7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

[allswell]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Hey ML,

Great choice to concentrate on the diet since eliminating alcohol is only one aspect of it. The more I've dived into what a good, solid diet is the easier it gets but at first it seems like a lot of conflicting information. Fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grain carbs, and healthy fats and proteins with some exercise and that's all any of us need. 3 proper portions for the meals and two healthy snacks in between to keep the blood sugar levels even and you'll be amazed. Lots of water too. Not a dietician but these are the common denominators that all of the experts talk about. I've read tons about diet.

[mylife]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Hi guys.

Gardner, good job with the 10 lbs! I'm impressed! I will definitely join you. I just got back from the gym as a matter of fact! Also great to know focusing on diet helps with the AL thoughts. wasn't sure how that would work.

Alls, I have heard that diet recipe for success, too. Thanks for the reminder about that and the water! I need to work on the water.

I'm feeling motivated!

[Gardener]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Good Morning MyLife - I'm just brimming over with energy today. This is the best I've felt in probably over 20 years. My mind is clear, I feel happy and I'm getting healthier every day.

I'm off for a one hour bike ride this am, sticking to my diet program, what are you up to today??

[Unwasted]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Hi Everyone,

So busy today, but just wanted to wish everyone a super AF day. And, I so agree about the importance of good food - impacts everything about us, really! We are what we eat. Alls, you've really summarized it well.

Gardner, welcome!

ML, (I need to work on the water too), Free, (you may be out of pocket already?) NS, and anyone stopping by.....take good care and keep up all the good stuff.

xx,
UN :lilheart:

[mylife]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Hi Everyone!

Quick pop in for me today also - really busy day at work.

I did get in a 45 minute power walk Gardner! What kind of smoothies do you drink? I love having a fruit smoothie sometimes at breakfast - but I think I'd be famished if I did it for lunch too. However, I could use a little hunger - I'm going to have to do something to get this weight off!

Wishing everyone a great day....Alls, Free, Un, Gardner, Nosugar - and anyone else who stops by!

[free at last]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Hi all,
This note will read much like Unwasted's start of the thread. I made a deliberate choice to drink yesterday, and of course, am extremely remorseful today about my destructive actions. I really have no excuse except that I was just very overcome with sadness about a lot of things, some personal, some larger, like the state of the planet. I didn't want to feel the emotions I was having and drank to blot them out. Today, I still have the sadness but also had to look into my DH's sad eyes of not knowing how to help me with this destructive behavior.

While I can rack up 30-40 AF days with all kinds of stresses (flights, business dinners, alone in hotel rooms), I can't seem to get a solid second month of AF life. It's almost as if I deliberately choose to fail at what I know I have to succeed at. So, I filled a prescription for AB and will start taking it tomorrow. Even though I will be backpacking for next two weeks, we will be staying in huts, villages, and camping grounds. I want to remove the option for any consumption of wine.

Please know how much I appreciate all of you and the support you provide me and each other. I will be offline for at least two weeks but plan to report in on August 7 that I have been AF since July 19th. Thanks, all.

[NoSugar]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

free at last;1534171 wrote:
Please know how much I appreciate all of you and the support you provide me and each other. I will be offline for at least two weeks but plan to report in on August 7 that I have been AF since July 19th. Thanks, all.

We'll be here and will be so happy to have you back :l.
As I wrote to another friend today, as long as you are alive and trying, there is hope.
All around you are people who are doing this and want you to succeed, too, and I believe you can and will.

:h NS

[NoSugar]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Don't Quit

This is not great literature but a poem that my dad used to recite to me (when he wasn't quoting Invictus) when I was a kid and discouraged about something.
I think of it often and some of the key lines come to mind often




Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you?re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don?t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don?t give up though the pace seems slow?
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor?s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out?
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you?re hardest hit?
It?s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Author Unknown


When I was no longer struggling about whatever it was and we were joking around, we rewrote the poem together using certain words that rhyme with 'quit' :H.

[free at last]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Thanks, No Sugar, for your kind words and this poem. I called a friend, told her that my drinking was a problem and that I needed to stop drinking. Believe as though I am beginning to internalize the finality of what I know will, eventually, be the best decision I ever made.

[Unwasted]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

I'll be back later to post more but wanted to get a quick message in to you, Free, before you're out of pocket.

This struggle is daunting. I can't believe there are still days I fantasize about drinking. After all the misery it's caused . . . Just wanted you to know that you are not alone and that I think all of us here understand on a very deep level what you're going through.

Have a good, safe trip. I just know you're going to come out on the other side. :l. We just all have that deep longing for relief from the ills of the world -- from our lives when things get difficult.

I think it was a very powerful move on your part to talk to your friend. We are here for you too.

xx,
UN :lilheart:

[mylife]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

Free-so sorry to hear you struggling. And please know how much we all understand what you're going through!

AB has really helped me - just to take options out when I'm feeling weak or overwhelmed. Maybe use it just to get to90 days and see how you feel?

Have a fantastic trip!! I'm sure you will!

NS I Loved your poem and laughed thinking of the rhymes you probably came up with for quit!!

I'm hanging in today -- had an unexpected day off to watch my nephew who's not feeling well and His Mom is under the gun at work....felt good to get away from work for a day.

Gardner, got my hour in at the gym this morning!

[Unwasted]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

ML, I think that's such good advice about the 90 days - to get over what's probably both a physical and mental "hump." Glad to hear that you got a work break, even if it meant babysitting (ugh) lol.

Free, someone here said something that stuck with me. They talked about getting into a sobriety "rhythm." There's something to that, I think. It ties in to it feeling more natural to not drink as time passes.

I drank for decades, so I know it's going to take a lot of time for me to feel totally comfortable. I just hold the thought that the challenging feelings pass pretty quickly.

Not much else going on in my world right now - well, a lot, but nothing to post about lol. Just the craziness of moving! Jeesh - SO much involved.............which is why I didn't do it sooner.

Best to everyone visiting here today.

NS, nice poem!

UN :lilheart:

[mylife]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

UN - that is interesting about the rhythm...a really good description. Lately I've been able to go days with the rhythm of sobriety feeling natural....and then something throws me off and my thoughts return to alcohol for a day or two.

I suppose my ultimate goal is to have sobriety become my normal state, so it just doesn't occur to me anymore to want a glass of wine. I'll hang on to that hope! I know there are people who say it can happen!

[NoSugar]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

When I was drinking, I was absolutely controlled by my circadian rhythms - with the apparent need to drink arising at ~ 4 pm each day. That dictated what I needed to get done before that time and what I could do after. This was followed by the nightly drifting off, the soul-crushing awakening at 3 am, followed by a couple hours of fit-full sleep, and waking up to do it again, despite solemn vows that that day would be different.


AF life does have a nice rhythm... And a beat... And some awesome improvisation .

[mylife]

7 MONTHS OF SOBRIETY BLOWN

NoSugar;1534381 wrote: When I was drinking, I was absolutely controlled by my circadian rhythms - with the apparent need to drink arising at ~ 4 pm each day. That dictated what I needed to get done before that time and what I could do after. This was followed by the nightly drifting off, the soul-crushing awakening at 3 am, followed by a couple hours of fit-full sleep, and waking up to do it again, despite solemn vows that that day would be different.
.

No sugar - your drinking circadian rhythms describe mine to a T.

I'm so happy to be on a new path! What a way to have spent so many years - what were we thinking???