LESS Alcohol ~ MARCH 2025 ~ One Day at A Time

Hey, y'all…been a hot minute. I see some familiar names and some unfamiliar names. Hell, I'm not even sure when I last dropped in here….year and a half or so, I guess, looking at my profile.

Been some ups and downs. Bella cat is almost two now, still doing great and finally growing out of that ankle destroyer phase. My weight crept up for a while, topped out around 206 so while I didn't put it ALL back on, I put more than I wanted on. Son's long distance gf moved here last summer, and they got married in February. I officiated, that was pretty cool. Now, since I'm ordained, I'm thinking about doing weddings as a side gig. Anyway, to get back into my suit, I had to drop some of the weight so that was a big motivator to get back on track. I'm wobbling around the high 180s and low 190s right now.

Alcohol has been another thing entirely. I do this thing….if it's here, I will drink it. I've had to start really processing a lot, I now understand more clearly that a big part of it has been silencing all the noise in my head so that I can sleep instead of laying in the dark, staring into the void while the endless stream of chatter runs through my brain. As '24 wound down, I reached a point once again where I was putting away a fifth of Larceny a week, plus beer, plus wine, plus mezcal, plus whatever else…and one day it stopped working. I was getting about two hours of sleep a night despite my best efforts to drink myself into oblivion.

So it was time to hit the reset button again.

This time, I've got elaborate stacks for am and pm. The pm stack is MaryRuth's sleep gummies with melatonin, lemon balm and l-theanine, ashwagandha, kava kava, and magnesium glycinate. The am stack is cordyceps, chaga, hyaluronic acid, potassium, and Stamets stack - a microdosing stack that adds niacin and lion's mane. The am stack, the chaga, cordyceps and hyaluronic acid are for respiratory health as I'm recovering from long covid again and the rest helps with getting my head straight. The pm stack gets washed down with Yogi Bedtime and/or Celestial Sleepytime, and that whole combo has me sleeping better than I think I've ever slept in my life. It's weird, I lay down and just fall asleep. Is this what it's like for other people?

I learned a while back that things like microdosing are great tools, but YOU have to do the WORK. So I'm doing the work. It's not fun, but it is what it is. I've really made a lot of changes to the way I look at my past, and instead of letting it grind me into the soil's embrace, I'm learning to navigate it in a more accepting way.

I still drink, not even sure offhand when my last NA day was, but it's not like it has been…so there's that. This week has been pretty bad food-wise, the Ramadan iftar buffets are a great way to stuff your face if that's your thing LOL. Back to healthy food tonight, though.

Anyway, I'm feeling that tendency to drink more than I should again, so I wanted to pop back in here for a while, make a more intentional effort to drink less. I hope y'all are well, sorry I'm not likely to scroll back super far and get properly caught up.

-m

Today will be my first dry anniversary (unless I was pregnant that year) in 39 anniversaries. I am trying not to associate alcohol with celebrations. I am 3 weeks sober today. When I went on a "Sober for Lent" journey, I didn't really realize the time period would involve my husband's birthday and our anniversary, but actually, experiencing a situation where I would normally drink is a good test for me. At 21 days, sobriety is feeling normal, but I wish I could stop focusing on "What do I do after Easter?" and just take it day by day. My mind just races ahead. I just need to tell myself, "Today is all that matters."

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

Seems like a common thread, Womona - long day, work and errands and all…

Stopped by the store and restocked a few of my supplements. I made my own grow bag with coco coir, gypsum, vermiculite with a little added oats, coffee grounds and egg shells. Vacuum packed it and stuck it in the sous vide to pasteurize. Got spores coming Tuesday, this will be my first time growing anything like this. If it works, I might try my hand at oyster and lion's mane as well. Learning about mycology is neat!

Wrapping up my evening with a little Chartreuse - found some for the first time in several years, bought three bottles. It was a staple of my goth boy glory days in the mid 90s, so I've long had a soft spot for it. Poured myself a flask to enjoy for now and the rest is buried in the closet. Sipping on that tonight, have a beer reserved for tomorrow and going to try to get through next week without drinking.

I could be wrong, but let's say 23 A days, 0 NA. How many of the As are LAs, not sure. I'll try to keep better track in April.

Thanks for the welcomes. I just found myself feeling like I needed to get back into an environment with some accountability and support without pressure or criticism - I get enough of that from myself LOL.

-m

March Madness! Goal 50% AF (AF=16 A=15)
Monthly Stats - Target Missed
AF = 4
A = 18
Current Streak - AF = 0
Longest Streak - AF = 8

Bad news ~ daily drinking
Good news ~ not drinking nearly as much. Even had a NA beer yesterday!

When I realized I was still working on the same bottle of wine for two days +, that was progress :). But still room for improvement! In a crazy mind space and need to snap out of it. I have been diligently exercising at home as I build back the stamina after not being well. Tomorrow I plan to return to the gym for a decent workout and brain clearing session~

@mfowler883 ~ Welcome back and thanks catching us up and explaining the desire for alcohol (in my case wine) so well. ie: Silencing the noise. But, yes, there are other options to cope with life….just a little crazy at the moment.

@SunnyDays930 ~ Happy Anniversary!!

@Michieb125 ~ way to go getting back into the healthy rhythm. I think once I hit the gym tomorrow it will push me in that direction as well. Hope things are going better with your Mom.

Note to self: There's always going to be "something".

Happy Sunday everyone!!!

@SunnyDays930 (weird that sometimes tagging users works, other times not so much) Increasing activity helps. Giving up alcohol helps more - alcohol plays havoc with your metabolism and is loaded with calories. At the end of the day, though, 95% of weight loss happens in the kitchen and 95% of dieting is calorie budgeting. It sucks, believe me I know - I love food, I don't have to be hungry to eat and I don't stop when I'm full. MFP is a great tool, though. Here's what I've learned: weigh in daily, first thing in the morning, and log EVERYTHING you consume. Over time, you will start to see the patterns emerging - if you are gaining, cut calories until you are no longer gaining. That's your baseline, your calorie budget. Now you know, if you consume more than that, you will gain, consume less and you'll lose.

Cutting calories can be hard, because they're EVERYWHERE. Some things are shocking when you realize how many calories there are. Substitutions are your most powerful tool. Keto Culture buns and Mission low carb tortillas, Sara Lee Delightfuls 45 calorie bread, EggBeaters, Kraft fat free shredded cheese, Kraft light mayo, almond milk…make those changes and you can instantly cut hundreds of calories out of a typical day's meals. Portion control is everything, even with the substitutions. WEIGH AND MEASURE. Three ounce portion of fries is 150 calories? Bust out the scale. The air fryer is your friend - that 150 doesn't account for frying in oil.

Activity levels and types of diets can manipulate your budget - keto, paleo, Mediterranean, carnivore, pick a diet, any diet….I found with keto I could eat more; I also found with intermittent fasting (18/6) I could eat more. But neither of those is easy to sustain or really particularly good for you. Watch for calorie bombs. Wife likes avocados, bUt ThEy HaVe GoOd FaTs yeah no, I'll get my good fats from salmon. Fish and veggies are your friend.

-m

17 AF

1 LA

6 A

(A means 3+; LA means 1-2; and AF means none)

af 2

Strong start…Monday

Walking over 10

Meal logging all meals

Exercise 45

NEXT up try try to have a good night sleep so I’m able to repeat. I feel I do terrible when I’m tired.

Was doing okay yesterday, something tripped a switch and I caved. Call it LA. I picked up on my response and made a conscious choice not to continue drinking after that initial knee-jerk reaction.

-m

Between my treadmill and running after a 2 year old all day, I had 15,000 steps. That's 7.5 miles. Now enjoying a Heineken 00 with my feet up.

A 1

AF 24

@MissMay I think the Intro you have is pretty good. Suggestions from my point of view and your call totally how you wish to display it: perhaps just shift the positive benefits to the top section (anti-aging, shinier hair, better digestion, less bloating, more energy, more money, sharper thinking, increased happiness, more quality time, increased self esteem and self confidence, all that good stuff). Then followed by tips for how to boost motivation and manage cravings.

Great if MFP allowed background color and some designs to brighten up the page.

Thank you for continuing to lead, you are doing an amazing job !!

Hi @MissMay and thank you for the invitation to offer any new ideas for content for next month.
I think of this thread as a safe space to give and receive support to those who are, or working to achieve a less alcohol lifestyle.

Maybe we might add to the new month opening statement: Prompt questions are welcome.

Something like….For those folks who are comfortable, feel free to ask a prompt question now and then. This may be helpful to spark even more personal commitment and accountability during the week. These are meant to be useful for personal reflection.

Mine might be: Visualize yourself in the coming days. What challenges do you face and how will you overcome them?

Or, what positive changes are you experiencing right now as you continue to grow on your less alcohol journey?

Or, what has helped you become more successful as you move toward healthier drinking habits?

Just my 2 cents - have a great LA day everyone.