Less Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2022 ~ One Day At A Time
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My usual goal, 16-20 AF days per month.
My schedule pretty much dictates my AF days. It will be different until March, our local 3 arenas opened up!! There is senior/parent tot skating from 9-10am Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the biggest arena, the ice surface is sunken down, so quite warm for skating. The other 2 are the temperature of the outside.
I will be AF on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays for the next few months.
Diary style is how I keep track
Tuesday January 4th - AF - Skating at an arena in the morning before work, and in a different one after work, so no booze for me tonight. Many lunges that skating...I am going to count again how many of them are in each minute, just for fun. Glutes and Quads were definitely singing today after skating and all of that fun shoveling yesterday.
Wednesday January 5th - AF - I was planning on having a couple of drinks tonight, but I have to go up the mountain to Kimberley BC for a job tomorrow. They always get at least double or triple the snow that we get here, so I will need to be as sharp as possible to drive back home in the dark, thus AF tonight. This morning's skate was a bust, got there and there was a sign on the door saying "closed due to a scheduled power outage". I had a very nice skate at a different arena after work though : - ) And I will be skating at the Kimberley arena after my job
Thursday January 6th - AF - My plan for the day changed with a big snowstorm, I had already booked off of the restaurant early so that I could drive up the mountain for a job. So I went cross country skiing instead and then came home and shoveled : - ) Skating here in town at the big arena in the morning, so AF tonight. Planned mulled cider with spiced rum tomorrow early eve with a friend when we are both off of work. Pizza and wings and spiked cider. I will put the cider together to mull in the morning early.
Rolling total: 5AF days out of 6 days.5 -
Deep snow, took a deer trail to the main trail, that is not exactly skiing, but super fun
Love this heavy "cake frosting"
Finding a track that looked like there had been people on it
The main wide trail
The first time for my new (new to me) skis since I broke mine last year and was gifted some.
Glorious!11 -
@Lilylady3k no matter how many times I come across that quote in my photo gallery pics or see it on this thread, I always think this is the best example of how alcohol has a mind of it's own.
Sorry it took over your well intended goal for the night. ❣5 -
GiveHerGrace wrote: »Posting for accountability. Today is my 13th straight day AF.
12/25-12/31 AF
1/1-1/6 AF
I have been sleeping so much better the last week or so. Although I normally only drank 1 or 2 drinks in the evening it definitely impacted the quality of my sleep.
I enjoy reading about all of your journeys and it helps me to know I am not alone.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to lose the Diet Coke habit I am all ears. That is definitely a bigger addiction for me than the alcohol (although probably not as big of a negative impact on my health.)
@GiveHerGrace you and I are on the same number AF streak. Thank you for for reminding me, I'd actually for got to tack on December's into January.
Tab ( if anyone's remembers that diet drink) was hard for me to let go as well, even though it was considered diet, it had its health issue scares. That is really how I decided to let it go in my life.
And as you have already stated it's "a habit".
Maybe try slowly switching out to some other choices. Have you tried kombucha?
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@cowgirlslikeus86 welcome...and I can relate to your story having experienced life with an ex-husband who was an alcoholic. What's cool is there's an opportunity to start fresh and new and create the life the way you want it to be.
@Xellercin agree with your last post about alcohol making stress worse. It used to elevate my BP to the 160s/90s, resulting in making me feel more stressed over little things than I needed to be. Then I'd drink wine as medicine to alleviate the stress. It was my default medication but the rebound effect is that the next day, it would create more intense stress and anxiety. It wasn't the world hitting me with extreme stress, it was the drinks from all the days before disrupting my normal stress response. Being AF and drinking less, my BP now is very happy at 110/70 even at the end of a workday and I feel more stress resilient and worry less.
@dawnbgethealthy - your pix look pretty and I'll bet the bears are hibernating so it's safe out there!
5 days AF for 2022 so far -6 -
Friday, not working today, snow storm predicted......
This would have been the trifecta before January 2018 to start planning my drink day with my husband.
Probably would have started a few days in advance with us finding out a storm was coming to make sure the frig and liquor cabinet was stocked.
If only I could get back all those wasted ( no pun intended) hours spent trapped by drinking too much. I'm going to emphasize the " too much" because if I could have in fact controlled my intake I would have been able to do alot more mentally and physically in those years and yet still enjoyed a few drinks now and then like in my present day.
Going from a drinking/thinking mentality that I had a blast the night before(so my friends tell me because I can't recall) by having 5- 8 drinks that night.
To having the the amount of alcohol spread out over three days~
Then spread out over a week~
Then spread out over a month~
Now I am not chasing fun, I'm experiencing fun.
AF day 6/6 January
Streak 13
❄
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Day 8 here! The weekends are the hardest for me since that was when I would like to have wine. I have to get through this weekend because I already know it will be difficult but I'll do it. Keep up the good work everyone and thank you for sharing your stories.11
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It's the weak-end. Stay strong!
My aim today, no alcohol before 6.30. I'd probably have started by now normally. As stated, my goal is to reduce, not quit. Decided aim for January is 10 AF days, 10 less than I'd usually have, and 10 normal. Doesn't matter what "less than normal" is for now - one drink less is one drink less 😊.
Running total: 4 normal, 1 reduced, 1 AF10 -
@MissMay I love this "Now I am not chasing fun, I'm experiencing fun." I think I will print this onto some labels and place them on the socks!
Awww Friday... bowling night. I am so looking forward to bowling tonight and having some fun with our bowling "family", it has been 3 weeks, due to the holidays. Since I woke up this morning, I have been working on my game plan, not to drink (or maybe 1), and stay away from the fried food offerings. Plan to order a salad with chicken, and top it with salsa (really the only safe thing on their menu).
My official weigh-in day is tomorrow, and I don't want to blow it with eating junk and drinking "adult" beverages. Now to stick with the plan!
6/6 AF9 -
Day 7. Had to fast for my labs and it was easier than it would normally be if I had been drinking the night before.
I've been watching a bunch of documentaries I found on Youtube that I found motivating.
Working hard on my 'inner dialogue' to talk to myself more kindly.
After writing down each time I caught myself being harsh I looked back at them and realized I wouldn't dream of talking to any other person that way, EVER - examples:
'You achieved nothing today', 'wtf is wrong with you', 'you suck'
I am stopping all of this, every time I catch it I log what I said, and what I could say instead.
Jan 1 AF
Jan 2 AF
Jan 3 AF
Jan 4 AF
Jan 5 AF
Jan 6 AF Feeling proud of myself!
Good to see so many active posters here!10 -
I've met the goal of AF Sun-Thu this week. I may or may not have a couple of drinks today and tomorrow. Playing it by ear.
Somebody earlier made a comment about drinking out of habit and I think that's what I do on the weekends. By making Sunday AF I'm attempting to make it less habitual and more of an active decision.10 -
ETA: @xellercin so sorry to hear about the medical challenge that lies ahead. That's a lot! You seem to have so much resilience and an admirable attitude towards it. Wishing you all the best on that front!
omg... @dawnbgethealthy THAT LOOKS SO FUN!! Sorry your morning skate was a bust, but my, you have so many skating venues scoped out. I absolutely adore back country skiing and love skating, too. I worked for an Ottawa company 5 years and would love dearly to immigrate to Canada, but that is not so easy to do. For a while I was hoping one of the DD would go to college in Canada and be my anchor baby. Canada smartly offers an expedited path to residency for foreign students educated in Canada. And there is a parent visa, where the resident children essentially promise to support the immigrating parents because they aren't eligible for any benefits (and continue to pay US taxes too.) Well, that ship sailed. The only option left is a tourist visa good for about half the year. Immigrating to the EU is much, much easier. And for some countries, the tax and healthcare advantages are incredibly appealing.
Here we are at the end of the first week of the year. Stayed AF despite going to a mescaleria for dinner before a show where DH & DD#1 each had a couple cocktails. I was fine with water. When I reflect on what made me content to abstain, I think it was sticking to my M-Th AF routine and also knowing it was going to be a fun night regardless of alcohol. We'll see how I do this weekend. DD#2 returns to NYC on Sunday, and it's not atypical that I eat and drink too much around that time. Emotional eating because I'm sad for her to go. This time I'm worried, too, because the covid numbers are, literally, 10x worse there than here. She has been home working remote for an insane long time for a xmas holiday for a 1st year analyst, so I'm thankful for that. Her employer announced Sunday that it wanted all NYC employees to work remote until mid-Jan if they possibly can, so she could work from here another week but she doesn't want to and I completely understand. Though I prefer for her to stay. My strategy is to (1) busy myself packing xmas decor, (2) hold @Xellercin's observation about alcohol amplifying sad feelings (that I do not need) in my awareness, and (3) look forward to DD#3's brief return next week before going back to college. Wish me luck.7 -
@MissMay - Wonderful comment ... I'm writing it down to remember in the future! "Now I am not chasing fun, I'm experiencing fun."
January accountability: 2/31 days AF
Alcohol: 5 days (10 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month. Aim to drink no more than 2 nights in a row.
1/1 - AF
1/2 - 1 wine
1/3 - 2 wine
1/4 - AF
1/5 - 3 wine
1/6 - 3 wine
1/7 - 1 wine
Need to build up a few more AF evenings this month before we get to the 10th of the month!7 -
Fit_Happens_2021 wrote: »Day 7. Had to fast for my labs and it was easier than it would normally be if I had been drinking the night before.
I've been watching a bunch of documentaries I found on Youtube that I found motivating.
Working hard on my 'inner dialogue' to talk to myself more kindly.
After writing down each time I caught myself being harsh I looked back at them and realized I wouldn't dream of talking to any other person that way, EVER - examples:
'You achieved nothing today', 'wtf is wrong with you', 'you suck'
I am stopping all of this, every time I catch it I log what I said, and what I could say instead.
Jan 1 AF
Jan 2 AF
Jan 3 AF
Jan 4 AF
Jan 5 AF
Jan 6 AF Feeling proud of myself!
Good to see so many active posters here!
@Fit_Happens_2021 you should feel extremely proud of your accomplishment of 7 days AF. AND your inner dialogue definitely needs to include: WAY TO GO~IT WILL PAY OFF~I'M A ROCK STAR
It is also an enourmous accomplishment to be able to stay AF while still reading others posts of drinking less but still drinking. A kind of double headed test as I used to refer to it in my own head. It can serve to make one stronger.
Keep up the good work! Oh and we'll need to see your sock creations.7 -
Thank you @MissMay. I am really proud of 7 days, I'm just taking it one day at a time like most in here so it doesn't make it difficult when I see people post about having a drink. I started this week expecting I would probably go for my goal of 4 days AF out of 7, but I just got inspired - I saw your link to TAE when I joined the thread. Next week might be only 4 days AF I don't know, or maybe I'll carry on. One day at a time I still have my face sock on the wine bottle
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Well my witching hours are here and I am doing well AF. I have a bit of tonic water and bitters and that is doing me just fine.
@dawnbgethealthy what amazing snow!
@Fit_Happens_2021 sending long distance pats on your back then a hug!
Mrs. Sock came by this evening
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ROFL Mrs Sock!! She looks amazing, love the pearl necklace and jaunty hat 5
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ETA: @xellercin so sorry to hear about the medical challenge that lies ahead. That's a lot! You seem to have so much resilience and an admirable attitude towards it. Wishing you all the best on that front!
Thank you. It's hard, but a hell of a lot easier to stay steady without alcohol constantly making everything feel worse and unmanageable.
It was crazy how the "I can't handle this!" feeling was such a day to day norm for me when I was drinking during stressful times.
Then after that stupid frustrating day, I realized that the "I can't handle this!" was totally fake, and just designed to make me give in and pour a glass of wine.
Immediately it was like "the jig is up, I see what you're doing" and my brain basically just cut it out and stopped pulling that crap.
Since then, sure, hard things are hard, but I just deal with them, I don't have the super overwhelmed "I NEED something to take the edge off" hissy fit I used to have.
So frickin' dramatic.
Alcohol doesn't make stress better, stress is just a perfect opportunistic time for a brain that's even marginally addicted to alcohol to bait you into drinking more.
Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it.5 -
This group is soooo amazing. I’m learning so much from your experiences and insight.
For me this really feels like I’m starting a new relationship with alcohol.
Also giving The AE a go. Annoyed I can’t flick through the days to get to day 8 (which I’m now on) and still stuck on day 2!!
Loving all the quotes, and pictures, and socks …. And so much more
Thank you all
Jan 1-7 AF7 -
@lmlmrn - Loving our mascot!!! Thank you for the laugh this morning.5
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Posting for accountability. Day 14 AF.
12/25 - 12/31 AF
1/1 - 1/7 AF
Have a great weekend and I hope you meet all of your goals whatever they may be!6 -
@dawnbgethealthy
Thought of you when I saw this ... you find so much JOY living around snow. You get out an take advantage of it ... shoveling, hiking, skiing, skating. Enjoy!
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Jan 1 AF
Jan 2 AF
Jan 3 AF
Jan 4 AF
Jan 5 AF
Jan 6 - 2 glasses of wine
Jan 7 - 2 glasses of wine8 -
Could someone provide me the link for AE? I would like to join. I am reading Annie Grace's This Naked Mind and it is very interesting. I am day 8 and feeling good. Last night I wanted a glass of wine but stayed strong and this morning when I woke up I was so glad I did. The thing about wine is I am very relaxed and feel great after 2-3 glasses BUT the next day (or two) feel sluggish and will tend to eat unhealthy. It just is not worth it.9
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Last night I finally got back on the wagon. I spent the previous two nights doing a lot of soul-searching and analyzing and "sitting with my discomfort." So, I've got 1/7 days AF this month, which is already better than October, right? Actually, since my goal is "mindfulness," it still counts. I did not drink mindlessly or out of habit!
I've been doing TAE (@sarah7591 https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/the-alcohol-experiment-registration), but I'm just not feeling it so much this time. I read my old journal entries and find nothing has changed. I can only relate to about 30% of what she says. HOWEVER, that 30% is powerful. I really love the videos on cravings and discomfort. I am very grateful that my alcohol cravings only come around my "witching hour" and they disappear quickly if I don't feed them. If any of you have ever quit smoking (or tried and failed), you know what I mean!9 -
This group is soooo amazing. I’m learning so much from your experiences and insight.
For me this really feels like I’m starting a new relationship with alcohol.
Also giving The AE a go. Annoyed I can’t flick through the days to get to day 8 (which I’m now on) and still stuck on day 2!!
Loving all the quotes, and pictures, and socks …. And so much more
Thank you all
Jan 1-7 AF
The Alcohol Experiment isn't a 30 day sobriety thing though, so the days you are sober don't need to coincide with the days of the experiment. The exercises of the experiment are based in CBT, so the point is to do the exercises. I have heard a lot of people say they "did TAE" but got almost nothing out of it, but it turns out, they skipped the exercises. They may seem hokey, but there's very good research behind this approach.5 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »Last night I finally got back on the wagon. I spent the previous two nights doing a lot of soul-searching and analyzing and "sitting with my discomfort." So, I've got 1/7 days AF this month, which is already better than October, right? Actually, since my goal is "mindfulness," it still counts. I did not drink mindlessly or out of habit!
I've been doing TAE (@sarah7591 https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/the-alcohol-experiment-registration), but I'm just not feeling it so much this time. I read my old journal entries and find nothing has changed. I can only relate to about 30% of what she says. HOWEVER, that 30% is powerful. I really love the videos on cravings and discomfort. I am very grateful that my alcohol cravings only come around my "witching hour" and they disappear quickly if I don't feed them. If any of you have ever quit smoking (or tried and failed), you know what I mean!
Yeah, you might have hit your limit as to what benefit TAE can give you, it's a great first start, but it's not a comprehensive program. If you benefitted from it, but feel like you have reached your limit, perhaps consider further resources.4 -
6 days AF done. The weekend is here and I plan to not buy wine because my new rule is I don't bring it into the house. But this morning as I got out of bed and....... the wine devil in my head said: "hmm what are we going to do today? You've been good all week, it's OK to reward yourself today with a bottle of wine. Nobody will know....".
Me: "Shut up...I will know".....that's not the plan. If I stick to the plan, I win. That's all that matters."
Sneaky devil is back
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Lilylady3k wrote: »@lmlmrn - Loving our mascot!!! Thank you for the laugh this morning.
I have to admit I am having fun with my 'sock man/woman' and it makes me smile each day and each day makes me poke fun at my drinking. To the point I don't want to take the sock off and take a sip. So just thinking of more creative ways to dress up the bottle keeps me smiling without alcohol to have fun!
Thank you to everyone who can bare with me on this journey, whatever we get need to get from point A to B. I am for what ever works!
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@Xellercin I'm so sorry for what you are facing. Thank you for sharing. Peace and healing to you4
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