LESS Alcohol ~ JULY 2024 ~ One Day at A Time

NonnieDoiron · July 26

@Womona losing a fur baby is never easy. Lost a few of my own. Lots of love, hugs, and prayers to you.

AF - 17
A - 7

Enjoyed some wine tonight. A stressful day at work that will flow into tomorrow. I wish I could have my old job back, but without the catty b*tches.🙁

Womona · July 26

Hi everyone, thank you for your very kind words about losing my dog. You are all so sweet, and so compassionate. I truly appreciate it.

Womona · July 26

Proud of myself, only had a glass and a half of wine last night, which is down from my usual two!

tmbg1 · July 26

15 AF
11 A

Michieb125 · July 26

Happy Friday……logging for accountability along with tonight’s planned AF tally.

Current July:
AF days - 11
A days - 15

Michieb125 · July 26

@Womona - thank you for posting a photo of Moose, your sweet fur baby! I understand how saying goodbye to a furry family member can be so difficult. I hope he is playing with my other two pups over the rainbow bridge!

MissMay · July 26

@SurferGirl1982
I don't need to know what your daily consumption is. But you may want to start by just cutting back instead of trying to get to a full blown AF day. I found this extremely successful back when I was trying to drink TONS LESS.

I was a daily drinker, And also could put the drinks down pretty easy which resulted sometimes in having on an average of 6-7 a night (sometimes more). Because I worked and never drank at work that means I consumed an obnoxious amount of alcohol in let's say a 5 to 6 hour window at night.

I began by cutting my count down, Even by cutting back to 5 a night the first time was a HUGE HUGE win. Then I made a game out of it because I am a numbers person. If I did have one alcohol free night followed by drink nights. The next AF span I would have to add on a day. Making the number of AF consecutive days increase (1, then 2, then 3, etc). The first 7 days AF to call it a complete week was amazing. Pretty soon I was celebrating my first 31day AF streak = ONE MONTH.

It is all written within these many pages and years of being on LESS Alcohol ~one day at a time~ I believe it is in the threads from 2018.

I believe you will get to where you want to be. At your own pace your own way. As most of us found our own productive path here and went down it.

Accountability: July 2024
A=1
AF=25
Last consecutive AF streak---June 15-July1, 2024

tmbg1 · July 27

16 AF
11 A

MissMay · July 27

MissMay wrote: »

Last consecutive AF streak---June 15-July1, 2024

CORRECTION
Last consecutive AF streak
June 15 - July 18, 2024

SparkSpringtime69 · July 27

July:
AF = 12
A = 14

SurferGirl1982 · July 27

@MissMay

Thank you for your help and concern.

I know you said you don’t need to know my daily consumption. But I don’t mind sharing. I’ve probably been drinking about 750ml of whiskey a day. The reason I don’t know the exact amount is because I always have about a pint left over in the morning. Part of the problem is I’m retired. If I still worked, I would have to behave myself.

In 1996, I moved to another state to live with a friend. We lived in the country and I was driving to a town (about 15 miles away) to fill out an application for a job with the city. To make a long story short, I had a panic attack along the way and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. To this day, I’m still afraid to drive at times. The panic disorder has now extended to alcohol. I’m afraid to be without it in the morning.

This past April, I did pretty well. I had 16 AF days. So, I know I can do it.

A few years back I did quit by tapering off. But it’s hard for me to do right now. I have five appointments this month. Well, one is with the veterinarian for my cat. Anyways, I have one this coming Monday and another on Thursday. So, I just don’t have the time to taper properly right now. But I’m going to try to be AF tomorrow, so I’ll feel well for my appointment on Monday. I am going to make the appointment!

NonnieDoiron · July 28

Friends and family in town. Got drunk last night and had one glass tonight. First drunk night in a while.

AF - 17
A - 9

Michieb125 · July 28

@SurferGirl1982 - we all have a back story and it takes some courage to share, thank you. As you said you can do this, but yes it is hard being retired. There are several of us here who are also retired or no longer working! Another way to decrease alcohol in a drink is to add more and more mixer over time. Hence reducing the amount of alcohol. I also had to come up with new hobby’s or interests to replace the daily habit. You might also like reading some older posts from 2022, and 2023 to read about many many experiences and get some great tips from others on how they are going about their less alcohol journey.

Michieb125 · July 28

Over the last couple of days I had unplanned wine and Prosecco because I allowed frustrating car problems (hence a costly fix) to drive my decision instead of logic! And, did a bit of celebrating the completion of some major work in the backyard. This is also derailing my weight loss goal, grrrrr.

For this month, I do know I won’t reach my AF days goal. Rather, I am going to focus on the fact that I can end July with more AF days than June - by at least 9 for the month! Thats my goal counting down to August.

SparkSpringtime69 · July 28

July:
AF = 13
A = 14

SurferGirl1982 · July 28

@Michieb125 I've tried adding more mixer before. But then I tend to swig off of the bottle. I know "bad!".

I'm really nervous about my appointment tomorrow. I really need to make this appointment because I've rescheduled before. I'm just afraid of how I'll be feeling.

I do have a pint of whiskey for today. But that's down from my usual. I just need to tough it out. And then I think I really need to be just alcohol free. Moderation doesn't seem to work for me. I'll do good for a while. I'll drink just a half pint three days a week. Then, it goes up to a pint three days a week. And the next thing I know, I'm drinking daily again.

I used to have lots of hobbies. But they all revolve around drinking. I'd go to the beach. But bring a 6-pack with me. We'd go boating or fishing and the same thing. To me those things aren't any fun without a drink in my hand.

I know what you mean about drinking alcohol and weight loss. I once quit for four months and dropped 30 lbs without even trying. Then I started drinking again and gained it all back.

Well, I'm really hopeful about August.

July:
AF - 0
A -28

NonnieDoiron · July 29

AF - 18
A - 9

Staying AF tonight. I’m tired, and I need a good night’s sleep.

Weigh-in tomorrow morning. I’m nervous because I’ve been eating horribly this weekend. But, I have to suck it up and stop avoiding the scale. Take ownership.

Wedding anniversary is Wednesday. Planning something simple, dinner and movie. Going to make it AF.

Kids start school on Thursday, my son starts his senior year and my daughter her freshman year. My babies got too old too fast.

Going to work on a deep clean of my kitchen next weekend. I keep sticking to my floor🙁. But, I had so many people in and out this weekend, I’m not sure if they spilled stuff and didn’t clean it up good or it has just been that long since I last cleaned it good.

Anyway, hope every one has a good week and finishes the month strong!

DrBenja · July 29

It’s lovely to see everyone’s progress and support.

Womona · July 29

What is the deal with cocktails at a restaurant being doubles? I had a delicious Dad’s Hat Manhattan on Friday night but that thing was huge! Then a glass of wine with dinner.

THEN I drunk-texted someone. It did not go as planned.

The rest of the weekend was 2 drinks Saturday, 3 yesterday. But I feel fine this morning. Was not feeling fine being hung over on Saturday!

Womona · July 29

@SurferGirl1982 I am sorry to hear about the panic attacks while driving. I experienced that a few years ago, the back roads were fine, but the highways? Forget about it! It’s a lot more common than you think.

For me, I had gone off an SSRI for a few months and then the panic started happening. Once I went back on a different one, the problem cleared up and driving is no longer an issue. But at the time, hoo boy do I understand the terror!

As for drinking, even one sip less is less alcohol. Plus going cold turkey on alcohol can cause alcohol withdrawal, and that’s dangerous. I’m no medical professional, of course, but I’ve read that titrating down a drink at a time is probably your best bet.

LESS Alcohol ~ JULY 2024 ~ One Day at A Time

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