LESS Alcohol ~ SEPTEMBER 2024 ~ One Day at A Time

@SurferGirl1982

Thank you for insight! So far Sept has been AF. Lots if challenges in front of me including weddings and start of football, areas where I traditionally pound the alcohol down. Just need to be strong. Thanks!

AF - 2
A - 3

Calling tonight AF now. Don’t even have it in the house.

@forestdweller1 thanks for the encouragement. I am just overwhelmed with work, my son’s future, and… well… just everything basically. But, I’m trying to not let it drag me down and wallow at the bottom of the bottle. 🙂

@globalhiker I’ve wondered the same about sodas vs wine prices. My husband used to be a heavy soda drinker. He finally quit. He’s switched to iced tea and Monster drinks 🙄 I’m not sure those are any better. 😂

Welcome @Michelle9912 Glad you decided to join us. I stalked the group for a bit too before I decided to join. It has helped so much. I hope you get as much out of this group as you need. And don’t beat yourself up if you have a drink here and there, this is LA not AA! 😁

globalhiker wrote: »

5 days AF done.

For me, the only way I have been successful at mostly AF is not daily moderation but total abstinence. I can usually keep it going and never think about it for some months and get away with 1 random drink day here or there at a birthday party or celebration.

You're doing really well. I like your plan! Total abstinence with a random drink day here or there. That's really what I'd like for myself. Moderation on a day to day basis doesn't work for me because I can't just have a couple of drinks and say, "OK...That's all for today".

I've tried many ways to moderate my drinking. Some are almost comical:

• No drinking on Sundays or Mondays.
• Drink only on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Drink only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

I haven't been successful with any of them ☹️

I did really well last month. But so far this month, I'm having troubles getting on a roll. Last night after I posted, I went to the store and bought a half pint of Black Velvet. And I bought some today.

So September totals are:

AF - 1
A - 4

I really hope to get back on track tomorrow!

Popping back in tonight and thank you @globalhiker for sharing your wisdom. Kudos to you for finding your rhythm to abstain daily. That is worthy of praise!

No cravings tonight - happy about this…..hoping to go a couple more AF days before any planned Prosecco.

I’m having Himalayan pink salt popcorn tonight with a Watermelon Poppi drink. Quite satisfying.

I am not exactly off to a rollicking start this month. Two drinks every night since the beginning of the month, when my goal is one during the work week. Today we christen the boat and I know I will be at least two drinks overall today. My weight is creeping back up, but I also this it’s the pasta I’ve been eating all week- I need a lot more protein than I’ve been consuming! I’m not anti carb, but there is something at our pasta that I have trouble digesting. Clearly I need to go to Italy and eat the good stuff! Haha!

@SurferGirl1982, that's the spirit! You can totally do this. By the end of the month, we'll both weigh less too, even with sneaking in some food treats here and there.

I'm having a Yasso frozen yogurt (mint chocolate chip) tonight. Tastes like ice cream to me.

@Michiel125, I actually had 2 Poppi drinks today, they were on sale. The ingredients are way better than diet sodas. I really liked Ginger Lime. The orange one left a sweet aftertaste.

Last year I had a period of time where my husband and I would be AF every other day. It was easy to get through the 24 hours, but we both found that the day after we'd drink more than normal. So, no more drink cycling for me. This week husband declared he'd move forward with AF Mon-Thurs (4 days) and beer Fri-Sat-Sun. I see this cycle difficult since every Monday he'd have to re-experience that abstinence feeling but we'll see.

@MissMay congrats on 19 AF days straight and being such an inspiration, we'll be catching up to you soon

You all are doing so well, and I really am inspired by all the folks that have a set-back here and there, but pick it up and keep moving it forward.

For a long time I thought success for improving my relationship with alchohol had to be limited to something rigid like no more than x amount per week. I've decided success is more of a fluid process and just changing my thought process, trying other approaches to cut back/quit, and just sharing that I'm struggling is a huge success for me. I've sorta been quietly living in shame.

I did go over my target amount yesterday - but only by a couple ounces. The weekend will be the "big test"

Keep up the great work everyone!

@SurferGirl1982 you’ve been here long enough to know we don’t give up on anyone! 😉

AF - 3
A - 3

There I go, evened out. I’m exhausted this week has been a rough one. And, it’s not over. Oh well. Non-drink or weight-loss related goals for this weekend: clean the bathrooms, dust the living room (at least), can my chicken stock, cook dinner on Saturday and Sunday, and plan meals for during the week next week. I don’t think I’ve cooked all week, and my refrigerator is devoid of leftovers now.

@globalhiker - agree, the ginger lime Poppi is super good too. I had a Yasso chocolate fudge brownie yogurt bar for 100 calories twice now. They are my new obsession! Can’t wait to try the mint. Best wishes on the new drink cycling possibilities with DH. Putting in effort is always part of this journey.

Hi Everyone I really hate posting my weight. But I thought this graph may be inspirational. This shows my weights for the last six months. I had 16 days AF in April and 22 AF days in August (these were the only streaks I had for quite some time). The rest of the time, I was drinking and not weighing myself very often. But it shows the steady decrease in weight during AF times and then increasing weight during A times. Remember that I started my August streak on August 7th and I've been messing up for the last week or so.

PS...I weighed around 165 just a little over a year ago. I don't know what happened 😕

Last night was a bit of a struggle, but I just held firmly in mind that I didn't want a drink because I wanted a drink, but because the other half was drunk and he was a lot to deal with, and a drink would have made it easier to deal with. That's not a good reason.

So September:
A - 1
AF - 6

Much like y'all have said above, cutting the wine has had an epic effect on my weight loss. Not just because of the empty calories I'm not consuming, but also because of the self control and lack of cravings for grease etc.

Hi all. I have not been on MFP for a few years, but I have been continuing to work on my goals! I recently logged back in because I decided to use the calorie counter here as I switched to a different wearable health tracker device that works with MFP.

Anyway! I used these Less Alcohol threads a few years back as a catalyst to drinking less. Before that I was a daily drinker. Like half a bottle of wine at least. I'm proud to say I have completely changed that habit and kept it up for years. Now, NOT drinking is the default for me, but I do drink on occasion. Mostly vacation, special dinners out, every now and again on the weekend to unwind... but more often than not I opt for tea. I find it hard to believe I used to drink every night.

The benefits have been amazing. I just love how I feel everyday! Clear headed, well rested, and oh I've lost a bunch of weight too (30 lbs).

I still track how much I drink and I've been considering the idea of just not drinking anything forever. But I'm not the type to like "absolutes" in life, so I doubt I'll ever make such a declaration. But I continue to work toward less and less. Right now I'll have a hard cider or cocktail now and again. My biggest struggle is that my husband is a daily drinker, and seems to have no desire to change. It's created a bit of a rift between us. But that's a subject for another time I suppose.

So far in September I began my month with a little holiday away that did involve a beer or two, so I'm at 4/7 days AF.

My goal is to have 25/30 AF days in September!

Thanks for having me back and I look forward to supporting you all too.

@shorepine A big welcome back!! Your goals are inspiring!! It must be difficult when a spouse drinks regularly and there are a few on this thread who can relate!

I am also no longer a daily wine drinker but feel I have more wine during the week than I really want. Looking forward to ‘seeing’ more of you this month!