LESS Alcohol ~ September 2025 ~ One Day at a Time

First pic is in Quebec City…Fairmont Le Château Frontenac…fancy freaking hotel!

The second is at the Saguenay Fjord National Park…Saguenay was so so beautiful!!

The third was leaving Portland. I love lighthouses!

The fourth was the capitol building in Quebec City

I’m struggling this week. I have 15 pounds of fat to lose (down from 17, so that’s progress). My weight really jumped up this summer, and I know it’s a combination of restaurant meals and too much alcohol on our boat. Just when I start to rein it in during the week and my weight comes down, the weekend comes and just derails all of my efforts.

Yesterday I had a golf outing and way overindulged in scones and cookies. Of course my weight is up. So basically if I just stay home and eat the same thing every day, I drop weight. But that’s not realistic.

Of course I understand that our bodies change as we get older (I’m 56), and that if I get down to the weight I was in college, I would look like a cadaver. But I don’t recognize myself in the mirror. My face has just aged within the last 18 months. One day I woke up and I just looked so much older.

I’m just salty that weight never used to be an issue. I could stay slim without even trying. But between a much needed SSRI (with a 20 lb weight gain) and perimenopause, it is so much harder. The peri is what bumped my weight up, much exacerbated by my increased summer drinking. And the holidays are looming, which is another food and wine free for all.

I feel very torn between “dress the body you have, accept the natural aging process” and “get control of this now, it’s only going to be harder in the years to come.”

Thank you for letting me get this off my chest. I really appreciate you guys being my free sounding board! Now, off to the gym and not going off the rails with scones.

Today is new puppy day @itladyee - I’m so happy for you! We picked up our girl when she was 8 weeks old and now she’s turning 12 next month! They truly become such wonderful family members. What a surprise exit strategy your organization sprung on you, ugh! You’re right….you don’t have to worry about knowledge transfer, but you were the responsible one to be concerned. Now you can breathe a bit, play and train your new puppy, and ponder what’s next.

Thanks for sharing your story on weight and aging @Womona - I think most women (and men too) experience the same thoughts and feelings around body and soul as we get older! Things do shift a lot and we do what we can (think buckets of sunscreen) and try to eat our vegetables. You are beautiful on the inside and outside!

@xbowhunter I’ve seen you turn things around quickly- sounds like you are doing it again. Keep going!

AF last night and not sure about tonight when I’m back home at 7:00. Right now I’m continuing to focus on my health and staying within my calories. It’s easier now that I’m home a lot.

Did an unofficial mid-week weigh-in, and I was 189. I won’t log it because I only log on Monday morning. But, I’m down 10.6 lbs. I’m very excited about this, and I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m hoping for a little bit of a shopping trip Thanksgiving weekend for work clothes that fit for my trip back to corporate for our semi-annual performance review. I really think if I keep going at this pace I could lose another 15 to 20 lbs before that trip. To be back in the 160s by Christmas, would be super awesome!

The drinking urge comes in waves. I had a tsunami-sized wave today. I got yelled at for something that wasn’t even my responsibility by the person who is responsible, and it seriously pissed me off! I was ready to go get a bottle of wine right at that moment, but I didn’t. And it really took all I had to talk myself down and remind myself of what I’m trying to do. I seriously debated myself. To the point where I almost convinced myself that everyone has “cheat days”, and I deserve it for losing 10 lbs already. I had every “pro” listed and ready to go buy it, and then I looked at the dress hanging on my door. I decided 1) this isn’t the time for a cheat day and 2) I don’t “deserve” wine for losing weight. Then, I listed the “cons”… tired, headache, and lack of focus tomorrow; weight gain even if water; blow my calorie budget for the week; and probably make my husband mad at me (even though I think that would be hypocritical of him at the moment). So… no wine.

A-0
AF-18

One more AF day yesterday under my belt. :)

A - 14

AF - 4

CW 159.2 GW 150.

This weekend will be challenging to keep my consumption down. I should be able to abstain today but Saturday I plan to have a few drinks then go back to being AF… :)

cheers!

@itladyee she will warm up in no time! So sweet! I miss the puppy stage. Our dog, Brooks, will be the last dog for our family. Especially after today’s vet bill!😢

@nbruns83 I’m not a cat person. (Trauma response from abusive 1st husband… 16 cats, 1 bedroom apt, no pets allowed.) However, I’m glad momma cat chose someone who is! I know @WestCoastGirl_7 is a cat lover too, so I’m glad so many kitties have found good homes lately.

Still sober… grateful today is over. Tomorrow is a new day! Thank God!

A-0
AF-19

@itladyee I love Lola! She is a charmer! You made my morning with those lovely photos. And the job, ugh, but we're all temps really and we never know when the last day will come and the Universe directs it's time for the next new chapter to begin. I had 2 layoffs hit me and one was right before Christmas and I think I drank for a week and ate take out daily to relieve the shock but then life got better fairly quick and I took better care of myself and my life at home was in order and clean and I was relaxed and when I eventually got bored and ready to go back to work, I turned my light on in Linkedin and recruiters started providing offers.

I had a hellish week and drank a bottle of champagne over 2 days, didn't like it but drank it anyway, but made it to the weekend and today I commit to just drinking seltzer and lemon with ginger.

@Womona they say it's normal to gain 1.5 lbs a year, especially between ages 40 and 60. Well, that is 30 lbs. I only learned last year that with hormones being in disequilibrium, the metabolism game is different. The only thing that worked for me was to slap on my garmin watch and focus on Calorie Burn (moving more) because eating less did not work - it ate my muscles instead of my fat and caused my metabolism to slow.

So yeah I aim to move 2-3 hours a day and ensure I eat less than what the total burn number is (I try to hit 2000 before bedtime) and it works. I eat MORE but make sure I am always several hundred calories under what my watch says I burned.

Limit take-out to 1 meal a week, often asian noodle type of dish, and I will mix in a bowl of cooked broccoli to "cut" the calories.

I didn't have time either for 3 hours of exercise a day due to work, so I set my alarm for 3:50 am (yes) and trained myself to get to bed early to get up early to get the exercise hours in and it's a mix (powerwalk, casual walk, hill walk, run, acqua exercises, gym class, stationary bike in front of tv watching news, short weight set, etc). I learn to enjoy it and when I skip it, I really miss it.

First time posting. The title of this thread called out to me!

I was in a bad habit drinking wine every night. Never felt like I “needed” it, I just enjoyed the taste and the relaxation, but there was always the nagging feeling that I was drinking too much.

I have always struggled with my weight. In my early 20’s I was introduced to Overeaters Anonymous and had success, albeit short-lived, for the first time in my life, but I rarely had anything to drink. 35 years and 3 kids later I believe my weight hit a high of 240 then backed down to 230 where I remained for 10+ years. I retired in February and sometime in the Spring I was blessed with the willingness to work on my weight. I spoke to my dr about Ozempic and we decided I needed to try other things first. I started tracking my food on a 1200 calorie guide. Sometimes my calories were below 1000 so that justified a glass of wine which was never just one. I lost about 10 pounds in 2 months and my dr added two prescriptions to help - a final attempt before trying to get my insurance company to approve an injectable. During those months I started going to two exercise classes a week geared toward over 50 years old, then when I returned from a cruise I added an Aqua class. I have never been interested in exercising so this was another blessing. A couple weeks ago I added a second Aqua class.

i haven’t been looking forward to that evening wine at all, and I suspect one of the prescriptions is responsible for that, but I am so grateful! In approximately two months I had one night where I had several glasses of wine and felt horrible the next day. A couple weeks ago I had two margaritas and again felt horrible. I am going on a Caribbean cruise at the end of this month and am hoping that this willingness to watch my calories and avoid alcohol stays (even with the drink package)! I am down to 207 from 230 and am 5’2”. One thing that is VERY frustrating is not one single person except my doctor has noticed! Not even my husband!

Sorry for the long rant. Please keep positive thoughts that I stay true to this journey, especially while on the cruise! Thank you for reading this.

Your stats are great @nbruns83!

Your new little addition Lola is adorable @itladyee - love that you went with a name your grandson suggested……those puppy years are like having a little baby in the house aren’t they? But, so worth it!

Love your positive attitude @Walela617 you always make me smile.

@c_rimmele Welcome! You will find folks with similar goals here.

I also had some Prosecco yesterday but it didn’t taste as good as I thought it would. Funny how things really can change @globalhiker! I sure hope your weekend is better than last week.

Brooks is super cute @NonnieDoiron - it’s getting to be baking weather, so bake!

I hear you are still struggling @WestCoastGirl_7. Maybe consider your idea to go to the hospital or urgent care — it sounds like that could be beneficial to help detox safely.

Working on balancing both scale and non-scale victories this month. Almost time for skinny jeans and boots!