Less Alcohol - SEPTEMBER 2020 - One Day at a Time

3 Saint Arnold's Summer Pils (only available in the summer & my favorite beer) and my first for this summer. They were part of what was in our fridge at the camp. Nice evening sitting outside for 5-6 hours with family, looking at the water and cooking fajitas. Catching up with my cousins that I've not seen in 10 years and never met one of my cousins kids (ages 14 & 18). Amazing how time flies.

@chocolate_owl
My plans for my holiday include lots of outdoor time. I am only going 3 hours away to the Blairmore/Crowsnest Pass area. (You probably are familiar @Doxmum )
I got a suite with a jacuzzi in the living room, so I definitely plan on having some champagne and Grand Marnier in the evenings. Maybe even a cold beer which I so rarely have.
I don't plan on getting drunk, just enhancing my jacuzzi in front of the fire experience after hiking around all day.

This is a stock photo, but it is where I will be spending most of my days exploring:

@dawnbgethealthy - Enjoy! We've been through Crowsnest Pass a ton of times but never stopped to explore. I keep saying I want to go skiing in Fernie but I haven't made it there yet either. Champagne & Grand Marnier sounds delicious. I agree, celebrate until a mellow buzz is had, enjoy, avoid the hangover, and live to tell about it. That's what moderation is all about.

@shorepine - Your dad & GF expect YOU to cook dinner? WTF? I forgot to mention in my list of all you do, that you are working too! If they are too "tired" to help with farm, house and childrearing chores, then they need to rest. In the guest house. By themselves. And if they are too tired to cook, then they can clean up. Dishes, pots & pans, wipe down the counters, put the leftovers away, AND set up the coffee for the morning. MAJ McKnight (former Army Nurse/CRNA) is available for hire to enforce discipline on the farm. (Plus I would love to see your place. It sounds awesome!) I'll be the bad cop.

@mainelylisa - I follow Black Lives Matter on IG. That's where I find these incredible examples of speaking truth to power. Not sure who said that one though. If I come across it again, I will post. Here's another:

"Agree to disagree" is reserved for things like "I don't like coffee." Not racism, homophobia, and sexism. Not human rights. Not basic common decency. If I unfriend you during this, it IS personal. We do not have a difference of opinion. We have a difference in morality. Credit: OneLungMarcy via BLM

Doxmum out.

My typical week starts Mondays with WI and tracking. So looking at this week to meet my 4 AF days this week ... I will sip on something else this evening while hanging out at the camp.
Mon Aug 31 AF plus 2 Sept days ... need that 4th day!
Sept accountability ~ 5
No Alcohol: 2 days
Alcohol: 3 days (6 drinks)
Goal: AF days 4 per week / 16 per month; limit 1-2 glasses per day

Stating it here and now to make myself accountable.

New to this challenge for September!

Last week was AF for 4 out of 7 days, would like to improve that to 5 out of 7 days this week. All about the moderation!

Week 1 September Goals: At least 4 days/nights AF. When drinking, drink in moderation, measure drinks & make sure they fit in calories with a deficit. Try not to drink 2 days/nights in a row.

Monday 8/31: Alcohol Free. My husband, who is trying to lower his drinking also, really wanted a drink last night. I think he was looking for me to cave, so he could have something but I was not at all interested. I reminded him, we just drank wine the night before and he relented. I have a much easier time not drinking then he does and we have different reasons for wanting to limit our drinking. It would be easier to do this without him joining in, but it is better for us in the long run to keep each other accountable.

9/1: Alcohol Free and not a word out of my husband about it! I plan to be AF today as well, he is social distancing with a friend outside on the deck this evening, so will likely have a few beers. But I'm not tempted to join, helps I don't particularly like this friend (just kidding, kind of)!

9/2: Alcohol Free. it turned into a rainy day/night here, so husband's outdoor plans got canceled, so he joined me in being AF. Was super proud of him for that, after mentally he had already been planning on a social drink. My main goal in being AF is too assist with my weight loss and overall feeling my best on a daily basis. My husband is leaning more towards he has issues with his drinking and needs to get it under control. If I am committed to being AF for the day, I don't even think about drinking. However when I do drink, moderation goes out the window, which is a major hurdle I need to overcome. But mainly food is my issue. I told him yesterday, I am currently in a good place with controlling my urges to overeat but I think about binging on junk food everyday, he said he feels the same but with alcohol.

9/3: Alcohol Free. Husband had 2 drinks after work (his 1st this week!), which he had planned, but I stayed AF. Current thought is not to have anything to drink until we go to the beach next week. I plan to drink on vacation but want to work really hard to do so in moderation. I'm in a good place with my weight loss right now and do not want to back track with that with drinking too much. Think maybe a different planned fun (but lower calorie) cocktail for each beach night and limit those to 2 servings. If I drink wine, it is so easy for me to over drink.

9/4: Alcohol Free. Super busy and long day at work trying to get everything in order before leaving town and I was so ready for a drink when I was done. A couple of glasses of wine fit into my calories but the thought that I had already posted here my plan to stay AF until the beach kept me accountable and I resisted the urge. Husband had 2 bourbons when he got home from work after a hard 12+ hour day.

9/5: Alcohol Free. Another on the go day and not at all interested in drinking. Husband had a 15 hour day + a bourbon tasting at work (he's a chef) and then had 1 drink when he got home late night. He is always going to be the guy who wants a drink to unwind at the end of a long hard workday. I'm okay with that. But I do think me not drinking along with him keeps him to just the "unwinding" drink instead of excessive drinking. Just trying to get us both to a moderate happy balance.

9/6:


This week's successes:
This week's challenges:

September 1st - 6th alcohol free and I'm racking up the running miles. I don't drink 6 days in and I run and I run and I run, which is why I'm feeling so much better this month. Reset was needed and I'm not having cravings, which is a huge blessing. I'm done obsessing over the stuff that gets me nowhere.

Made it! Thanks for making me accountable by being here.

DH had a beer + 2 rum & diet cokes (the rum bottle is now empty). I sipped a Fresca. So I made my 4 AF days for this week. Now on to the challenges of next week!