LESS Alcohol ~ November 2025 ~ One Day at a Time

Hi everyone,

11/20: 020 AF days completed since 10/31/25! (Last alcoholic beverage: 10/30/25.)

Yesterday was extremely difficult! I had a hard day at work and felt like I deserved a little "consolation". I was also missing some people at certain bars who genuinely seem glad to see me, though who knows? (I'm a good tipper.) Still, I kept thinking about my weight, my blood pressure, my skin, my sleep, the COST (financial and otherwise) as well as my very fragile self-esteem that I'm beginning to build, and I went straight home. I was so relieved when I walked through my door!

Hi @NonnieDoiron, You're so right! This day-to-day weighing is madness! I was 152.6 yesterday, but the scale said 154.4 today, even though I was careful, stayed under calorie limit and walked home! It's enough to drive me nutz! I'm going to follow Donna's advice (@deepwoodslady) and set up an account at trendweight.com which might help.

Have a great day!
💗Carole

Thank you @globalhiker, @NonnieDoiron, and @Womona for your support! I did blow my streak - 18 days for Nov, but 21 days in total. I wish now that I hadn't. But, I guess I needed to find out for myself. I didn't even finish the half-pint (dumped it out), but I woke up with a headache, blood-shot eyes, and just feeling horrible. It's funny how our bodies built up a tolerance. I didn't think a half-pint would affect me that way (I used to drink four times that amount). Anyways, I've learned my lesson. I hope I never drink again. It just isn't worth it.

@NonnieDoiron I'm glad the dog is OK. I always worry because all the vets in our valley are only open normal business hours (closed in the evenings and weekends). The nearest emergency vets are 60 miles to the north and 120 miles to the south. Fortunately, we had very few incidents with our cat, Tinker, and they all happened to be during normal business hours.

Also, I do believe that high cholesterol is hereditary. They used to say not to eat eggs, etc. Then, later, they were saying dietary cholesterol has no effect on cholesterol readings. My cholesterol has always been in the good range. I guess we just have to experiment for ourselves.

@Walela617 Congrats on your 20 day streak. Are you still hanging out at bars while you are working on being AF? I'm not sure if that's a good idea. But, maybe, that's where all of your friends hang out.

Looking good @xbowhunter!

Well, it's back to the drawing board today. I'm sure I won't mess up again. It sucks that I blew my streak though!

@Walela617 Congrats on 20 days AF (going on 21 today). I just reread your previous post. I realize now that you were missing certain people at the bars because you were no longer going to them. Sorry I misunderstood.

I'm back on Day 1! I will post later.

Have a good evening!

@Womona “Adventures with MIL” sounds like a warning to me! That woman drives me bonkers. I’ve promised God instead of thinking mean thoughts about her when she walks in the room I will pray a Hail Mary. God forgive me, but I don’t think I ever stop praying! I thought she needed the oxygen too, but apparently she’s trying to “exercise” so she doesn’t have to rely on it. Unfortunately, her noises are awful. I think she is having “accidents” too. Her room is starting to get a smell we all complain about when we have to walk past her room, but my husband won’t ask her about it. She tries to hide it and do laundry when we’re not around like last night when we were at the church social. Unfortunately, until she feels comfortable doing the laundry, we are stuck with smelling whatever we’re smelling.

Worked until 9:22 tonight on this stupid review. My boss can be a real pain in the butt. She’s a procrastinator and can’t settle on anything which makes for a very bad combination. I don’t think she’s a perfectionist, but she is just never satisfied. She basically let everyone know around 4:00 this afternoon that we were working late whether we wanted to or not. I told her I wouldn’t work past 9:00, but I gave her an extra 22 minutes.

@WestCoastGirl_1 I so glad you didn’t let 1 day hijack your goals! YAY!!

A-0
AF-20 (110 total)

12 AF

1 LA

8 A

@GGinCA Your story sounds a bit familiar to mine. For many years, my moderation plan was to drink three non-consecutive days a week (T, Th, Sat). I had been drinking daily for a very long time, so this would have been a great improvement. Sunday would come around, which was supposed to be an AF day. But I would want something to drink. I would tell myself that it was Sunday and the liquor store closed at 5 pm here on Sundays, so I better get something and that I would start on Monday. Monday would come around. Again, I would get something and tell myself that I would start on Wed. Sometimes, it would be towards the end of the month and I would tell myself that I would start on the first of the month. This went on for years.

I had some medical issues a few years ago related to alcohol consumption. I woke up in the middle of the night vomiting blood and then spend five days in the ICU. I was told not to drink again by my doctors. I did pretty good a first. I was scared sober! But, I eventually reverted back to my old ways. At this point, I really don't think any amount of alcohol is safe for me.

Fortunately, the thing that I've experienced is that the more AF days I get, the less I feel like drinking. It feels good to get a good night's sleep, wake up refreshed, and be able to get things done. When I was drinking daily, I got to a point where I rarely left the house (my husband did all the shopping and errands). My balance and coordination were off. I couldn't exercise or walk and normal household chores were difficult. I basically was having problems functioning. Since having my 21 day streak with 1 screw up, I feel back to normal. I'm able to function again and I've been losing weight as a plus.

Keep trying to achieve your goals. We need to find a way to trick our minds when it tells us it is OK to drink when we know it's a planned AF day. But, that's the hard part. For me, it's easier just to quit completely.

Have a good day everyone!

I love your results @xbowhunter and @GGinCA! I definitely feel much better when I don’t drink. I certainly sleep better!

@WestCoastGirl1 congrats on not letting one day derail you!!!!! Way to go. It is amazing how our tolerance goes way, way down when we cut back. Our weight goes down too!

Congrats @Walela617 ! Love your streak! You too @tmbg1 !

@NonnieDoiron oh geez in both your MIL’s accidents and getting stuck working late. Ugh ugh ugh.

I had one planned glass of wine last night, didn’t accept a refill. I’m going to have one drink again this coming Monday , and that’s it. I’m AF this weekend, my body needs it.

Happy Friday everyone!

November:

AF - 21
A - 1

@Michieb125 your attitude is inspiring and you remind me that we all have that "reset" ability.

Making an apple cider brined turkey for Thanksgiving. Bought all the food yesterday. I was a TJ's also and had to pick up their cranberry sauce.

These days leading up to Thanksgiving will be AF for me. No drinks in the house and I am not stepping foot into a store since my shopping is all done.