The Giving Up/ Cutting Down alcohol support thread - number 13

Honey_Bear

Kind of brings home the point that alcohol has become a normal coping strategy for a lot of people dealing with stressful situations,WBF. I hope you have a lovely, lovely holiday.

maman wrote: »

I love cooking with wine but this time it's going in the food!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Wow ManPants! No wonder you're finding cutting out alcohol tricky. All three tempting situations in one day? Is that normal for you? Initially I found socialising a bit trying because the 'fun' wasn't the same sans alcohol. The first evening I walked home knowing that a month before I'd have still have been in the bar drinking and then realising that I wouldn't have a hangover in the morning was a real turning point for me. Ever since that night I've never minded not sharing the 'fun' of getting !!!!!!. I think that lightbulb moment comes at different times for those of us who knock the booze on the head; fortunately for me it came relatively early, easily within two months of stopping, and it made all the difference to not being too tempted afterwards. Glad the meeting went well.

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

Well done ManPants - three temptations in one day side-stepped is some going!

We went to the pub for a meal yesterday as I'd been driving for 6 hours and CBA to cook dinner. There was a meal deal on that included a bottle of wine. I'm pleased to report that I took the wine home, unopened :j

Another AFD clocked up, so I think I'm on 4/28 now

Today will be a treat-free day. I have no treats :rotfl:

Oooh Dizzy, you really have turned a corner, haven't you, taking the bottle home? As for not having any treats, I find myself working out if I've got all the ingredients for a batch of Twinks when there are no treats in the house. Mad really, because there is an excellent Co0p 50 yards away from the house but if I make them I can count the day as a No Spend Day and feel virtuous. (But not virtuous about eating the Twinks, obviously.)

6/31 please, Shaggy.

cathybird

maman wrote: »

Despite the sunshine, I'm doing a beef casserole tonight for that very reason. I love cooking with wine but this time it's going in the food!


Good luck with the treat free cathy. I'm doing well maintaining my target weight but had noticed a treat was creeping in most evenings and you're helping me break the habit.:)

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Maman, wine definitely does give extra tastiness to some meals and I do find it useful keeping small amounts in the freezer - no danger of me drinking it because freezing it spoils it for that. The treat-free thing seems to be going well as long as I have the two rice cakes with the chocolate smeared on them. Actually there were some free sandwiches hanging round at work yesterday so ate one of them for lunch but am not counting that as a treat as it was just lunch. I am a bit more mindful of what I eat on the other days (mostly) so I think it's helping overall. I am glad if I'm helping you break the habit! That's where this thread is so useful in so many ways.

Honey_Bear

7/31 please, Shaggy. Oooh - first smiley!

Dizzy_Imp

5/28 for yesterday please Shaggy. I seriously thought about a cold glass of fruity cider whilst sitting in the sunshine yesterday afternoon, but settled for fizzy mixed berry squash. TBH I think the desire came from habit when the sun comes out. I used to have Pimms or cider sitting in the garden when it was sunny. However, this often led to wine with dinner and spirits later in the evening...and the inevitable bad head the next day.

I have no hangover this morning :j

Honey Bear - you've talked about Twinks as treats before - I'm off to surf for a recipe as I don't know what they are. I'm guessing cakey things?

ManPants

Morning Everyone,

Successfully navigated through last night despite the glorious weather, inviting terrace and OH with a bottle of Prosecco & wine chilling. Well done DizzyImp btw! I understand completely! :-)
If I can get to a certain point in the night I know I will have done it. Mind you, saying that I suddenly have recalled mixing up WaterMelon Martinis at 10pm as O.H and I were planning a US trip and we were first introduced to them in a Manhattan Bar 10 + years ago. That was prob 3/4 years ago so the tendencies were already at the max even back then! Apparently I can make an occasion out of anything! Bah!

Yes HoneyBear, there are always lots of temptations to navigate on almost a daily basis. Ahead of me I can already see that there will be opportunities tonight, lunchtime tomorrow, tomorrow night & Monday evening too. And thats only the ones placed in front of me, not the ones I would conspire to induce myself.

Didn't sleep well last night so feel tired & sluggish today. New Moon last night so it's quite possible that may have affected my sleeping patterns as I was up at 5am the day before for a run. And I'm nuts! :rotfl:

Calling in 3/31 AF for last night. Thank you Shaggy.

ManPants

Last night successfully navigated past all alcohol temptations.

4/31 AF

Have a lovely sunday everyone. Looks like it is going to be a scorcher!

M.P X

Arkers

Good morning everyone,


2 more AFD please Shaggy, so 7 in total!
Managed to avoid temptation on Fri and last night as DH wasn't about, but having a BBQ this afternoon, and I am going to have a few.


Have a lovely day everyone


Arkers x

cathybird

Morning all1 Well done ManPants!! :j:T Arkers, have fun at your barbecue, it is the best possible weather for it, at least where I am.

It's not an AFD for me but just wanted to report that yesterday I had a small G&T about 6pm-ish (single shot) and then waited till I had my dinner, about 8.30, had one glass of white wine, poured myself another quarter of a glass of wine when I switched on the telly after dinner, then realised I didn't in the least want it and poured it back in the bottle! Unheard of in the past. Went to bed sober and have woken up completely clear-headed. I'm so pleased

cathybird

PS am kind of hoping the treat-free days have the same effect - cutting back on the urges but also inducing a kind of mindfulness re what I do eat on the days I could theoretically eat whatever I wanted. We'll see though! Last night's dinner was fish and chips, not exactly the stuff of diets, although again I couldn't get through that much of it and have enough for two other meals left over. In fact I have always found fish and chips reheats quite nicely so will probably have it again tonight.

Honey_Bear

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

5/28 for yesterday please Shaggy. I seriously thought about a cold glass of fruity cider whilst sitting in the sunshine yesterday afternoon, but settled for fizzy mixed berry squash. TBH I think the desire came from habit when the sun comes out. I used to have Pimms or cider sitting in the garden when it was sunny. However, this often led to wine with dinner and spirits later in the evening...and the inevitable bad head the next day.

I have no hangover this morning :j

Honey Bear - you've talked about Twinks as treats before - I'm off to surf for a recipe as I don't know what they are. I'm guessing cakey things?

Pimms ... how I loved Pimms. It is absolutely lethal, though. As a gin lover it's one of the drinks I sort of mind about not having any more and then, like you, Dizzy I wake up without a hangover and realise I don't miss it that much after all.

Linky here for Twink's. Also lethal, as in depending on your personal choice as to whether or not to add flavourings, and which to add, totally irresistable. I have been known to stand over the biscuit tin and scoff until I feel sick. The secret is to make them with butter, not margarine, and my personal top flavour of choice is chopped crystalized ginger. I read the whole thread some years ago!

ManPants wrote: »

Didn't sleep well last night so feel tired & sluggish today.

You're doing well ManPants. Disrupted sleep is often about booze and rather unfairly when people stop drinking, if they've got a bit of a habit, great sleep doesn't kick in for a couple of weeks. I had insomnia for years from when I was a teenager and morphed into drinking every night about 20 years ago. Alcohol and disrupted sleep therefore didn't seem connected to me until I stopped drinking completely, and within a fortnight I was dropping off minutes after my head hit the pillow and sleeping right through, which was unheard of. I still do, 21+ months plus on. It feels great.

I've said this before but it's worth repeating, a phsychologist I know did dry January and has never gone back to drinking purely because he discovered that his sleep problems weren't stress after all - nothing changed at work in January - but he started sleeping well for the first time in years. You'd think a psychologist would have enough knowledge on board to realise that, but apparently not. Technically we all know that booze affects us in a lot of ways but we disregard that information because fully taking it on board would mean we might have to consider changing our habits.

Cathybird, you seem to be on a roll there, having one or two drinks and then not wanting to carry on. Long may that last! I love, love, love waking up feeling pain-free and I don't think that feeling's ever going to change. Unfortuantely for me, I don't seem to be doing as well as you on the Treat-Free Day thing. I found out the Co-op is doing two chocolate oranges for £2, and the other thing I found out is that it is perfectly possible for one person to eat one whole orange in one sitting.

8/31 please, Shaggy.