LESS Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2023 ~ One Day At A Time

Yeah, habits and routines are really a powerful thing to try to change. I've been trying to change the way I approach food since, I dunno, I guess mid-August with the real changes starting around September. I'm over four months into this leg of my journey and I still struggle with the urge to stuff my face. Lessening alcohol is the same thing, I'm good until I'm not and all of a sudden I want to drink ALL the drinks.

The whole NA beer thing is still really a curiosity to me, it fills that place of having a beer with dinner, and somehow it doesn't trigger that compulsive drive to drink more and get blitzed. As long as it tastes good, it satisfies my desire to drink beer because I like the taste of beer, in stark contrast to my desire to drink beer because I crave the alcohol. When I've tried to drink less or not at all in the past, I didn't even consider NA beers, and I really did miss having a nice beer with meals or at the end of the day, not because I missed the alcohol but because I do actually like a good beer. Having several solid options now between the Karbach, Stella, and Heineken is really nice, and I'm curious to see how this is going to play out in the long run. I really wish the Guiness didn't taste so wrong...does anybody have a recommendation for a good NA stout?

-m

@mfowler883 I had the some of same thoughts about the NA beers and almost didn't bother even buying any thinking it was a waste of money however, your praises for some of the ones you have tried inspired me to try some myself and I have been pleasantly surprised. I also was afraid that it would trigger me to want a "real" beer but so far it has not and I am proud to say that I like beer and not only for the alcohol.

I have also been looking for beers with lower alcohol content than the beer I usually drink (7.2). I have found a couple that are 4.2 that are very good, one is Breakside Brewery Rainbows & Unicorns (yes, this is a real beer!) and Founders All Day IPA. I have found these to be a good alternative for when I want more than just the flavor of beer.

@Womona we do a lot of reading too - less tv, but plenty of movies, but we have picked up some interesting pastimes like birdwatching (which requires going out to look for birds to add to your life list), and since we both had great olfactory senses from our wine tasting days we have applied it to perfume. We are signed up to a perfume making course (!) we have both upped our volunteer work in the community too and now that the pandemic is not shuttering all the performance venues I subscribed us to season tickets to a few things we enjoy. We also go out for walks and set silly agendas for ourselves like to go wherever the crossing signals take us or to walk every block in a certain neighborhood or we ride the subway out to a neighborhood we don’t usually go to and walk there/back home.

@mfowler883 and @zensome I was going to recommend the guiness 0 bc my husband likes it but I see you have already tried it and don’t like it. I didn’t think it tasted like guiness, but i dont think anything tastes like guiness unless you get it on tap from a pub in dublin. I have never been a beer drinker but that was the one time I really loved a beer! There is also a stout by a company caled gruvi but that seemed sweeter to me if i remember correctly. I have only tasted sips. my husband mixes that one as a black and tan with the athletic brewing company beers.

For ex or sometime wine drinkers I have been drinking the various Leitz dealcoholized wines. They have a riesling, a blanc de blanc and a pinot noir marketed as eins zwei zero. It is the closest I have found to wine taste and mouthfeel. Oddbird wines are also decent. For stuff that doesn’t pretend to be wine (its tea and juice) but works with food I like proxies. I buy these through specialty NA stores and some gourmet food gift shops or order on line. They are in the $20-30/range.

@joans1976 i am sure you know that cat purrs are very healing, so bring that boy home and start cuddling him. He will reveal at least one of his names to you in due course, but his true name - his “ineffeable effable deep and inscrutable singular name” — will remain known only to him. https://allpoetry.com/the-naming-of-cats

I hope you all are OK and have to be honest that I haven't been keeping up on reading posts.

Survived Friday the 13th AF and it was a struggle.

You know like I do, sometimes it takes a struggle and dealing with discomfort to break-through and change.

Self talk here: I hope you put yourself first tomorrow and all of the rest of your days, because you are the most important one. Do what you need to do to make yourself successful.

@mfowler883 my husband also had the bravus but i did not try any of it. I am afraid you will find the gruvi too sweet if the guiness was too sweet for you. But unlike guiness it doesn’t come with a particular taste expectation so you can appreciate it for what it is.

I think that is why people have trouble with NA wines and spirits - you can’t expect them to taste or smell like the real thing because of the chemical properties involved. But now that it has been over a year since I have even tasted alcohol I am appreciating the nuances of the different spices and juices and teas in every type of proxy and identifying them like the flavor profiles of different wines. I often try to imagine what a glass of wine might taste like and the only taste I can summon is actually the pure alcohol bite that is missing from the drinks that I am consuming - not the taste of a glass of wine. So the thought of having a glass of wine is really off putting. Never in a million years did i think i would ever say that!

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.

1/1-1/7: 7 out of 7 AF

1/8: AF
1/9: AF
1/10: AF
1/11: AF
1/12: AF
1/13: AF
So! Good news all around!!! All my scans came back clear! 🤩I can’t explain what a relief this is! Now I just need to get the genomic testing done on my tumor (in process) and then a plan will become clear. (I feel like I’ve been saying that for-ever!) Thank you everyone for all your support and prayers and thoughts💗 Chemo is still a likely possibility and radiation is a sure thing but having clear scans is such a gift!
In more good news, I adopted a new kitty yesterday! I will post pics later, I need votes on names. He is super cuddly and affectionate and a total chonk. He and Kramer have not met yet.
21 days AF

@joans1976 - I hear your relief in the scan results!!! Congrats! Keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the testing will be clear.
My son's cats are Tom & George Roger is not a bad name. But I think I like something more ... I don't know ... cat like and unique LOL
Luna
Nova --- thinking of the Hubble Telescope images
Paris --- name after a place/city you want to go or love
Ollie

As you can see, hes a chonky boy. Hes joining MFP when he gets settled in. I have some Seinfeld names like Babu, Little Jerry, Morty, Cosmo. I also like Poetaytoes. And Sheldon. And Roger. And Romeo. Hes a very cuddly, rolly, soft, full of purrs cat. Busy. What do ya'll think?

AF last night and another early-to-bed night. Still trying to kick this headache.

SIL and nephews are visiting today. That will do little for the headache and staying AF, but I will persevere!



- Georgia