Less Alcohol - MARCH 2021
Options
Replies
-
Life alcohol free is not a deprivation. It's a free and happy, healthful life. Alcohol is a toxin and a carcinogen. Why put that into your precious body?8
-
We plan to visit TX and may even retire there but.....DH is not much on heat and humidity. Is there anywhere in TX that has lower temps?
Texas is huge! You've got a coast, forests, grasslands, hills, mountains... Houston (and the coast) are humid, but the rest of the state has moderate to low humidity, especially in west Texas where you get into the mountains. Hot... well, June, July, and August get hot everywhere. The average along the coast is low 90s, but you have way more humidity. The average everywhere else is mid/upper 90s, and you'll have a few 100+ days. People love to say it's fine because "it's a dry heat," but hot is hot. Invest in a good AC, wear sunscreen, drink lots of water, and enjoy the other 9 months of the year with (normally) mild winters and 75 degree springs and autumns.4 -
-
5
-
globalhiker wrote: »Still AF but barely....
Yesterday was a challenge day for me. I found a new trigger! It's my wonderful spouse. He was having a really bad work-from-home day and his grouchiness polluted the energy in the home so to speak. I made it to dinner time and was prepping dinner, feeling ravenously hungry. Then a delivery came and it was a new house phone. Surprise...one I was not consulted on and one I did not like. Ugh. Now the scene involves 3 triggers all together: grouchy spouse + hunger+ the unwanted surprise making me angry. I ran into the triple-trigger!
My head said we need to jump in the car right now and go to the store for wine because it couldn't take it anymore...yes it did....UGH.
Thought I was done with this BS....so I retreated into another room, grabbed my "workbook", the one that I am using to help me manage my responses to triggers and just skimmed it for some inspiration. Ten minutes later the impulse is gone and husband apologizes. Life is back on track.
Wow, you overcame the triple trigger!!!! Good for you! You go girl!!! That’s amazing and very inspiring.3 -
Lilylady3k wrote: »Checking in to keep myself accountable. Not off to a stellar week.
3/15 - 1 Torchy’s Tini
3/16 - 3 (1 skinny margarita lunch, 2 wine dinner)
@dawnbgethealthy - You've got this!!! Good luck with your interview.
The week ain’t over yet! You can still slow down the boat. We have all been there.4 -
chocolate_owl wrote: »3/1-3/7: Very bad, lots of drinks
3/8-3/14: 4 AF days, 8 drinks
3/15: AF
3/16: AF
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today is my favorite holiday. I live in the neighborhood that throws the St. Patty's Day party in normal times. It starts off with a 5K (I'm wearing one of my 5K shirts today!), then a parade with tacky, adorable floats, then the street gets closed for the rest of the day and people slowly migrate from my neighborhood down south to the restaurants and bars. Several live bands play until after dark. A lot of my neighbors hold house parties, and some guys will sit on their lawns and hand out beer to passers-by. Every year there's been a wealth of stories, photos, and fun, but not these past two years. I haven't gotten to pull my gold headband, green eyeshadow, and clover knee-highs out. I haven't sipped green champagne by the pool. I haven't had side-splitting laughs with strangers. I am looking forward to this SO MUCH next year, and there's a high chance I will be running - actually running!!! - the 5K. But tonight husband and I will put on the St Patty's Day Pandora station and drink Guinness (well, I will have a single Guinness. He will have 3, plus some Jameson, and he will be hung over tomorrow) and talk about next year.
Your town sounds fantastic! I love the community spirit. Sorry you didn’t get to wear the cute green accessories. Here’s hoping next year we can have big bashes again.4 -
@dawnbgethealthy good luck with the interview! I am excited for you. haha, stay calm and remember you are interviewing them too.
@globalhiker wow great job on controlling the urge. I am about 1/2 through the workbook. I actually set it aside for about a week but am ready to dive back in.
@Lilylady3k it is great you are checking in and being accountable here for yourself. We are here and I would love to help if you need it
@chocolate_owl We plan to visit TX and may even retire there but.....DH is not much on heat and humidity. Is there anywhere in TX that has lower temps?
Last night AF so tonight will make 15 out of 17. I don't plan to drink all week and may skip this weekend too. I am finding it a bit easier to do and I am so competitive with myself I want to beat my Feb goal. What is wrong with me?
I am a bit nervous about our upcoming trip to OH, visiting relatives always triggers the drink devil. I don't sleep well in unfamiliar places and have used alcohol to knock me out. I won't do that this time so I need to develop another strategy between now and May 1....suggestions?
I’m a huge fan of Advil PM if I really need to sleep. Let’s me sleep through the night and I wake up refreshed. I used it on a parent/child Cub Scout overnight to the Battleship NJ. I slept like a baby surrounded by hundreds of snoring men!!!!3 -
AF tonight. I am one pound away from my goal weight!5
-
DH & I were obviously not on the same page last night. I was thinking as I started cooking dinner ... GREAT we are out of wine so it will definitely be an easy AF evening. Then he comes home with 6 bottles of wine. So okay I'll have a glass with dinner, then I took another glass for my Zoom book club meeting thinking that would be it. But when I came back downstairs still working on my 2nd glass of wine DH had opened a 2nd bottle of wine. About an hour later watching a movie I went and refilled my glass with a 3rd glass of wine. SIGH 3 glasses over 5 hrs. DH finished that bottle and then poured himself a bourbon & diet coke. I should've could've stopped at 2 glasses but 3 are in the books for last night. That means DH had 8 drinks (assuming 5 glasses per bottle of wine + the bourbon). The only win is that I'm not trying to keep up with him. But I didn't need that 3rd glass either. Better resolve tonight!5
-
YEP. Let's add WFH to the list of drinking triggers....
Still AF and AF on St Patrick's Day. Husband threw in the towel after 34 straight AF days and had a day off "AF" by having 5 beers after work in a 2 hr span.
It was a tough day at WFH world again. Dishwasher broke and he couldn't fix it. He pulled a hamstring and can't run so he's super grouchy. Work driving him nuts and they've been calling him into after hour meetings since he knows his stuff. He hit his stress limits. He did become a nice guy after beer #2 and did say he plans to drink again for the next holiday, Easter.
For me, I had no stress valve release. Just felt my blood pressure rising and headache behind my eyes. Head feeling hot. I went and drank 3 of his Coors Edge fake beers (not bad with lots of lime) to get some sore of cooling down effect. Hoping for the placebo effect.
Anyway, made it through the night of the grouchy drinking husband and St. Patrick's Day. I really can't wait until I get Covid shot #2 and land a job outside the house with nice friendly humans. I don't care about the pay, just get me outta here!6 -
@chocolate_owl isn't Texas known for no state taxes on pension and income? That's huge.
Companies are moving there in droves and Texas does have good food and friendly people.
I don't know other places but hear there are hills up north. It's the tornadoes that panic me but I may consider Texas in the future, especially if AZ continues to absorb the rest of California. It's getting unbearably congested and housing prices are nuts here.
@Womona wow almost at goal! Any secrets or tips?
@lmlmrn I know the feeling you describe about the family trip thing. I have to do the same every year and it turns into a drinking event. Here is my plan:
1.No drinking at airport or on plane, period. Try to fly out early morning so there's no urge anyways.
2.After landing hit the local stores and buy non-alcoholic drinks to bring over their house. Agree to start with those and have at least 2 non-alcoholic before starting on the booze. Get a variety of stuff in case others start drinking your stash.
3.Agree in advance with my spouse over when we'd drink. We discussed no drinking until dinner because if we "start" at lunch then we keep going through the afternoon until dinner. Yep it happens.
4.Staying for 3 or more days? Aim for no drinking on day 1 because chances are by day 3, the stress level will be really, really high and I'd need those drinks then for sure. Good luck!4 -
Thank you all on the good wishes for the interview.
It went great. It was with the recruiter over zoom, which I am not super comfortable with, but she was fabulous.
I "passed", and have a face to face interview on Friday.
I am not sure if I even really want the job lol, but happy to have gotten to the next stage nevertheless.
I have been needing to quit doing what I am currently doing since last year, but that became problematic with the pandemic putting so many others out of work.
I am on a big push now to get something new with full benefits etc.6 -
Happy March!
I am continuing with my goals that I have mostly been following for a year:
16-20 AF days per month
Don't drink 2 days in a row
Try to keep 2 AF days in between drinks days
I choose the diary style so that I check in every day, keep myself accountable, and can see at a glance where I am at.
Thursday March 11 - Drinks. Still haven't had drinks 2 days in a row, but I have missed my 2 AF days in between drink days twice already this month.
Friday March 12 - AF - I had a runny nose and sneezing. This disturbs me because everyone is wearing a mask so how could I pick this up and not pick up more dangerous things? I don't usually get allergies, but maybe the melting is uncovering some leaf mold or some such thing. I will go with that!
Saturday March 13 - Drinks - First time that it was warm enough to sit on my friend's patio and have drinks. I wouldn't go inside since I have this runny nose and sneezing going on. Stayed 6 feet apart.
Sunday March 14 - AF - Monday will be also to get my 2AF in a row.
Monday March 15 - AF
Tuesday March 16 - AF - My trigger day, but a job interview over zoom tomorrow, so no drinks tonight.
Wednesday March 17 - Drinks, kind of celebrating a great interview. I had 3 drinks, but threw up after the 3rd, my tolerance is way down. So Womona and I both threw up
Rolling total: 11AF days out of 17 days.6 -
3/1-3/7: Very bad, lots of drinks
3/8-3/14: 4 AF days, 8 drinks
3/15: AF
3/16: AF
3/17: 1 drink
For the most part, I had a lovely day yesterday. We had fun music playing, I cooked a not-Irish-at-all steak with ginger miso sauce, and I ended up busting out my socks because why not? But the whole night it felt like I had my self-control muscles clenched tight. Husband opened his first Guinness at 4pm. I didn't pour mine until 8, savored it until 9:30, then had a cup of tea and went to bed. So why does only having one feel like a letdown??
1) I still would have had a calorie deficit if I had had two.
2) I would not have been buzzed or hung over if I sipped two of them over three hours or so.
3) Seeing husband drink all day was, frankly, exhausting. Here I am doing mental tallies about calories and what the rest of my week will be like with regards to alcohol to hang onto some willpower, and he's not doing any of that. He doesn't care. I'm being rigid, he's being impulsive.
Logically, I know that I am making good choices. I know that I have goals, and if I want to meet those goals on time, I do not get to be impulsive. At best, I have to schedule my impulsiveness. Logically, I know that I have no control over what my husband does, and the best I can do is have periodic conversations that express my feelings and my concerns. But part of me is just a little bitter, because WHY?? WHY does he have to have 5 beers and 3 whiskies??Lilylady3k wrote: »That means DH had 8 drinks (assuming 5 glasses per bottle of wine + the bourbon).globalhiker wrote: »Husband threw in the towel after 34 straight AF days and had a day off "AF" by having 5 beers after work in a 2 hr span.
Why do they have to do that?? Why do we have to watch it, be tempted by it, be frustrated by it? Why do we get the joy of tallying it up later and realize how much they actually drank and feel gutted by the damage they're doing to their health? Why is it so much easier for their bad behavior to rub off on us than our good behavior to rub off on them?
I love my husband so, so much. I don't want him to die early. I don't want to resent him because my drinking patterns and his are so out of alignment. I know that I'm the one changing and deviating from our normal, so it's not fair of me to hold his behavior against him. But I want us to be happily married for many, many, many years, and right now I see alcohol as the biggest threat to that.6 -
@Womona Congrats on being so close to goal weight!! Lots of extra motivation to stay focused
@globalhiker Right, we have no state taxes on those things. We have high property taxes to make up for it, and housing costs are going up just as much here as they are in AZ. The conservative Californians have been moving here, and we've become a big startup destination.
Tornadoes scare the crap out of me. There was one a couple of years ago that tore through the heart of the city. We were maybe 2 miles away from it. But the ones that do real damage are rare, the odds of a direct hit are low, and if you stick to West Texas you probably won't encounter them at all.
@dawnbgethealthy Congrats on making it to round 2!! Perhaps don't celebrate with 3 drinks if it goes well on Friday
7 -
Well was AF last night so this is 15 out of 17 days. The alcohol devil has been riding my shoulder doubly hard the past few day. I am struggling to stay AF.
A trigger, me not feeling well going on week 3 with a stuffy/runny noise and dry cough. I mentioned this to my Dr last week and he was not at all concerned that it is lasting this long. I am taking antihistamine which I feel is lowering my threshold to not drink.
I am just struggling tonight. I have two bottle of wine open downstairs in our garage (long story on that one) they have been opened since last Saturday. I may dip into it tonight but not unless my 'head' is in the right place. I am not going to give in just because I feel bored, under the weather or a replacement for eating dinner tonight.6 -
Hello. Newbie here. I have been drinking since I was 18 and aside from pregnancies, I have never been able to quit for more than a month or 2. I am for now starting with a small goal of stopping at 7pm. Hopefully it will give me better sleep and help to lose weight. I do low carb so I have gotten used to no beer or sweet drinks. I have to do this. Seriously. Hopefully make bigger steps soon.7
-
Auroralaura wrote: »Hello. Newbie here. I have been drinking since I was 18 and aside from pregnancies, I have never been able to quit for more than a month or 2. I am for now starting with a small goal of stopping at 7pm. Hopefully it will give me better sleep and help to lose weight. I do low carb so I have gotten used to no beer or sweet drinks. I have to do this. Seriously. Hopefully make bigger steps soon.
Good plan. Welcome to the thread : - )
3 -
Happy March!
I am continuing with my goals that I have mostly been following for a year:
16-20 AF days per month
Don't drink 2 days in a row
Try to keep 2 AF days in between drinks days
I choose the diary style so that I check in every day, keep myself accountable, and can see at a glance where I am at.
Thursday March 11 - Drinks. Still haven't had drinks 2 days in a row, but I have missed my 2 AF days in between drink days twice already this month.
Friday March 12 - AF - I had a runny nose and sneezing. This disturbs me because everyone is wearing a mask so how could I pick this up and not pick up more dangerous things? I don't usually get allergies, but maybe the melting is uncovering some leaf mold or some such thing. I will go with that!
Saturday March 13 - Drinks - First time that it was warm enough to sit on my friend's patio and have drinks. I wouldn't go inside since I have this runny nose and sneezing going on. Stayed 6 feet apart.
Sunday March 14 - AF - Monday will be also to get my 2AF in a row.
Monday March 15 - AF
Tuesday March 16 - AF - My trigger day, but a job interview over zoom tomorrow, so no drinks tonight.
Wednesday March 17 - Drinks, kind of celebrating a great interview. I had 3 drinks, but threw up after the 3rd, my tolerance is way down. So Womona and I both threw up
Thursday March 18 - AF - Of course. Job interview tomorrow, plus was not feeling great all day today at work after throwing up and then not sleeping well last night.
Rolling total: 12AF days out of 18 days.5
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.5K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 391 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 925 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions