SOBER (AF) CHALLENGE (Ongoing)

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Sober Discussion (Ongoing)

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  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,816 Member
    8 days AF YTD done. @LowTechForever and @SunnyDays930 congrats to both of you - the hardest part is really over. It's lovely when the bloated tummy starts to go down and that inflammation goes away even with not being on a diet.

    You'll feel so amazing after 30 days AF, it's so worth it.

  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    edited January 13
    Hi everyone!

    Work is crazy and I haven't been sleeping well the last couple of nights, but I'm hanging in there!

    01/08/25: 008 Days AF (completed)

    Have a great day! I will try to check in more consistently going forward.



    💗Carole
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,816 Member
    Day 9 AF of January done. Hot chocolate last night was my perfect alcohol alternative but I did wake up at 2 am.
    Happy AF Friday to all.
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,816 Member
    Day 11 AF of January done. Drinking decaf coffee tonight. Curling up on the couch under blankets watching movies and trying to stretch out Sunday night as long as I can.
  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,647 Member
    Day 15 AF. I feel and look better every single day.
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    edited January 13
    Hi everyone!

    Trying to catch up on rest while trying to get ready for my new cat's arrival! (Likely Saturday.)

    01/12/25: 012 Days AF (completed)

    Have a great day! I will try to check in more consistently going forward. I've been backsliding on loggin food daily and implementing planned activity during the week; so I plan to pick that up again, starting NOW!

    Have a great day,
    💗Carole
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,816 Member
    4 months and 13 days AF done. Monday was uneventful, long work day. Got in 50min of RPM class and my heart rate was in the 120-130s the whole time. Today I have half-hour walk/run before hour long kickboxing class.

    I have to do a better job of my math. I use math for business but I am terrible at measuring calorie output vs input on a daily basis. Terrible. I have to get to a daily deficit of 500 calories and I have not been able to do a simple subtraction! Ugh. Well, looks like with all the exercise I do, I still run at 1500-1600 calories of output, but I eat in the range of 1200 with the 2x a week going overboard to 1500-1600. Gee, no wonder I am stalling. I'd rather exercise even more than cut.
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,816 Member
    Day 15 AF done so far. Congrats to all of you - ON A ROLL! I am turning 60 this year - also not bald yet but the hair keeps falling out, not sure what is up with that. Guys, the last thing we need in our life is something to make us age faster, so for me, alcohol can go.

    "Quit lit" does indeed help a ton. So did youtube videos from others who provided tips and motivation. Ten minutes a day of quit lit worked for me. Maybe it brainwashed me or something but it helped keep my motivation going.

    Enjoy your AF day!
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    edited January 17
    Hi everyone!

    @gobalhiker, 10 minutes a day of quit lit or inspirational videos? I think I can make time for that.

    @SunnyDays930, I can relate. I used to use alcohol to numb anxiety and other bad feelings, that's more challenging to resist than using for socialization or celebration. (We can do it though!)

    Everyone here on this board has been helping me so much and I am very grateful! I need to know I'm not alone. (Thank you for hanging in there with me!)💞

    Have a great day. (My new cat comes tomorrow!)
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    Have a great day,
    💞 Carole
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,816 Member
    Have a good AF weekend all!
    4 months + 17 days AF done. Not drinking creates so much space in my mind to be able to do a million other things. I'm digging the productivity benefit. I really don't think I will drink again.
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    Hi everyone,

    01/17/25: 017 Days AF (completed)

    I will let you know how it goes after my new cat arrives today!

    Have a great Saturday!

    💞 Carole
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    edited January 19
    Hi everyone,

    01/17/25: 018 Days AF (completed)

    My new cat is here! She arrived last evening. She is still hiding, though (I think she might be under my bed.) Her foster Mom, Rachel, said she hid in her boxspring for almost three weeks! (She also has a husband and a baby girl at home though; so maybe it will be less time for me since there only one person to get used to.) I will keep you posted on our progress.

    Boston is expecting 4-8" of snow tonight! I hope it turns out to be just a lot of hype. I'm glad I'm off work until Wednesday. We're in for some really cold weather here; about 3 degrees Tuesday night and upper teens in the daytime from Monday through Wednesday!

    Have a great Sunday!

    💞 Carole
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,450 Member
    @Walela617 Hooray! Congratulations on getting your cat!!! And congrats on day 18!
    You rock!
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    edited January 21
    Hi everyone,

    01/19/25: 019 Days AF (completed)

    "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." - Sober Time's message for January 20, 2025. (That sums me to a "T"!)

    Hi @rubyred427, thanks for your kind words! Guess what? "MJ" used the litter box last night! This morning I scooped out two, large clumps (no feces, just urine). We didn't even show her where the box was! She found it on her own. I also heard her meow last night. Four quick, tiny meows. (I think she was dreaming.) I was right - she is hiding under my bed. I hope she comes out today! This is supposed to be our "bonding time" and go back to work on Wednesday.

    The cat's vet report says she was just over six pounds med-November. She looks about seven pounds right now. She's fully adult, but her mom had her when she was only about 7 months old. She was the only kitten in the litter, which is quite unusual. I think that's why she's so small. She's over three years old now. My other two cats averaged about 12-15 lbs. in their adult lives, and they weren't even fat!

    Boston ended up getting just over 4 inches of snow; so on the low end of the prediction. It's only 19 degrees out right now and tomorrow night is supposed to go down to about 3 degrees! Brrrr!

    Have a great day
    💗 Carole
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    edited January 22
    Hi everyone,

    01/20/25: 020 Days AF (completed)
    m8oqhb6crvw9.jpg
    My new cat has started coming out! Here's a copy of the update reports I texted to her foster mom:

    Oh! She just snuck out into the living room - just now! But when I spoke softly, like, "Oh look, it's the pretty one!", She bolted. I think I was so quiet, reading something online, that she didn't realize I was on the recliner! Lights are off but fountain light is on and candles are burning. Her tail looks so skinny! I hope she ate some of the food I put under the bed! (There's food in the kitchen too.) I'll let you know if/when she comes back.

    She just came back and jumped up on the living room windowsill for about...two seconds, then jumped down and ran! (It's cold on there, maybe I'll put a blanket.)

    She's in the living room again, under the window. I put an electric blanket on the windowsill (not plugged in), but she hasn't gone up there yet; she's behind one of the tied curtain panels. She thinks she's hidden, but her butt's sticking out!🤭

    Now she's been out here a few times and went back to on the window for awhile. It's getting late so I'll be in bed soon. Hopefully, tomorrow she will show gradually less anxiety as she gets more used to me to adjusts and to her new home!

    I hope she comes out again soon!

    Today is my last day off until l return to work on Wednesday. It's so cold, but I will dress for it. Hopefully, the new cat will have a chance to explore while I'm gone and acclimate to her surroundings.

    Have a great day
    💞 Carole
  • LowTechForever
    LowTechForever Posts: 328 Member
    Hello everyone,

    Three weeks AF now and the end of Dry January is coming into view. I feel things are moving along nicely but resisting the urge to set hard and fast goals at the moment.
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    edited January 22
    Hi everyone,

    01/21/25: 021 Days AF (completed)

    The scale showed a gain from last week, even though I've been extra careful over the past five days, but - at least I'm still not drinking any alcohol!

    My new cat is still adjusting. She came out late last night again. Her rummaging around kept waking me up; so I only got about 5.5 hours sleep last night, but that's okay; I'll go to bed earlier tonight.

    Hopefully, while I'm at work today she will explore a bit and get more used to her new surroundings.

    Have a great day!
    💗Carole
  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,647 Member
    Doing great @Walela617 !
  • LowTechForever
    LowTechForever Posts: 328 Member
    Dry January streak broken :(

    Day 23 was safely under the belt but a stressful situation with a family member caused both my widfe and I to cave on Friday 24th. Then on the 25th, some friends had invited us over to celebrate Burns Night. Originally, our plan was not to drink alcohol, but we were still stressed out and ended up toasting the haggis!

    We got back on the AF bus on Sunday. These things are sure sent to try us!
  • globalhiker
    globalhiker Posts: 1,816 Member
    @LowTechForever good thing you got right back up on the AF bus!

    Folks, for Feb., I will posting only on the Less Alcohol group. Trying to cut down on the number of groups I am in, just because of limited time these days. Good luck to you all and keep going!
  • Walela617
    Walela617 Posts: 970 Member
    edited February 2
    Good morning everyone!

    @gobalhiker, you are exactly right about falling back so hard, so quickly, once our resume is broken. I am limiting groups too due to limited time, but I need to stay in this one, for obvious reasons!

    @LowTechForever, we are both facing very challenging situations, but we CAN get back on track! 🕊️I hope back on yesterday, and I plan to STAY here!

    Happy February! I guess Phil, the groundhog, is saying six more weeks of Winter, but that's okay, Spring will be here six more weeks from Thursday, and I'm sure the weeks will pass swiftly!

    As for me, I am hitting the "Reset button" on multiple fronts, effective the first day of this month. Right now, I'm in "Recovery Mode" after several days of overeating and even >GASP!< drinking alcohol again! My finances are in dire straits right now and I need to get a handle on my lifestyle - IMMEDIATELY!

    02/01/25: 001 Day AF (completed)

    Please forgive me if I copied and pasted from other boards that you might visit. Is just to save time.

    I will post "initial" scale app stats and key measurements, with a whole new DAY ONE, beginning this Wednesday, which will only be six weeks until the end of my "COUNTDOWN to S*P*R*I*N*G!" challenge.

    My new objective is to post daily here and on the other two boards I have joined, to average no more that 1,450 calories intake per day (NONE of which will be alcohol!) and to be completely honest about my weight, food diary and everything else.

    'Bye for now. I'll check back soon.

    Enjoy your day,
    💞 Carole
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,450 Member
    Hi Carole, It is a struggle. But you have done very very well!! I'm happy you are regrouping and will try again.

    Totally agree how much money it costs to drink. Doubles the restaurant bill. Adds $100 on my grocery bill.
  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,647 Member
    I am here to be accountable. I have been drinking again and I do not want to go on this way. Day one for the millionth time.
    I think it was global hiker that mentioned the sober again series on you tube. Thank you so much! I watched 1 with my husband and will continue to watch him. It is excellent.

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