No Drinking Challenge

[FindingMe]

Wishing everyone greatness!!!

Maria - I hope your evening went well and you found a good way to handle your stressful day!

Way to go Val!!! Social gatherings are really tough!

I'm working on Day 6. Luckily the weather is getting bad again which will help the weekend temptations as I probably won't be able to leave the house again until Monday.

Have a great weekend!

[Maria527]

Originally Posted by ValR

I was soooooo tempted to have a drink last night. I was at a birthday party and everyone was having a few drinks except for myself. It would've been so easy to have just one (which would've led to several) but I stuck to my guns and it felt great. There isn't any guilt this morning about sabotaging myself.

What did you do to stop yourself? Did you have an alternative like a diet soda or something?

I survived the work week with NO alcohol! Thursday afternoon, my boss sensed my stress level and released me 30 min early. That extra 30 min was enough to motivate me to go to the fitness center to work out rather than go home to drink. By the time I got home, my craving had ended.

He released me early yesterday too (I had come in early and worked through lunch earlier in the week, so it was deserved). With a winter storm coming for the weekend, I wished for alcohol to drink while honkered down, but bought Chai tea instead. I also bought a ginger root to make into tea to sip on during the cold day. So far, so good!

How's everyone else doing?

[stella67]

Yesterday afternoon I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes and drank sparkling water. As the darkness fell and the cold crept all around I distracted myself with iPad/phone games. Around 9pm I missed alcohol a bit...but had my son drive me to Walmart where I bought low carb foods and this morning I got up early, drank dark roast coffee and made everyone scrumptious scrambled eggs (& buttered toast for them). Mmmm... sautéed mushrooms, green pepper, onions, bacon bits and a little garlic.
Happy I didn't drink! It's been 4 days for me... plus no extra calories, dehydration and sticking to plan

[Patience]

I am holding strong too. I have thought about drinking a couple of times, but able to get past it. Sometimes even a 5 minutes distraction can get me past the point of caving.
I am sleeping more soundly. Even when my old dog barks and gets me up to see what his problem is, I can usually readily fall back to sleep.

Re social gatherings, what has worked best for me in the past is to try to anticipate how to turn down a drink. No should suffice, but I've used the line "not right now, maybe later" which will get the offerer to move on.

[FindingMe]

Great job Maria, Stella, and Patience!!!

I'm still on track for Dry January.

Have a great week!

[Mick6]

I forgot to post here. I made it Sat night without having a bottle of wine with dh. Ugh did I miss it!

Great job everyone!

[FindingMe]

Way to go Mick!

I survived the last college football game last night with nothing but water and a cup of unsweetened tea. Probably the first time since my teen years that I didn't have alcohol for that. Whoop!

10 days and counting.

Hope everyone is doing well!

[Patience]

Congrats on that "first" FindingMe.

Another drink free day under my belt.

Well done, everyone!

[Mick6]

Great job FindingMe!!! Great job Patience!!!

[FindingMe]

Thanks so much Patience and Mick!!!

Great job Patience!

We are all rocking this thing!!!

[LJB]

I use the Sober app and am at 10 days so far. Keeping it going!

[stella67]

Ugh...it's my night off and no work tomorrow.

I had to drive past 4 liquor stores tonight to and from class but I managed to resist the urge.
I just told myself it'll be nice to get up early and feel good & be productive.
I'm going to watch a Netflix movie and sip on Lady Grey tea, now & then hit the book tomorrow.
It's been 8 days no alcohol

[FindingMe]

Hope everyone is doing well!

Great job LJB and Stella!!!

Today is Day 15 and I'm past the three hardest days of the week for me. So, I feel good about making it through the half way point of the month.

[Avocat]

*Sigh* This is a confession so if anyone has trouble with that just skip this but ... confession is good for the soul ...


* * * *


I fell off the wagon

We went down south for a vacation ... went to a well reviewed barbecue place that actually had hard cider on tap and I just couldn't resist; after that I was all "Hey, let's get some wine ..." On the plus side I stayed away from the hard stuff but that doesn't change the fact I ummm, well, had a LOT of wine between Jan. 6 and yesterday ...

Man I just can't seem to keep it together for more than two or three weeks.

Today's a new day, back to the drawing board, eating clean and counting macros. The wine's all gone and the weather has stabilized so my joints don't ache as badly -- which helped contribute to my extended buzz (I have weather related joint pain that doesn't respond to anything OTC and anything else messes up my stomach, I'm just trading one pain for another).

Thanks for listening, all of you who are staying the course, be proud of yourselves, you're doing awesome!

[Maria527]

Avocat - I will join you in confession.

It started Friday night with a bottle of Brut Champagne (because I've read dry champagne has the least carbs). Then it continued with Cabernet Sauvignon on Saturday (at home) and Sunday (at home and out for dinner).

My weight seems to have maintained, but I know I've ruined keto and thrown my metabolism off.

All we can do is pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and get back on the wagon!

[Maria527]

Some reminders on the effects of alcohol on weight loss and metabolism:


"Drinking alcohol can result in water retention that increases the body’s weight for two or three days but it can also prevent the body from maintaining a healthy blood glucose level and it may also reduce the body’s ability to burn fat.

One study revealed that the body’s ability to burn fat decreased by up to 73% for a few hours after a couple of drinks and that the reduction in fat burning ability was still noticeable for up to four days.

Drinking can also make you feel hungry because of the effect it has on your blood sugar levels and it can also weaken your resolve so that you find yourself eating whatever is within reach.

These factors can mean that the increase in weight can often be disproportionate to the size of the lapse and can be very disheartening even resulting a total lapse from the diet and a return to old eating and drinking habits."

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[jaymom]

Hello, this has been my problem on why I haven't been able to lose weight. I am starting today no alcohol for a month....Hopefully I can stick with this plan...

[Avocat]

Maria: Don't beat yourself up, that makes it too easy to get into a mindset where it's like "Oh well, shot that all to heck, why bother ..." don't do that. If you're hanging out with people who drink at the end of the week/over the weekend it makes it awfully hard to stick to seltzer with a wedge of lime. One thing I've discovered about myself, habits are hard to break. And with habits include "traditions" (in my case, a weird "tradition" is that my husband and I usually tipple quite liberally while on vacation. Like vacation alcohol doesn't count or something LOL). A habit can be drinking on the weekend or when you get around certain people, too.

You're totally on the mark about alcohol and fat burning. Alcohol automatically goes to the front of the fuel que. You could water fast for a couple of days, be in deep ketosis, and have the wrong alcoholic drink and bang, your body IMMEDIATELY chooses the alcohol as a fuel. The term "preferred fuel" that doctors/nutritionists use when it comes to carbs just means that it's the easier fuel to burn (versus fats or proteins). Alcohol, it's own way, is the MOST preferred fuel, like the nitrous of "foods", more easily burned than even carbs.

jaymom: As you can see, you're not alone in sabotaging your own efforts. On the plus side, thanks to sticking with low carb I'm not gaining but neither am I able to drop which is disheartening, and I only have myself to blame. Worse, I've finally reached the point where either I get back into my old wardrobe or buy new clothes (since the stuff that fits is getting really worn out) ... and I'm cheap so that's somewhat of a motivator for me but ... it's danged hard.

[FindingMe]

I hope everyone is doing well and back on track!

I'm still hanging on, 19 days and counting. It has been super tough on many days and I have been contemplating taking a day off next week for my Dad's birthday (he is no longer with us), but I think I have talked myself out of it again. I was trying to make at least 30 days, but then I keep thinking...do I really need it even at Day 31??? I drink the hard stuff so my liver is probably enjoying the rest. The debate continues...

Have a great weekend everyone!

[LJB]

I'm sorry I haven't checked in, but according to my sober time app, my abs is at 23 days.

Keepin' on truckin'!

[FindingMe]

Great job LJB!!!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

I'm still staying strong this month...so far.

[LJB]

I am at Day 29 today and getting a head start on the February 1st clean eating challenge by starting today. (I decided to do an egg/protein fat fast which has always helped me in the past with a quick water weight loss.)

[WonderMonkey]

I'm a social drinker. Sure, the occasional one at home, but for the most part it's when I'm at an occasion. Since I've gone low carb to get to where I need to go I've actually got the days I'm going to be having a few planned out. I've decided ahead, not on impulse, and know that I will most likely be knocked out of induction because of it.

[kacee1958]

Wo, here goes. I've been on all the "no drinking" threads, but with little success. I didn't even write this post til I had one day under my belt. I do not drink at all throughout the day, but had gotten into the habit of a large brandy in bed while I read myself to sleep. A lot of this was for pain management. But, in the last year I have had two back surgeries, the last one in November was finally a success. No more pain. And I have so much to look forward to - a son's wedding in April, a new granddaughter in June, and two year old twin grandsons. Want to do this with a smaller body!!

[FindingMe]

I made it through January! I'm not sure about future goals for me at this point, but I'm going to really try to continue to abstain as long as I can. It has definitely helped me stay on track with my food choices.

Good luck everyone!

[kacee1958]

I made it through last night, including dinner in a restaurant!!!

[LJB]

I made it through One Month and Five Days and going great! Hope everyone is too!

[Maria527]

I fell off the wagon, hence why I have not checked in for awhile. Gah!

But I started a workplace fitness program Monday which I think will help keep me accountable. There are weekly weigh-ins.

Avocat - Thank you for the reassurance. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned "habits." But the workplace fitness program has interrupted my habit of a glass of wine at night. I've been working out after work and by the time I get home and do all the ending of the day things, I no longer care about the wine, just BED!

FindingMe and LJB - Congrats on sticking with it all month!!!!~ Woo hoo!

Kacee - Maybe you should try substituting something in place of the brandy in bed. For me a hot cup of tea helps. I make homemade ginger tea out of ginger root. It seems to help calm me.

I've been doing a meat and egg fast to clear my system; this is my fourth day. I'm already feeling much better.

Is anyone worried about Valentine's Day? And I get a double temptation this month; my husband's birthday.

[LJB]

I'm at 50 days of no booze and going strong!

[LoyalEric]

Hello guys. I'm always fighting my boozing. I lose. The most I've ever done is 2 days without. I drink vodka on the rocks. Maybe 3-4 drinks every night. I drink at my apt by myself & definitely when I go out socially with friends. I rarely get drunk but I can down 6 drinks easily. Never during the day always after say 6 or 7. I never miss a day of work. I think its definitely keeping me from any weight loss. Other than that I eat very healthy. (French fries make me crazy & potato chips too.)