LESS Alcohol ~ NOVEMBER 2023 ~ One Day at A Time
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AF - 10
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forestdweller1 wrote: »@lmlmrn ...for your marrow bones, have you tried any of the Amish in your county ?? Somewhat of a closed community, but once you make friends, they are the loveliest people. They built me a huge pole barn with an attached furniture stripping room for my antique business in Southern Maryland. Quality workmanship.
End of Summer each year for decades I would drive over the river & order a turkey for Thanksgiving, and pick it up on Tuesday, ready to cook. Today in DaBurgh I have a grocery store bird trying to thaw in my fridge...definately not the same.
I would love to find an Amish outlet if you will. Unfortunately the majority of the Amish population is 2 hours + north of me. We bought quite a bit of furniture from them this summer/fall. But I never saw really anyplace to purchase bones. Or specific markets that were not catering to the tourist.
I did not stay AF yesterday, we did take GD (granddaughter) out to late lunch yesterday and I had 2 beers then home for a nap. However I did ask GD is she was OK if I had a beer and a nap before this trip. I could have gone either way but was feeling like a beer.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. I know I will have a glass of wine later today. It is planned.
After all the festivities I am going to also have a whiskey and water when all the guests have departed for the evening.
HUGS to everyone
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12 AF
10 A
Not planning on any A today, but not counting it yet.3 -
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving celebration! I had every intention of keeping to NA drinks until dinner. That is, until everyone arrived all at once (early😠), 1/2 of the apps and drink station was not set up quite yet, and all of a sudden my stress level went through the roof! Everyone asking where to put the coats, say the hellos, which bathroom should they use, etc.
It was at that point that I realized why I start drinking so early during these holidays.
Ultimately, I had about 2.5 glasses of wine over the course of the day. Not horrible.5 -
DH and I went to my DD and DSIL’s home yesterday for their first hosting of Thanksgiving in their new home of 3 years. We took a family walk and enjoyed the gorgeous day before eating. DD cooked a full traditional meal and everyone overate, and oh my how blessed we are to have that much food available to us. The grand kiddies created turkey name placeholders for the 8 of us. Along with my DH, DD, DS and DDIL aren’t drinking at all - this made the day very light on alcohol. In the past, we might have drank at least two bottles of wine between us! I would count this as a LA holiday. I had my planned 2 glasses of champagne between 4-6 p.m. and one nice glass of Chardonnay to finish an open bottle when we arrived home at 7:30 p.m.
Planning on AF and much lighter eating today!3 -
Oh happy holiday week!
Yesterday on Thanksgiving was the first time in my 64 years alive on earth that I had to WORK on Thanksgiving. YUP.....I had been sheltered all those years until now. Not bad though, got paid plus an entire days holiday pay on top of those hours worked, Last night I booked us into a local hotel that was putting on a HUGE Turkey day buffet.
We ate very very well, literally rolled back to our room, unbuttoned pants from budging stomachs and drank two standard glasses of prosecco. I did not make the 11day AF streak I had planned. Nor did I have a meltdown that I changed my mind. I am still ahead of the game.
Love reading and seeing everyone participating and THANK YOU ALL for making our little thread so supporting, helpful and comforting to others. I am truely blessed knowing all my L.A. family.7 -
Made it past Thanksgiving and Black Friday with no drinks! Holidays, trips, and unexpected stress still are a big problem for me to master.
I drank a bottle of TOST faux-rose instead. I got a sugar high from it. I did have company and I had a bottle of wine along with a bottle of cognac that family brought over, both bottles staring me in the face for 2 hours and I didn't touch either
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In the past, it was always the case that if I drank on Thanksgiving, there was a good chance I'd kick off a drinking spree until New Years Day. I'm not letting this happen this time.
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@MissMay so sorry you had to work! That stinks.
Went to MIL’s last night for a little get together. No alcohol there, and only one slice of pizza. I love pizza but it doesn’t love me!
Got home and had DH make me an Old Fashioned. Yum. But had just one drink All day so that was more than enough. Today I start my AF streak until my birthday on Wednesday.3 -
@globalhiker - wow, you have mastered a way to stay AF through a big holiday and the following day, and that’s HUGE! Great job!
@MissMay sorry you had to work! It seems the hospitality industry really never sleeps. Glad your turkey plans turned out so nicely.
Was very successful with lighter eating yesterday but boy when 5:00 p.m. rolled around I was ready to open the small bottles of brut champagne again and did. Giving in was too easy.
I am going to stick with my NA choices today.
My desire and intention is to seize the day = to take an opportunity to act eagerly and decisively for LA!
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Good morning
Where has November gone? This is our last Sunday of Nov '23. Make it count!
I am starting the December LESS ALCOHOL 2023 early, anyone can start posting as of today to help support those of us that have been on our thread AND/OR for those that would like to begin or restart posting.
The holidays can be challenging, stress, gift ideas, getting together with unruly relatives drinking pressure galore.
@globalhiker WELL DONE!
@Womona oh yes pizza, so many varieties and choices and crusts and toppings! We have a joint around the corner. The Lost Pizza...it is superb and deadly to the hips and thighs.
@Michieb125 yes, the hospitality industry is demanding for sure. Love your seize the day reference.
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December LESS ALCOHOL LINK ~
Click here to be connected
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10904021/less-alcohol-december-2023-one-day-at-a-time#latest2 -
Sunday night post….
@MissMay’s early December post is timely! You must have known my November has not been on par with my goals. I took time today to look ahead at how I want the remaining 5 days of the month to look. No one said this is supposed to be easy!
To prepare for December, I just read (and will keep going) some much needed info that I found in the LA links (posted at the top of this thread each new month). I liked this gals approach to the topic of alcohol, whether you are interested in quitting or cutting back during the holidays and beyond.
https://unpickledblog.com/
Take good care of yourself this week.
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Anybody tired of turkey yet ??
Seriously considering celebrating next year by putting a very thick steak on the outside grill til medium rare and rustling up a big potato & a spinach salad.
On the other hand, I'd really miss the quarts of broth I get by boiling down the turkey carcass. Many lazy days of soup making on the woodstove the rest of the winter.
@Womona ...Happy Happy Birthday !! Have a Mocktail on me...I'm the white haired ol' lady at the end of the bar sipping Mt. Dew. 👵
Come December I'll put away the corkscrew until Christmas Eve. Feast of the Seven Fishes & cutting into the Panettone will require a bottle opening....
@MissMay ...thanks so much for continuing this thread and giving us a chance interact with friends we've never
met. Their stories are inspiring, insightful, sobering [don't we wish !!] and give hope for continuing on a LA path.
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@Michieb125 looking and planning ahead is never a bad idea. Thanks for the link. I had not heard of this book. Here is a quick reference photo for folks to see it.
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@forestdweller1 great to see your post. And thank you for reminding me of the incredible aroma of dead bird carcass boiling on the stove. Toss in some carrots,onions, celery and herbs YUM!
I made some haluski last week to remind me of my N.E. Ohio up bringing.
Give catpuccino a pat on the head from me 🐈🐈⬛3 -
My goal these last few days of November.
*Buy a new(ish) beautiful holiday stemmed glass at our delightful thrift store.
*Fill it with N.A. beverages sip, enjoy, repeat.
HAPPY MONDAY4 -
Less = 😁
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Thank you @MissMay for the early December start! I have already been thinking about it because there are SO many days where I normally wouldn't drink that have holiday activities planned- I'm still working on my game plan for them.
I've somewhat kept to my planned AF/NA days in November, tracking about 2 more "A" days than originally targeted but that means 16 AF which for me is more than any prior month - normally I'm around 10 AF. The big thing I need to focus on is sticking to my per day goals- some days I had allowed a bit more because I knew it would be a longer day, but I haven't been great about sticking to my no more than 3 rule. That is going to be key to December where I anticipate a few more "A" days
Thanksgiving was also extremely stressful due to things outside my control so the food and alcohol counts are not where I had hoped they'd stay. Plan is to stick to AF the rest of this week and give my body lots of veggies to help recover a bit.
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It’s Monday already!
AF last night! My goal is to have 12 AF days by the 30th - which is slightly less than my goal for the month. I’m very ok with this considering my two-week vacation and how I kept to my limits even when imbibing.
@MissMay thank you for posting a visual of the book, Unpickled.
I am not personally promoting this authors work, but wanted to share I found some great tips and quick snippets that I could quickly read though in the am or pm on the website as well; they are listed under subheadings on the website.
One suggestion for LA or AF days is the idea of substituting the time we sit with an alcoholic drink in hand for a healthy habit I.e. a new exercise, a hobby, or anything that is life giving to yourself. . I cringe when I think of refilling my wine glass on those nights watching TV! Another one is how to plan ahead to leave early from a party with alcohol flowing.
Today I’m making turkey pot pie with the bird we roasted on Friday (white meat already pulled off the bone). All the sides are gone and I’m with @2timesacharmmfp - also time for more fresh vegetables this week to get my system back on track.3 -
Hung out with heavy drinking friends on Saturday. I limited my total drinks for the day to 3. This is huge because the old me would have had triple that amount or more with them... 8
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@xbowhunter : I feel like I’m on your wavelength.
I took the whole TG week mostly off (a little work thrown in). I drank 2 beers almost every night. Mostly, <5% ABV 16oz, but with a couple of strong ones, too. I certainly paid for it in lost sleep. I had only one night where my stomach rebelled, and that was TG itself— we had a dessert rum drink that was strong plus all the food. I needed my trusty Pepto to handle that.
Still did a 5k on Black Friday morning that went well. And, a hike on Saturday that was fantastic. Lots of work cooking and cleaning (we were hosting). Lots of joy and fun!
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The score:
AF: 16
A: 10 🦃5 -
So I am still feeling great from Thanksgiving......I did make my beef bone broth as well as pint jars of turkey stock. All have been sealed and put away in our garage for later.
LOL about being tired of turkey. We did not have any left over per se but I have 3 more frozen ones in my freezer. But I may just slowly thaw them enough to cut them up and refreeze. More manageable portions for two people. But heck they were on sale and DH really likes turkey. We cook one for his birthday every year in Feb.
I am still going to pat myself on the back for the continued less alcohol, not none. Most days seem to be AF and when I do have something, again it is typically now 1 glass of wine with a meal. Not the entire bottle. Sheesh I opened a bottle of KJ on Thanksgiving and did not see the end until yesterday evening.. So I will call that a win!....DH also had some of that bottle.
I am not ready to start the elimination diet I had planned. It is only 10 days but still. mentally I need to gear up for it since it is a lot of foods I don't typically eat or prepare. And yes it is more of a Mediterranean type diet with a lot of kale, swiss chard etc. not foods I am familiar with. So I may do some type of version of this.
On the happy side, I think I finally have a viable sourdough starter. I tried to mill my own whole oats to make flour and after 6 days it was getting thick but I did not see any bubble activity. so I bought some Bob's Red Mill flour and it looks like it is going to take off. Tomorrow will be day 7 and bubbles are happening.
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Michieb125 wrote: »
One suggestion for LA or AF days is the idea of substituting the time we sit with an alcoholic drink in hand for a healthy habit I.e. a new exercise, a hobby, or anything that is life giving to yourself. . I cringe when I think of refilling my wine glass on those nights watching TV! Another one is how to plan ahead to leave early from a party with alcohol flowing.
This is so right! TV watching with mindless wine-refilling (which usually leads to mindless snacking) is definitely one of my stumbling blocks! Focus for December is being mindful and living in the moment instead of refilling in the moment
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@Jthanmyfitnesspal - your tallies for November are admirable! I enjoyed those numbers for many months and will get there again.
@2timesacharmmfp - so true! Mindless drinking leads to mindless snacking for me as well. I read salty snacks are a typical craving and that’s me all the way. I like your resolve of living in the moment.
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I am officially out of the every day drinking pattern I adopted through the Thanksgiving weekend. AF last night and feeling really good about it!
I made a surprisingly delicious pot pie as well. Maybe ate a bit more than I should but it was worth it and no A. Now I’m heading to the gym for an hour, then going to decorate my Christmas tree later!
Another AF day ahead for me.
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So great hearing about everyone's holiday (even @MissMay's working holiday, but it sounded like a really fun recovery!). How did I miss @Womona's birthday? Belated happy wishes to you! You guys--all of you-- are doing fantastic with the various forms of less... it's really inspirational!
Loved the holiday. All the daughters were home. It was joyous. One is not coming home for xmas, so that is a little sad. I always feel a little sad when the hustle and bustle departs. We had many family meals here with assorted compliments of boyfriends and friends in addition to the Thanksgiving feast with grandparents. So it was a lot of cooking! Jenga refrigerator for sure! We have eaten all our leftovers (didn't have many because I cooked for the number we had), and I used half the carcass for one gallon of stock that has been consumed and the other half is in the freezer waiting to become stock.
It was a less alcohol holiday compared to last year, I suppose, but by no means compared to a normal week. We had several cocktail hours, and I served mocktails that were a surprise hit. One daughter isn't drinking these days (aggravates her stress as she was gearing up for her first CPA exam) and one boyfriend never developed a taste for it (he's the one in med school for neurology- go figure). Inspired by @MissMay 's "pink bubbles" I picked up some FeverTree grapefruit soda (I think that was what you had in LV?) when we were at the wine store. When I had some, I was actually expecting it to have that quinine tonic taste, but it's really just soda. So I did half grapefruit soda, half FeverTree tonic with a squeeze of lime and a strip of grapefruit zest in a coupe. Honestly, it was by far more popular on Thanksgiving than the carajillo's I also served in coupe's. We had wine with the meal and opened 2 bottles for 10 people, which is more moderate than past holidays. The whole week still felt pretty indulgent, to be fair. I'm pretty sure November overall was not less.3 -
2 more days to November left, where did it go?
Still AF and not counting because if I start, I will convince myself I now deserve to reward myself with bubbly wine. It happens all the time.
I did get hit with work stress yesterday and had to work into the night to meet a deadline so ran out and got a 6 pack of Corona NA beer to rescue me. LOL. The concept sounds ridiculous but I felt better after drinking two. It tastes pretty good with lime.
No more turkey for a year Looking forward to a Louisana cajun seafood boil for the holidays. You guys down south please send over your secret recipes
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AF - 14
A - 14
Cheers!3
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