LESS Alcohol ~ AUGUST 2024 ~ One Day at A Time

Womona · August 21

NonnieDoiron wrote: »

AF - 10
A - 6

Had a glass of wine with dinner. Hubby had his pre-op appointment for the last stage of his cancer treatment and he is REALLY emotional about it. I decided he needed a large margarita. So, we went to dinner. He drank and cried all through dinner. He’s now asleep, and it’s only 7:30.

I ache for your husband, as I’m sure you do too. Tell him he has a big cheering section here. Hugs to you, for going through this with him. Hope his procedure and treatments go well.

Womona · August 21

Finally had only one glass of wine last night. That urge to have “just another half glass” is so strong, and I’ve been unable to resist it lately. I guess I have to go back to micro-sips to make the wine-drinking experience last longer. Also, I need to get back to my habit of having a non-alcoholic drink such as flavored seltzer before I reach for the wine. I’m really struggling to cut back, and have such admiration for all of you with these AF streaks. I can’t even imagine that right now.

Had our big Sectionals tennis tournament this past weekend. I lost one game Saturday, badly, but handily won Sunday’s match. We will not be advancing to Nationals, but that’s ok. I had a great time hanging out with my team and supporting them through the ups and downs this weekend- two courts lost in a really, really, REALLY close tiebreaker. Heartbreaking.

Had a weird experience of bad depression and ennui Sunday (after the match) and Monday. Maybe the adrenaline of getting through the last two weeks of intense preparation finally left my body? Sunday Scaries? I honestly don’t know, but I was very out of sorts for two days. Better now, but it was so weird!

Michieb125 · August 21

Stayed AF last night and will do it again tonight. Have no desire after the A streak with family several days in a row. That got to me! I want my intermittent days back!

I was also so lethargic yesterday after entertaining for several days. The physical and mental exhaustion caught up to me, but I allowed myself to really rest so today I feel much better. The cold is improving instead of worsening……I will still take it easy today.

Current:
AF days - 8
A days - 13

looneycatblue · August 21

Tally: 11 AF

/ 1 A

12 days in... that familiar craving snuck up on me last night when fixing dinner... told myself that it is just an old habit not wanting to die off. Poured myself some Cran/Cherry topped off with sparking water.
Wallah!!! Beat out the craving!

Michieb125 · August 21

@Womona loved hearing about your tennis sectionals tournament! These games are not for the light hearted as I know how hard you work and the mental and physical practice it takes to stay in the game (baby sister also plays at this level).
Feeling down and out of sorts is probably to be expected after a period of heightened (good) anxiety that it takes to mentally and physically prepare for sectionals and bring your best. Glad your feeling better!

@NonnieDoiron thinking of you and your husband today and sending wishes for a successful surgery and speedy recovery for him.
Strength for you too.

@MissMay you continue to inspire me! Thank you for being our fearless leader.

@SurferGirl1982 you are rocking your AF days! @looneycatblue you too! One day at a time you both are so inspiring!

@chicbuc and @SparkSpringtime69 your numbers are impressive! I’m trying to catch up this week to get my stats closer together as well.

Where is our good friend @xbowhunter - thinking of you!

Michieb125 · August 21

So true, @looneycatblue! “An old habit not wanting to die off.” Mixing sparkling waters and juices to make non-alcoholic tasty drinks sounds like a great new habit!

MissMay · August 21

This pic is for those having that urge from the little A devil.
Plus the fact the first drink wants you to have another drink.

chicbuc · August 21

@MissMay Good luck on your streak! And as always, thanks for the encouragement

@Michieb125 Even if you can't do a totally AF day, your still cutting down and that's a good thing

@looneycatblue Good job beating back that craving

@Womona Those evening wine cravings are no joke. Do what you can and don't beat yourself up. Glad you're on the mend from your dive into the blues. Hope you continue to feel better

I'm sitting at the office right now trying to talk myself out of a bottle of wine on the way home, and it's stupid. I had bloodwork yesterday, and my liver enzymes are slightly elevated. Nothing major (ALT is 35), and tbh since I've dramatically decreased my consumption since the end of March, I'd be willing to bet they were more elevated in March than they are now, and I just need to keep on the right path.

Hope everyone has a great night!

NonnieDoiron · August 22

AF - 13
A - 8

Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers. The surgery went very well today. Now we wait 3 months for the radiation to dissipate, so he can hold the grand baby again. 😕

AF tonight. Supposed to weigh in tomorrow morning, and I just don’t think the scale will be headed in the right direction. The weekend got away from me, and I think I ended up blowing it. But, I guess we’ll see what the scale has to say.

Good night everyone. It was a very early morning, and I’m exhausted!

Womona · August 22

Only one glass of wine tonight! No “just another half glass” for me! Woo hoo!

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

This is for all the wine drinkers. I was just curious. And I'm not trying to be a smart*kitten". How much wine is in a glass of wine. For me, it would probably be 12 to 16 ounces 😁 For others, it may be 4 ounces. Just wondering!

That reminds me of a story. Back in the late 70's, an old boyfriend and I decided we were going to cut down on drinking. We told each other we could each have one beer one night. So, we went to the store and we were looking at the beer case. Well, we both reached for this one can of beer that was in a huge can (probably 32 ounces). Hey! It was still just one beer 🙂

By the way, I weighed-in this morning and I lost 8.6 lbs since August 7th. The weight loss is slowing down. But I'm still making progress.

It's an AF day again today.
AF - 15
A - 6

forestdweller1 · August 22

Standard glass of wine is 5 ounces....in a huge glass that looks unimpressive, but, then the "wine must breathe" .

August
A - 0
AF - 21

Twenty one ?? Did I dood dat ?? Much better at abstinence than moderation.

netjim66 · August 22

I tried losing weight for 4 years. Counting calories, exercising... It wasn't until I was able to cut my drinking down to a few nights a week (as opposed to EVERY DAY), that the weight started coming down.
Even adding the beer calories, and sticking to a count didn't help.
I had to NOT DRINK to make a difference. I guess maybe "different calories", or maybe I ate more after drinking and didn't realize it. IDK

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

@forestdweller1 Thanks for the explanation. I do remember hearing that "wine has to breathe".

You're doing really well. Twenty-one days is awesome 🎉 You've gone the entire month so far!

Abstinence works better for me also. When I try to moderate my drinking, I end up doing OK for a while. Then it's back to daily drinking.

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

@netjim66 I just saw my eye doctor today. He's a retinol specialist, MD. I told him that I quit drinking and that I was on my 15th day AF. One of the first things he asked me was if I had lost any weight? I told him 8.6 lbs. He said that alcohol affects every system in our bodies including metabolism.

A couple of years ago, I was AF for four months. I lost 30 lbs without even trying. Alcohol definitely hinders weight loss.

Womona · August 22

netjim66 wrote: »

I tried losing weight for 4 years. Counting calories, exercising... It wasn't until I was able to cut my drinking down to a few nights a week (as opposed to EVERY DAY), that the weight started coming down.
Even adding the beer calories, and sticking to a count didn't help.
I had to NOT DRINK to make a difference. I guess maybe "different calories", or maybe I ate more after drinking and didn't realize it. IDK

Welcome!

This is really true, and I’ve experienced this myself. I’m sure it has to do with how our bodies process alcohol vs. actual food.

Womona · August 22

Off to the gym this morning for this week’s hard workout, which I haven’t done in a while due to gearing up for these tennis matches. First day back is going to be a killer, but I’ll take it easy with the weights. I have to!

chicbuc · August 22

netjim66 wrote: »

I tried losing weight for 4 years. Counting calories, exercising... It wasn't until I was able to cut my drinking down to a few nights a week (as opposed to EVERY DAY), that the weight started coming down.
Even adding the beer calories, and sticking to a count didn't help.
I had to NOT DRINK to make a difference. I guess maybe "different calories", or maybe I ate more after drinking and didn't realize it. IDK

Also, our bodies process alcohol first before anything else to get rid of the poison. So food gets digested last. If we're drinking before we go to bed, the body can't do what sleep was meant to do and restore us until the alcohol is gone. Even knowing this and trying to lose weight, I still drink. Dumb, I know.

My glass of wine is usually 10 oz. I know exactly where the 10 oz mark is on glasses

MissMay · August 22

Funny, not funny prosecco glass story.

Had no clue about wine ounces, etc in a glass for reasons or theories.

We would go to this one nice place on the pier to eat. The one waiter took a liking to us and introduced me to my first prosecco.

He brought it to the table in a giant red wine glass, spilling over the brim.

Many trips with us going back there he would repeat the same thing. It did not seem odd to me until he no longer worked there and our new waiter got an ear load from me about the skimpy size glass and pour.

Owner came over to table to explain our previous favorite waiter had to be let go for drastically over pouring drinks to his customers.

I did a big gulp there and realized our favorite waiter was buttering us up and getting us happy so he would receive a nicer tip.

My lesson was learned about glass sizes and pours.

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

@MissMay Funny story! I've been known to tip really well at bars, etc. It really does help with the customer service 🙂

In Oregon, the lottery has video poker machines set up in bars, restaurants (any place where alcohol and food are served). When I moved to my current home (13 years ago) there was/is an establishment right across the street from me that has these machines. They don't just have poker. But all the types of games that you would see at a casino. They only sell beer there and they have a three beer limit. Well, in the beginning, I actually would do pretty well most of the time. And I would tip well. One day, one of the girls came up to me with a beer and said, "You do know that this is you're sixth beer, right?". The moral of the story is...tipping works!

PS...I had to Google prosecco. It's a sparkling wine.

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

I was thinking if I drank wine. I would probably add the wine to a glass with ice and add some wine. And then I would add club soda/sparkling water. I guess that wouldn't be a very classy way of drinking wine though. I wonder if it would "breathe"? 🤔

forestdweller1 · August 22

🤿 @SurferGirl1982 ...designated equipment for your wine glass.

@MissMay ....😹...so funny !! As a bartender in the '70s I learned to keep my pours and my skirts short, keeping Boss and customers happy.

My Chianti is poured into a 3 ounce milk glass juice tumbler [thanks, late Italian husband ]. Therefore, I can drink 3 glasses instead of just 2.
9 ounces instead of 10. Mind "kitten".

August
A - 0
AF - 22

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

@forestdweller1 *LOL* 🙃

SparkSpringtime69 · August 22

SurferGirl1982 wrote: »

I was thinking if I drank wine. I would probably add the wine to a glass with ice and add some wine. And then I would add club soda/sparkling water. I guess that wouldn't be a very classy way of drinking wine though. I wonder if it would "breathe"? 🤔

This is called a spritzer.
@forestdweller I bar-tended the same way, but in the 80s

SparkSpringtime69 · August 22

August:
AF days - 9
A days - 12
Three reasons I'm not going to drink tonight:
I have a meeting tomorrow morning for which I need to have a very clear head.
I have a weigh-in on Saturday for a challenge I'm participating in this month and next.
I don't want to wake up tomorrow with a nasty taste in my mouth, which happens every morning after a night of wine.

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

@SparkSpringtime69 A spritzer. I didn't know my invention had a name 🤔

looneycatblue · August 22

Tally: 12 AF

/ 1 A

No cravings last night!

Let's see if I can make it to 7 in a row, last week I folded at only 6.

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

@looneycatblue You can do it...go for 7! Yesterday was 15 days AF in a row for me. But it does get hard sometimes.

Yesterday I had to travel 60 miles each way for a eye appointment. All the way home I was thinking about getting some whiskey.

I normally drink Canadian whiskey. But I've been thinking about switching to Jim Beam (if or when I drink) and making whiskey sours. A couple of years ago, some old friends came to visit. We went out to dinner and I ordered a whiskey sour. They were very tasty. But they include simple syrup (which is just sugar water). So I've never made them at home. Recently I found a recipe to make simple syrup with water & allulose (a fairly new sweetener with zero calories and it doesn't spike insulin). Anyways, whiskey sours have been calling my name lately. But, so far, I have resisted (including last night). Someday I will take a break and have an A day. But I would like to make 30 days AF first. We'll see 🤔

looneycatblue · August 22

@SurferGirl1982 You're killing it! Besides your husband, has anyone else noticed this change in you?

Nobody has said anything to me, yet. This morning was the 1st time I truly noticed a flatter belly in the mirror. I am currently down 5.4 lbs in 13 days. 25% there! Got about another 15 lbs to my goal, but nice to see some progress! The downslide has definitely slowed down, but that's okay, this is not a race.

SurferGirl1982 · August 22

@looneycatblue Nobody else has noticed. But we're not originally from here. So we don't have any real close friends (just acquaintances) in the area. And besides doctor and vet appointments, I haven't been out that much. Unfortunately, my closest friends live over 800 miles away. I miss being able to see them regularly.

That's great that you're losing weight. The weight loss does slow down. The first few days it's mainly water weight. But, slow and steady wins the race.

LESS Alcohol ~ AUGUST 2024 ~ One Day at A Time

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