Less Alcohol ~ AUGUST 2021 ~ One Day At A Time
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AF 7/7 days
Today was the first day I actually wanted something since we had prime ribeye steak for dinner and I thought a glass of red wine sounded good to go with with it but I didn't seriously consider having any. Today's pool drink was San Pellegrino Essenza Blood Orange & Black Raspberry sparkling water.
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Welcome @lorib642 congrats to your 7 day AF.
As well as congrats to all those who either met, surpassed, squeaked by or stumbled a tad this first week if August.
It is all about being conscious of our own personal drinking.
I am by no means a medical professional in this area. But I have while traveling this less alcohol journey, asked many friends/acquaintances this question (ONLY AFTER they have made an inappropriate comment that I was either not drinking enough that evening or having some non alcoholic)
So I would ask......how many drinks have you had this week (7 days worth)? They would either answer "oh not that many" or "well, about or around _______" I was so happy I could give them my exact number of drinks for that week and then blow their minds with the exact previous months total. Not trying to show off, not trying to put them down. Trying to enforce the fact that if you don't know how much you drink, then more than likely your drinking too much.
It is not that difficult to keep track of alcoholic drinks. I throw that in because in the past I have been confronted with the words it is "too hard" to keep track. REALLY? We keep track of foolish numbers all day in our heads (got ya thinking now, huh?) What is the problem of keeping note of what could keep you from serious health or other bad issues.
7 days - 6/7AF
1 coffee PBR the whole week
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@MissMay - I hear you! Tracking has been very important to me during this less alcohol journey that I started back when I was drinking so much each week that I would have had absolutely no idea how many drinks I had that day, week or month. When I skip tracking I'm usually not AF nor conscious of the number I've had each evening. Thank you for continuing to share your journey which inspires me to continue mine!
A peek into my personal less alcohol journey
It is a work in progress since Dec 28, 2018 (FIRST AF day in 2018) when I decided to be accountable and not just drink mindlessly & excessively. Concerned about the label of alcoholic that I did not want to acquire like my grandmother that died of cirrhosis of the liver. Not only was drinking not good for my health but it derailed my weight loss efforts too.
2018 Summary
Dec - AF 4/31 (? drinks) Dec 28-31 when I started reporting in here
2019 Summary
Jan - AF 19/31 (27 drinks)
Feb - AF 16/28 (23 drinks)
Mar - AF 17/31 (27 drinks)
Apr - AF 9/30 (45 drinks)
May - AF 5/31 (17 drinks did not count drinks after 14th)
Jun - AF 1/9 (20 drinks then did not finish tracking after the 9th)
Jul-Aug - SKIPPED TRACKING
Sept - AF 3/8 (12 drinks stopped tracking after the 8th)
Oct-Dec SKIPPED TRACKING
2020 Summary
Jan - AF 22/31 (16 drinks)
Feb - AF 12/29 (45 drinks)
Mar - AF 6/18 (20+ drinks) then quit counting days & drinks
Apr-July - SKIPPED COUNTING ALL TOGETHER … Few if any AF days
Aug - AF 27/31 (9 drinks)
Sept - AF 16/30 (30 drinks)
Oct - AF 9/31 (41 drinks) Don't give up!
Nov - AF 16/30 (35 drinks)
Dec - AF 10/31 (44 drinks)
DH joined me in Jan & Aug
2021 Summary
Jan - AF 9/31 days (37 drinks)
Feb - AF 9/23 days (44 drinks)
Mar - AF 4/31 days (54 drinks)
Apr - AF 7/30 days (47 drinks)
May - AF 13/31 days (43 drinks)
June - AF 12/30 days ( 42 drinks)
July - AF 13/31 (43 drinks)
Tracking this month
August accountability: 4/7 days AF
Alcohol: 3 days (7 drinks)
Planned
8/8 - AF
8/9 - AF
8/10 - AF
8/11 - AF
8/12 - AF
8/13 - TGIF - 2 glasses wine w/Salmon
8/14 - 2 glasses wine w/beef bourguignon
Each of the previous years I skipped out of tracking and disappeared while ignoring the elephant in the room. In 2021 my plan is to track no matter what for the full year even when I'm not hitting my monthly goals.
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What works for me is reading what I wrote the day before. It is a reminder for me to not repeat any bad behaviors.
No wine for me yesterday and I slept amazing and woke up with energy and just came back from an hour-long run with a big smile on my face.
I want every morning to be like this!
Oh and side note, I booked a trip to Colorado San Juan Mountains for late Sept/early October, so now I have a good reason to kick my butt into shape.
@dawnbgethealthy I'll have to work on the Banff and Kimberley trip for early June 2022 (before any fire season and when there's still a bit of snow). By then hopefully international travel becomes less complicated.7 -
sheesh I broke my only rule this month and drank 2 days on the WE....well this is why I have goals to stretch myself. so 5/7 days AF. Next week will aim for 6/7 days. its all a balancing game for me. Even DH is putting the alcohol away for the week so yeah him. More later7
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@MissMay tracking is what got me here. It was only as I worked to keep an honest MFP diary that the trends in my daily drinking emerged. I found myself trying to eat less or even skip meals so I could have more alcohol and still stay within my calorie goal. Weekends are especially tough as my DH and I typically go hiking and then hit one of the many breweries on the way back home (no exaggeration, we have dozens and dozens of breweries in Colorado) to relax and celebrate our physical efforts. Sipped some sparkling water and made it through, and remarkably, don't need to take my Sunday afternoon nap!8
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This really gave me a good feeling. Thank you for the welcome!WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME to our new faces, @CateAussie , @LazyBlondeChef , @Mellie289. And a big thank you for all of the returning guys and gals from our previous monthly threads❣.
Always room for more to join in on this drinking LESS journey.
I went AF in July & 10 days in June, but have ended up having wine (half a bottle) at the end of each day so far this month until yesterday. We are catching up with an old friend today & this welcome has helped me decide to take a bottle of AF wine with me. Thank you.
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Aug 6 AF
Aug 7 AF
Aug 8 AF6 -
August goal is at least 2 AF days for every 1 drinking day (So 21 AF and 10 drinks days max). On the drinks days I plan to have no more than 2.
AF again today
8/1 - 8/7 5 AF, 2 drinks
8/8 AF
Have a great week everyone! May you all meet your AF goals whatever they may be.7 -
I am continuing with my usual goal, 16-20 AF days for the month, diary style
Sunday Aug 01 - Drinks, planned drinks day - 2 1/2 drinks. Thursday is my next planned drinks day.
Monday Aug 02 - AF
Tuesday Aug 03 - AF
Wednesday Aug 04 - AF - Planned drinks tomorrow night after work
Thursday Aug 05 - 2 drinks
Friday Aug 06 - 2 drinks
Saturday Aug 07 - Drinks - I had planned to be AF, and then my schedule got changed and I am off tomorrow, so going to have a couple tonight.
Sunday Aug 08 - AF - I get off at 3 on Wednesday and don't go back to work until 5pm on Saturday. Planning drinks for a couple of those days. Haven't even had Mojitos yet this year and the Mint is so perfect right now. That will be on the agenda for sure.
Rolling total: 4AF days out of 8 days4 -
AF yesterday and focusing on the present which for me means making today a special day and that's it. On the agenda is AF and exercise and focus on slowing down at work and stop going at breakneck speed.
Also have been CF= chocolate-free now for over a month. I no longer crave it
. That one was as hard as AF
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spygirl2014 wrote: »@MissMay tracking is what got me here. It was only as I worked to keep an honest MFP diary that the trends in my daily drinking emerged. I found myself trying to eat less or even skip meals so I could have more alcohol and still stay within my calorie goal. Weekends are especially tough as my DH and I typically go hiking and then hit one of the many breweries on the way back home (no exaggeration, we have dozens and dozens of breweries in Colorado) to relax and celebrate our physical efforts. Sipped some sparkling water and made it through, and remarkably, don't need to take my Sunday afternoon nap!
Just curious, do some Colorado breweries now also serve AF beer on tap? I am not a beer drinker but have found that taste-wise, AF beer seems to taste like the real thing and the consistency to me seems the same too.3 -
Greetings, all. We had a fun, low key weekend. I split a bottle of wine with myself Fri & Sat
I enjoyed it more than I expected to! If you figure that a bottle has 5 glasses, that means I technically had 3 one night which is over my 2 max goal. On the whole, though, if I could make one bottle a week my "new normal," I'd be ok with calling that moderate. It would definitely be an improvement over the times I get that IDGAF attitude and just dive in, consequences be damned. DH is not exactly AF, but greatly reduced. He had the first business travel of the pandemic and drank with clients on the trip. He had a couple beers Saturday and a margarita Sunday. I would call all of that pretty moderate, too. We have a wedding of close family friends this weekend, and I'm concerned that large indoor gatherings are not at all what the public health experts are advising. The infection numbers (and hospital burden) in my area are pretty bad again. DD#1 had a breakthrough infection (she had Pfizer series in February) and she felt BAD for 8 days. It was no joke. In a group of 6 vaccinated friends at an outdoor concert, 3 got it. It brought the whole breakthrough prospect much closer to home for us. While our kids are all vaccinated and older than 12, I do have 4 octogenarian parents to protect. 
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globalhiker wrote: »spygirl2014 wrote: »@MissMay tracking is what got me here. It was only as I worked to keep an honest MFP diary that the trends in my daily drinking emerged. I found myself trying to eat less or even skip meals so I could have more alcohol and still stay within my calorie goal. Weekends are especially tough as my DH and I typically go hiking and then hit one of the many breweries on the way back home (no exaggeration, we have dozens and dozens of breweries in Colorado) to relax and celebrate our physical efforts. Sipped some sparkling water and made it through, and remarkably, don't need to take my Sunday afternoon nap!
Just curious, do some Colorado breweries now also serve AF beer on tap? I am not a beer drinker but have found that taste-wise, AF beer seems to taste like the real thing and the consistency to me seems the same too.
I do not see a lot of AF beer at the breweries, though most of the large domestic breweries produce them. If I do drink beer, I enjoy a very hoppy craft beer, which usually means high ABV, and you just can't fake that. My drink of choice though is wine, and I've never had 'lite' or AF wine that I liked.3 -
Aug Week 1 AF
Aug 8: AF4 -
August goal is at least 2 AF days for every 1 drinking day (So 21 AF and 10 drinks days max). On the drinks days I plan to have no more than 2.
Week 1
8/1 - 8/7 5 AF, 2 drinks
Week 2
8/8 AF
8/9 2 Michelob Ultra4 -
Well last night was not a great night lol. However now DH and I both are on the same page when it comes to alcohol this month. (I would like to blame him for my actions but that is what a 4 year old would do) So going forward we have agreed to only drink one day a week AND when we purchase the alcohol we can only buy what we can consume that one night. Anymore we end up drinking on it each night until it is gone. That problem is now solved (fingers crossed).
@spygirl2014 and @globalhiker We have a LOT of craft breweries near us and I do like a very hoppy/bitter beer and you are correct they usually have a high ABV anywhere from 6.5% to as high as 10%. Two is my limit with these. Lite beer to me tastes like bathwater. AF wine is worse. The only AF beer I seem to enjoy is Heineken it tastes closest to the real thing.
I am off for now back to my mocktail of diet tonic water and bitters7 -
Happy Monday.
Yesterday was a planned adult beverage day. I was not going anywhere late in the afternoon or evening so decided to have a drink while cooking dinner and then one a bit later on my deck.
Two and done. I did not let the second drink have a drink @Lilylady3k .😁
Here's the bad news. My husband indulged WAY to much with his tequila. WAY WAY WAY to much. He decides before bed time he's going to shave.
Not a good idea after so much drink. Ended up in the emergency with a giant slice out of his face because we could not get it to stop bleeding.
Glad I had my two earlier in the day and could drive him to emergency because he was a lunatic.
Bleeding got stopped and no need for stiches. But he was blaming the razor company for hours after we got home. Not much sleep for this girl after an already crazy busy weekend sorting and tossing stuff away in the 2 story garage......UGH.
AF today
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I'm so sorry about what happened, @missmay! Glad he's ok, but you need a few days of just relaxing...hope you can soon..maybe we could have a relaxing afternoon together soon too!4
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