Less Alcohol ~ NOVEMBER 2021 ~ One Day At A Time

I want to party with @Lilylady3k too...elegant presentation too

I'm doing good and did have a "managed" 2.5 glasses (I pour 4 oz) white wine last night.

Here's my strategy that works for me for those days where I feel I want to "indulge" but remain in control of myself:

1-plan a fixed window of time, like 5pm-6pm around meal time (if you start early, the risk is you have more time to keep going)

2-buy small-size where avail and if I do get a full bottle, I measure out what my planned drinks are in advance and throw the rest down the drain (waste of money yes but saving in calories and health and hangover avoided)

3-once planned drinking time is up, drink "planned" water or something similar. Plan for 2 small waters for every 1 drink and relocate out of the "drinking space" and go watch a movie or something.

4-get my daily dopamine fix by exercising moderately vigorous daily - I always had good AF control on days I exercise. It's like feeding my body what it needs and if I miss it, I am more apt to crave "the bad stuff" in the evening.

I know I am more "addicted" to certain types of wines, like the fizzy roses, so I have a rule: don't buy it. If it's not in my house, it doesn't go in my mouth. Same goes for chips and ice cream and candy.

Let's kick butt in week 2 !!!

@Lilylady3k lovely photos and cute theme! It all looks very, very tempting. That would all go in the freezer at my house. Doesn't save me from a snaccident, but does provide one more guard rail.

Good for you @jonsek, for finding ways to address the anxiety. Distracting yourself with something productive has got to be the most healthy and, well, productive approach to managing it. FWIW, I notice alcohol amps my anxiety. I'm not sure if it is more pronounced as I age, or if it always did but I only noticed when I stopped daily drinking. I hope you experience a noticeable difference soon.

@dawnbgethealthy thank you for sharing your thought processes. When facing a choice whether to drink (or eat) my mind subconsciously flashes to "what would dawnbgethealthy say to herself" and it genuinely guides my thinking away from impulse towards prefrontal cortex risk-reward/consequences evaluation. I think of you all the time! I also love your attitude towards work and time off. I don't remember, though, what is your other job that takes you out of town?

dawnbgethealthy wrote: »

@dethstar77

OMG, sooooo cute!!!!
What is the puppy's name?

@dawnbgethealthy The older one is Loki and the pup is Bucky - sticking with the Marvel theme

I ended with 16AF days for October. My ongoing goal is 16-20 AF days.
November 28th 2018 was when I started on this thread. My late Dad's birthday.
I have learned to drink less over the past 3 years, although it was very tough at first weaning myself off of being a daily drinker.

Diary style is how I roll and keep track.


Saturday November 06 - AF - Went to a Christmas Farmer's Market with a friend about 1/2 hour away. Really great. Kind of felt like having drinks, but didn't have my work schedule that begins Sunday, so didn't.
Sunday November 07 - AF - Quite a different schedule for me at the restaurant this week, no splits until the weekend, Wednesday and Thursday off - two days in a row! Wednesday I will go out of town for my other job, then am planning to have a few drinks that night when I get home.
Monday November 08 - AF - Really felt like having drinks, had to use some willpower : - )

Rolling total: 7AF days out of 8 days.

@ahoy_m8

Foster Grant is my other job, I am a Field Rep/Merchandiser, I basically maintain displays, set planograms, order sunglasses and reading glasses, that type of thing. I have worked for them for quite a long time, very nice International Company.
I have weekly stores, bi-weekly stores, and monthly stores. My out of town job is a monthly, it is in Kimberley BC. I am very excited to take @globalhiker to see that area when she comes for a visit. Gorgeous there.
It is a small sort of Bavarian town, with a ski hill and copious amounts of hiking and biking and stuff.

Before I decided in April (at 60 years old) to begin a waitress job, I was working for many Merchandising companies - I liked the lifestyle because I could for the most part get all of my jobs for the week and decide when I wanted to fit them in - I definitely could take an hour off to ice skate any time that I wanted.
I have quit them all now except for Foster Grant, which I will never quit. When I go to the main portal to order office supplies to be sent to my home, there is a Country drop down menu for where they should ship to you, including Jamaica, Maldives etc. If I ever decided to move somewhere tropical (unlikely because there wouldn't be any lakes to skate on) I could transfer, make a little scratch and keep doing a job that I really like part time. Every time that I need to order supplies I do a little dreaming : - )

Lilylady3k wrote: »

I'm with you Dawn. Felt like drinks but let DH enjoy the bottle of wine and the bourbon & cokes on his own. I took that night off and was AF. Willpower

This is a big part of why I never returned to drinking after taking my 90 day break. After awhile, not drinking didn't require me to use any will power.

I knew if I started again, I would have to go back to thinking about whether ot not I would drink any given day and utilize willpower not to.

I have a sobriety app that I log in every day quickly, I don't need it, but I like it because it keeps track of my sobriety milestones.

But for it I wrote a list of the reasons I don't drink and it shows me that list every morning, although I haven't actually read it in forever.

But on that list is "I'm fed up with thinking about alcohol every day"

ETA: note, I'm not preaching that anyone who wants to moderate should quit, I'm just reminiscing about how challenging I found it to have to use willpower ever day I wanted to not drink.

It's been a long time so I forget, but the quoted post brought back vividly those "happy hour" struggles when I was trying to cut back.

@Lilylady3k you and your girls are gorgeous! What a lovely picture. Can you cater my next party? Food and decor are amazing!

Two drinks each day Fri-Sun. Sunday I was just super crabby and reached for a dinner time drink because I needed to relax. Between all the alcohol, food and bread this weekend, of course my weight is up. AF last night after work, and will stay that way until this weekend.

I need to get back to what I was eating during my recently completed no sugar/no alcohol challenge. I dropped a ton of weight and looked great, now it’s all creeping back up. I am bloated and pouffy. It’s only been about 2 weeks off this challenge and I realize that bready carbs and alcohol simply don’t agree with me. I feel sluggish right now.

I do feel great eating lots of veggies and keeping alcohol to an absolute bare minimum- I’m talking one to two glasses per week, vs 2 per night all weekend long. So, I’m back at being a better advocate for my little self!

Hope everyone has a great week. I love reading all of your posts!

Lilylady3k wrote: »

@Xellercin - Thank you for sharing your success and one of the benefits ... not having to think about whether or not you want to drink!

I had a M-Th AF plan which I did well with in 2019 but then DH started drinking more and it derailed me. I liked my not having to think about it on M-Th. Why not impose that on myself again. It made it easier to not have to make decisions.
After this first glass I no longer thought about it because I had made the decision to be AF and just did it.

@Xellercin 's point about not having to think about it or argue with yourself resonates for me. I've been AF on weeknights long enough that I don't think about it during the week. Even with a vacuvin-ed bottle on the kitchen counter, it just doesn't cross my mind. Also, a couple years ago I stopped banking calories during the week for alcohol on the weekend, and since then I eat a little more during the week, and I genuinely enjoy that. It's small but enjoyable nonetheless. So I guess I'm splitting the baby because I do think about it -- what I'm going to have and how much -- on weekends.

I disagree with @Xellercin , however, about the Great British Baking Show. I want to taste it all!

Been AF since January of 1994

Going to a social this evening for an alumnae group ... they requested that we bring wine bottles to share. Instead I'm taking leftover sweets (pear cake and cookies) from the baby shower this weekend.
Planning an AF evening!

Nov 1,2,3,4 - AF
Nov 5 - two bottles of wine
Nov 6,7,8,9 - AF

MissMay wrote: »

Here is one of the groups favorite quotes about drinks.
This is for those struggling with keeping to a number you have in mind for a goal.
This is for those who are confused as to WHY they can't stop once started.
We've all been there.
It gets easier.

Needed to see this today, thank you @MissMay
6AF days out of 9, sounds good but the 3days turned into binges. So angry with myself! Thousands of empty calories, all un-doing the 40lb loss I’ve achieved so far.
Been some really inspirational postings on here, thank you all!
Time for a reset.