LESS Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2025 ~ One Day at A Time

SurferGirl1982 · January 12

SunnyDays930 wrote: »

@Surfergirl1982 Yes I totally see a difference in my skin and even my hair when I am drinking. My skin is nice and soft and not red now at day 14 AF. And my hair is softer and shinier. This is because alcohol is a major dehydrating substance. Not only will it suck the moisture out of your skin and hair, it sucks it out of your brain. From AI:

Alcohol is a diuretic
Alcohol causes your body to remove fluids from your blood more quickly than other liquids. This can lead to dehydration if you don't drink enough water with alcohol.
Dehydration causes the brain to shrink
When your body is dehydrated, your brain shrinks in volume. This can cause headaches, dry mouth, and moodiness.
Alcohol damages brain cells
Alcohol can damage brain cells, especially if your body doesn't have enough water.

So....yikes

That's a definite "Yikes"! I'm going to try not to drink tomorrow. I know it will be tough. But, I'll do my best.

SunnyDays930 · January 12

When I went to the hairdresser a couple of months ago, my hairdresser actually told me my hair felt terrible and asked me if I had a thyroid issue. I came home and immediately googled it and it's a fact that booze dries out your hair.

itladyee · January 13

Setting up for success!!!
Goals for January - 85% Dry (AF = 26 A=5)
Monthly Stats - On Target
AF = 9 ~ 75 %
A = 3 ~ 25 %
Current Streak - AF = 0
Longest Streak - AF = 7

Brunch was great and the mimosas just kept coming.... And I can't wait to have an AF day tomorrow!!!! My next potential glass of wine will be on 1/15 when our book club meets then 1/17 after that, dinner with friends. The rest of the month should be good. That would put me exactly at 5 days and meeting my goal!!

Hope your Sunday is going well.

Month Recap by Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tracker ✅️🍷🍸

1/1 - 1/7 ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅
1/8 - 1/14 ❌✅✅❌❌
1/15 - 1/21
1/22 - 1/28
1/29 - 2/4

Exceptions for January
1/8 🍷🍷🍸 ~ Husband's birthday
1/11 🍷🍷🍷 ~ Lunch out prior to MIL birthday celebration
1/12 🥂🥂~ Mimosa's at brunch

2023 - 2024 Stats
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2024
January AF =87% A=13%
February AF =58% A=42%
March AF = 0% A = 100%
April AF = 0% A = 100%
May
June AF =58% A=42%
July
August
September
October
November
December AF = 13% =87%
Best AF Month = January

2023 St AF =12% A=88%
Best AF Month = January

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Womona · January 13

SurferGirl1982 wrote: »

SunnyDays930 wrote: »

@Surfergirl1982 Yes I totally see a difference in my skin and even my hair when I am drinking. My skin is nice and soft and not red now at day 14 AF. And my hair is softer and shinier. This is because alcohol is a major dehydrating substance. Not only will it suck the moisture out of your skin and hair, it sucks it out of your brain. From AI:

Alcohol is a diuretic
Alcohol causes your body to remove fluids from your blood more quickly than other liquids. This can lead to dehydration if you don't drink enough water with alcohol.
Dehydration causes the brain to shrink
When your body is dehydrated, your brain shrinks in volume. This can cause headaches, dry mouth, and moodiness.
Alcohol damages brain cells
Alcohol can damage brain cells, especially if your body doesn't have enough water.

So....yikes

That's a definite "Yikes"! I'm going to try not to drink tomorrow. I know it will be tough. But, I'll do my best.

Ewww, alcohol shrinks your brain????? I guess it makes sense, but still…. Ewww! I did not know that’s what causes the headaches.

I find I start looking haggard when I drink too much, or for too many days in a row. My skin looks much more youthful when I don’t drink, or really dial it back.

I do drink a lot of water (one bottle contains an electrolyte ) to counteract the 3 cups of coffee I have every morning. Between the coffee and the alcohol, my skin doesn’t stand a chance! Trying to change that around. And I am NOT giving up my

coffee!!!!

Af again tonight, but I was really tempted to have wine with dinner, believe me! The one good thing is i generally don’t go over calories when I’m AF.

tmbg1 · January 13

9 AF
2 LA (LA means 1-2 drinks)
1 A (A means 3+ drinks)

globalhiker · January 13

11 days AF done for Jan.

Working on developing the skill of "how to sit at the bar and have a good time without alcohol".

I sat at the bar today - we had a planned "date" day so husband and I went on a 3 hour hike/run together (during the time when he'd habitually start day-drinking) then off to our old Mexican happy hour place. This was my second time since I stopped drinking in Sept. that I sat at a bar. We did great, he stopped at 2 beers and I had diet coke with tons of lemon. Our fajitas were amazing and we moderated when presented with the free tortilla chip bowl. At the end, he was shocked that the bill was so cheap and said we need to do this again. Another benefit of not drinking- more dates in my future !

The bartender didn't say any comments to me about not drinking and other people at the bar were drinking regular ice tea so I wasn't self-conscious or tempted and it was a totally pleasant experience.

SurferGirl1982 · January 13

@Womona You said that right..."Ewww!" I'm looking a bit haggard myself lately. I know when I quit drinking, it won't take long for my skin and hair to start looking nice again. Every cell in our bodies are replaced every so many days (I don't remember the exact amount of days. But it's not long). I plan on getting a haircut. Not this week, but next. I have a routine doctor appointment on Monday the 27th. Fortunately, no labs are required.

I'm going to try to be AF tomorrow. Unless, I have major withdrawal symptoms. For me, at the worst times, my withdrawal symptoms would be anxiety and restless, shakiness, and itching. I would sit down on the couch for 30 to 60 seconds and get back up and pace back and forth a few times, sit down for 30 to 60 secs and get back up and pace and repeat. And, the shakes would be so bad. I'd ask my hubby to go at 9 am to get me some whiskey. And, I couldn't pour it into the shot glass (too shaky), so I would just pour some into the glass. At times, it was so bad, that I had to hold my glass with both hands. And, then the itching. It's miserable. But I don't think it will be that bad tomorrow. I have a feeling that I'll be OK.

BTW...did you know that coffee is actually good for your liver?

SurferGirl1982 · January 13

@globalhiker That's great that you're able to go to the bar without ordering an alcoholic drink. For now, I'm trying to stay out of bars. But once I have some AF days under my belt, I'll probably be able to do that too.

Fortunately, especially with the younger generation, drinking is becoming less popular. That's a good thing!

SurferGirl1982 · January 13

It's shortly after 8 pm and I poured out the rest of my whiskey. So, I won't have any in the morning. I think it's for the best.

Wish me luck 😕

Michieb125 · January 13

Sending you positive thoughts @SurferGirl1982 and a little prayer that you are completely safe as you navigate this next step.

Just make sure you have electrolytes and anything else that makes you feel comfortable nearby. You know we are rooting for your success and if you need medical assistance there is absolutely no shame in that. I say this after reading your post above on your physical experience from a previous time.

SurferGirl1982 · January 13

Thanks @Michieb125 I really appreciate the positive thoughts and prayer. I just finished the drink that I still had before I dumped the rest of the whiskey out. For a minute, I thought, "you should have waited to dump it out". But, no...I really don't need anymore and this is what has to be done.

For electrolytes, I have no sugar added Zico coconut water. If you read the ingredient label, it really does have all the electrolytes that you need. I'm not crazy about it. It's not something I'd reach for if I wanted something to drink. But, it doesn't taste bad or anything. It's kind of an acquired taste.

Anyways, thank you again! I think I will be fine in the morning. I will be checking in tomorrow. I think I'll go to bed soon. Have a good night!

Michieb125 · January 13

Zico coconut water is good indeed. Have as much as you can! I can tell you are resilient and have a can do attitude. There are some good calming meditation's on YouTube if you like that kind of thing. Big hug!

SunnyDays930 · January 13

@SurferGirl1982 I do not want to overstep here but it sounds like you need medically supervised withdrawal from alcohol. There is no shame in this at ALL, it just appears that you are in that danger zone where it is not advisable to try this alone. Please tell your doctor about these withdrawal symptoms at your upcoming appointment and don't sugar coat it. The only way I could get my Dr to say to me "stop drinking now", was when I was completely honest with her about my habits. I was embarrassed but she waved that off and said, "I wish more people would tell me the entire truth about their drinking.". It was a relief actually. We all here care deeply about you and are rooting for you. XXOO

SparkSpringtime69 · January 13

SurferGirl1982 wrote: »

It's shortly after 8 pm and I poured out the rest of my whiskey. So, I won't have any in the morning. I think it's for the best.

Wish me luck 😕

We're all here for you, take care and please do get medical help if you need to. Hugs

MissMay · January 13

@SurferGirl1982 I hope you make great strides in getting LESS into your daily routine.

MissMay · January 13

Day 100 AF 🤸‍♂️

I have never said I will quit completely. For now....this is my LESS.

MissMay · January 13

@globalhiker oh my gosh I was unaware that you were staying clear of sitting at a bar all this time. I am glad you both had a good experience.

chicbuc · January 13

We're all rooting for you, @SurferGirl1982, but definitely be safe!

chicbuc · January 13

I drank A LOT yesterday and I'm ready for a break starting today. I will not drink at home for the rest of this month. I do have a girl's night next week with my best friend at bar/restaurant, and I am planning to not drink then, but we'll see how it turns out. For now, no drinking at home for sure.

@MissMay Incredible streak! Proud of you! @itladyee Way to meet your goals! @globalhiker Good job sitting at the bar without alcohol! That's a tough one and you nailed it! @tmbg1 Doing awesome with LA!

AF = 3
A = 9 Gotta work on flipping these numbers!

tobinross · January 13

So far, dry January intact with this being day 13...completely surprised my wife based off my normal alcohol consumption. She said something about being stubborn as a mule runs in my family...

@itladyee - thanks for the shout-out!

@Mike_Check - totally understand about having a couple of beers after work...I have been trying some NA versions and found a couple that work for me...Clausthaler has a dry-hopped IPA that is pretty close and only 56 calories, Best Day Brewing has a Hazy IPA version that also has under 60 calories...beyond that, have not found any others I would recommend.

Michieb125 · January 13

AF last night - chose a glass of Be Well NA wine and one Stella 0.0 yesterday. Liked the experienced without feeling the effects of alcohol.

Current Stats - 8 out of 13 days AF!

AF - 8
A - 4
LA - 1 (2 Prosecco)

SurferGirl1982 · January 13

Thanks everyone for your support and concern!

It's been 14 hours since my last drink and so far I'm not experiencing any bad effects. That may not seem like a lot of time, but lately I been having my first drink right after I get out of bed (sometimes before 6am). And it's almost 11am right now. So far, so good!

chicbuc · January 13

Yay! You're doing it, @SurferGirl1982

forestdweller1 · January 13

@SurferGirl1982 🎉🎊 may your day continue well.
And, tomorrow IS another day.

SurferGirl1982 · January 13

Thanks @chicbuc I don't want to get too confident. But, I think I have this one! I even ate a light breakfast and just logged my foods for the day. Which I haven't been doing since I started the daily drinking again. I will keep you posted! All I have to do, is make to 7pm when the liquor store closes!

SurferGirl1982 · January 13

Thanks @forestdweller1! Yes tomorrow is another day. Hopefully, it will be Day 2 for me.

chicbuc · January 13

Keep yourself busy, @SurferGirl1982 ! Sounds promising so far!

itladyee · January 13

@SurferGirl1982 ~ so excited for you. As someone already said..keep busy. Put something else in that glass. You got this and we can't wait to help you celebrate success....actually, we are celebrating now!! Way to go!!!!

@globalhiker ~ wow, that's real temptation (sitting in a bar) and YOU did it!! You rock!!!

SurferGirl1982 · January 13

@chicbuc, @itladyee Still going...no problems of yet. Now I have a couple of chores to do. If any of you are awake around 7pm PST, I hope to be posting Day 1 AF 🙂

Michieb125 · January 13

@SurferGirl1982 thanks for keeping us updated, you got this! Keep yourself busy, rest when you need to, eat good food, and you will be checking off your AF day 1 very soon.

LESS Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2025 ~ One Day at A Time

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