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

pollyanna24

Yeah, I think I will start the challenge from today, so aiming for 7/7 days (did I put that right, I'm not sure how to put it in red).

I find that I generally try and start things on a monday or at the beginning of the month, but there's no reason to do that, but even though today's a Monday... Ah you get my drift, I'm gona give it a go.

Having a cup of tea now while cooking dinner. Feel okay about today, one day is easy enough I guess. Also starting the healthyish eating (well I'm actually measuring and counting what I eat just I can see how much I overeat) and see how I go.

Can I use this thread to randomly waffle about how I'm doing or should I start a new one as it seems to be generally people putting their results down or what they are aiming for this month and I don't want my drivel to get in the way!

maman

pollyanna24 wrote: »

Yeah, I think I will start the challenge from today, so aiming for 7/7 days (did I put that right, I'm not sure how to put it in red).

I find that I generally try and start things on a monday or at the beginning of the month, but there's no reason to do that, but even though today's a Monday... Ah you get my drift, I'm gona give it a go.

Having a cup of tea now while cooking dinner. Feel okay about today, one day is easy enough I guess. Also starting the healthyish eating (well I'm actually measuring and counting what I eat just I can see how much I overeat) and see how I go.

Can I use this thread to randomly waffle about how I'm doing or should I start a new one as it seems to be generally people putting their results down or what they are aiming for this month and I don't want my drivel to get in the way!

Oh we love waffle Pollyanna so you go ahead and tell us how it's going. It should help you as we can offer advice as we've all been where you are now.


I agree one day should be easy but then you have to build on it. Good Luck.:)

Honey_Bear

Pollyanna, the reason for putting targets and achievements in red is so that Shaggy can pick them out from the waffle. Some of us waffle a lot! To get anything in red, type it in, highlight it and then click on the little down arrow above - next to the A over the thick black line amongst the formatting commands directly over the text box you type your post in.

pollyanna24

Let's see, did it work? And thanks for letting me waffle. I'm on the fizzy water and lime juice. Apart from wine and coffee, it's the only drink I seem to drink!

7/7

debjay

15/19 for tonight please.

Honey_Bear

24/30 please, Shaggy.

Wanna_Bee_Free

hi Shaggy, please could I join in with a target of 5 in November and 14 in December. I'm on 1/5 tonight which is my first AFD in a while.

graemecarter

pollyanna24 wrote: »

Thanks for everyone's welcome.

I think today is the day when I will commit to better eating and no drinking. I think I'll aim for during the week, but for my first week will aim for the full 7 days as I have a lot of driving to do this weekend.

It's my youngest daughter's birthday today (4), so now that I don't have any babies any more, gona be a new start for all of us! I want to be able to enjoy days out with my girls and it will be much better if I'm not feeling sluggish around their general hyperactivity! Plus I'll be able to afford to take them places if I'm not spending the money in wine.

Another depressing thing is that 4 yrs ago, after just giving birth, I weighed a stone less than I do now as I wasn't drinking then, so think drink has completely contributed to the weight gain.

Speaking for myself, giving up drink was hard enough without having to concentrate on denying myself something else.
So when I stopped drinking, advice given to me was to eat what the hell I wanted. If I wanted a bag of Minstrels, 3 packs of Quavers, tub of ice cream, etc I should have them. Partly to replace the sugar (wine has loads of sugar) and partly to give myself the best chance at stopping drinking. Otherwise I was at risk of failing on one goal (such as chocolate) and then thinking "S0d it, I may as well have a drink."

Drink was making me miserable, jeopardizing relationships with my children, doing harm to my body.
I had to give up first what was doing me the most harm.

Good luck with your AF (alcohol free) journey.
It's not easy, but it's worth it.

graemecarter

maman wrote: »

I've heard it called the Mastermind principle (I've started so I'll finish). I wonder if that's a common trait for thread users.


Personally I'd prefer to drink at weekends knowing I can have what I want and have nothing during the week. My DH prefers a couple of small glasses every night. What this thread has done for me is that I now don't ever drink to excess probably because cutting down has cut my tolerance. I can go out for lunch, have one glass and not carry on when I get home. And I can go out for an AF evening and not open a bottle (and drink it all ) when I get home. All little victories.:D

Certainly a common trait for me Maman.
When I had a bottle of wine open, I wanted/needed the 2nd glass more than the 1st. I wanted/needed the 5th glass more than the 4th.

I cannot do moderation, so I have had to stop drinking altogether. That works for me. Everyone has a different approach but if we're honest and willing about our drinking and not-drinking, that's a big step.
The problem for me was that my desire to drink told my head many lies about how much I needed alcohol, so I found the battle against alcohol centered in my head, not my body IFYSIM.

BlueDaisy

12/16 for me please