Less Alcohol ~ JUNE 2021 ~ One Day At A Time

nvaldes323 wrote: »

I’m new here. I drink ALOT. It’s the sole reason I go over my calorie budget daily. My goal is to be AF Sun thru Thurs on a REGULAR basis. I find I can do it for a week or so then I fall off track. I think it’s habit for me…work is done, dinner is made so why not drink until bedtime? It’s so stupid but I keep doing it. I was good on Sunday this week, drank last night feel like hell and trying hard to make today through Thurs. wish me luck!

Welcome.
Checking in here daily will help, it helped most of us on here.
Of course wishing you luck : - )

I have been a frequent lurker on this thread for a long time. I am a daily drinker - generally 2 mixed drinks (vodka) if at home and red wine or Michelob Ultra if I go out. My husband has been alcohol free for most of our 31 years of marriage so I am generally drinking alone unless we are socializing with others. There really is no reason for me to drink other than it is a bad habit I have developed (long day of work, stressed out, ....) I rarely drink to excess, but really want to break the habit of daily drinking (especially drinking alone.)

My goal is to start by being accountable to myself and reporting my consumption. Hopefully by posting here I can start to break the habit. I appreciate all of the regular posters and your willingness to post even when you don't meet your personal goals. In addition to the bad things alcohol is likely doing to my health, it makes it very hard to make good food choices. I am at a healthy weight/bmi, but am 10 lbs heavier than I was pre-Covid. I have also always exercised most days of the week and feel like I am undoing my hard work by consuming so much alcohol. I will be back tomorrow to hopefully report day 1 of AF.

Thanks in advance for your support!

I've not yet come up with a plan for my alcohol consumption while vacationing with my mom and sister next week. Mom 84 yo usually has a single drink every evening (much like her dad did around 5pm ... he did this until he passed away in his 90s). My sister on the other hand drinks white wine and drinks it fast. I'm starting to learn to not keep up and not worry about getting my fair share of the bottle ... because that leads to 2-3 bottles! Also I've learned her orange cosmos before wine go down way too smoothly and I've avoided them for the past year (she always has them in her fridge ready for company).

So the back story ... we are staying at a condo with a balcony overlooking a lake ... she wanted to be able to sit outside in the evenings and drink wine and watch the activity on the lake. She informed me that she is bringing both her cosmos and 2-3 bottles of wine. She said why don't you bring 4 bottles of wine to help cover mom too. Hmmmmmm. This sounds like way too much alcohol for 3 people for 3 nights! Especially since we are eating at a brewery one night and a tapas winery another night. I had thought ... okay I'll limit myself to 1 drink at each venue but then will she be popping the cork before and after dinner at the condo? I thought ... maybe I could bring some of my sparkling flavored water (which both of them hate).

Not sure of my plan yet. I know that those 3 nights will not be AF. I THINK I can control my consumption. Can I keep it to 1-2 drinks? Will I allow myself to go over like I did on the New Orleans trip? One thing is for sure ...
It is totally up to me. Remember to drink water between drinks! Remember to not try to keep up with my sister!

Time for a tally. Scary stuff ahead.

6/1 - 6/7: 7 drinks, 4 AF days, 29.65 miles
6/8: 2 drinks, 0.3 miles
6/9: 2 drinks, 2.8 miles
6/10: 5 drinks, 2.3 miles
6/11: 3 drinks, 1.3 miles
6/12: 8 drinks, 2.8 miles
6/13: 6 drinks, 2 miles
6/14: AF, 1.2 miles
6/15: AF, 0 miles

Monthly drinks: 33/30
Monthly AF: 6/15
Monthly miles: 42.35/100

Well, looking like I'm gonna be sucking it up, not drinking much, and working out hard the rest of the month.

AF this evening before dinner, during dinner and hanging out on Zoom with my book club. Guzzling water to offset all the snacks I ate this afternoon ... when I started grazing and not really knowing what I wanted.

First night of accountability - AF. Spent the evening with my in-laws, mother, son/daughter in law and 2 grandkids. Didn't need to drink out of boredom or loneliness. Maybe I just need to find something to do each evening rather than sitting around the house!

6/16/21 AF

Hi : - )

My goal is 16-20 AF days per month.
Diary Style.


Friday June 11 - AF - I have been experiencing legs cramps in the night for 3+months and Thursday night it kept waking me up. Friday was a very tired day operating on fumes. A drink might have been nice, but I resisted.
Saturday June 12 - 2 1/4 drinks. Census plus my yard/garden, I put in a good day. Sunday will be the same script.
Saturday June 13 - AF, reluctantly, but I had drinks only yesterday. Census work and yard work on a very hot day made me want to have a bit of the Gin Smash. I had an AF beer, and I am not a beer drinker.
Monday June 14 - 2 3/4 drinks, finished off the can of Gin Smash. I had a productive day, but at the end of it cut 2 areas of grass in blazing heat and when I came in practically guzzled the Gin Smash (after putting a fancy glass in the freezer for 5 minutes). Fairly light day tomorrow, the first time in 6 years that I don't have to get up at 4:30am on a Tuesday. Just Census and a 4 hour shift at the restaurant, so no more than 8 hours.
Tuesday June 15 - AF - Planning to be until Saturday eve, working split shifts the rest of the week plus doing Census before and in between, so want to make sure to be clear headed and energetic.
Wednesday June 16 - AF - Pretty long day, really felt like having a drink, but I have quite a few long days ahead so need to make sure that I feel healthy.


Rolling Total - 10AF days out of 16 days.

ItsAJourny wrote: »

I am back in this group after a long Covid year. My SO and family were all drinking more and I have trouble sticking to my decisions around others. Last week I made an alcohol goal for the year and I am determined to keep it. Heading back to visit family later this month (who all drink a lot) for a week and I am hoping I can be strong. Not sure why I cave to social pressure even when I don't want to, but I do. I simply feel better when I do not drink alcohol. I want to feel better each day.

Welcome, or should I say welcome back! I think a lot of people can relate to your post. Ugh it’s like 7th grade all over again with peer pressure and FOMO! And yet… it’s easy to cave.

Made a choice to have a glass of wine with dinner (sandwich and salad in front of the TV at 9:30 at night-late night at work). And it was a bad choice. I didn’t enjoy it, and I didn’t even want to finish it. This habit of “unwinding” with a drink is not paying off in terms of actually enjoying my wine. I know the smart thing to do is wait until I’m at a restaurant, order a really good glass and enjoy it, but all that insight seems to go out the window with that after work craving/habit. Week three of not meeting my “no drinking during the week” goals. 😔

@Womona and everyone else: If a bad choice was made yesterday, the good news is that yesterday is gone and over with. Today is a gift of a brand new day

Womona wrote: »

Made a choice to have a glass of wine with dinner (sandwich and salad in front of the TV at 9:30 at night-late night at work). And it was a bad choice. I didn’t enjoy it, and I didn’t even want to finish it. This habit of “unwinding” with a drink is not paying off in terms of actually enjoying my wine. I know the smart thing to do is wait until I’m at a restaurant, order a really good glass and enjoy it, but all that insight seems to go out the window with that after work craving/habit. Week three of not meeting my “no drinking during the week” goals. 😔

I totally get it. I did the same thing mon tue and wed this week. But today is a new day so I’m going to try again tonight. I find I have to remind myself it’s not a punishment to stay sober…I’m not missing out on anything because I watched TV without beer or wine!