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[reach 4 the starz]

Hey everyone :new: -im not sure if this is the right place for me to post - but i was advised by someone to come to this area
Ive been lurking as you call it for 9 days now...found this website when I was searching for ideas to help me control my drinking a bit.
I think it is amazing! - you guys are all so supportive and posivite, you have inspired me so much!!
I went 4 days A/F then had two small wines with dinner fri and sat and then there was some left over so had 2 small wines sunday too.
My goal is to leave drinking till the weekend (unless there is a special occasion during the week - at which i will try to have no more than 2 drinks max)
Then depending on what I have planned for the weekend - go from there.(Although I really want to stay at 3 drinks max - as its SO great not feeling hungover!)

I am like a few of you here....I cannot seem to stop at 1 or 2 drinks so I would just rather not start during the week at all. I usually drink up to a bottle of wine a night during the week and that plus more on the weekends......So going 4 days A/F then sipping away at two small glasses was a big accomplishment for me and I am proud .

All youre posts and advise have really helped me and inspired me!!...I ordered the L-Glut and that arrived today so im excited to see how that works!!

Thanks so much for listening - am looking foward to getting to know you all
:thanks:

[Maia]

New Here

Welcome reach for the starz!!!!

I find this place amazing and Im sure you will too! I am with you in choosing to have as many AF days a week as possible as it is still difficult for me to easily stop after just one. Im doing much better though with the help of evryone here!

I've read a lot that it is recommended to go 30 days AF before starting to mod, it is supposed to help change your drinking habits and also to allow you time tp really think about your goals, strategies, etc. I went two weeks AF before I started and it gave me the time to do research, read a lot here and learn from others' experinces.

I take L-glut when I know im going to drink and it seems to help. I think I could always drink a little more when I do drink, but I dont feel that horrible urge of needing to have more. I really think it helps!

Thank youfor joining us! We need the positive energy of more of us wanting to improve out lives (at least I do)

[reach 4 the starz]

New Here

Thanks Maia!!

Thanks so much for your reply. I havent actually read the book so wasnt too sure what the whole 30 days thing was. I just thought that I would start iff and see how I go.
But do you (and anyone else around) think that it is more helpfull to completley abstain for a while before you start to do the modding???

Any feedback is welcome

[Eve11]

New Here

reach 4 the starz;839771 wrote:
But do you (and anyone else around) think that it is more helpfull to completley abstain for a while before you start to do the modding???

:welcome: Reach,

I think why abstinence is recommended is for many reasons, some being:

1. It lowers any increased physical tolerance to alcohol. So, for someone used to drinking 4-5 drinks a night or more - they've probably built up a tolerance where 1 or 2 just wouldn't cut it. Get rid of the AL for 30 days and you probably will feel a nice buzz on one drink which may make 1-2 drinks workable.
2. It takes the focus off of alcohol.
It gives one the chance to think about what's important in their lives, what passions or interests do they like to do when the focus is off of drinking. Example: Rather than sit and have a glass of wine and veg out at 8 pm maybe one would scrapbook, journal, read posts here to educate themselves, etc.
3. It strengthens your commitment to change. You may find you like your life a lot better without alcohol. You'll probably sleep better, anxiety will be decreased, you'll be more motivated, etc. If you decide to try to moderate after 30 days you'll have that experience of how great it feels to not have AL in your system and that may make it easier to obtain AF days for yourself!

Welcome again Reach - we've corresponded on other threads but just wanted to give you a big hello on the long term mod board!! Thanks for coming over.
:l
Eve11

[Sunbeam]

New Here

Hey Starz,
Welcome! I too suggest you do the 30 AF days for the reasons Eve has so nicely stated. It will help get your life back as top priority instead of alcohol.

[Litre]

New Here

I would like to thank Starz, for I have been wondering about controlled drinking. I have been AF for 38 days now and was afraid to try a glass of wine. Since Starz posted and I have read the replies I am a little more at ease. I was like you Starz and would drink a bottle or two depending whether I was working or not. Being AF so far has not been an issue, hey I even have lost close to 10 pounds YEA. I do not want to quit completely, but when I day comes that I actually do have a glass, or go to a party, that will tell me if I can drink moderately, and only on weekends. Again thankyou

[reach 4 the starz]

New Here

Litre: Thats no prob!!!!

I dont really have any idea at what i am doing as i have only been doing this for 2 weeks now but have been 'lurking' a lot lol
Congrats on your 38 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :goodjob:
That is sooooo good! Im sure things will be fine when you do have a drink or two. I have found that I dont even really want to have any more than 1 or 1 and a half drinks now which is awesome and find it really easy to stop! and im sure you will too!
Good on us for trying - i think its good to give yourself a pat on the back every once and a while...
Keep it up...:l

[Sunbeam]

New Here

Hi Starz and Litre,
I think it is REALLY IMPORTANT to identify the reasons you were drinking. If it is/was for relieving daily stress and/or anxiety, you need find other strategies to replace alcohol. Drinking to socialize seems to work out OK for many, eliminating the bar fly environment for those whose alcohol abuse was mostly there.

[mario]

New Here

Hi all, first let me say that i am a long term abstainer and cant control or moderate my drinking, But thats me, other people are different and i respect that, So how about learning some new habits around alcohol instead – because you have learnt how you behave towards alcohol already, so surely those habits can be changed?

Giving up for a while could be a useful exercise though – it doesn’t have to be forever. In fact the thought of it being a lifetime commitment prevents some people from even contemplating a period of sobriety. Why not try a month of no drinking at all, just to see how it feels? Then if you can manage that ok, you can decide whether to keep going with it, or not, the choice is yours.

The difficulty with cutting down of course is that all your best intentions tend to dissolve after the first few drinks – so a self-imposed limit is easily ignored with a slightly inebriated justification (‘oh I’ll do it tomorrow instead’, ‘I had a really hard day today, I deserve another one’, ‘oh he’s opened another bottle, it would be rude of me to refuse’ etc.)

Delaying the time you allow yourself to start drinking is one way to make cutting down easier. If you have less time for drinking, then perhaps you’ll drink less quantity (that’s the theory). A drinking diary can also help you keep track of how much you’ve actually had over the week.

How much you drink also tends to be a product of how much alcohol you purchase. So one obvious step is to not buy quite so much. Make sure you don’t keep any drink in the house – just buy it as you need it. That way the choice to drink has to be a conscious decision. Don’t forget, for this to really work you’ll need your partner to agree on the plan, so they don’t buy any either, unless you both decide to.

There’s a third option too – a combination of cutting down and giving up – just staying sober for a day or two at a time every week. It’s better than nothing, and you’re getting used to dealing with life without drinking. Try and plan which days you’re going to do it in advance, and plan to do something else incompatible with drinking perhaps. But be careful of the trap of rewarding yourself for your two days of sobriety with, you guessed it, a binge
hope this helps.