I am not good with moderation. So my new habit, going AF started yesterday... today is day 2. So far so good! Wish me luck!