Dare to Drink less alcohol
2,347 members Daring to Drink less alcohol have tracked a total of 14,635 times
Drink less alcohol to keep your heart and liver healthy and reduce your risk of alcoholism. Drinking less can also give you a chance to branch out and explore healthier activities with friends and loved ones.
Member Comments
I have been drinking one, two or three glasses of wine each evening. I tell myself it is to help me sleep (that is a constant problem).
We live in wine country and there are such wonderful places to visit and yummy wines to drink. I don't want to give it up completely. My goal is to drink only on the weekends.
This is going to be hard but I know I will feel better and it will help me lose weight.
I've decided to taper off until I consistently fall within no more than any combination of 2 glasses of wine per day, or two shots of gin. Or one shot of gin and one glass of wine.
Total calorie intake would then be 350 for 5 ounces of gin, or 244 calories in 10 ounces of wine.
I'll start tapering off beginning today with 10 ounces of gin. Monday.. it'll be 9, Tuesday 8. Wednesday 7. Thursday 6. Friday 5. Then I'll stay there.
If not now... when? Can do!!!
well I messed up and put whip cream flavored vodka in my tea. But at least it wasnt a sad drink. and only 1 :)
I am wanting to not have a drink until St. Patrick's day. And when I do it will be an Irish drink or 2 (so there is a happy, relevant reason for it!) So a nice Irish cream or a Guiness or one of each!
The reason its so far out is because according to my calculations I will be at my goal weight. Alcohol makes me not lose so well.
Also I went on a bender after my hubby passed away (I just wanted to stop crying) and it was so bad that whenever I got sad or mad I wanted a drink. Eveb if it wasn't sad or mad about hubby.
So I think maybe I am overly attracted to it and next time I drink I want it to be a social happy occasion where there is a good reason to have a drink! Just need to retrain myself I think. Also thinking of starting a new group. Widows are given a lot of casseroles to eat....Greif and loss/weight loss anyone?
had some drinks over the weekend, fri i had 4 cans of cider and i open a bottle of red wine for my friend, but didn't touch the stuff, and sat we went for a meal and i drank one bottle of wine, i achieved what i wanted to do, and am so pleased with my self, even bought a bottle of white wine yesterday to use to cook cabonara didn't bother me one little bit, that its sat with my cooking oils with half a bottle of red, no drinking this weekend, but next am throwing a Moroccan valentines dinner for my family and friends, haven't decided what to drink yet.
I went out friends last night and drank. I had four and the bar, came home and had one more to top the night off. Of course drinking encourages binge eating, so yes food before passing out in bed
Alcohol also messes up your metabolism not to mention your life. It is processed differently than normal food and makes the liver work harder. Nasty stuff for a fitness buff.
well went out for lunch yesterday, and i actually had a cider, just one pint with my meal, wasnt bothered about having anymore, probably due to the fact i was full up with food.... tonight some friend are coming around so ive decided am going to buy 4 can of cider to drink, see how i get on because i know theres a couple bottles of wine in the house, hoping that when i finish the cider am not going to be tempted to open a bottle... The meal tomorrow, ive decide i`m not going to drink, fingers crossed i wont :), but all in all am please with myself.. it was my intention to cut down on drinking not to stop completely and i am proud that ive got this far :)
well i still havent had drink or even been tempted, funny enough i found two bottle of red wine next to my cooking oils, that was yesterday, they must have been left over from christmas, normally they would be empty by now, even knowing that they where there would be two tempting and it would drive me mad all day, but i havent even thought about them. Going out for a meal on sat and i feel really apprehensive about it, i dont have to drink if i dont want to, but i think i need to and i need to drink sensibly, this is going to be a real challenge for me and i am really scared that after a taste i will drop back into that bad habit, but i really do feel its got to be done, ive come this far and i`m going to use that as a I CAN DO IT, :)
sbpickin... could relate to your last post, it definately has to do with how we feel about ourselves. And we can not be sure how that is if we are drinking or eating unhealthly....it seems i get lost under all the layers of distructive behavior. And I can not help thinking how long it took really and truly want a difference for myself...something good, and from there everything seems to fall into place. Like in your case answers to difficult choices, "should you and/or should you have allowed your children to see their father if he was not respectful" And now its the right time and it is happening a huge move forward for all of you. I have had so many similar decisions to make....and I know foresure I have to practice living my life with No Regrets...putting my best foot forward. thanks for your comments they helped me to appreciate what is happening today, this moment in my life.
hi, just a few days from not drinking can help you see more clearly, cant it, and re-evaluate your lifestyle, am 42 years old and i feel great, i havent felt this good for years, diet has to do with yes, eating healthily, ive even gone the full hog, and cut out caffeine, which was another addition of mine, drinking four strong cups of coffee in a morning to help me come round just a vicious circle.. i stop smoking over 12 years ago, with no help what so ever, i would never smoke again ever, i just quit, i was a single parent with four little kids under my feet, and i did it all buy myself, and thats another thing thats been in the back of my mind, if you can stop doing something thats additive or even stop something that you love maybe the end of a relationship or something in your past, then you have got the WILL POWER to stop or cut down on the drink, its there inside you, youve got to look back and say i did that and at the time it seems far worse than stopping drinking, or was on par with it, but i did it... , am really happy for you and am sure with a clear head you will make all the right decisions and if you do make a wrong one, just put it down to a lesson learned x
Went out last night for friend's birthday and to watch the game. I did have several drinks but I ate some fried appetizers first. I know this is not good calorie wise but normally I would start drinking on an empty stomach and that is no bueno! I needed something to help soak up the alcohol. Then I drank a glass of water in between each glass. And of course ate some more. :) Normally when we get home after an outing we continue drinking but this time we didn't. Finally fell asleep and woke up this morning with no headache! I am so glad! Now have to exercise this jelly off! LOL
heading out to night with drinking buddies, not concerned about the calories because I already did my plate. It will be interesting because havn't drank in a while, kind of nice to decide to drink rather than it deciding for me...if you get my drift. Serious biz.
i get it, know exactly what you mean, its seems to take over you, you know i have realised now that i havent drank since new year the main reason why i turned to drink, i havent let my childrens father see our children for about 4 years, he has seen them when they have been to his mums, and recently when they went to see his brother, the reason being is that he is a loser, as messed me about regarding the kids so much picking them up then dropping them, putting things in there heads ect, anyway all it has done is the kids blame me for them not seeing him, and they dont really know who he is so it`s back fired on me, well i decided in the new year that he can see them, and then i can let them decide, i dont know why i didnt do this years ago, i wish i had, and i honestly think it was the guilt of me stopping them from seeing there dad and that i was to blame is one of the big reasons why i drank so much, maybe all of us drink for a reason, guilt, something thats happened to us in the past, something we did, if so then ive realised that weve got to deal with what ever makes us drink if we want to stop, not drinking with the help of Kudzu tablets, has made me realise i feel like a big weight has been lifted from me, and i feel so relieved, x
I know alcohol is poisin to our bodies and that along with emotional dependence is why I have cut way back to only select social affairs. I have been lossing my courage when I drink, my courage to be me without it. Amazing, eating right, sleeping well, cutting out negative people ... alcohol is not all that necessary. Thank the Lord. Serious biz.
aware of my trend to cope with a drink, do not want to continue this path otherwise will not be capable of manageing difficult times without it. Crazy how my mind was going straight to alcohol everytime I was under stress...plus all the weight I have gained over the past year of having a few each night. Serious biz.
Still not had a drink and i`m extremly happy not just because i havent drank but within myself, i have loads more energy, i feel fresh as a daisy and am totally focussed on everything i do, i have change my diet as well and i`m doing a detox with Benonite clay and Psyllium Husk so this along with not drinking its making me feel like i do. The ache under my right rib has come back but is alot milder, it come and goes think i`m going to book that appointment and have it investigated. Was ask out for a drink Thursday gone, thought about it but the thought of drinking didn't interest me, i don't know whether i`m to scared to drink because i come this far or it the Kudzu working, maybe its a bit of both. I`m invited to out for a meal next Saturday it is my daughters friends birthday and the where invited to her home for drinks afterwards, I`ve decided i will have drink on this occasion because the whole point of me doing this was to curb my drinking, to stop drinking in the house, only drink in a social setting and don't binge on it, so next Saturday will be a challenge, because i don't want to over do it, i just want to have a drink and come home in a merry state and not drunk out of my skull and certainly not get back into that bad habit.
Go you! That is fantastic!! :) I had a few last night after not having any for a few days but not NEARLY as much as I normally would on a Friday night. Today will be a challenge watching the football game with friends. Yes, please get the pain checked out and let us know what the doctor says. Hopefully it's nothing serious but good to see doctor to be on safe side.
two days sober. it doesn't seem like a lot when i type, BUT it sure the hell seemed like a long time!! woot.
That is great! Believe me I know how hard it can be. I bet you feel better in the mornings. Each day gets easier. I'm on my 4th day. The first couple are the hardest for me.
Cannot believe that since New Years Eve, i have`nt touched a drop, even went to the local shop last night and passed the alcohol did`nt even think about buying any, i`m putting it down to the Kudzu because normally i would`nt be able to resist the temptation, and the other day a friend rang and ask if my husband and i would like to go out to the local pub for a few, i was`nt even bothered about that either and i love going out.
Still got the ache under my right rib though been taking milk thistle to repair my liver, maybe its galls stones might take a trip to see the doc, i`ve had it three months now on and off, i dont feel unwell in fact ive never felt as good, each morning i get it up am totally refreshed, i feel like the old me, focused, fresh and i feel no guilt... :)
That is fantastic! Speaking of the right side pain..I'm having that too. Sometimes it radiates to my back. I'm wondering if it's gallstones myself. Like you, I feel okay...just this dull aching pain that comes and goes. I've had this pain before and had an ultrasound which didn't show anything, but that was a few years ago. Guess I'll watch it. I have not drank for the past couple of nights and it is so nice to not wake up with a headache! I feel better in the morning and have been getting up earlier. I hope I can keep it up.
It is is`nt it, no headache n feeling groggy and that horrible guilty feeling, if you really want to feel fresh in a morning am sure you can keep it up, ive been taking Kudzu tablets and i have`nt thought about having a drink once, there not expensive and a lot cheaper than the booze would cost, its a natural product some kind of weed, no side effects what so ever, its has really help me stop craving.
The ache has suddenly stop today maybe the threat of going to the doctors did it lol, but nobody is doing there body any justice drinking all the time, there`s a saying i heard once
"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live"
how true is that.
Not drink for two nights is a start, well done, it really does get easier, keep it up x
well i think ave done really well, i havent had a drink since Yew Years Eve, i was really tempted though mid week through a stressfull situation, so i started in the Kudzu Tablets, just a day have taken the cravings away, havent though about it once since taking them... i feel so much better in myself, more focused, and clean, thats probally to do with the detox and exercise, am proud of myself, well done to me :)
Hi. I've been a long time lurker and this is my first post. :) Reading the comments on here I am actually looking at myself. I know I've got to get it under control. My doctor told me I was drinking myself to death. That scared me enough to quit for several days until my bloodwork results came in. When the results came back ok it's like it gave me the green light to continue my habits. I really want to at least quit during the week and cut back on the weekends. I wish I could drink normal like my friends. Not to mention it totally hampers my weight loss efforts in spite of diet and exercise.
I have never heard of Kudzu supplements. How do they work for you?
Hi Kudzu is a herbal remedy, if you go to this link it will tell you more about it
http://www.brighteyecounselling.co.uk/alcohol-drugs/kudzu-treatment-alcoholism/
its working for me, i haven't even thought about drinking since I first started taking it, it also curbs your drinking when you do drink, so I think it would work for you. I've got to say that I feel so much better for not drinking, I feel more focused and a lot happier, I also take milk thistle which helps your liver repair itself. I hope this helps, you can only just keep trying you`ve posted on here and that's a start, Good Luck x x
Thank you so much! This is great information!
I have never heard of such a thing! I think I'll try it! My issue is probably social drinking more than anything, but if this can help me stick to just one or two drinks when I am out, I would be very excited. Thanks for posting the information on here!
It working for me Zombiejack, hope it works for you too :)
wow...we all have so much in common. I tried that kudzu stuff too. I didnt feel much but I think I just wasnt ready to stop. This last week have been the driest in years. my daughter was home from college and I didnt want to screw it up with bad memories. I had a 95% success rate. I feel good about that. My hair and skin are looking better an I lost at least a lb. I dont ever want to go back.EVER!
Last year was a horrible year that caused a lot of destruction in my relationships. I really polished my reputation off at Christmas with my husbands large family. Since this wasnt a isolated insident , I am deeply ashamed and dread seeing them anytime soon (but I will be)I will just have to suck it up,face the firing squad and push through it. I have heard (haters will hate) eventually I will forgive myself. The demons have really been tormenting though. Not to drink, but to sleep at night. Thinking about all of the shameful things I have done. Its like the first thing I think of when I wake up too. I am doing every self help thing imagineable. I will just have to plow through (pain is weakness leaving the body) they say. Also...I have a very high risk for heart disease,heart attack or stroke. It is genetic. I work out super hard, eat super clean, am not overweight and I take meds. However, my blood work showed over the top triglyserides. Way higher than the beginning of the year. The dr. also said my liver enzimes were high for some reason. He didnt know why being the fitness buff I am.Im sure my sisterinlaws know why. So he upped my meds and I take a ton of fish oil.Im sure my next labs will be better. But, after 20 plus years, I AM DONE! This will be a year of renewal for me. It is kinda scary. I am bruised and broken. Somebody please tell me my antidepressents will work better with out the pain dulling depressent of wine.
I know what you mean by scary. Alcohol is such a crutch and habit. Me and my husband's lives revolve around it. I know if we keep this up it's going to get to both of us. I hope your next lab results are better. I bet they will be. When I go back to the doctor in a few months I want to be able to tell him how good I've been doing with the alcohol.
By Anonymous on February 1, 2012 at 07:47 AM
Last night instead of two or three glasses - only 1. Yay!