LESS Alcohol ~ July 2025 ~ One Day at A Time
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Started my second vacation of the month yesterday. Still aiming to drink less than I did last month, though Saturday threw me off a bit with an unplanned drink. If I do end up drinking on this trip, I’m limiting it to one—hoping to break even on my “A” days.
AF = 17
A = 10
On another note, I’ve joined the group. I’ve been participating on this discussion board for about six months now, and it’s been a really valuable space. It’ll take me a bit to get used to how group access works differently compared to the board. Honestly, I’m not sure I would’ve joined if it had started as a group, so I’ve been thinking about how that shift might impact visibility and accessibility for new folks.
@itladyee But I also totally understand the need to streamline and reduce admin workload—so I’m open to the change and curious to see how it evolves.
Looking forward to connecting more through the group and continuing to work on this month’s goals—one day (and one decision) at a time.
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"I changed the name of the spreadsheet to LA Tracker 2025, the original link should still work."
This was my practice with the copy/paste and toggle. It worked.
I'm okay with either the group or the discussion. Honestly I don't think I would have found this great support discussion if it had been a group. It was luck that I spotted @itladyee's photo on the motivation and support category.
July Stats
AF 20
LA 4
A 3I prepped pork and vegetable kabobs for DH to grill yesterday, and decided that I wanted a glass of red wine with the meal. I drank a glass and a half, but there's still wine left in the bottle. Neither of us finished it off. Hurray! Moderation worked this time.
Congrats to all who are making their goals.
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@itladyee here are the pastry recipes
I bought puff pastry, thawed both sheets, and rolled it out a little. I cut each one into 8 rectangles.
For the filling, I had two blocks of cream cheese that I let soften.
I whipped one block until fluffy, added a packet of sugar in the raw and whipped more. I divided that as evenly as I could and placed on 8 of the puff pastry rectangles. Then, I took some strawberry pie filling (I had left over in the freezer) and put a little bit on each. Folded them over and crimped the edges with a fork. Brushed the tops with lots of melted butter. Baked at 400 degrees for 15-20 mins. I made a glaze that was about 3/4 cup powder sugar, a good squeeze of vanilla paste (measured with the heart), and some milk and drizzled over the top.With the other block of cream cheese, I whipped until fluffy. Mixed in a heaping tbsp of Everything Bagel seasoning and about a 1/2 to 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan. Divided as evenly as possible between the remaining 8 rectangles of puff pastry. Folded them over, crimped edges with a fork, brushed the tops with lots of melted butter, and sprinkled more of the seasoning on top. Then, baked those at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Very easy and not a single one made it to today. 🤣🤣🤣
Next time, I’m going to add cherry pie filling instead of strawberry. I was also thinking about doing these options too:- peanut butter and jelly
- Marshmallow and Nutella
- Bacon and/or sausage, egg and cheese
- Goat cheese with olive oil, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, and roasted garlic
- Apple pie filling with strussel topping and glaze
- Vanilla custard with chocolate icing (easy eclair)
- Ham and cheese
- Tomato, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil
I think I should stop or I’m going to buy the store out of puff pastry. 🤣🤣🤣
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@NonnieDoiron ~ Thank you. They looked so good!! and I love that there's none left!!! 🤩
I'll try to make them when I get back from vacation.
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I love your menu @nbruns83 - and that you made an intentional choice for a glass of red wine.
Tonight I’m making filet mignon and mushrooms, peppers and zucchini. I bought a good red wine to try with the menu so am planning on 1-2 glasses. Moderation is my priority this week!
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Must try these too!
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@NonnieDoiron thank you for the pastry recipes, and some of the variations you listed sound great too.
@itladyee have a wonderful vacation.
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@NonnieDoiron, I'm adding my thanks for the pastry recipes. I'm going to try them - it'll be my first time with frozen puff pastry.
@Michieb125, Your dinner plans sound delicious, and I hope you truly savor that good red wine.
July Stats
AF 21
LA 4
A 3The rest of yesterday's wine is still in the bottle and corked. Maybe I'll have to cook with it before it decays. Or maybe DH will finish it, but lately he's preferred a cold beer. Anyway, it's a not a temptation tonight.
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@Michieb125 @itladyee @SparkSpringtime69 @nburns167 I was laying in bed last night trying to get to sleep when I realized I made an error in the Parmesan measurement. Should be 1/4-1/3 cup, not 1/2-1/3.
Ok, and this is why I typically drink. Laying in bed replaying every conversation, email, text message before I fall asleep is so annoying. I just want to turn off my brain. I can’t seem to find a way to do it. And still last night was AF… can you tell?🤦🏻♀️
AF-24
A-4Who dropped off the tracker? I went from line 6 to line 5? 🤔
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@itladyee I like your new group banner, the color, font and all. I like your organization of all the main information (I always thought it was too much content). I went in the group, got overwhelmed and couldn't post. I used to like it best when this group was set up as a challenge, but that is me. I love the simplicity of just having a place where I can drop in and chat. Downsides of a "group" is that it could deter future folks from joining. IMO I would like to keep the group as-is with your new banner and organized first page if that is possible, but maybe introduce one monthly mini-challenge and have that mini-challenge be more of a subgroup so folks wanting that "structure" have that option?
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@NonnieDoiron marshmallow and nutella please!
Today I will drink my homemade fizzy limeade soda and go burn 800 calories before the chocolates call my name.
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Another disadvantage to a group is that unless you join, you can not bookmark it in MFP. If someone just wants to lurk for a while before deciding to join, you have to bookmark the group in your browser to find it again. I still think it is best to leave this as a discussion or challenge…someplace you can just pop-in from time to time. And, I do believe there will be less members and activity if it becomes a group.
@NonnieDoiron I'm the one that dropped off of the tracker. Personally, I don't think this discussion is the best venue for me. I'm really looking at total abstinence (of course, there will be slip-ups). But reading about how many glasses of wine someone drank that day or that a person only drank three days during the last week, or even worse that someone has a cocktail or two before dinner and then has wine with dinner. Those situations makes me think I can do that too. That's wonderful if you're just trying to cut down. That was always my goal…to only drink three nonconsecutive days a week. But after 20 years of trying, I've finally realized that that is never going to happen.
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June and July were not without their challenges for me. We should get the results for the genetics test for my sister next week and then we can start planning the next steps. I am, and I’m sure my sister is too…, ready to deal with this issue and move on.
I can’t wait for vacation in early August. Good news… We are driving, so I think there will be more opportunities to have some AF days on vacation, and I’m ok with that.
@nbruns83 ~ you are doing very well. I have one of those wine vacuums to suck the air out of a bottle. I never used to need it, but lately, I've been using it, which is another good thing! How did the pork and vegetables kabobs turn out? I’ve never tried to do a pork one as I felt it might take too long to cook compared to the veggies.
@NonnieDoiron ~ thank you for the recipe correction. I get bored making the same stuff all the time so I’m excited to make these… I totally understand wanting a brain on/off switch!!
@globalhiker ~ that’s a lot of calories to burn!! Good luck! :) Appreciate the feedback, I don’t think you can add a banner, fonts and colors to a discussion. Just how MFP works….
Thank you all for the feedback on group vs discussion. It’s all valuable information. I will repost the link for the August discussion again.
Claiming today as AF as well. Actually better than June!! That’s a win.
July Stats
10 AF
19 A5 -
1
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July:
AF=12
A=163 -
1
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July Goals:
12 AF days
AF=10
A=10
LA - 8 (at 2 glass limit)Really enjoyed the red wine last night with our delicious meal. Stopped at 2 and put a wine saver cork on it. This is what moderation feels like for me — carefully selecting a nice bottle to pair with my dinner and then stopping. Tonight is AF with my Key Lime Mocktail and a lighter meal.
Logged another 3-mile walk in nature this am but things are heating up here now @SparkSpringtime69 and others with he**ish heat waves!3 -
@LittleSurferGirl7 I'm sorry that you feel uncomfortable with the broad focus of what less alcohol means to various members of the group. I can certainly understand your realization that complete abstinence will be best for you. You are completely right in recognizing that any alcohol is a dangerous chemical and has cancer causing potential. I hope you can find the support you need here on MFP or in person, perhaps a 12-step group, to make the complete break. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers whatever you decide to do. Hugs, Nancy
@itladyee, In the past, I cut the pork cubes pretty small to grill evenly with the vegetables. But this time I just made separate skewers so we could start the pork earlier; they turned out great. Best of all, I kept all the heat out of the kitchen.
AF for me today, not sure what I'll be cooking. I wish I could be satisfied with "everyday food." 😏
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There is a bookmark ribbon on the discussion , but not on the group.
Ok. I don't think bookmarking a group is a function of MFP, but I could be wrong. And maybe that was your point….
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My Groups are under Quick Links and they pop right up so it’s doable for me.
As long as these conversations continue to support folks who are actively seeking Less Alcohol, I’d like to be here for the long run.
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@nbruns83 Thanks! I think I'll just do this on my own. I quit for 4 months all on my own. I just mark my AF days on my large wall calendar with circled numbers (in red). I count the AF days in streaks. If I mess up, I start all over at "1". After a few days, I usually do pretty good. When you're looking at your calendar and see all the red circled numbers, it's a pretty good incentive not to drink anything.
I've never been a real big social media fan. My friend talked me into joining Facebook many years ago. Every time I would log off, I felt sad or a sense of doom…weird! Definitely, not for me.
Also, just when you start feeling comfortable or close with someone, it seems they leave. That happened to me once. I couldn't go where she went because the app didn't support the web version, which I use due to vision problems.
I'll probably just stick to the weight loss challenges. The challenges can be a great motivator. When I notice my weight going down from not drinking, it's a major incentive. In fact, a new one starts on this Friday. It's a 3-month challenge, so I should do pretty well.
Have a great day everyone!
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Happy vacationing to @BurnMode05 and @itladyee - I hope you enjoy your trips.
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@LittleSurferGirl7 As you have verbalized, it does seem like this Less Alcohol community has not be meeting your expectations for a while. But it sounds like you are onto something by saying you want to quit alcohol!
Instead of quitting all alone, have you explored joining or starting a new Alcohol Free discussion around abstinence or sobriety? It could be very empowering and motivating. Good luck to you.
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@Michieb125 Thanks! I have thought about starting an Alcohol Free discussion. I even have a name for the discussion that I think would work. Obviously, not everyone would be totally AF. We all would slip-up at times. But, just striving to be AF would be the common theme. And, it would be a place to record our successes or failures. I would set it up as a monthly discussion, most likely, in Motivation and Support. That way people would feel free to just chime in if they had any helpful information or experiences.
There used to be a thread called "Starting Over Alcohol Free". It was good, but when MFP got rid of the Newsfeed, most everybody left. That's when my friend left. We did exchange emails. But, neither of us have tried to contact each other. She probably lost my email. But I added her to my contact list, so I still have hers. I'm just a bit shy about trying to contact her. I'm not sure if she would want to hear from me or not. Or, what's going on in her life now. She was pretty awesome. She was about 30 years younger than me, but we had some very similar life experiences.
I will think about starting the new conversation. I'm not sure if there would be much interest, though. But, who knows!
Take care of yourself!
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16 AF
3 LA
10 A
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Went to a concert Friday night and had only one drink! If the trifecta of Christopher Cross, Men at Work and Toto come to town, it was a really enjoy concert and I encourage you to go!
Saturday I am proud that I did not have a drink while sailing! 2 wines and a port during and after dinner, honestly lot bad. Sunday I had two of each, and tonight and last night only one.
This heat! Holy cow! Went for a bike ride with my son and going my normal pace was so much more difficult than it normally is. I was lightheaded afterwords and couldn’t finish driving home! No amount of water or electrolytes during the day made me feel significantly better after being in the oven. So, I am continuing to drink fluids and hope tomorrow I’m back to normal.
@itlaydee I just put my response on the group thread!
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@NonnieDoiron glad to hear your MIL was released from the hospital. 7 liters, holy cow!!!! How long does dialysis usually take? Too bad it can’t come to her house if she’s having digestive issues.
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Well, they don’t have in-home dialysis unless she goes back to peritoneal dialysis (PD) which would require install of an abdominal catheter, but there is a high rate of infection with it. She ended up in the hospital A LOT when she was doing PD. So, she switched to hemodialysis and had the catheter removed.
She seems to constantly have gastric issues which is why I whole-heartedly believe she needs to be taken off Ozempic. But, I will say, some days it’s just worse than others. So who knows.🤷🏻♀️
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17 AF
3 LA
10 A
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