LESS Alcohol ~ SEPTEMBER 2023 ~ One Day at A Time
Replies
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I can dig vampire hours, and totally relate to life not allowing rest. AF yesterday made it 11:11. Today, at the grocery, I'd put two beers in the basket for tomorrow and was on my way to the register when I spied my once a year small batch hard to come by Paulaner Oktoberfest brew with the 1l maß! Of course I added it to the basket, but neglected to take out the quads so tonight I am indulging in one of the quads. Two nights, one planned and one not. Tonight makes 11 AF and 12 A. I didn't eat too poorly today, and have been slowly but steadily dropping weight again, so there's that. Generally, I feel a lot better. My urge to drink isn't the urge from the last couple of months, the urge to drown myself and grieve in the bottom of a glass, it's back to hey, I truly enjoy the aroma, flavor, mouthfeel, complexity of this drink and the ritual of pouring, watching it settle, sipping while winding down for the evening. I still have my demons, my hurts, my monkey, they never leave, but that's another thing. I could drink with intentions of getting blitzed, but I'm not - I don't feel the need to do that now, and that feels very liberating. I don't know how much of that is down to just knowing it was time to get my head right and fix it, or how much is attributable to microdosing, it's hard to say, but I'm feeling a lot better than I've felt in a hot minute.
Anyway, my thoughts are with those of you who are going through stuff. I know the struggles, believe me I do. For the ones that are getting where ya wanna be, that is awesome, it's inspiring to the rest of us and I'm pulling for ya. Way to go, @xbowhunter; feel better, @zensome; @itladyee, I'm so sorry for your loss; @womona, two glasses here and there is better than some of what I've been doing these last few months, take the win!
About to call it for tonight, TTYL my friends.
-m4 -
13 AF
11 A7 -
Sunday morning check in. I always look forward to reading the posts here and hearing how you all are doing on this LA journey. Indeed, this is what makes us all relatable humans @zensome - we are on the same path towards LA - Aiming for progress and not perfection. I am very grateful I found this safe and supportive community.
@mfowler883 appreciate your transparency here and think you’re doing outstanding.
I did feel a bit of a pull to go get some wine last night after my DD shared some ongoing personal problems she’s going through. I’m on the fence that she is so open with me, and yet happy she trusts me enough to keep me informed, but then I know everything, worry, and can’t do much about it!
It was not easy to refrain from a store run being that it was also a Saturday night. Somehow, I told myself that I’ll wait on the wine, prayed and then made healthy pumpkin muffins instead.
Current:
AF - 14
A - 96 -
21 AF
2 A
7 -
mfowler883 wrote: »@mfowler883 if you haven’t already, check out Michael Pollan’s book on psychedelics:
I will absolutely put that on my list. The name is familiar to me for some reason. Yesterday, I bumped one of the .085g capsules of older mushroom up with some of the fresh Mazatapec to make a full .1g capsule. That's still considered pretty small but I like nice round numbers, so...
September so far: 1 AF, 0 LA, 0 A. No alcohol in the house at the moment.
-m
are you able to buy mushrooms legally in America? I did not know that. They are illegal in Australia1 -
i was drinking 1 to 2 bottles of wine a night. I swapped it out for having a couple of big glasses of Gin with sugar free orange cordial and soda. 2 big glasses is the same volume as a 750 ml bottle of wine, so in effect it was easy to consume the same volume. However, one shot of gin is only 90 calories so even it is 180 cal per glassx2=360 cal. Vastly different to 1200 for a bottle of chardonnay.2
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are you able to buy mushrooms legally in America? I did not know that. They are illegal in Australia
There are certain things here that are becoming easier to obtain as states and cities loosen restrictions. For now, though, the only way in most places is to order spores and cultivate.
About to crack that Oktoberfest to make it 11 AF and 13 A, 8 of which I'll call LA.
-m
1 -
It's inspiring to see all the people with majority "AF" days in September: @tmbg1, @Michieb125, @xbowhunter, and others. Good show! 👍🎉
I'm definitely going to end with Majority "A" for the month. My estimate so far is 17A, 7AF. I'd like to turn that around starting yesterday (which was AF).5 -
14 AF
11A2 -
Had a full day and just getting around to posting for yesterday. Had planned wine last night and heading for mostly AF days ahead. I’m going to a very good friends surprise birthday party on Thursday and will enjoy some Champagne for her big one. The month has been pretty good for LA, LS and exercise goals.
Current:
AF - 14
A - 103 -
Dropping in toward the end of this month. No reason to wait until October!
I'v been very off track all summer ... enjoying the expensive wine that DH buys. But then 1 bottle turns into 2 in an evening. Which is not sustainable.
After returning from a wonderful Scotland Highlands vacation for a little over 2 weeks and enjoying both wine with DH and special cocktails with my DIL ... I decided that I need to get back into better habits.
Soooooo
Monday morning I told DH that I'm targeting to be AF Mon-Thurs as a start on reducing my alcohol intake and CALORIES as I still have not lost weight this year. He said great he'll try to join me.
Well Monday night rolls around and he has a bottle of white wine chilled. I passed and he enjoyed it by himself. Not sure if he will join me tonight or not since we are now out of wine ... we will see.
Goal: Limit 2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days this month.
STARTING AGAIN 9/25 with Mon-Thurs AF as my goal for this week.
9/25 - AF
6 -
24 AF
2 A
Cheers!
Bring on the October AF challenge! 5 -
@Lilylady3k great to see you and hear how you are navigating LA. I can imagine how extra challenging it is with good wine on hand but way to go on looking out yourself.4
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Greetings, all. I've been out of the loop in glorious New Mexico all month and am kind of sad to be back home. A little overwhelmed by everything on my desk.
I was alone (and AF) M-Th and had family or friends all the weekends (lots o drinks). So I didn't improve or backslide appreciably either way. There were no scales (food or body) so I just guessed and I came home a couple pounds lighter. I guess it was the cool mountain air and good hikes.
The land of enchantment
@itladyee I'm really sorry about your sad news. Condolences to you. It's hard.5 -
New Mexico is nice - we went to Carlsbad a while back. Been doing good this week - 13 AF and 13 A.
-m4 -
@ahoy_m8 your photo of New Mexico certainly looks like the land of enchantment!
The month feels like it’s flying by and it’s hard to believe October 1st is a few days away.
AF until Thursday’s surprise birthday party for a special friend.
Current:
AF - 15
A - 114 -
@ahoy_m8 - Love your photo. Looks relaxing and hiking is such a great way to get those endorphins!
DH is really struggling with retirement ... not much to do because he is not trying to find something to do socially, volunteer, no close friend group (we both worked with people around the world and not focused locally). In addition that he feels the grass is always greener and wants to move away from our family, friends, home, lifestyle.
DH bought another 6 bottles of wine and opened a nice red for dinner. I passed again and he enjoyed the bottle on his own. The guilt is real. If I had a glass or 2 then my thought is he would drink less. But what I found is that he either opens a 2nd bottle or dives into the Bourbon after the first bottle is gone. So me trying to reduce his drinking an entire bottle by drinking myself is not the answer.
Burn rate is real. My daughter, her husband and my sister were all here on Saturday so some of those bottles were consumed by them. 6 bottles on Saturday $180 + 6 bottles on Tuesday $160 = $340
Moving on and focusing on what I can control ... my own alcohol intake.
Goal: Limit 2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days this month.
STARTING AGAIN 9/25 with Mon-Thurs AF as my goal for this week.
9/25 - AF
9/26 - AF7 -
Lilylady3k wrote: »@ahoy_m8 - Love your photo. Looks relaxing and hiking is such a great way to get those endorphins!
DH is really struggling with retirement ... not much to do because he is not trying to find something to do socially, volunteer, no close friend group (we both worked with people around the world and not focused locally). In addition that he feels the grass is always greener and wants to move away from our family, friends, home, lifestyle.
DH bought another 6 bottles of wine and opened a nice red for dinner. I passed again and he enjoyed the bottle on his own. The guilt is real. If I had a glass or 2 then my thought is he would drink less. But what I found is that he either opens a 2nd bottle or dives into the Bourbon after the first bottle is gone. So me trying to reduce his drinking an entire bottle by drinking myself is not the answer.
Burn rate is real. My daughter, her husband and my sister were all here on Saturday so some of those bottles were consumed by them. 6 bottles on Saturday $180 + 6 bottles on Tuesday $160 = $340
Moving on and focusing on what I can control ... my own alcohol intake.
Goal: Limit 2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days this month.
STARTING AGAIN 9/25 with Mon-Thurs AF as my goal for this week.
9/25 - AF
9/26 - AF
Hello Lilylady3k
I can relate. My spouse is still drinking and not getting the message. LOL
She doesn't drink too often but when she does I'm at the point now where it doesn't bother me at all.
AF 25
A 2
Cheers my friends!
5 -
Given that I will be majority A for September, maybe I can do the rest of the month AF. That would give me 14AF/17A. It's sobering to consider that ratio. (Yes, that's a joke! 🤓)
I won't count my AFs until the bottle stays corked, but that's my goal!
I'm also going for a Sober October to balance August and September's excesses. (Apparently, you can only take a month off alcohol if you can make a catchy phrase out of it.)
Wish me strength!7 -
@Lilylady3k your burn rate example - that is real! I used to buy so many bottles for fam but now can say that is behind us since interestingly, DH quit drinking entirely 9 years ago, while I continued. Now my thirty-something kids and I are now doing much less alcohol. I would NEVER have guessed that could happen but life can be funny that way. You are wise in that we can control only what goes into our bodies. Good going on your resolve!
@Jthanmyfitnesspal Your numbers for Sept. are actually worthy! I wish you good strength to finish strong!
Current:
AF - 16
A - 113 -
Goal: Limit 2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days this month.
STARTING AGAIN 9/25 with Mon-Thurs AF as my goal for this week.
9/25 - AF
9/26 - AF
9/27 - AF
DH & I talked early today and he said he wants to cut back on wine but he doesn't feel he can do what I'm doing ...
So evening rolled around and another bottle was opened. It was really really hard not to pour myself a glass. I mean really hard. Third night ... hanging in there. Went to the fridge and poured myself an AF Fever Tree Lime & Yuzu. Then switched to water.7 -
AF today, 14 AF, 13 A. Tomorrow is the dueling tree competition, wish me luck or at least fun...
-m3 -
17 AF
12 A3 -
27 AF
2A
Cheers!
Bring on the October challenge! 3 -
Goal: Limit 2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days this month.
STARTING AGAIN 9/25 with Mon-Thurs AF as my goal for this week.
9/25 - AF
9/26 - AF
9/27 - AF
9/28 - AF
Made it through my Mon-Thurs AF challenge this week for the first time this year!!!!
I didn't let the open bottles of wine each night influence me.
Result ... my calories were on track and I lost 4 lbs this week. YEAH!
The weekend is here. My plan is to not have more than 2 glasses per day and then pick up the M-TH challenge again next week.5 -
@Lilylady3k I am impressed by sticking to your commitment of M-Th AF!!!! So awesome, and I know it’s hard! As for DH’s retirement struggles, I hear it’s common, especially for men. . It’s so important that he finds something though, to keep his mind and body in good shape. My husband is doing a mini retirement (just quit his job a month ago), and while he’s busy as a bee, the “stress drinking” has not slowed at all. I had hoped it would.3
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Well I blinked and September went by...and with that I completely lost count of AF/A days, drinks, food (this week was a heavy week at work with lots of free food. It was delicious but the scale this morning was a brutal dose of reality!)
The next few weeks are not going to be any better but I think it's a great chance to reevaluate my habits when I'm not able to stick to a routine and make it more lifestyle and less routine- like figuring out how to make my cozy meals lighter but still cozy...4 -
I went to my girlfriends birthday bash last night and had fun catching up with all the neighborhood gal pals. The hostess is a wonderful neighbor but goes too far out with alcohol at all her parties which I kind of forgot (like filling an empty glass every chance she gets). You know what I’m going to say……there was unlimited good champagne flowing and wine. I did imbibe as planned but I haven’t ingested that many bubbles all year so 1. I stayed up too late 2. Woke up too early. 3. I’m super heady this am. 4. Didn’t count the glasses of champagne but I am sure it was about 5 with my 2 wine, ouch. Honestly, I didn’t have a good plan going into the party like leave at 10 pm or count your glasses and stop. I’m too old for that anymore! Taking full responsibility for myself here and moving on. AF until October but I can even think about A right now.
Looking forward to LA in October!
Totals for September: AF - 18 / A - 124 -
@womona,@michieb125, @mfowler883, @ahoy_m8
Thank you all for your kinds words and expressions of sympathy. I appreciate it!
Lots going on and lots to focus on.... I will update in October thread.
October? Bring it!!!5 -
Hello - I know I have been out of pocket for awhile. I have been away for close to 3 weeks traveling in central Europe. Now back in the U.S., wine tastes literally yukky in comparison and it's so much more expensive here. And the food quality is not the same.
Anyway, I would like to re-join the effort for self-improvement this thread delivers. Looking forward to a positive and successful October and getting a chance to catch up with everyone.4
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