Less Alcohol - JANUARY 2021 - One Day At A Time

Jan accountability: 1/3 days AF
Jan goal: at least 12 days AF

Jan 1: 2 cognac
Jan 2: 3 beers along with load of popcorn. Bingefest. Disappointed in myself even though I still made it under my calorie goal. All took place in the kitchen.
Jan 3: AF. About time I treated myself with respect.
Jan 4: 2 Cavit Pinot Grigio. I bought the standard size bottle, measured out what I was going to have with dinner, and dumped the rest down the drain. Savings over 300 calories right there.

What I did right: I didn't drink during cooking (my normal screw up), instead I delayed. I sipped very slowly and had one with dinner then one after. I had 10 oz water along with each drink. We cooked delicious grilled Moroccan Chicken and had it with a basic salad of romaine, black olives, roma tomatoes, and a bit of sweet onion. A bit of balsamic vinaigrette. Kitchen clean up and closure and I get outta that room.

https://onceuponachef.com/recipes/grilled-moroccan-chicken.html

1 AF / 2 Days. Well, it's a start!! A day later than I was planning. Feeling more rested today. Pretty sure I slept better lastnight

Goal: 5 AF / 7 Days.

I like how some people are listing either past habits to break away from or new ways to make good on what they have said they want to do.

Mine:
Old habits from a year or more ago-
Buy an entire 30 pack, see how fast I can drink it. The real plan was to save money buying in quantity, that back fired and I drank more because it was around.

Stop at a bar, or friends place every night after work to hash over the day. Always involved drinking beers or worse.

Get loaded before a special event, party, concert. No fun showing up already way lit, then have to keep up with my buds as they just start drink as they arrive.

New habits within the last 9 months-
Buy a 6 pack only at a time(every night). More expensive. Drink it slower. Save one out every other day(hide in cupboard warm beer will not drink warm beer)

Do not buy nips every night with beer. Go to a store that they dont sell them there. I have heard a nip counts as one drink. Never thought about that.

Spend more time with my GF than my beer drinking buds. She likes wine now and then but its not a habit for her.

Increase my gym time at home. I cant workout with a beer can in my hand.

I got to put those 6 beers from my cupboard in my frig over the weekend and then drink them the next night . Saved the money of a new 6pk and oddly it was satisfying knowing I saved a beer every other day to have for the future.

Next big hurdle to attempt, but dont hold me to it. Not drink one night a week. Tough one to even consider.

Great to see so many people crushing it! And the holidays, winter, Covid, election adds up to stress, so for those not crushing it, I reiterate to not beat yourself up. I absolutely have been tempted to the max, and as I told my therapist this morning, were I not living with someone (who does not want to see me drinking), I would have holed up for several days on the couch in the dark with many bottles of wine, Netflix, and tissues). And as I told my journal tonight...
It wasn’t enough for me to choose to live in one of the coldest and darkest states during a Pandemic. I decided to go ahead and do Dry January, go to the dentist not one one but THREE times, and give myself a bikini and lip wax to align my body with my emotional state.

I'm thankful today there's finally a slight spring in my step again.

5/5 AF

The temptations to continue drinking are real. Each of the evenings I stopped at 1 or 2 glasses of wine DH has polished off the bottle of wine and continued with bourbon & 7up. The one night I was AF he had the whole bottle of wine then 2 bourbon & 7up.

Yes I would like a bourbon right now ... but it is not an option if I want to shed the pounds. Sticking to my water after the 2 glasses of wine. Thanks for being here!

Great resolve, @Lilylady3k ! Don't think I could stop if my partner kept going. Esp during these times. Do you feel supported in your efforts to drink less and lose weight?

While I found a little spring in my step, I'm not stepping much. Had decided yesterday that I'm ok with being a winter covid slug. I'm focusing on drinking less so I can be a better me, so if I need to do that on the couch during these cold, dark days, so be it! Then an article by Sanjay Gupta ruined it for me by stating the #1 thing we can do for our brain health is move. Dammit! So I'm up at 4:30am. Plenty of time to exercise. But I'm on the couch in my robe writing and drinking coffee and amusedly watching our leader's last ditch deluded efforts to enforce fake laws. I hear laughing is good for the brain.

Today is Day 3 of sobriety for me. Prior to the holidays I was staying sober weekdays and drinking on the weekends. Working out 5 days a week, lifting heavy and feeling amazing. Then along comes the holidays, just me and my other half, no kids, no granddaughter, just us and a whole lot of booze. My intention is to embrace each day sober and take care of myself extra-special this year. I look forward to being part of this group xoxo

Jan AF day count: 2/5 days AF
Jan goal: at least 12 days AF

Jan 1: 2 cognac
Jan 2: 3 beers along with load of popcorn. Bingefest. Disappointed in myself even though I still made it under my calorie goal. All took place in the kitchen.
Jan 3: AF. About time I treated myself with respect.
Jan 4: 2 Cavit Pinot Grigio. I bought the standard size bottle, measured out what I was going to have with dinner, and dumped the rest down the drain. Savings over 300 calories right there.
Jan 5: AF. Wine devil attack. Felt anxious starting at 4pm and my wine devil started very loudly demanding drinks. I ate my way through that one but continued feeling anxious in the middle of the night. Woke up at 1, 3, and 4 am.

I should've taken someone's advice and hit the herbal relax teas at that time to dampen that feeling.

I now understand this anxiety feeling was caused by drinks the days before. Alcohol increases feel good hormones dopamine and serotonin and when alcohol is out of one's system, these two hormones run low, causing feelings of anxiety and depression. One's primitive brain then seeks drinks and food to recalibrate. Then we go back on the drinking merry-go-round.

I understand to fix this "cycle" that I can drink tea to calm the nerves and strengthen my control during these episodes. I also need to follow my higher-brain rational thoughts that tell me this is only my lower primitive brain demanding drinks and that it's an irrational thought and that I need to follow the logical thoughts of my rational brain.

@CMB44512

I remember my first AF day. It was hard. I did one the following week also, now knowing that I could do it, and like I have said before, I didn't die or anything. I gradually moved to 2AF days for week for awhile and then 3AF days per week etc.
It is doable, and you will really feel good about yourself that you accomplished it.
Of course not holding you to it, but you have put it into the universe now, so I think that you will try it.
We will celebrate that with you when the day comes.