LESS Alcohol ~ January 2024 ~ One Day at A Time

I’m doing a “damp January “, meaning my goal is to only drink if I am out socially. Most weeks that will mean AF 5 out of 7 days. That’s a huge improvement from what I’ve been doing lately! I’ve gotten into a habit of pouring a glass of wine when I start cooking dinner in the evening. My hope is to lower my BP, sleep a bit better, lose weight easier, oh, and save a few dollars!

AF—2 days

Well nice to be back. Holidays were mixed. About half between Thanksgiving and New Year were AF. The Holiday period for me ends 1 January which is also my wife's birthday. We had house full of kids-grandkids and friends. I did most of the cooking News Years Eve, and was quite a feast (unhealthy) and all. Coupled with watching Michigan play in the CFP and score a nice win. 2023 was not a great year. Lost my father who was a great guy. My sisters and I were comforted he lived a long happy life....his way. For 2024 I mostly just don't want to drink. I turn 60 this year in July. I'd like to get to a healthy weight by then. This could also be my last year working full time. Financially I could be ready to retire full time in November, but per a couple of classes I took, I have not fully figured out what I would do with those 50 free hours Monday-Friday of suddenly free time. If you don't have a plan, it's a danger zone for drinkers. So 2024 for me is all about figuring out a plan for my post work life.

Yesterday was a bit of a battle to not have a drink at the end of the stressful day, but success
AF Jan 2 of 2 days goal of 25 total

Happy New Year! Holidays hit hard but I'm back and also doing a Damp January.

Taking goals day by day- so far 1 A, 2 AF (counting today already as I'm fighting off a nasty virus and know there is no way I can or want to have anything today!) Really wanting to be mindful of AF day totals and amount per day. Being brutally honest with myself, some of the drink counts over the holidays were way over anything I should ever consider and it all comes down to that mindfulness aspect. But I know that I want to improve this part of my life before it started impacting anywhere else. One small change I made is to change my profile picture on here from me with a glass of wine to me at the beach with my daughter (she's not pictured).

For Damp Jan, using the Reframe app again is helpful. It's pricey for a whole year, but they had an option for 30 days at $5 so I opted for that.

wendydancer1 wrote: »

My goal is 250 calories or less from alcohol.

I don’t like to criticize anyone in this difficult struggle, so you must do your thing.

My TDEE is ~2000kcals/day. When I want to cut, I shoot for 1500kcals/day. I have never lost weight while drinking daily— I’ve had to limit to once a week or less (usually I go dry for a while).

The problem is that I need the food! If I add the alcohol, I get too hungry both that day and the next. And it’s hard to maintain good habits when I drink.

Jan 1-3 AF and I am down 3 lbs. It is no coincidence. I made a huge pot of vegetable soup yesterday and it is so hearty and filling. It's like a bowl of good health. I'm going to try to keep soup on hand as it IS helpful for weight loss and maintenance since it fills you up. I'm having tea for happy hour now which has been fun. So far I am not tempted to drink. Here is the link to the soup recipe I used. I only used 1 potato since it was large.

https://www.hummusapien.com/vegetable-soup/#tasty-recipes-23058-jump-target

Hi Everyone, Kind of new to the group. I have read a few times to get inspiration. I have been retired for 2.5 years now and that helped reduce my alcohol consumption quite a bit. No longer a daily drinker to relax. I still need to get rid of more alcohol to lose weight and improve my health further. So I am doing a "nearly dry" Winter/Spring (Jan - June). Just a few (<20) social occasions where my goal is to limit to 2 units of alcohol. Using the "Try Dry" app to track. I didn't set my goal till Jan 2 but still Jan 1 counts as over the limit.

Goal Results (# of days)
AF: 2
A (as planned): 0
A (over limit): 1

@Pokey4321 Adding my condolences to you about your dad. What a lovely thing to be able to say, that you and your sisters are comforted by how he lived. It's truly a beautiful reflection, and I hope my kids feel that way someday (far in the future )

Eased back into ST this week, emphasis on "ease," and yet the DOMS is real. Worked up the nerve to get on the scale after holidays and a week of travel and am middle of maintenance range. Confirms my mental effort will be best spent on building back that ST routine vs food intake, which on an average basis is pretty consistent.

@Jthanmyfitnesspal and @wendydancer1 I hear you on alcohol calories edging out food. I'm operating at 250 calorie lower TDEE than you (inclusive of cardio). I'm also pretty lean to start with and can't tolerate large deficits for more than a couple days. I lose slow-- 1/2lb per wk. My husband scoffs at such a slow rate of loss (he's taller), but then, I am essentially at goal and he isn't, so maybe it's a case of slow and steady for the W.

I banked calories for wine on weekends for years. Trying to build muscle mass made me realize I needed more food, not less, on ST days which are weekdays for me. Hence calorie banking worked fine for weight goals but not for body composition goals. Feels like the more I focus on health, the less room for alcohol. Go figure.

January Goals! AF 5 days/week.

Happy New Year everyone! 🎉 I'm looking forward to a healthier year with you!

JAN 1: 3 Drinks. 🍷🍷🍷
JAN 2: AF ✅️
JAN 3: AF ✅️
JAN 4: AF ✅️