LESS Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2025 ~ One Day at A Time

SurferGirl1982 wrote: »

globalhiker wrote: »

Day 2 AF for Jan. done. Background: I was trying to reduce drinking for 7 years. Each time I tried to moderate while dieting didn't work at all. I could not deal with slight hunger or food cravings AND cravings for wine. WAY too much deprivation for my brain to handle.

So back in September 2024 when I went AF cold turkey, I let myself try eating anything instead of drinking. I mean anything. Some days I dealt with my wine cravings by eating chips, other days it was ice cream and about every day it was also chocolate. High carb dinner every night. Snacks every afternoon. I should have gained 20 lbs. doing the math. Well, I lost 4 lbs. that month eating well over my calorie limit and eating anything OK. Then in October I continued AF and I lost 2 lbs.

This worked for me until December and I gained back 3 lbs. Now that I am in month 5 and have zero wine cravings I am introducing restricting calories and eating high nutrient foods.

You may think that eating junk and eating any quantity sounds very crazy, but it worked as a temporary solution to get me through the hard part!

@globalhiker That's the way to do it. For me or anyone that's trying to quit completely, I think it's best to get the drinking under control first. After that you can work on logging your foods, counting calories, eating more nutrient dense foods, exercise, and working on new projects or hobbies.

When I quit drinking in November of 2021, I wasn't logging my food or even exercising. But when I'm not drinking, I do tend to eat more nutritious foods. Just by not drinking, the weight fell off of me very quickly. I lost 30 or more pounds in three to four months without even trying.

I think this goes for most of us, but when we're drinking, we don't make the best food choices.

Anyways, like that article said, it best to work on one goal at a time and then go on to the next. I personally don't think you have to wait 3 months to move on to you next goal. But, as soon as your first goal becomes habit, then you can move on to the next.

Anyways, my January goal was to allow myself to drink through tomorrow, the 4th. I just hope I will be successful on Sunday. An old friend of mine used to say, "You just got to tough it out!".