LESS Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2023 ~ One Day At A Time
Replies
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@Lilylady3k Thanks, I'm very positive about this month and like you say if I can support my better half to steer clear too it'll be easier for both of us.
@joans1976 I appreciate the welcome back. I'm not sure about business travel next, which is nice for a change, but we'll take a vacation around Easter. Right now it looks like either Dubai or Qatar as they're close to Europe and warm & sunny. Living in Sweden you REALLY appreciate a bit of sun in the Winter/Spring. Sunset today is 3pm
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1/3: AF
Sad and nervous today too. Considered coming home and drinking vodka while I was in the doctor’s office yesterday. I didn’t but the feeling was real. I know I’m supposed to be strong but I’m not sure I can make it through this breast cancer *kitten*. Ahh maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself.
Hey Amanda, I just want to say that I find your strength amazing and inspiring. I whine a lot about the stressors and frustrations in my own life, I guess a lot of us do it, but you have fought battles that put mine into perspective and here you are, pushing through with the rest of us in here on a day to day basis.
You just did two AF days that would have sent me straight for the bottom of a bottle. You're awesome and an inspiration to every one of us in here, and here I am grumbling about what seems like the stupidest things in the world because my family dragged me around some inane touristy attractions for a day or two.
-m8 -
Hi All! I have been a part of this group for a few months. I'm drinking less for health and weight loss. My ongoing goal: 16-20 AF days monthly. Last month I had 16 AF days. I post the next morning.
1/1: Drinks (0.5)
1/2: AF
1/3: Drinks (1) - After dinner, I had one of the last hazy IPAs son #2 brought during the holidays from a craft brewery in Waynesville NC. It wasn't planned but I'm not kicking myself over it. It's the extra snacking after lunch and also after dinner yesterday that frustrates me. I Pelotoned it for 40 minutes yesterday. I plan to to hold off until the weekend for my third A day for the week.
First day back at work was hard. I'm not ready! Another week off would be nice. I'm looking ahead and looking forward to planning that camping trip and visits to Maryland and Asheville to see sons #1 and #2 within the next few months.
Rolling Total: 1 AF Days out of 3
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@joans1976 and @globalhiker I also jumped into a bag of chocolate not once but twice yesterday, plus got into a bag of pecans after dinner. Ugh! And, yes! Today is a new day!4
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@mfowler883 Thanks again for the vicarious hiking trip.
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@mfowler883 Many, many thanks. I don’t feel strong this week and like I’m about to crumple into a heap of goo on the floor at any minute. I think abstaining from alcohol is a little easier since I read cancer can be caused by alcohol (oddly, I didn’t know this, I thought it affected the liver) and obviously I’m a little too late but that fact stops me.
Your struggle and your journey with alcohol is no easier than mine. Every struggle is real. You’re showing up and being accountable. If I had to be cooped up with my family I would go NUTS. (Clutches my anxiety meds)
Thank you for your kindness ❤️7 -
I second mfowler re Amanda. Your strength is inspiring.6
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Sad and nervous today too. Considered coming home and drinking vodka while I was in the doctor’s office yesterday. I didn’t but the feeling was real. I know I’m supposed to be strong but I’m not sure I can make it through this breast cancer *kitten*. Ahh maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself.
Don't feel bad about feeling sorry for your self when dealing with such a big life issue.
Both my Mother and a very close friend have been through Breast Cancer and have come out of the other side, its not an easy journey but the treatments are excellent now .
You come across as a brave, strong and resilient person. You will kick cancers lilly white *kitten* and come back stronger than ever!
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Oh and I now 3 for 3 AF.9
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Happy New Year everyone.
I am Dawn, I live in SE BC Canada
My ongoing goal remains, 16-20 AF days per month.
Last month I had 18AF days
I do this diary style to keep track, and post the next morning
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Sunday January 01 - AF - Had many side effects after my 2nd Shingles vaccine
Monday January 02 - AF - Slept only 1.5 hours all night, part of the promised 7 days of vaccine side effects
Tuesday January 03 - 2 drinks - Woke up with the promised rash down my arm in the morning. Friday I am getting a steroid shot in my ankle joint, hence the rush to get my second Shingles shot or I would have had to wait 3 months. I will have to stay off of my feet for 48 hours which will be hard for me. Apparently it is very painful once the local anasthesia wears off for a few days. Not sure if alcohol is allowed or not, but only ice and Tylenol can be used for pain.
Rolling total: 2AF days out of 3 days.6 -
I'm upset with myself. Last night, not only did I dive "headfirst into a bag of chocolate last night", I also drank "A", (this was what lead me to really overdoing the chocolate!
Jan: 2 AF / 1 A
Not sure what prompted this... I will learn from this and move on...6 -
Good day to all
@Polydactylkat The withdrawal symptoms are very very real, they were/are for me. The biggest I deal with are trouble staying asleep (after the blackout/pass out phase), the sluggish morning and it irritability in the evenings as I case the house looking to fill the void without the A.
I am finding mocktails in special glasses, doing a very focused art project and noise canceling headphones playing something that does not require a lot of concentration is almost enough at one time to kill the A devil that sits on my shoulder night after night waiting for me to slid off my chair and head to the 'bar' (kitchen).
I do dive face first into salty/sweet snacks and I am slowly devouring them and when they are gone I will not seek to replace. This will force me to eat healthier??? we will see.
This month as usual I go for a moderate number of AF days 15-25....huge gap but this is what I need to concentrate on.
So far DH is not pushing me to have a sip with him and I choose to ignore his drink. He has claimed to want to drink less but then again he can do it with ease. I have witnessed this, I also know I have a more 'addictive' and 'impulsive' personality.
Ok that is depressing to read....
On the positive side. Mentally I am getting ready to dive into the packing up of our home, painting 3 rooms (2 bedrooms, 1 laundry room) My goal is to be finished with all by March 30th. I guess I need to shake a tail feather and get moving LOL11 -
My husband and I went to a restaurant/bar for lunch...we always sit at the bar, you just get better service. I immediately asked what kinds of NA beer they have and said Stella so we each ordered one. Not the best but it was adequate. There was a woman there that was clearly a regular, lamenting how she had been here on New Years Eve but got so drunk she could not accompany her husband on their planned outing that night. It just made me think of how many times drinking has ruined my own plans. I'm trying to keep things like this in mind in case I get tempted.
Off to watch the grands with my hubby while the "kids" go out for a much needed respite. I would never dream of drinking in front of them so no temptation tonight.9 -
Jan 1- AF
Jan 2 - AF
Jan 3 - AF
Jan 4 - AF7 -
@lmlmrn I need your project plan! I want to update the two bedrooms in our house. Time for the 1985 carpet to go....that carpet is probably older than many of you!
Still battling COVID although managed to work (remotely) today. The camera did not turn on, however.
AF - Jan 1-4
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Jan 1 AF
Jan 2 AF
Jan 3 AF
Jan 4 AF
This is hard. I feel much happier though. I feel great when I have a few but so depressed the next day.
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Jan 1 AF
Jan 2 AF
Jan 3 AF
Jan 4 AF
My therapist said that at 30 days cravings start to go away. Hope so!7 -
Hello LESS alcohol peeps
BIG howdy to all the new faces that we have never heard from. WOW what a great group so far for January.
I thought I was the only one raiding the cupboard after dinner. UGH...I am going to say it is the full moon coming up, but that would go against that little quote I posted a few days ago. LOL
Only me to blame, I have plenty to do, yet my mind is thinking of 1000 other stupid things. I want to shut off the noise and take a deserved nap. Having to stay awake until after 10:30PM because I need to pick up husband from work is wearing on me.
I am by nature a morning gal and normally in bed sleeping by 9:00PM.
On a good note
4 straight days of no alcohol. woot woot. I had not set in stone for a dry January this year, yet I am off to a pretty good start.
BTW has anyone seen that de clutter challenge going around on the internet?? Makes me want to fly out to @lmlmrn s house and give her a hand downsizing and packing. REMEMBER go with PODS they are awesome.6 -
Hoo boy did I want a drink when I got home from work tonight! We got slammed the last 1.5 hours and I am just toast. Felt better after eating dinner and having my faux sangria. I’m glad I stayed AF because tomorrow is wine night at work and I plan to have a glass. I’ve also done well with avoiding the delicious soft pretzels brought in to work!8
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January accountability: 2 days AF
Alcohol: 2 days (6 drinks)
Goal: Limit 2 glasses per day; 20-25 AF days this month.
1/4 - 2 wine; DH & I opened a nice bottle of expensive red wine for dinner
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AF today. I ate healthy at breakfast and lunch, then went shopping. Got that Ultratech I was contemplating, wow that thing is a piece of art. After kicking around town all afternoon, we ate out. Hopefully I've been active enough every day to balance out the calories - I didn't bring a scale. Anyway, killed a couple NA IPAs around the pool table before winding down.
-m9 -
Morning All!
May today bring you all the willpower your need and all the benefits you deserve
4 days AF out of 4 for January.
I've now beat my 2022 total for December, November and January through August
That quite a sobering realization! (Pun intended)
My BH is also still on track with me too which is excellent.11 -
Hello! It’s Amanda, I’m back. It’s a new month and a new year! I’ve been thinking about 2022 and 2023. I’ve got some goals for the year and staying 98% AF is one of them. I love this group, I love this thread, it really works.
1/1: AF
I saw my mom yesterday and she was talking about cutting back on the wine again. She knows my dad needs to cut back too but 4:00 comes at their house and it’s like an alarm goes off, the wine gets poured. I simply told her I would support them however I could.
Back to work and doctor’s appointments this week.
1/2: AF
Sad and nervous today. Sticking with my meditation goals so that’s something.
1/3: AF
Sad and nervous today too. Considered coming home and drinking vodka while I was in the doctor’s office yesterday. I didn’t but the feeling was real. I know I’m supposed to be strong but I’m not sure I can make it through this breast cancer *kitten*. Ah maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself.
1/4: AF
Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I gotta dig deep and find my happy place.
For all doing dry January what fun things are you doing in place of drinking?
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This is an encouraging read:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/27/dry-january-health-benefits/5 -
WELCOME EVERYONE!!! I'm a knucklehead, but how do you respond to people's posts on here...LOL! I seem to only be able to make a generic post to everyone.
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This thread has gotten so active--it's mahvalous! (I'm practicing my terrible New England accent in prep for heading to FL, where I'm hoping to actually have some semblance of a social life ) So saving most comments for the weekend when I can dive in. But did want to say, @looneycatblue to be kind to yourself. I think sometimes our unconscience has plans for us we're not aware of--I know mine does and I just try to be mindful what's happening inside. Also, just last week read that shaming--by others, or much more commonly by ourselves, increases anxiety and is likely to be a driver for further drinking to cope!
I've struggled 2 consecutive nights with restlessness/insomnia and thought (2 hours apart) about having a drink (with Ted Lasso
)--the second time pulling a chair over to see into the depths of the liquor cabinet, but reminded myself that I'm trying to wake up at 5 every morning to be productive and have some me time. And that my gummy would hopefully be kicking in...at some point.
Still at
for the week.
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WELCOME EVERYONE!!! I'm a knucklehead, but how do you respond to people's posts on here...LOL! I seem to only be able to make a generic post to everyone.
@sherig_70 - You can either select the Quote instead of Like and it will let you respond like this. Or you can just kick off a new comment and use the person's username with the @ in front which triggers a notification and lets them know you are responding to them or mentioning them in a comment.
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Still going strong. Another AF day
1/1 AF
1/2 AF
1/3 AF
1/4 AF
(AF 9 out of last 10 days - since I started tracking on 12/26. Only 1 drink in this period.)10 -
@joans1976 I had triple negative breast cancer that had spread to my lymphnodes 5 years ago. That’s a very aggressive type. I sympathize with your feelings of sadness and nerves and also know that sometimes people trying to tell you that things will be ok or that they have been through the same or know someone who has don’t really help so I am not trying to do that…. I just wanted to share that the time I found most stressful were the early days when the drs were figuring things out and determining treatments and i was going for tests and there was lots of uncertainty, I also made the mistake of trying to figure stuff out for myself by using “dr google” which made me sadder and more anxious. Once the drs had a solid course of action (no matter how horrible it sounded) things got a lot better. I was able to trust their judgment and follow orders and I just relaxed and went with the flow after the first couple treatments when I knew what to expect. It was actually reassuring checking in regularly and having so many people watching over my health through the treatments being administered. I don’t know if that attitude helps you or not, but I am just trying to say that maybe you are in the worst of it now mentally. Things can get better. You’ll still have a lot to go through, but you’ll do it step by step, like everything else. You are strong enough and its ok to feel bad sometimes. You don’t have to be superwoman you just have to keep going and ideally try to enjoy something that gives you real joy once in a while.
Sending you good vibes.7
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