LESS Alcohol ~ AUGUST 2024 ~ One Day at A Time

AF - 14
A - 8

Horrible day… gained weight, under too much stress, and tired.

Still declaring AF night because I don’t have any and I’m too mad at myself for gaining weight.😔

@Womona your lighter beverage is a big LA win for you! I think I’ll have to give that a try…..very low calorie and alcohol content. Good job!

@csilverthorn22 you can set up notifications in the MFP app. Then when you are logged in you can see any notices on the small bell in the upper right corner when in any ‘community.’ At least that is how my view looks. Glad to see you are doing well!

@netjim66 I believe you’re correct, the calories from alcohol have to be burned off by our bodies before food….hence always slowing down the metabolism even if we are working out.

csilverthorn22 wrote: »

I’m logging cuz I have been slacking all week on logging and it makes me feel bad!
Since Sunday
Af- 3
On Tuesday I had a small glass of wine and tonight same , so a bit of a better week I guess but still - wasn’t planning on having any tonight and I’m a little bit down about it.. though there was 5 women on zoom and two at my table killing a wine bottle so it was a little chaotic to decline ..

We all have those off days, but kicking yourself doesn't help. Be sure to show yourself some grace when you start to feel bad or down - you just say 'that was yesterday' and move on to a better day and better thoughts.

SurferGirl1982 wrote: »

I almost broke down and bought some whiskey tonight. But I didn't. For some reason I've had whiskey sours on my brain for days. The funny thing is I've only had two whiskey sours in my entire life. Go figure!
AF - 16
A - 6

So happy to hear you didn't give in to temptation - keep that streak going!!

Happy Saturday LA friends- I can’t believe we are already approaching the last week of August!

Followed through with planned AF last night and stayed within my calorie range. Winning entry to weekend.

It is super exciting to see so many of you having great success - this journey is not for the faint of heart, way to go!

Having dinner tonight with my DDIL and we already planned for NA! I love that I can now ask her in advance what her intentions are for any A and we’re usually on the same page. Both of us are doing LA but she’s been doing better than me this summer. So her answer yesterday was no drinking for her and I’m like great! I could use an accountability partner tonight 💗.
We used to put away a LOT of wine whenever we got together ….she went LA around 2022 and I followed in Feb. 2023….this change feels so good!

@Womona The whiskey sours I had were more sweet than sour. I had them at a nice restaurant when friends visited. They were very tasty. I tried years ago to replicate. But they weren't as good as the ones from the restaurant. Plus they contain a lot of sugar. If I only had one, it wouldn't be a big deal. But that doesn't work for me 😕

Here's the recipe listed on Jim Beam's website: Whiskey Sour Ingredients:
1 part Jim Beam Black®
1 part fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 part simple syrup
1/2 part egg white
Preparation:
Build in a cocktail shaker. Shake, strain, and serve.

Anyways, I've given up on thinking of them. I just keep in mind how alcohol makes me feel in the morning. And the fact that if I drink one night, it will probably lead to daily drinking again. Not to mention all of the calories.

AF -17
A - 6

AF - 16
A - 8

Thursday was weigh-in, and I was up 1.2 lbs. Yesterday, I weighed again, and I was down to the previous week’s weight. Today, I weighed again, and I was down 2.2 lbs. I know it’s not the scale, so it’s me. It’s either the stress hormones from work, hubby, and MIL winding down, or the alcohol-induced water weight from this past weekend coming off finally. I don’t know, but I guess we’ll see if it lasts until next Thursday’s weigh-in.

AF tonight… still none in the house. Not sure I want it if it’s going to make my weight so damn wonky!😡

@MissMay...my bartending experience was not a career move, just desperately seeking a job to support my preschoolers after running from a bad marriage. A fine dining restaurant was opening & I thought I could learn to "waitress". Nope, the servers were to be male only...but...the Chef hired me [ never had a drink before ] as a bartender. The owner had installed a fancy-dancy "automatic bar" so it really didn't matter if I didn't know a daiquri from a Tom Collins, mostly just had to push a button & the machine did the work. Of course the fun happened when jokers from government installations in DC and Virginia came in to dine and made up drinks just to tease. I spent my first month running around behind the bar with a Bartender's Guide in one hand and a bottle in the other.
On Mother's Day the place was overbooked and the customers took their sweet time, entertaining Mom & Granny. Wall to wall patrons, drinking while waiting for tables. THAT was the perfect time for the automatic bar to self destruct, spewing 9 kinds of booze onto the floor behind the bar. Kicked off my ruined shoes and sloshed around ankle deep in alcohol, smiling and mixing drinks....
By that time I'd learned to mix drinks on my own and didn't mind that the auto-bar ended up in the dumpster. And, yes, Chef K bought me TWO new pairs of not cheap shoes.
'Twas an interesting year.
August
A - 0
AF - 24
Only halfway to 20 pounds off, but wanting to order wine anyway.

I was wracking up the wine days with 3 in a row. Yesterday, I spent the day with my granddaughter. We drove over 2 hours to see a play she wanted to see at a local (to that area) theatre. What a fantastic surprise that play was! I had never heard of it, Ride the Cyclone, but the storyline, acting, and singing were fantastic! We're already planning to go back when they have Annie in a month. It was after 10 pm when I got home, so I went straight to bed without pouring a glass and got a great night's sleep.

AF = 10
A = 14

Stayed AF last night as intended! DDIL and I made homemade Ahi tuna bowls with fresh caught tuna from that morning. So delicious. We each had a Stella NA and sparkling lime waters and I got home at 10:00. A very fleeting thought entered my mind - wouldn’t a glass of wine be nice? 👿 Decided a quick no, made some hot tea and went to bed instead. 😇

Going to church with DH soon. On Sundays I also like to bake, prep meals and cook, and then have some wine in the evening.
Oh I’d love to get back into that rhythm as summer fades away.

My numbers are farther apart than I would like at this point, but planning to finish strong this next week.
Have had a few LA days sprinkled in (that’s lower A content) but still count those days as A - it is or it isn’t!

May you find your best personal resolve today 💕

Current:

AF days - 9
A days - 15

I was thinking about getting a Fitbit. But I don't think that I would use many of the features. I would mainly just like a step counter. Any suggestions?

Update: I just found a watch that has a pedometer and doesn't require an app or smartphone (the brand is Hearkent). I have a smartphone. But I just don't think I would use all the features of a Fitbit. I definitely would not want to get phone notifications on my watch. That would be annoying to me.

Still not sure though. A watch type wouldn't count steps when mowing the lawn, etc.

Decisions, decisions 🤔