The cutting out/cutting down alcohol thread (part 7)

69chick

Just a quick one this morning to say 10 days af now DB and Day 3 of the challenge completed please Sparkles...:)

Forgot to say Miss P I saw your stepdaughters dress on facebook - wow, thats what I call a prom dress!!! she looks really lovely - very princessy

Hope we all have a good day today...off to work, working late today on a really boring job oh well...catch you all later x

Miss_Piggy_2

Morning all!

How are we all today?

Had a bit of an epithany last night (think thats the right word!:rotfl:). OH went to bed at 8pm with a migraine so I was pottering around by myself. Decided to make some little chocolate cakes and when I finished them I felt quite peckish but was torturing myself by not having one as I'd used up all my calories yesterday. I felt really depressed because I couldn't even eat one cake!

So I have decided life is too short to be counting calories. I have my Paul Mckenna book and CD and am going to start following his principles more closely. Basically:

* Eat when you're hungry
* Eat what you want, not what you think you should eat
* Enjoy every mouthful
* Stop when you think you're full

So we shall see how it goes. You know me, may change my mind in a few weeks. But at the moment I am so fed up of constantly thinking about what I am "allowed" to eat. Its very depressing.

Anyway...enough of that waffle (mmmm....waffles....). Was AF again last night. I do sleep so much better when I haven't had a drink.

First day back at work after my week and a bit off was ok. All the drivers missed me, bless them! (think they missed the cakes I make more though!;))

Miss P
xx

Miss_Piggy_2

69chick wrote: »

Just a quick one this morning to say 10 days af now DB and Day 3 of the challenge completed please Sparkles...:)

Forgot to say Miss P I saw your stepdaughters dress on facebook - wow, thats what I call a prom dress!!! she looks really lovely - very princessy

Hope we all have a good day today...off to work, working late today on a really boring job oh well...catch you all later x

Thank you! She's so in love with it (and so she should be!).

Well done on the 10 AF days!

Miss P
xx

Miss_Piggy_2

Forgot to say....Paul McKenna says to eat more slowly, to put the knife/fork/spoon down between each mouthful and to take your time over each mouthful. Did that this morning with my cereal and Piglet kept telling me to hurry up as he'd already finished! In the end he actually "harrumphed" and wandered off without me!!!!:rotfl::rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

brokepaolo wrote: »

Not AF tonight, sorry.

We had a free drinks and nibbles thing organised by work but I was relatively good and only had two beers, mainly because the food was rubbish and the people there were colleagues I never speak to.

Apart from one lady I've known since I first started ages ago, she's going to the wedding of another former employee who is italian and she asked if I would be willing to write a poem or just a few lines in italian to put in a card from everyone wishing her and her new husband all the best.

So I'm sat here with an iced glass of lime cordial trying to find the inspiration required to write poetry in italian that will be read out in public at a wedding.

no pressure there then!

Hey there

I just wanted to say - NO need to apologise if not AF - the thread is about for all sorts of reasons (cutting down, responsible drinking, af days etc) - if I do drink and don't go over board (ie a couple drinks - like you did last night) then I'm quite proud of myself.

The thread is here for all sorts of reasons - we're all walking our own little paths.

Since joining on here I've cut down SUBSTANTIALLY - and I do have the odd night now where I do have a few drinks, sometimes I have too many.

But the support on here has been amazing, non-judgemental and is always a rock.

So no more apologies

Morning all - AF last night - out gardening til after 10pm and watched the most amazing sunset.

Waves goodmorro to all (Lurks I know I've missed you again)

MP I hope Scotland was amazing - had a peak at the photos!

Miss P - must go and see this dress on FB

Waves to you all - not caught up from yesterday afternoon but I hope everyone is OK and happy

Sparkles well done on all the gardening!

I've been absolutely AF for alot of the month - moderately drank on all other days except one which snuck up on me and reminded me - moderate drinking and me on occasion don't go hand in hand.

Finding my own inner peace/path to walk - I'll get there - we all will. A big whoop whoop for this lovley thread and all those who sail in her.

PS Jo is frantic at work - so I'm sure she's thinking of everyone

brokepaolo

fayjmck wrote: »

Hey there

I just wanted to say - NO need to apologise if not AF - the thread is about for all sorts of reasons (cutting down, responsible drinking, af days etc) - if I do drink and don't go over board (ie a couple drinks - like you did last night) then I'm quite proud of myself.

The thread is here for all sorts of reasons - we're all walking our own little paths.

Since joining on here I've cut down SUBSTANTIALLY - and I do have the odd night now where I do have a few drinks, sometimes I have too many.

But the support on here has been amazing, non-judgemental and is always a rock.

So no more apologies

Morning all - AF last night - out gardening til after 10pm and watched the most amazing sunset.

Waves goodmorro to all (Lurks I know I've missed you again)

MP I hope Scotland was amazing - had a peak at the photos!

Miss P - must go and see this dress on FB

Waves to you all - not caught up from yesterday afternoon but I hope everyone is OK and happy

Sparkles well done on all the gardening!

I've been absolutely AF for alot of the month - moderately drank on all other days except one which snuck up on me and reminded me - moderate drinking and me on occasion don't go hand in hand.

Finding my own inner peace/path to walk - I'll get there - we all will. A big whoop whoop for this lovley thread and all those who sail in her.

PS Jo is frantic at work - so I'm sure she's thinking of everyone

Cheers Fay,

It does feel a bit strange to apologise and I suppose I do it because I'm envious of those people here who have done it so many more times than me.

To be perfectly honest, I don't feel guilty if I've had a couple of drinks whilst out with friends or with work, as I did last night, because the most important thing is to keep it under control and last night if anything was a prime example of me doing just that.

The company i work for has garnered a somewhat dubious reputation as being full of wasters who only work for the promise of a free booze-up and boy, do we have loads of them. In the past, myself and a lot of others would use these free junkets as excuses to get absolutely trollied even if it was just a tuesday evening after work and the free booze was limited until 8pm, we'd still do our best to get as much of the stuff down our necks before we had to start paying.

Yesterday was different because I genuinely did not want to stay out late or even get remotely tipsy and when someone I did know quite well asked me if I was staying for another, I thought to myself 'No Paul, what's the point? you've had a couple, you've had some food. Just go home and think about this sodding Italian poem you have to write'.

So I did just that.

I'm worried about the poem though. In fact, it kept me awake until 2am, which is a bit silly really but makes me laugh a little too.

gien

Morning all,

Another AF night Sparkles so I can tick off Wednesday on the challenge - hooray.

DB, that's 13 in total now.

PharmaRep

Morning all

AF last two nights so thats 4 please DB and 3 in the challenge thanks Sparkles....

graemecarter

brokepaolo wrote: »

Cheers Fay,

It does feel a bit strange to apologise and I suppose I do it because I'm envious of those people here who have done it so many more times than me.

To be perfectly honest, I don't feel guilty if I've had a couple of drinks whilst out with friends or with work, as I did last night, because the most important thing is to keep it under control and last night if anything was a prime example of me doing just that.

The company i work for has garnered a somewhat dubious reputation as being full of wasters who only work for the promise of a free booze-up and boy, do we have loads of them. In the past, myself and a lot of others would use these free junkets as excuses to get absolutely trollied even if it was just a tuesday evening after work and the free booze was limited until 8pm, we'd still do our best to get as much of the stuff down our necks before we had to start paying.

Yesterday was different because I genuinely did not want to stay out late or even get remotely tipsy and when someone I did know quite well asked me if I was staying for another, I thought to myself 'No Paul, what's the point? you've had a couple, you've had some food. Just go home and think about this sodding Italian poem you have to write'.

So I did just that.

I'm worried about the poem though. In fact, it kept me awake until 2am, which is a bit silly really but makes me laugh a little too.

The person I would have to apologise mostly to was myself. I would say to myself 'I am not drinking tonight', but then have some drinks.
I would also pledge to remain alcohol free for a month or so and then not manage it. I think that chipped away at me eventually. I'd put more pressure on myself to hit these targets, and then would drink as I felt under pressure!!

I drew many lines in the sand that I said I would not cross regarding alcohol.
I crossed them eventually and then re-drew them again.
I'd say to myself 'No drinking this month' - then after a few days or so it would be 'drinking in moderation this month'
This is how alcohol often worked with me. It would creep back into my life slowly after I promised myself it wouldn't. That was my alcoholism progressing.
Someone on here said that if one couldn't do 30 days AF, then moderation is unlikely to work. I think I broadly agree with that, though everyone is different so I won't apply to everyone.

brokepaolo

graemecarter wrote: »

The person I would have to apologise mostly to was myself. I would say to myself 'I am not drinking tonight', but then have some drinks.
I would also pledge to remain alcohol free for a month or so and then not manage it. I think that chipped away at me eventually. I'd put more pressure on myself to hit these targets, and then would drink as I felt under pressure!!

I drew many lines in the sand that I said I would not cross regarding alcohol.
I crossed them eventually and then re-drew them again.
I'd say to myself 'No drinking this month' - then after a few days or so it would be 'drinking in moderation this month'
This is how alcohol often worked with me. It would creep back into my life slowly after I promised myself it wouldn't. That was my alcoholism progressing.
Someone on here said that if one couldn't do 30 days AF, then moderation is unlikely to work. I think I broadly agree with that, though everyone is different so I won't apply to everyone.

I completely agree graeme, and I think that's what I find worrying about my situation.

I know full well that I can drink in moderation, and I've done so many times before, but having said that, the prospect of being AF for a whole 30 days seems pretty much impossible to me. I know for certain that at some point I'd give in, whether it be to a physical craving or a peer pressure scenario.

Having said that, if and when someone decides to make a drammatic change to their lifestyle and this requires the radical emission of something as addictive as alcohol, it isn't unrealistic for someone to give in during a period of 30 days. If anything, it is to be expected. I think a gradual approach is probably the best way for me right now. From drinking alcohol every single day as a matter of routine, a routine that stretches back at least 5 years, I've gradually reduced this consumption and whilst the cravings still arise, they are more a force of habit than a physical desire.

I rarely drank to the point of being drunk whilst in that routine, it was more a case of marking the end of a working day with 1 or 2 beers but then I'd have dinner and wouldn't feel any need to drink unless I was going out. But it was an unshakeable routine and I sacrificed all manner of other priorities just to satisfy the routine. If I was running out of money towards the end of the month, all I could think of was about having enough money for a drink after work, I'd even bring 100 x 1p coins to the shop just to get that one can of beer.

Only recently did I truly appreciate what a pitiful state of affairs this was to be in and I'm glad to say that I can now resist that routine.

To me it's become almost like when you first wake up early in the morning. You often feel instinctively like hitting the snooze button in order to get just those precious extra 10 minutes of sleep which in reality aren't going to help much at all, you'll still feel tired. So at the moment the alarm first rings, you have to make a split second decision to throw off the duvet and get out of bed. It's a horrific though, especially on a cold monday morning in november, but once it's done, it's done. You're up and ready to get on with the day.

The same approach works for me with the drinking after work routine. Once I get past that initial urge to head to the pub for a couple of pints or to the shop for a couple of cans, and more importantly, once I've physically walked past these two sources of afore mentioned urges, I can get on with it and go home, make a cup of tea, sit in the garden, have a cigarette and the deed is done.

I guess I just need to carry on doing that more often and over a longer period of time before I can truly say that my relationship with alcohol is fully on my terms and not alcohol's.