LESS Alcohol ~ MAY 2023 ~ One Day at A Time
Replies
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@Womona and @ahoy_m8
I admire both of you with your approaches to LA.
@Womona - You mostly stick to one drink with your microsips. Whereas I am not an all or nothing person, if I am going to not have an AF day it would be unthinkable for me to only have one. You DO drink less.
@ahoy_m8
You always stick to the plan of M-Th AF. To me this seems like a better way, no guesswork and no expectations as to which days to pick as AF days. I hope to some day adopt this, kind of trying it this week.
As cocktail season is approaching I hope to continue like I did last summer where I was making my cocktails with a half of a shot, so that I would have 4 drinks instead of 2. I still get the flavour and the tiny buzz. It is now 90 degrees here when I get off of work, so thoughts of gin drinks have already entered my mind but I am trying to abstain for at least another few days.
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I am Dawn, I live in South Eastern British Columbia.
I joined this thread in November of 2018, a daily drinker at the time
My primary goal with drinking less is weight loss.
My usual goal is 16-20 AF days for the month,
I had 16AF days in April.
I do this diary style, I normally post the next morning.
Monday May 01 - AF - I wanted drinks, it seems that I pretty much always do. Willpower won out, so that is a good thing. I don't want to repeat last month's behaviour where I toploaded the month with daily drinking and wasn't really able to try hard enough not to, and then I found myself trying to play catch up nearing the end of the month to get those AF days in. A short-lived 2nd job kept me AF for 4 days. When I don't have anything pressing the next day, that is when I struggle to not have drinks. Such will be the case this week, I will endeavour to dig deep and not give in to the craving.
Tuesday May 02 - AF - As usual, I felt like having a couple of drinks, but didn't.
Rolling total - 2AF day out of 2 days.4 -
Having no problem staying AF this week after last weekends’ imbibing. May showers have arrived and it’s kind of nice to have cooler days again before they are gone for summer.
Dove into the podcast yesterday and listened to the first 40 minutes—tons of evidence based information and content to stimulate thoughts around alcohol use. I heard many interesting comments. One was how even in moderation, say 1-2 drinks per day, research quoted by Huberman suggests there is some damage to brain function. But with abstinence of 2-6 months it can reset to its prior levels. I know there are always other variables that play a big part in research.
A - 0
AF - 2
May goal - 22-23 AF days
Limit to 2 glasses6 -
Goals for MaySelf-care and positive vibes!
Zig-zag calorie count - Daily Average 1400
Success = No more than two glasses of wine per night.
5/2 A ~ 🍷🍷🍷'eh. 1:1 for May but did string a few days in a row. I plan to be AF today and Thursday. Friday is Cinco de Mayo and my husband is already talking about Mexican so there might be a margarita or two.
I'm about 30 minutes into the podcast.
Current Streak - AF = 0
@lmlmrn and @globalhiker ~ I have a treadmill but it's over 10 years old so you probably would not be able to find the exact one. It's a Precor. Not as big as the ones in the gym but it's decent for home.
@GaryM_25 ~ That treadmill looks awesome. My treadmill is in the basement and sometimes I just don't want to go to the basement. Something to consider.
The Month recap to stay accountable5/1 - Finished April with 3 days straight AF! I changed a lot of things in the past couple of weeks - I'm not sure which one is working or if it's the combination. I lost 9lbs in April. I can't tell you the last time that happened. April 1 to April 15 - 3lbs, April 16 to April 30 - 6 lbs!!!My 2023 Stats...Current Month
AF = 1
A = 1
5/1 AF ~ Yippee! 💚
5/2 A ~ 🍷🍷🍷
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January
AF = 53%
A = 47%
February
AF = 29%
A = 71%
March
AF = 0%
A = 100%
April
AF = 14%
A = 86%
May
AF = 0%
A = 0%
May
AF = 50%
A = 50%4 -
5/1-5/2-5/3 - AF5
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Hi! I am back for May. I've totally dropped red wine which was my bestie. Now trying to drop the white. I've cut back a lot ( I am on Wegovy which helps) and have lost 10 lbs from a recent high.
Good luck to all, whatever their goals may be.7 -
Alrighty, lost count of what day it is. How is that even possible? I kept thinking today was Sunday. UGH
Last night had a taste test, not even half a can, but like three sips of what I thought was going to be awesome but was like BLAH how can they even call this Reeeses peanut butter beer.DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY if you see this. The marketing sell factor on this label is very luring. But the product is nothing but dark stout, no peanut butter flavor what so ever.
So I will still count that as a drink.
May 3rd accountability
1A
2AF
*sorry no input for a treadmill @lmlmrn .
*And happy belated birthday to @2timesacharmmfp6 -
Thank you all for the input on the treadmill's. I am still shopping and comparing notes.
AF today, but house buying is turning out to be stressful. Too much story to write here but know my mental state has had its ups and downs. Caused by our realtor LOL I can giggle now.
hugs to everyone7 -
I had the best sleep of my past 7 or so years last night since we had a new A/C installed. It's super-quiet and it's cool. I woke up with zero allergy feelings and was in a relaxed state all day. I woke up late, around 6:30 am which has been later than my regular 2 am wakening that started when my hormones shifted. I felt great today which is the first time in a long time.
I sipped 2 of my husband's beers while he dozed off on the couch. But going to bed now since I do want really good quality sleep tonight again.9 -
~THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY~
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One of the things the Huberman podcast is helping me understand is the various effects that alcohol has across the body. I think prior I was overly focused on what would be some of the "positive" effects of alcohol on the body, at least in moderation. Specifically, red wine has been considered as beneficial for heart health, through antioxidants which may help prevent coronary artery disease.
The heart though is just one organ of the body (yet a significant one to me especially because of family history). I don't think I've really wanted to pay attention to other effects.
One of the things Dr Huberman brings up in the beginning of the podcast, maybe for the attention-getting value, is how according to some studies chronic drinking of low volumes of alcohol is a cause of neurodegeneration. Other than the immediate and observable effects, I don't think I had given enough thought to impacts of alcohol to the brain, for instance.
I think I would benefit from looking at alcohol's identifiable benefits and broader negative effects much more complexly.4 -
I am Dawn, I live in South Eastern British Columbia.
I joined this thread in November of 2018, a daily drinker at the time
My primary goal with drinking less is weight loss.
My usual goal is 16-20 AF days for the month,
I had 16AF days in April.
I do this diary style, I normally post the next morning.
Monday May 01 - AF - I wanted drinks, it seems that I pretty much always do. Willpower won out, so that is a good thing. I don't want to repeat last month's behaviour where I toploaded the month with daily drinking and wasn't really able to try hard enough not to, and then I found myself trying to play catch up nearing the end of the month to get those AF days in. A short-lived 2nd job kept me AF for 4 days. When I don't have anything pressing the next day, that is when I struggle to not have drinks. Such will be the case this week, I will endeavour to dig deep and not give in to the craving.
Tuesday May 02 - AF - As usual, I felt like having a couple of drinks, but didn't.
Wednesday May 03 - AF - Someone in the afternoon asked me to take their dinner shifts for Wednesday and Thursday, so I was glad that I abstained on Tuesday night. It also made it easy for me to be AF Wednesday night since I will have a long-ish day Thursday.
Rolling total - 3AF day out of 3 days.4 -
@dawnbgethealthy you are off to a great start in May! Good for you!
@GaryM_25 I appreciate reading your comments on the podcast as well. I found Huberman’s remarks on the neurodegeneration from alcohol remarkable.
I too find that red wine has been my choice for heart health over the last couple of years. In fact, it is part of the published Mediterranean diet (food plan). Adopting LA I am not so worried about the varietal as much.
Since Feb. 2023 (this is only my 3rd month here) I do AF on ‘regular days’ during each week so I know ahead that Thursday/Saturday (or Friday/Sunday) are planned A if I choose, which usually revolves around weekend activities. This seems to be working for me for now.
A - 0
AF - 3
May goal - 22-23 AF days
Limit to 2 glasses3 -
Goals for MaySelf-care and positive vibes!
Zig-zag calorie count - Daily Average 1400
Success = No more than two glasses of wine per night.
5/3 AF ~ Yippee! 💚There's this window when I get home from work. About 30 minutes after my arrival for about an hour... If I get past that point, I'm usually ok. When there's nothing really stressing me, then it seems to be just habit for me.
Current Streak - AF = 1
@missmay ~ I am struggling with the days this week as well. Today "feels" like Friday to me...but nope, got one more day to put in! Love the "Thought for the day!"
@lmlmrn ~ I'm sure that buying a house is pretty high on the stress scale of life events. Hang in there, it will all be worth it in the long run
@globalhiker ~ Good quality sleep is underrated. The thing is...you don't really realize what your lacking until you have a great night~ Kudos to you and hopefully many more nights to come.
@dawnbgethealthy ~ nice 3 for 3🙂
@michieb125 ~ glad to see you are finding a plan with AF on regular days and planned A on the weekends. Makes sense to me. For now - I'm just working on reduction..🙂
Happy Thursday everyone!!!
The Month recap to stay accountable5/1 AF ~ Yipee! 💚 - Finished April with 3 days straight AF! I changed a lot of things in the past couple of weeks - I'm not sure which one is working or if it's the combination. I lost 9lbs in April. I can't tell you the last time that happened. April 1 to April 15 - 3lbs, April 16 to April 30 - 6 lbs!!!My 2023 Stats...
5/2 A ~ 🍷🍷🍷'eh. 1:1 for May but did string a few days in a row. I plan to be AF today and Thursday. Friday is Cinco de Mayo and my husband is already talking about Mexican so there might be a margarita or two.Current Month
AF = 2
A = 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January
AF = 53%
A = 47%
February
AF = 29%
A = 71%
March
AF = 0%
A = 100%
April
AF = 14%
A = 86%
May
AF = 0%
A = 0%
May
AF = 67%
A = 33%
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Michieb125 wrote: »@GaryM_25 I appreciate reading your comments on the podcast as well. I found Huberman’s remarks on the neurodegeneration from alcohol remarkable.
The research seems to indicate that "genetic predisposition toward alcohol consumption worsens neurodegeneration;" that some of us are more impacted than others.
Further the research seems to indicate that "neurodegeneration changes cognition, contributing to alcohol use disorders" and that "heavy alcohol use contributes to neurodegeneration and the progressive loss of control over drinking."
Something I painfully resonated with is this: "People with [alcohol-induced' frontal cortical lesions show a loss of a reflective analysis of future pain or pleasure and increased anxiety and negative mood, which contributes to a loss of impulse control."
Drinking and thinking are so interwoven...
For now, I'm continuing to keep drinking way down. I'm really trying to lose weight and I'm so delighted to have the calories down and experience some "results."
I feel like I'm personally on a journey that I don't know where it's going.5 -
Hi All! Since joining this group Nov '22 I no longer drink on a daily basis. I'm drinking less for weight loss and overall health. I usually post the next morning.
Wed 5/3: Drinks (2) So I've been offline for almost a week, I think. During that time we traveled to NC for a few days to check on and spend time with my dearest MIL and other family members, then on to our home in Florida until mid-June, at which time we'll then head to the Boone, NC area to celebrate our niece's wedding with most of our family. After that we'll go back to Va Beach until my DH's contract is done. I'm behind at work among other things. I'm hoping to catch up with this thread over the weekend.
I finished April with 19 AF days (61%) which was better than my plan. I'm seriously trying to lose weight and keep it off so really trying to restrict the number of A days and the number of drinks on those A days. For all of April my net loss is two pounds. I thought it would be more but as long as it's less I consider it progress. I haven't done a great job avoiding alcohol over the last week, but I have done a pretty good job limiting the number of drinks on those A days (mostly no more than 2).
Rolling Total: 0 AF Days out of 35 -
hello to all, two glasses of wine tonight, not planned but still nothing over the top.
Tomorrow we hope to enjoy a few walk/hikes. Saturday we are taking teen grand daughter and grand son to the zoo and the weather will be great!
This is short tonight. I am tired and hope to be able to slip into bed early...xx6 -
Greetings! I have been partaking in this LA thread since June of ‘22 and it has made such a huge difference in my life. I have met some very kind and smart people on here and hope to continue to be 99% AF.
Thinking of May goals overwhelms me, there’s so much to do, so I’m just going to keep it simple:
99% AF
Weight loss of 4-5 pounds
Get moving
5/1: AF
Worked my tail off yesterday. Narcissa wasn’t the issue. Springtime and everyone coming out of hiding from COVID/winter was. And aaaaalllll the new puppies and kittens 🥰
5/2, 5/3, 5/4 AF
Not feeling well but have been reading all the posts.7 -
2timesacharmmfp wrote: »Checking in- 1 AF 1 A so far this month, but that "A" was birthday drinks planning to remain AF until Friday to start the month with 1 A, 3 AF.
Happy Birthday! Woo hoo!4 -
SunnyDays930 wrote: »Hi! I am back for May. I've totally dropped red wine which was my bestie. Now trying to drop the white. I've cut back a lot ( I am on Wegovy which helps) and have lost 10 lbs from a recent high.
Good luck to all, whatever their goals may be.
Wow that’s amazing! Are you finding you’ve lost the taste for alcohol while on Wegovy?
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