"SOBER OCTOBER"...and beyond?

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  • renae149
    renae149 Posts: 591 Member
    What a great report @SunnyDays930! And I totally hear you on the over eating! The last time my son was down we discussed our obstinate need for ice cream. He made reference to the need for "quick carbs". Which is understandable. Still is not helping my waistline!! :blush:

    Not much to report. Made it through Friday (my biggest challenge). Yesterday I got up and went shopping. Not high on my priority list, but something I enjoy about once or twice a year. And I had the energy to do it!

    We are going to BWW for the game today. I am practicing my "Club Soda with lime" statement as I know it will bring questions from the group we will be with. Nothing changes if Nothing changes....

    Days 7 and 8 behind me.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,410 Member
    Day 35 and getting stronger each day
    Going to watch the football game at a bar with friends. It's the same place that the bartender greets me with a club soda. I'm not worried.
    I may even get a massage after the game. Because I won't be drinking. It's nice to be able to make plans after an event.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,410 Member
    Quote by Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, you do better.”

    Now, that we know better, we are doing better. I really like that quote. <3
    Have a great day! I am not going to watch football at a bar after all. Our friends canceled. Hooray! Don't you just love when a cancellation brings you joy!?
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 764 Member
    edited October 27
    So happy to hear that your liver enzymes are within normal range. @SunnyDays930! Proof that your well-earned 34 days are working for you!

    @RubyRed427, I hope you enjoy watching the football game anyway! You must be relieved that you won't be surrounded by temptation, even though you are in much better control now!

    @renae149, past one week already! That's great! Congratulations on staying strong through your toughest day (Friday)! That's my toughest day too!

    Staying in today, but I will wait until evening before posting my 6th day.

    After I catch up on my boards, I plan to do some housework.

    Enjoy your day, everyone!
    💗 Carole 🌻
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 764 Member
    Hi everyone,

    Safe at home base!

    10/27: Day 006 AF

    I will check back in tomorrow.

    Have a nice evening,
    💞 Carole
  • renae149
    renae149 Posts: 591 Member
    Great job @Walela617 ! I knew you had it in you!

    @RubyRed427 Love the quote!!

    Another happy turn of events, as we showed up to watch the game yesterday, one of the other couples had water in front of them. Low and behold... they are "cutting back" on alcohol! Crisis averted and another sign that I am on the correct path for me. <3

    Here's to a healthy start to a new week! Happy Monday everyone!
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,309 Member
    Morning my no alcohol friends! :)

    Alcohol free for 42 days now. My longest streak in 2023 was 45days. I will easily surpass this. :)

    I have a wedding to attend this weekend. Will attend dry then drive home with zero worries of a DUI. So, refreshing! :)
  • renae149
    renae149 Posts: 591 Member
    Great job @xbowhunter !!
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,410 Member
    36 days AF

    The only bummer is I have been sick with sinus infection and a strange rash (maybe from the amoxicillin??) I'm itchy, uncomfortable and sleepless but I am sober.
    @xbowhunter You'll have fun at the wedding and wake up so happy, compared to most of the other guests who will wake up in pain.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,410 Member
    @Walela617 Congrats on nearly a week!
    @renae149 Love the quote. I always had lots of excuses. "I'll start tomorrow."
  • renae149
    renae149 Posts: 591 Member
    @RubyRed427 so sorry about the sinus'! I know it went around here about a month ago. Definitely miserable!!

    And the quote for me applies to so much in my life! Food/weight at the top of the list!

    Mondays are definitely my easiest days, and getting even easier. Happy day to all!
  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,577 Member
    edited October 29
    34 out of 35 days AF. I drank what was billed as an AF beer on Sunday but when I looked closely at the label ( I was wondering why I was wanting more) it was in fact a 0.5. They can call themselves AF because of the tiny amount. Well, that tiny amount was enough to make me crack open a real one, then another few. So lesson learned. 00 is different than 0.5 and I absolutely cannot have ANY! I wasn't hung over but my heart did race. Back to totally sober.
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,309 Member
    Some very motivating posts here.

    :)

    keep on keeping on everyone!
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 764 Member
    Hello everyone!

    Late posting for yesterday:

    10/28: Day 007 AF (One Week!)

    Have a great day and I will check back in this evening.

    💗 Carole
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 764 Member
    Hi everyone,

    Safe at Home Base!

    10/29: Day 008 AF

    Have a nice evening,

    💗Carole
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,410 Member
    I was very tempted tonight. We went to a favorite bar that I've had many drinks in the last decade. We had a gift card, so I agreed to go. I was driving there and telling myself it's ok to have a glass of wine. "You've done so well." But I thought it all forward, I would not be happy in the morning. I did order a mocktail. The bartender repeated my order a few times. I said "YES!!! a mocktail." The mocktail was horrible- very tart (lemon juice).

    37 days AF

  • renae149
    renae149 Posts: 591 Member
    Congrats to you @Walela617 !!

    @SunnyDays930 that really sucks! But good for you to jump right back on the AF horse!

    @globalhiker you are so close to 60 days! Great job!

    @RubyRed427 so glad you didn't give in! I would love to be able to have a glass at dinner, but I realize I can't. Sounds like you know that about yourself as well. I envy people that can enjoy one glass and make that one glass last throughout the entire dinner.

    @xbowhunter is today your day 45 to beat?? Sounds like you have your AF days on repeat!

    As for me, i realized yesterday that Monday night, I didn't have my Perrier in my wine glass. Hubs asked my, "so?" Well, for me, that is one step closer to breaking the habit of "a drink" in the evening. Plain water is just fine with or after supper right now!

    Here's to another Wineless Wednesday for me!! 11 day AF in the books!

  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,577 Member
    edited October 30
    I watched a YouTube of a woman getting arrested in the middle of the day for a DUI after hitting 2 mailboxes. Think of those had been children. Anyway, she was awful and entitled. The police had the patience of Job. When her husband showed up, it seemed like this wasn't the first time he had seen this behavior. If I was all over YouTube, I would die of humiliation. I tell myself, "just keep the drink out of your mouth and it will all be fine."
  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,577 Member
    edited October 30
    @xbowhunter Awesome results and observations! I haven't lost any weight yet but everything else you are experiencing, I am experiencing too. Plus obviously more money! The better sleep is heavenly and my skin looks 10 years younger.
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,730 Member
    @RubyRed427 you did really good to avoid drinking in a bar! That is a very tempting environment. You would think that with about 40% of the population not drinking alcohol, that bars should stock a way better variety of NA options including flavored ice teas and sodas and mocktails etc. AND whomever is a designated driver should get 50% off their drinks.

    Day 60 AF is here. I keep going.
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,309 Member
    globalhiker wrote: »
    @RubyRed427 you did really good to avoid drinking in a bar! That is a very tempting environment. You would think that with about 40% of the population not drinking alcohol, that bars should stock a way better variety of NA options including flavored ice teas and sodas and mocktails etc. AND whomever is a designated driver should get 50% off their drinks.

    Day 60 AF is here. I keep going.

    So true! be a part of the solution and not part of the problem! :)
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 764 Member
    edited October 31
    Hi everyone,

    Safe at Home Base!

    10/30: Day 009 AF

    @SunnyDays930, Don't worry; this minor lapse just proved (once again) that there's no such thing as "just over" for us and just strengthens our resolve! We can totally DO this!

    @RubyRed427, GREAT JOB! Way to stay STRONG!💪

    @xbowhunter, Happy 46th Day! Great report. Also, you're inspiring and positively influencing your friends and others, including me!

    @renae149, I want to get used to plain water (and unsweetened teas) too. I'm still using sucralose but eventually I want to stop using artificial sweeteners for my beverages.

    WOW @globalhiker! 60 days is AMAZING!

    Have a nice night everyone!

    💗 Carole
  • renae149
    renae149 Posts: 591 Member
    As we are at the last day of the month, I realize I didn't make it through the 31 days AF, but have made huge improvements in my relationship (or lack thereof) with alcohol. I find myself checking this thread on my lunch break to see how everyone is doing. I hope we can keep this thread going. There is great support here.

    I understand what @xbowhunter is saying about not counting. Even with less than 2 weeks in, I don't focus on the amount of days rather than getting through another. Just keep taking one day at a time. And everyone handles this differently. The key is using what works for you!!

    And I agree with everyone about the skin! My lips feel fuller, my arms don't look as scaley, I don't itch. It's great!!

    Happy day to all!!
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,410 Member
    Good morning, friends! I'm on day 39, and I'm looking forward to day 40. I think counting days is very stressful and yet I still keep track. I've saved over $1,000 dollars (app says) over these last few weeks. I believe it. One bottle of wine per day plus a few times out for happy hours. My local wine store's stocks must have plummeted. LOL

    Happy Halloween!
    My sleep has been horrible for a week and my resting heart rate has gone up. I'm fighting a cold and cough all night long. It's so annoying. I know it will pass.

    In the evening, I have bursts of energy where I'll be watching TV and then get up and do my arm weights or go clean a bookshelf. I also feel very calm even when I should be stressed at work. I have been listening to uplifting music, nothing sad to bring my mood down. I am nearly finished listening to 5.5 hours of a book on tape (The Easy Way) about quitting. It was monotonous but I like the lady's voice. It's so calming. I also need to hear things over and over again. Once I realize, I will miss nothing by not drinking, I know I will accept this is my new way of living.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,410 Member
    My sister has been 5 years sober. I could have been 5 years, too. We started quitting (oxymoron) around the same time years ago. She has guilt and shame about her drinking, and she made a commitment to herself that at a thousand days AF she would forgive herself and it will wipe away all the negative things she's done to her family. (I'm paraphrasing her thoughts.)

    I think we should forgive ourselves today! We are not our mistakes. We are imperfect beings who are trying to do better. We do the best with can with what we have. It's brutal to carry the weight of guilt for years. Yes, make apologies and acknowledge your mistakes, but to carry them like dead weight for years is too painful. My higher power would not want me to live like that. I want to live with joy. I want to look forward and not back.

    I have not shared with her that I'm nearly 40 days sober. I want to gather more AF days and then surprise her. She will be so happy for me. <3

    Off to work on this crazy Halloween day! The students will be full of excitement and high energy.
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,309 Member
    RubyRed427 wrote: »
    My sister has been 5 years sober. I could have been 5 years, too. We started quitting (oxymoron) around the same time years ago. She has guilt and shame about her drinking, and she made a commitment to herself that at a thousand days AF she would forgive herself and it will wipe away all the negative things she's done to her family. (I'm paraphrasing her thoughts.)

    I think we should forgive ourselves today! We are not our mistakes. We are imperfect beings who are trying to do better. We do the best with can with what we have. It's brutal to carry the weight of guilt for years. Yes, make apologies and acknowledge your mistakes, but to carry them like dead weight for years is too painful. My higher power would not want me to live like that. I want to live with joy. I want to look forward and not back.

    I have not shared with her that I'm nearly 40 days sober. I want to gather more AF days and then surprise her. She will be so happy for me. <3

    Off to work on this crazy Halloween day! The students will be full of excitement and high energy.

    So very well said!

    Happy Halloween my sober friends! :)
    Listening to a little Ozzy this morning. "You can't kill rock and roll!" :)

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