LESS Alcohol ~ JANUARY 2025 ~ One Day at A Time
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@Michieb125 thank you for reporting on the LA Meiomi! Can’t wait to try it. I’m still salty about all the really good LA wines being so freaking expensive though! But I’ll deal with it!
@shpuniarsky welcome!!!!
@chicbuc don't worry about not having your vacation AF. You enjoyed yourself, and you’re back at it.
@itlaydee it really is hard to resist when the suggestion is made!
@SparkSpringtime69 glad to hear that he’s in the mend. I know of so many people with pneumonia this year! Ugh! God Bless antibiotics!
@NonnieDoiron ok now I have to know what particular wine makes you mean!!!! How weird that it’s just that brand and not other wines!
@MissMay congrats on 15 weeks!
Yesterday I went to brunch and had one glass of wine-and none later in the day with all the games. AF tonight. Finished the NA wine finally. From now on I’m back to club soda and a splash of cranberry for my AF drinks at home.4 -
Trying to catch up responding to everyone. Thanks for all of your grace on my totally A vacation. I'll be able to do an AF one someday because I won't stop trying. AF last night after getting back and doing some work. I ate horribly yesterday, but such is life. Today is a new day and I have meals planned and I got my walk in this morning.
@NonnieDoiron Your workload sounds stressful! I know you will take time for yourself to decompress, but just a reminder to make sure to do that! And, like several others have said, your kindness in offering your phone number for support was awesome. Thank you for being so kind and supportive.
@Womona Hope your back feels better soon! It's frustrating not to be able to do what you want to do. Your ability to stop with one glass of wine is nothing short of amazing to me.
@eahrenee Great stats! Keep up the good work!
@MissMay Sorry to hear about your friend. Sounds like she's in denial and going to do what she wants. It's tough to watch someone you love go down that path. Your streak is amazing! My go to AF when I'm out is just a simple club soda, no ice, in a wine glass with a lime or orange for a little flavor.
@forestdweller1 BRRRRRRR! Always nice to see you chiming in here!
@Michieb125 I'm going to seek out that Pinot Noir by Meiomi. That is one of my favorite full alcohol wines when I'm out. Thank you for your trials and suggestions!
@itladyee I love how you can get off track and just bounce right back. I'm trying to get there instead of having the "oh well, I messed up today. Might as well throw the week in the trash."
@tobinross Way to meet that first goal!
@SparkSpringtime69 What a scary story, but I'm glad it turned out OK and he's on the mend, and like @Womona said, "there are no coincidences." You were meant to be AF that night, and now look at you! Great job!
I had a similar scare in October when I was doing well with limiting that I talked about in here. My 13 year old granddaughter ended up with a hospital stay. Normally, I would have had too many drinks to drive and help when my daughter called, but it happened to be "sober October" and I was able to drive 45 minutes and stay with my granddaughter at the hospital overnight so her mom could stay home with the toddler grandbabies. I would have felt like a complete idiot if I had to tell my own daughter that I couldn't help because I was drinking. (PS, we went to Biloxi, Mississippi. We stay at the Beau Rivage on the water when we go)
@SunnyDays930 Great job getting back on the horse! Those beach days get us even if it's cold!
@globalhiker Thank you for encouraging me. I failed this time, but I know there will be success in my future. I love seeing your streak keep on climbing. It's very inspirational!
@tmbg1 Doing great!
@SurferGirl1982 Please be careful with allowing yourself too much too fast. You may have broken the PHYSICAL dependence, but the EMOTIONAL dependence is so much harder to break. People like me and you know that. Of course we support any LA goals. Stick to them for you and never stop trying, lady!!
AF = 8
A = 12
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4 months and 20 days AF. Long hike with husband yesterday, then we went to our Mexican restaurant happy hour for fajitas. He's moderating when drinking out (limits himself to 2). We agreed to take a portion of 12 or fewer chips from the very dangerous all you can eat free tortilla chip bowl. Just because we don't want to leave the place fatter than when we walked in.
I had my new standard go-to diet coke with many lemon slices squeezed in there. It does taste like my old bourbon and diet drinks but it does not tempt me. When I got home, had 2 decaf coffees since I "wanted something" but wasn't hungry.
What I've learned: when the alcohol is gone for even a short time, all our other emotional baggage is totally exposed. All the feelings and moods and behaviors I used to remedy or cover up now are there in plain sight. Possibly even hormonal deficiencies causing depression and anxiety or moodiness or insomnia that need to be addressed. The alcohol medication is gone and all the problems are exposed and need to be intelligently dealt with. Self-care work doesn't end.
Here is a new day, AF for me. With windchill it's 15 degrees outside and so I will go exercise in front of the TV before I join my work friends for another long busy day.4 -
Thanks @chicbuc I'm going to get back on track. I may have a couple of drinks on the 31sr, so I can count February 1sr as Day 1. But I do want a major streak. Ninety days would be long enough to see how it "really feels". And give my body time to heal from all the abuse.
After lecturing @MissMay about making sure she had batteries for her lanterns and flashlights. Guess what? I woke up at 5 am and the power went out. We only had enough batteries for two of our lanterns. One of the lanterns is history anyways. The battery compartment is all corroded. I will be buying another one or two later. In addition to some batteries.
Anyways, it's 27 degrees and we're hoping that this doesn't turn into a marathon power outage. It's been an hour now.
I'm running my laptop off of my phone right now. So I better go.
Have a nice day everyone!3 -
Current:
AF days - 18
A days - 34 -
A comment about this LA and AF mission, the journey involves developing the skill of failure management. Fewer failures, failing better, faster failure recovery, not planning failures to begin with, not putting oneself down after a failure, not self-punishing oneself with alcohol due to a failure, not suppressing the bad feeling with alcohol, and preventing potential failures. Each time we fail, it's an opportunity to reflect and learn and figure out how we want next time to be.
Self-reflection: Looking back, I intentionally planned my failures. That doesn't make logical sense does it?
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LOL, for the record, I've always been a little odd 🙃.SurferGirl1982 wrote: »I want my Day 1 to be February 1st. So I have a planned A day on Friday 1/31. It will be easier to count months that way. I also have a possible planned A day next Monday (after my doctor appointment).
@SparkSpringtime69 You're doing well. You're finally even with your A and AF days. Hey! You're no longer odd See you tomorrow!
I'm with you for an AF February and maybe a 90 day run (I have a wedding mid-March, so I'll need some strong willpower to get through not just that day, but a whole week visiting my sister). I have to agree with @chicbuc, that emotional dependence is very hard to break.
I hope your power outage ends quickly.
@chicbuc glad to hear you're back to AF last night. I wish I could walk here, but it's so friggin cold I just won't do it! Of course I could just go to the gym, they have an indoor track upstairs, but I think I just don't want to walk today.
Our stories are similar, and it does feel so good to be there for others - now when I want to drink, I remind myself that an emergency can happen at any time and I need to be 100% for it.
@womona nice job skipping the game time wine. I like the seltzer with cran added, I also add pomegranate juice to seltzer or mineral water sometimes.5 -
Jan 2025
AF - 21
A - 0
Quick update...working on 21 days AF (with the help of some NA beers....)...realized that the last time i went this long AF was over 35 years ago while on deployment...wow! Amazing how daily habits form and persevere over time.
As for other goal - scale this morning has me 6 pounds lighter than beginning of January...4 more to go and then assess the next milestone...the food diary and tracking on MFP have been essential for the weight loss...that and ensuring protein and fiber in the diet (which has been more challenging than I would have thought!)...packing my own meals and snacks and avoiding the vending machines has worked!! I have also amped up more workouts either at gym or home.
@SurferGirl1982 - hope the power outage is short-lived! And February is AF...
@MissMay - awesome on the streak...15 weeks AF...very nice!5 -
This is so true!globalhiker wrote: »A comment about this LA and AF mission, the journey involves developing the skill of failure management. Fewer failures, failing better, faster failure recovery, not planning failures to begin with, not putting oneself down after a failure, not self-punishing oneself with alcohol due to a failure, not suppressing the bad feeling with alcohol, and preventing potential failures. Each time we fail, it's an opportunity to reflect and learn and figure out how we want next time to be.
Self-reflection: Looking back, I intentionally planned my failures. That doesn't make logical sense does it?
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You are brilliant! Yes, exactly this!!globalhiker wrote: »A comment about this LA and AF mission, the journey involves developing the skill of failure management. Fewer failures, failing better, faster failure recovery, not planning failures to begin with, not putting oneself down after a failure, not self-punishing oneself with alcohol due to a failure, not suppressing the bad feeling with alcohol, and preventing potential failures. Each time we fail, it's an opportunity to reflect and learn and figure out how we want next time to be.
Self-reflection: Looking back, I intentionally planned my failures. That doesn't make logical sense does it?2 -
@tobinross wow, nice job on the weight loss and AF streak. I’m with you on tracking food in MFP. It makes such a huge difference. My biggest challenge is approximating portions when I’m out to dinner, even if I am eating something simple like steak and veggies. Also despite my good efforts, I can’t seem to get enough protein or fiber in-a supplement of both is an absolute must!!! I’ve found good quality ones (Earth Fed Muscle- I’m partial to the vanilla one, but they are all good), and the MiraFiber gummies. I don’t care for drinking the powder form of fiber.
I am home today, need to clean the house stem to stern, and my back really freaking hurts. I know to take it super easy, but it’s going to be a serious challenge and I won’t be able to get nearly as much done as I had hoped. This sucks, plus I am missing tennis today 😠 As long as I can wash my kitchen floors after vacuuming, I’ll be very happy! It really needs to be cleaned.4 -
Went back to the mall this past weekend to prove to myself I could go without drinking. we walked around and went bowling with the family there. No drinks. I had a monster to sip on something. Didn't overeat, didn't feel like crap that night or next day. This is the first month in a long time that we haven't had a drink during the week at all.
AF - 20
A - 1
Sunday and Monday we are going to Atlantic city for my daughter's birthday. We are going to try our hardest to not drink but I won't take it out on myself if I have one or two.5 -
globalhiker wrote: »Self-reflection: Looking back, I intentionally planned my failures. That doesn't make logical sense does it?
Now that statement bears pause... My first thought was "wow!, I think I've been doing that for the last year or so".
I'll have to think about that one, thank you.
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Setting up for success!!!
Goals for January - 85% Dry (AF = 26 A=5)
Monthly Stats - On Target If When I finish strong, the best I can do is 81% Still a win!
AF = 12 ~ 60 %
A = 8 ~ 40 %
Current Streak - AF = 0
Longest Streak - AF = 7
(Through and including 1/20)
I didn't do as well as I intended yesterday. Came home after a long day at work, including a 6 hour meeting. We ordered in food for lunch, I had chicken tenders. Didn't really fast. Made Chicken Tortellini for dinner. Wine just seemed right .... Quite the slippery slope I see...
@sparkspringtime69 ~ I've started down the slippery slope and I've got to do better. But compared to what is usually the "norm", I am still doing well. I won't hit 80, but maybe 60%. I see you climbing back, good job!
@Surfergirl1982 ~ Well, 80% is no longer doable but I will still have some AF days before the month is out. I owe it to myself!! Don't get caught up in the all or nothing thinking, that I often do. There's no really good reason to have your Day 1 be February 1. Sure, easier to count but when you start adding days to the end of February, it will become confusing again. Let this forum continue to be your counter. Just a suggestion...
@Womona ~ I'm with you on the expense for LA wines. I typically pay between $10 and $20 for a decent bottle of A wine and every once in a while splurge but no more than $40 (and that's rare). So to spend that kind of money, I'm going to drink something else!!
@NonnieDoiron ~ I wanted to know about the "mean" making wine as well ! LOL
@chicbuc ~ I'm not bouncing really well right now!!
@globalhiker, you are 100% about feelings, moods, and behaviors. A while ago, I read how alcohol numbs your feelings. What was eye-opening to me is that it numbs ALL feelings—even the good ones! You might "think" you're feeling good, but genuine happiness is also numbed. Planning failures....I'm with @longrun22 and need to give that some thought as well, but yes, I can see this....
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
1/15 🍷🍷🍷 Book club
1/16 🍸🍷 Unplanned Pizza and cocktails
1/17 🍷🍷🍷 Dinner out with friends
1/19 🍵🍵🍷🍷Lazy, cold Sunday...
1/20 🍷🍷Bla
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 = January2 -
@globalhiker I like the part about "not planning failures to begin with" and "Looking back, I intentionally planned my failures." That is something to think about.
@SparkSpringtime69 I'm glad you enjoyed my humor Let's do it...AF February! I would like to let my body "reboot" and "recover"!
@tobinross You're doing great! I think you should consider joining us for AF February.
Guess what everyone? The power just popped on 😀
@Womona I hope your back starts feeling better soon.
I too log my food on MFP. It really opens your eyes to the nutrient levels in foods. I do pretty good with getting lots of protein and fiber in my diet.
There's lots of lean proteins that contain high amounts of protein. I was surprised how much protein fish contains with very few calories. I don't eat steak as much as I used to, but we bought a couple of nice New York's at the store yesterday. Not everyone likes salmon, including my husband. But I buy wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon filets (frozen, individually wrapped) at Costco. They are amazingly high in protein. Unfortunately, my cat loves salmon too. Sometimes I cook one for her, otherwise she eats half of mine 😕 We also eat chicken or center-cut pork loin chops. Something quick and easy are grilled jumbo shrimp (not as high in protein though) We grill a lot, even during the winter.
For fiber I eat 70 grams of blueberries with my chia seed pudding almost every morning. Anyways, berries, nuts and seeds, avocado, beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, some breads, among other things all contain a lot of fiber.
@itladyee I did think about that...that Day 1 doesn't have to be Feb 1st. I was just thinking that because @globalhiker is now counting months and I thought it would be easier to count months and days that way.
And @chicbuc I do know people like you and I need to be careful. Like I've said before, there's been times in the past where I would decide to drink one night and then not have an AF day for months. But I may have an A day on the 31st just for one last time before I begin on February 1st. I'm going to have to do labs at the end of April or the beginning of May. And I want my numbers to be excellent...90 days can do that. I had my labs done a few years back while I had been drinking daily. The numbers weren't good. Then about 90 days later, I was tested again and they were like a non-drinker's. Not just my liver enzymes, but everything was about perfect.
I noticed that in one of my prior post that I wrote 1sr and 31sr...ooops! I was typing in low-light on my laptop 😕
January:
AF - 6
A - 141 -
@globalhiker a wonderful post, so true!! Thank you!1
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Happy to see all the great dialog and support flowing here!
I finished the Meiomi Bright last night, and it did satisfy very nicely. I have planned out my weekly targets for mindful drinking as I continue to cut back days and limits.
It’s cold everywhere!! Good month for soups, teas and hot cocoa’s!
Current:
AF - 11
A - 7
LA - 3 (2 Prosecco or low abv%)2 -
@Womona - thanks for the kudos and yes...the powdered fiber in water is quite an acquired taste...more like an 8 oz shot of sludgy water at the end of the day!
@SurferGirl1982 - glad to hear power back on...and thank you for the invite for AF February as well as your tips on protein and fiber sources! Will certainly consider AF Feb since seeing good progress and curious when my streak may (or may not) end....@MissMay at 15 weeks setting the bar for me!
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I'm standng at the edge of the slippery slope and my feet are sliding downwards....
I see that I'm sliding, so I'm tossing some gravel in front to regain some traction, about-face and head back up that slope to safety....
Had 3 other outings prior to Friday this week.
Friday 1/17 went out to dinner.
Saturday was my last "good" day. Fasted for 19 hours. Went for an outside walk. No Alcohol
Sunday =Bad ~ lazy cold sunday ~ comfort foods & hot toddies
Monday = Off on the wrong foot. Meeting Monday > the one day a month that we have a 6 hour meeting and lunch is brought in. 650 calories in after lunch. Fruit snacks, Dinner and over, might as well enjoy a glass, make that 2 of wine.
The brain is thinking all or none mentality...
Going out for drinks and food on Saturday will most likely kill any progress made on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday......or will it?
Let's be optimistic.
If I'm good Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, that's 4 days with a 500 deficit calories. I will be home so I will be active. There's a great possibility of breaking even including Saturday's shenanigans.
vs
Blowing it Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (even at the top of the range). Still with exercise , add Saturday and most likely get a gain.
Then...
My husband is planning a 9 to 10 day fast starting Monday the 27th. He ramps up for 3 days, fast for 3 and then ramps back down. I'm not doing it BUT it will significantly reduce my cooking, other temptations and make it much easier for me to stay within range and without alcohol.
So I'm making a plan:
Today's ~ Lunch is already done - Skinnytaste Chicken Florentine. Dinner Pepper Steak over riced cauliflower. I already have wine on my mind, so I will probably have some. Cut by 7:30 and start fast.
Wednesday - Gym for a workout. Fruit/veggie smoothie upon return. Dinner, kale, Italian sausage soup. No wine or alcohol
Thursday - Baby sit in the am. Exercise/Walk with audible in the afternoon. Dinner Leftover Tuesday or Leftover Wednesday. No wine or alcohol
Friday - Gym for a workout. Fruit/veggie smoothie upon return. Salmon with salad for dinner. No wine or alcohol
Saturday - We already know we're going out for drinks. So the plan is to eat nutritionally for lunch staying around 500 calories and leaving 1500 for 3 drinks and food, so a 2000 calorie day.
Done!
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@tobinross Tracking food definitely helps in the weight loss department; I've been pretty lax about it these last few weeks, and it's showing on the scale. Nice job on the AF days (my favorite NA beer is the Stella Liberte)
So much to think about in these few sentences - faster failure recovery, not putting oneself down or self-punishing with alcohol, intentionally planning failures - these are the ones that resonate with me the most.globalhiker wrote: »A comment about this LA and AF mission, the journey involves developing the skill of failure management. Fewer failures, failing better, faster failure recovery, not planning failures to begin with, not putting oneself down after a failure, not self-punishing oneself with alcohol due to a failure, not suppressing the bad feeling with alcohol, and preventing potential failures. Each time we fail, it's an opportunity to reflect and learn and figure out how we want next time to be.
Self-reflection: Looking back, I intentionally planned my failures. That doesn't make logical sense does it?
@Stepawayfromthetable nice job staying AF at the mall. AC and a birthday sounds like a lot of fun (and temptation), there's definitely no reason to get upset with yourself if you decide to have 1 or 2.
@SurferGirl1982 hooray for power!
@Michieb125 I was in Lowe's Foods yesterday and almost bought a Meiomi; I ended up getting an Ariel Cab instead. It was ok for change of beverage taste, but I wouldn't spend 14 bucks on it again. I haven't had hot cocoa in ages MMMMM.
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I almost lost track of why I initially wanted to be AF for 30, 60, or 90 days. It was a bit of an experiment to see if my weight would decline steadily by being AF. I've mentioned before, that in the past, that when I quit drinking that the weight basically fell off of me without even trying. I was being mindful of the foods that I was eating. But I wasn't logging my food or exercising. By moderating my alcohol consumption, it messes up the experiment. By just going 30 days AF one could get a pretty good idea of the outcome. Which, would most likely be weight loss.
I also remembered another thing that I eat that is high protein. But most people wouldn't like it unless there was something sweet added...plain Greek yogurt. But not all yogurt is created equal. The brand I like is Fage. But there is only one store here that sells it and in some areas it may not even be available. It is much higher in protein than most others and doesn't seem to be as tangy. I actually can eat it straight. I never could do that with other brands. Anyways, a 5.3 oz container of 0% has 80 calories and 16 grams of protein. This isn't going to sound very appealing, but recently I started having a container of it with steamed fresh broccoli (125 grams) drizzled with EVOO, salt, and grated parmesan. Sounds weird. But I just eat to get the nutrition I need with keeping my calories in check.1 -
SurferGirl1982 wrote: »Sounds weird. But I just eat to get the nutrition I need with keeping my calories in check.
Isn't it weird how we all start to do that when we drink too much? I eat a lot of cottage cheese and chicken breast whether I like it or not
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@chicbuc I actually like the broccoli and yogurt. I try to eat foods that support liver health. Broccoli is one of them, EVOO is also good for liver health. I used to put homemade spreadable butter (blended KerryGold butter and avocado oil mix) and parmesan on my broccoli but recently started using the EVOO instead. Either/or is OK I guess. Anyways, the meal is low-calorie, high protein, contains healthy fat and fiber and all the broccoli nutrients. Plus, I cut up the broccoli in advance and use a silicone microwave steamer, so it is very easy and quick to prepare 🙃0
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