LESS Alcohol ~ APRIL 2025 ~ One Day at A Time

itladyee · April 6

@MissMay ~ I will be happy to include " The three ways alcohol…" in the info section next month. I might need a reminder though! :)

I'm going to add LA to my stats this month. I'm finding I'm having a glass of wine, starting the second one and not finishing it….which is good… and I go back to water. Soon, I won't even pour the first glass! I will probably finish the 1/2 bottle tonight with dinner… Sleep has been extremely good too, it's like it's the perfect balance.

My March Madness fun came to an end last night. I needed Florida (yes) and Duke (no) to win. I will still watch tomorrow night though!

@SurferGirl1982 ~ Cutting back is good…keep at it! I use my phone to "check" but if I'm if I'm planning to post, I grab my computer!

@Womona ~ I thought spring had sprung BUT we're expecting SNOW tomorrow! Yikes! I like the 2 + 2 plan. Sounds like a fun time at the bar but I can only do that kind of socializing about once every 6 months….

@chicbuc ~ Congrats on 7th place out of 112 dancers. That's amazing. I think you posted pictures of your grandson a while ago. Great job on being AF as well!

@MissMay ~ that's odd that your drink was so poorly presented. My husband and I had date night last Friday and he ordered a mocktail (because of lent) that cost more than my drink and was prettier too!

Let's see if you can guess which is which:

@globalhiker ~ hope you're feeling better. Those allergies are something else!

Stats thru 4/5
A = 2
LA = 2
AF = 1

tmbg1 · April 6

3 AF

1 LA

2 A

NonnieDoiron · April 7

AF - 5
A - 1

Drank a whole bottle of wine on Friday. It just tasted so good. Same wine I always drink, but it just tasted better. I don’t know.

Saturday I cleaned bathrooms, prepped for son’s 18th birthday party, and got him off to prom.

Today, went to early Mass and came home to finish the meatball subs and prep for the party. It was a great party.

My hip is killing me though. I need to make a doctor’s appointment, but I just don’t want to go to my regular doctor. 😕

mfowler883 · April 7

Aight, caved. I'm owning it. Nothing over the top, just a little merlot. Looking at my numbers so far for the month, I'm not going to whinge and whine, I'm doing better overall and the trend is moving the right way.

@NonnieDoiron have you looked into hyaluronic acid? It's awesome for joints.

2 LA
3 AF
1 A

-m

itladyee · April 7

Don't want to talk politics, but this market thing has me stressed beyond belief. I'm one of those silent stressors…. I've made a lot of changes in the last year to support retirement, and now….I don't even know what to think.

Being home more (part-time) exposed me to more news, opinions, searches etc and I'm not sure if it's a good thing. 1 wine bottle down tonight, it could have been worse. I have to find a better way to cope..

Stats thru 4/6
A = 3
LA = 2
AF = 1

NonnieDoiron · April 7

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48557003#Comment_48557003

I have not. I’m on Celebrex for arthritis in my knees, and it helps a lot. But, I don’t think my hip is arthritis. My husband thinks it might be bursitis, but my doctor wouldn’t even do an x-ray or CT. He just sent me to physical therapy, and those jokers want to charge me $40 every visit. I’m also not a fan of PT. I honestly have had such negative interactions with PT, that I just immediately resist going. My back and knees were so jacked up, they kept sending me to PT to do exercises. I finally had a therapist who said, “you are very strong, I don’t see how you need PT. I’m going to refer you for an MRI.” Come to find out it was all arthritis and pinched nerves. They finally put me in traction for my back which helped IMMENSELY and did injections in my knees (until my insurance stopped covering the injections). It wasn’t until years later they put me on Celebrex for my knees.

My back only gives me crap when I try to clean my whole house in 1 day. If I break it up, I’m fine. Like I said, my knees don’t really bother me anymore. My hip is unbelievably painful, and it kept waking me up last night. If I can get out of this meeting I’m supposed to be on today, I’m thinking of going to the urgent care. I know they have access to X-rays and CT, maybe I can get an answer from them. I just really want an answer. I want to know what it is. I hate the guessing game doctors play, wasting time. Just do the damn scans! If it’s truly something PT can help with, fine! I’ll go. But, don’t waste my time and money.

MissMay · April 7

Woo hoo we made it to another Monday.

@mfowler883 LESS is LESS, and LESS is as important as none. Take it easy on yourself. It was not the entire bottle or even half the bottle.

MissMay · April 7

Starting week 9 of aquatic workouts.

Because it takes 12 long weeks to get back into the shape where I left off (which wasn't that great either).

MUSCLE MUSCLE MUSCLE

Kind of a milestone is yesterday marked half of a year on this diligent LESS Alcohol life change. Awareness has been my most helpful friend.

accountability April-

1 A- 1 standard drink

5AF

🙂🙂🙂

BurnMode05 · April 7

This weekend kicked off with a birthday brunch, which was a nice and relaxing way to start the day. After that, I headed to a kids' birthday party at a bowling alley. Now, I’m used to enjoying a drink or two when bowling, but this time, I decided to skip the booze. It felt a little strange at first—I had the urge to walk over to the bar, but that passed after just a few minutes. It was a weird feeling, but also a little empowering to stay on track!

Tomorrow's my weigh-in day, and I’m hopeful for a little weight loss. It’s always nice to see the results after making healthier choices. Let's see how it goes!

AF = 6

A = 0

Michieb125 · April 7

Congrats on making a mindful decision to skip the drinks at the bowling alley @margim5. Those decisions felt really weird (at first) for me too and seem to have gotten easier each time I exercise that.

SparkSpringtime69 · April 7

April:

AF=2
A=4

Small, attainable goals yesterday:

AF day = DONE

plan whole day's menu in the morning and log it ahead of time = halfway - planned lunchtime and logged

One processed food (having that right now for breakfast) = had two instead of one (and a handful of jelly beans my SO brought from the store 😡)

take a walk around the neighborhood = 20 minutes done (.89 miles)

SparkSpringtime69 · April 7

@MissMay Congratulations on the half-year milestone, that's an awesome achievement.

@margim5 best of luck on your weigh-in tomorrow - I'll have my fingers crossed for you.

@SurferGirl1982 I think your AF days will come, stress very often sends us in the wrong direction, and it's only the first week of April.

mfowler883 · April 8

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48557018#Comment_48557018

Don't let the media or social media drive the fear agenda. If you pull up graphs that span years and not weeks, you'll find that, while this is a dip, it's not even a big one as market dips go. If you overlay inflation graphs, it gets even more interesting. Data in a bubble is meaningless.

The night is young, I'll throw my numbers later.

-m

itladyee · April 8

@mfowler883 @SurferGirl1982

Thank you for your input. mfowler883 ~ you hit the nail on the head. For the last 45 years, I've been working full time. So when strange things happen, I only got a news recap at the end or beginning of the day. Now that I'm home 50% of the week… I'm hearing news very often and break special "breaking news" updates…..so I realized I was feeding into the hype.

I just need to wait it out…as I expected, kinda!

I need to work on pushing the reset button tomorrow!

Finishing up March Madness even though I'm out of it :)

Catch up with everyone tomorrow.

Stats thru 4/7
A = 4
LA = 2
AF = 1

mfowler883 · April 8

Son is nearing the end of his phlebotomy course, homework was to find "volunteers" to stick. So wife and I and daughter-in-law all got stuck. All three were failed draws, but for what it's worth, he got everything else right and his technique seemed good - it didn't hurt as much as a lot of times I've had labs done. I think he was just more nervous because it was US and not some stranger or classmate.

@SurferGirl1982, don't sweat being an inspiration - the fact that you're here is huge.

2 LA
4 AF
1 A

-m

NonnieDoiron · April 8

AF - 6
A - 1

Didn’t walk due to rain yesterday. Asked my husband to roll/rub my IT band to see if that would help with some of the pain, and it did. There is still hip pain, but I realized there was extra pain because my IT band was too tight. I slept better last night, but still up at 11:00, 2:00, and 4:30 with the pain.

Haven’t logged food since Friday, I think. Need to get back to it today.

Work has almost become non-existent because management was trying to transfer me to my new position, but that start date changed to June 1. So, my days are really slow right now.

Have a good Tuesday!

chicbuc · April 8

@SurferGirl1982 We have plenty of inspiration in this group. The question is, do you gain inspiration from this group. If so, stick around whether you've got an AF day or not. It will come!

@mfowler883 Thanks for your input on the market. Good advice.

@itladyee Try to stay away from the news. They get paid to scare you. Be picky with your social media, too. I know, easier said than done.

@MissMay Happy 1/2 year anniversary!! What a feat!

@margim5 Great job not drinking at an activity that you're used to drinking at! You still had a good time. That proves it's a habit that can be broken.

@NonnieDoiron I hope you figure out your hip situation. Are you on a good fish oil? If it's the hip joint, fish oils are supposed to be really good for them.

@Michieb125 Congrats on the weight loss!

I'm still holding on with 7 AF days in April. I grabbed some groceries on Sunday and the pull to the wine aisle was strong, but managed to divert and stay clear. I don't even LIKE drinking once I start. I just have to remind myself of that.

Make today great, all!!

globalhiker · April 8

@SparkSpringtime69 thanks for your encouraging words. My mood improved since the weekend and I got better sleep. Did not drink and forgot all about it.

How well I stick to goals in general is so mood-driven and feelings-based for me. What affects my mood the most is uneven blood sugar and not getting enough fun time in my day. Going out for a run to rack up some fun time minutes right now.

I appreciate the info posted about sulfur, didn't know that. I will say I have been experimenting to get rid of my joint pain using vital protein chocolate flavor (of course) collagen, 20g. And it's been a miracle. I don't like the taste or texture but I am keeping it up and it's my medicine. Morning stiffness - gone. Knee and Hip tightness and pain -gone. I was super skeptical and didn't expect anything. I also alternate been bromelain and omega 3s for anti-inflammatory support.

About hips - good to get imaging done if there is pain first and foremost otherwise every "expert" to say something different. I have bursitis flares and was told it's from alignment (stretching and 2 chiro visits helped that once), wearing worn shoes, muscle imbalances, how I sit on the couch at night watching TV. So I have to keep up the exercises and self-awareness and slather arnica gel on it when it starts to swell and scream.

Self care is a full time job!

Womona · April 8

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48556222#Comment_48556222

I will die on the hill of “the glass matters.” How disappointing! A little flower or even a paper umbrella would have been a nice touch.

Womona · April 8

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48558657#Comment_48558657

Thank you for pretty much writing my post for me today!!!

I hear ya, sometimes I pour wine, and about halfway through, I’m not even enjoying it anymore.

Womona · April 8

Only one glass of wine with dinner last night, which I am counting as less alcohol. I wasn’t able to play tennis today, so I plan to at least take a walk now that it finally stopped raining!

MissMay · April 8

Good morning. After listening to whining all last night from an acquaintance of mine about why they could not even do some chair exercise to get some mobility I had to send that quote to her.

I have found you can not help those, who will not help themselves.

Yippee I dropped one pound after 9 weeks. Transitioning from flab to muscle. Going to be that 65+ grey hair with guns( big biceps) 💪

tmbg1 · April 8

3 AF

2 LA

2 A

NonnieDoiron · April 9

AF - 7
A - 1

After my husband rubbed down my IT band the pain in my hip seemed to centralize. I could feel it yesterday, and it is definitely deep in the joint.

I had him rub it again last night before bed. I did not do any tossing and turning last night when I slept. I started on my side with a pillow between my knees. It hurt after a few minutes, so I moved to my back and just put the pillow across my belly figuring it would fall to the floor at some point. I woke up with it still on my belly. The good news is the pain did not wake me up last night. Hubby will now be on IT band rub down duty every night. 😉

globalhiker · April 9

@MissMay agree people need to want to help themselves and and they need to believe they can do it. Too many people I run into - younger than me - say "I can't, I am too old for that". I even hear the "I can't's from my grown kids. Even my husband won't lift weights because he's "getting too old for that". Too many of us on this planet walking around with eyes half shut or eyes closed and not seeing the possible or believing the power within.

Off to work and an escape to the gym to feed my psyche. Still in AF and not drinking today for sure because bourbon won't numb what is going on and it won't fix the world or solve anything for that matter.

MissMay · April 9

OMG 😁 Check this out.

While surfing for interesting mocktails I came across this info:

-There are several days and initiatives dedicated to encouraging alcohol abstinence, including World No Alcohol Day on October 2nd, and National Non-Alcoholic Beer Day also on October 2nd-

Do you know what this means? I was born to drink mocktails because my birth date is October 2.

Well there it is! 😃

SparkSpringtime69 · April 9

April:

AF=3
A=5

Started off the week well, yoga and tai chi on Monday and good calorie intake for the day.

Tuesday started good with step/sculpt class for exercise, and good calorie intake for breakfast and lunch. But, I went a bit off the rails in the afternoon/night - 2 large, iced cinnamon rolls for dinner and 1 1/2 bottles of sparkling white 😯.

Woke up this morning feeling quite crappy with a killer headache (of course) and canceled out of the yoga class I had registered for. Tomorrow is another step/sculpt class so my plan is to just have the two glasses of Korbel that are left in the bottle with dinner and then switch out to camomile tea for the evening.

I'm off to do my taxes for the rest of the day. Hope everyone has a great day!

Womona · April 9

@MissMay I love that quote!

@NonnieDoiron sorry to hear you are still having hip pain. Glad the IT band massage is helping.

I had that second glass of wine last night, but it was so delicious with the dinner my husband prepares. I am craving carbs like mad, so that is not a good combination!

Planned drink tonight after work. I’m only going to have one glass of wine and nurse it at the restaurant. I have got to rein in the delicious carby yumminess today. Not that eating carbs is bad, it’s just that my macros are way out of balance lately. I need much more protein than I am consuming.

mfowler883 · April 9

LA yesterday, one beer at the end of the night. Stopped at the grocery with the boy after picking him up from his class, grabbed one for the night and a six pack of NAs that I hadn't seen before, Shiner, no idea if they're any good. Shiner can be hit or miss, especially depending on your mood. I also found big containers of different types of mushrooms, they had hen of the woods, lion's mane, shiitake and king trumpets. I grabbed a pack of the king trumpets just to try them out, since apparently they're basically an overgrown variant of oysters. Pretty tasty, I chopped one up and sauteed it with some bacon crumbles before scrambling it into an egg with a little Iberico cheese. DELIGHTFUL. Now I'm looking at oyster grow kits on amazon, for about $20 I should be able to grow all the mushrooms I can eat - the initial colonization should yield several flushes, and when it tapers off, I can propagate the mycelium in new substrate which is cheap and easy.

3 LA
4 AF
1 A

-m

MissMay · April 9

.I went back to a post I made from 2019 to get this

LESS Alcohol ~ APRIL 2025 ~ One Day at A Time

Replies

Categories