globalhiker Member

Week 1 is done! Blew my AF streak by over-doing it at a Cinco de Mayo party but AF otherwise. Now back to AF and contemplating Mother's day AF drinks. My typical plan for losing weight before a trip is doing more weights, walking on the treadmill before dinner. I just stocked up on soups and am making my lunch a…

@SunnyDays930 sending you big hugs and strength! You also inspire me with the way you are remaining committed to self-care during this time. I had to put my very ill 15 y.o. lab mix down a few years ago and I handled it on behalf of the family. They thanked me for handling it but I carried a heavier share of the grief load…

I'm in for May! Just realized a day late that April flew away. Here's to a successful new month for all of us! Goals: 1-keep my house as a no-drinking zone; wine purchases just not allowed; keep tart juices on hand in case 2-exercise daily (still not medically cleared medically for running or weights so bummed it's driving…

@SparkSpringtime69 you make a good point about stress & I agree we tend to go for what relieves it easily. I am all for lifestyle habits that take a bit of effort but promote low stress and therefore make it easier for us to be successful and happy.

@NonnieDoiron sending you strength and hugs. I hope things are getting better. @Womona hugs to you for your uplifting words, I needed it. You got through the whole drama with the power going down and all & I am glad everything is restored. I'm with you on the restaurant thing. Someone smart should listen to us and add…

Sending strength and big hugs to those of us going through really tough unexpected challenges. My past week has been hellish, recovering from surgery and I will spare the details but I derailed my plans and been drinking wine past few nights this weekend. Why my brain doesn't direct me to do something like yoga or massage…

@NonnieDoiron so totally agree with you on benefits of leaving a bad job (gave me an opportunity to step into a better job with cool friendly humans - they do exist!). Bad jobs can drive a person to drink and keep drinking literally. Been there! @lmlmrn you have come such a really long way! Wow. It's good to look back and…

This is the BEST group! I had 48 hrs of friends and family over for Easter weekend and it was a fun 2 day drinking and eating event but the drinks are all gone & I am ready to hit new goals for April. I like to pair up my no-drinking with the goal of weight loss since it gives me a feeling of reward. Goal is to get to…

Monday was a good turn-around "AF" day. Feeling motivated. This is the final week of the month. HOME STRETCH. @Michiel125 I appreciate the reminder and yes, we do need to remember we all came a long way @Womona good advice and you remind me that striving for continuous perfection as much as I want it, winds up being…

This week I hit a derailment with 2 drinking nights in a row. Depressing. It wasn't even very tasty. Red wine, bleh. I regret the calories, hot flashes, and acid indigestion. I was having such a good no-drinking streak and I think I just got to the end of my "stress" threshold. I am dealing with a lot of medical stuff…

@SunnyDays930 good job you! If you can do a 3 week stretch, you can do anything. @Itladyee Congratulations and I am excited for you. I hope to be a grandma one day. It's the best job. @xbowhunter I get what you say about the inflammation. For me, I found out that certain foods do it to me and definitely alcohol if consumed…

AF for March so far. @dmally1 congratulations on your sharp turnaround! Nice! @MissMay you are right regarding something missing from my life based on my old posts. I was sulky; unhappy about my job, didn't prioritize myself as a result, and in retrospect should've taken action long time ago. Lesson learned: one's self and…

@Michieb125, thanks and your weight loss is commendable!

Thank you, MissMay for continuing this thread. I am in for March. Goal is 1 "A" day this month, if any. I ended February at 144 lbs, total weight loss, 14 lbs. since Thanksgiving. Progress came from keeping drinking to 1-2x a month max. I feel awesome and I didn't expect this at all. Joints don't ache anymore, I sleep deep…

Friday is here and I needed to check in for inspiration. I'd love to be sitting here reading these posts with a large glass of wine and a steak right now and my brain thinks it's a delicious idea. Actually, a big fat breakfast with mimosas sound spectacular but it is only 6:30 in the morning and I need to go out for a run.…

Weighed in at 145.6, 1.4lbs down from beginning of the month. I'll take it. Total 11.5 lbs lost since Thanksgiving, thanks to the 99% AF plan! For me, I know it's the AF lifestyle that is driving my weight loss. I am making healthy choices and I feel really good. I did however have planned champagne for Valentine's day and…

I've been out of pocket but not drinking or thinking about it until NOW. No drinks on Superbowl Sunday either. Now I am facing mid-month with a planned drinking event tomorrow and the big challenge will be self-control on the quantity. I may drive out of my way to just get 2 mini wines at World Market. Because if my…

I went out to lunch with friends and I had no say over the place and it turned out to be one of 2 restaurants in my area that has "the really great Pinot Grigio". This means it's Italian, a brand not found in our stores, almost ice cold, a really heavy pour, and it's fairly cheap. Earlier in the morning, I had gotten up…

99% AF is WORKING! Scale says 147 lbs today. That's 2.1 lbs down from 2 weeks ago and now 10.1 lbs down since Nov. when I seriously committed. AND I had a high sodium lunch and dinner yesterday so the loss is not water. I attribute the no alcohol to improving the state of my fat burning machine (liver). And maybe it's…

@Womona, great pictures and looks like a fun time! I'm in for Feb! Slipped in 1 "A" day in Jan and went right back to my healthy routine. For Feb., I will plan 1 "A" day allowance mid-month around Superbowl/Valentines. My running program re-starts this morning. It helps create my daily motivation and energy to do healthy…

Staying on the AF wagon. Staying healthy or trying to get healthier is just a full-time job, isn't it? I share people's sentiments about cholesterol. It's tough. So many things raise cholesterol (body fat, aging, declining hormones, not to mention nobody really knows how much fat is in restaurant food). I get threatened to…

@owbowhunter you are right, that first drink after not drinking first goes straight to your head but it tastes terrible for me. @Womona, you made me laugh. "Back in the day" when we had ONLY Levis and Lee Jeans and maybe Wrangler, you are right, zero stretch and they were tight and loose and wide in odd places. But, I do…

Checking in...I so appreciate those of you providing supportive comments! And if anyone wants to know, I did a "transition month" of chocolates while going AF and there were a lot of Russell Stover marshmallow dark chocolates consumed. But, I will say this, the chocolate and sugar helped me through it. A bit of Haagen-Daz…

149.1 lbs is what my scale registered this morning! FINALLY under the 150-mark. This is huge for me and I have now an 8 lb. weight loss since November when I decided to be 99% AF. At least this is what I call it. I had to do this because my liver was just not burning fat AT ALL regardless of how much I over-exercised and…

Everyone is really making a strong effort and results are happening - so encouraging. The only thing in the way of my progress is ME. How much I progress is all up to ME. I learned this after several years of floundering and blaming the world around me. So I remind myself when I wake up that my success today is all within…

Still AF over here. The weight loss "whoosh" for January (after nothing in Nov-Dec) is at 7 lbs. I'm 0.5 lbs over a milestone goal so I really, really, REALLY don't want to drink and delay my getting there. It takes SO much of a planned commitment. Without advanced planning, I get nowhere. I intentionally don't buy wine or…

AF YTD. The best thing I ever did for myself is change my behavior patterns. It took time. I used be the 5pm "run to the supermarket" shopper, in a state of hunger, thirst, stress, headache, aching back from sitting all day, and exhaustion. The perfect storm to pick up one more white wine along with dinner so it cure…

Doctor told me yesterday I lost 5 lbs. since December. I was surprised since the only exercise I have been doing that is new is weightlifting so you'd think I'd be heavier. At least I am heading in the right downward direction. I didn't really change anything since Nov or Dec, but suspect some sort of hormonal…

Great to see so much energy from this group! No alcohol YTD. Been mostly AF over 2 months and it's nice and somewhat powerful to not think about drinking. I quit the micro-counting and have no desire to drink. Now my "thing" is a small glass of red grapefruit juice at night. @Womona glad you mentioned soup because I find…