October Mod Squad

[FreeFly]

October Mod Squad

Thank you LG and Chaaku - the welcomes are very much appreciated

A little bit more about the gently, gently approach, I’m currently training in the Bach Flower Remedies and a paragraph from Dr Bach’s little book, Heal Thyself comes to mind….

Be it remembered that when the fault is found the remedy lies not in a battle against this and not in a use of will power and energy to suppress a wrong, but in a steady development of the opposite virtue, thus automatically washing from our natures all trace of the offender. This is the true and natural method of advancement and of the conquest of wrong, vastly easier and more effective than fighting a particular defect. To struggle against a fault increases its power, keeps our attention riveted on its presence, and brings us a battle indeed, and the most success we can then expect is conquest by suppression, which is far from satisfactory, as the enemy is still with us and may in a weak moment show itself afresh. To forget the failing and consciously to strive to develop the virtue which would make the former impossible, this is true victory.

As you say, LG, I'm seeking MY way out

Enjoy your Indian Tapas Chaaku. Funnily enough I'm going to an Indian buffet tomorrow evening. We can swap notes!

[RunningCourage]

October Mod Squad

Hi peeps, just popping by and see FF's Bach quote...

He's a wise, sage mister, is he.

RC

[LibraryGirl]

October Mod Squad

Love that Bach quote, FF. I have always considered (and admired) quietly strong, wise types of people, while knowing that is not who I'll ever be, lol. It would be nice, and striving to have more of those qualities couldn't hurt. I like how he said suppression of a behavior is not as successful as replacing the behavior with something more powerful and positive that cannot co-exist together. Paraphrased as I understood it, of course.

[DfromCT]

October Mod Squad

Lasha;1391240 wrote: Hi all,

I used to be a binger "big time" and 10 years ago cut back to a bottle of wine and couple of ciders a day for health reasons.
I know it's still too much and I want to come lower but haven't found out how to re-cork a wine bottle.
I'm scottish as well so how do you do it Scottish Lass.

Tried stopping altogether but found that really boring, the AL free friends I've got don't seem that happy about it but have no choice, I think I do.

Hi, Scottish Lass,

I have the same difficulty with my AF friends, though most have accepted that I'm doing it MY WAY and support my efforts. I think they're also waiting for me to fail, which in a way is incentive for me not to fail (and why I'm choosing not to drink as I approach day 100.) If you want to know my reasons for being here and not in a traditional program, read the first few installments of my blog. I may be AF, but I like it here with the modders, knowing at some point I'll make a run at moderation. But for me moderation will probably be a glass of wine or two at Thanksgiving, then going a few weeks and maybe having one or two at Christmas. If I can do that, then go a good ways into the New Year without drinking, that's a moderation plan that doesn't scare me and doesn't make me think it's all or nothing for me.

Anyway, thanks for opening up. I'm going to post about my experience last night in a few when I finish up catching up on the thread...
D

[DfromCT]

October Mod Squad

vlivengood;1391279 wrote: LG & Eve - Both those drinks sound sooooooo yummy, unfortunately I LOVE coffee but my tummy HATES it...... Eve, I put the ingredients for yours on my grocery list.... I think hubby will love it for his AF days, both days I found him staring into fridge and I asked him are you staring at the beers and he said no I am looking for something to drink, all we keep is water and some morning juices (like naked juice), we don't drink soda or tea or anything usually so I want to surprise him Tuesday on his AF day with your Mocktail

Lass some of your comments sound right inline with ones we have all made here on the Mod threads so glad to hear......

I can not tell you guys how great I am feeling with 4 AF evenings behind me and 5 days of healthy eating and exercise.... I am sooo excited to be getting back to ME

As many of you know my problem drinking started a couple of years back when I decided to loose quite a bit of weight, I did not want to give up my nightly beers but I cut down to 2 bud select (55 calories and half the AL) a night, well it left me wanting more to get to that relaxed state so instead I started doing a shot or two of liquor and then a beer or two.... well that got WAY out of hand.....

So when I decided to get back on the healthy eating and exercise routine I was worried, but I will tell you what I think has and is going to make the BIGGEST difference.... just going AF during the week, if I don't start to have a drink at all I am not disappointed when the 2 have not gotten me where I want to be and bitter that hubby keeps going. Not to mention I just feel SOOOOOOOOOO much better.

That being said, tonight hubby and I plan to go to an early movie and then meet some friends after for a few drinks. I know I will want a beer and I know they will not have my low calorie beer so I am thinking I will have one Light beer and then get a large plain ice tea with lemon and a shot or two in it and sip on that. Do you guys think it is worrisome that I'm debating liquor vs. beer due to calories again? Obviously I must be a bit myself or I would not be asking. Since I have stopped the pint plus 6 pack a day habit, I have gone out and had a shot on several different occasions and it has not sent me back into my spiral, I have had liquor in the house for weeks now and haven't touched it.... Sorry I am thinking as I write here..... I guess if I have 3-4 light beers I am looking at 300-400 calories and if I have one light beer and an iced tea with 2 shots I am looking at about 220 calories doing the math like that makes me think I should just stick to the beers and just burn the extra calories at the gym in the morning.

Sorry guys, I did mean to write this for help, but honestly figured it out as I was writing, was going to delete but figure I will post anyway just to share for sharing sake.

Well it is FRIDAY, I am in the best mood, got a ton of work to do!

Hope everyone else has a FANTASTIC day

Hey, V--

Just a thought, since I spent the night in a bar with buddies last night (more on in a min) and watched sober, drinking nothing but Arnold Palmer. Maybe try going without the whole night tonight. Just for the heck of it. The movie will be better, and it's kinda funny to watch others drink (and how much!) when you're not drinking at all. You'll be more aware of how much you typically drink. Give yourself permission to take the alcohol and beer calories in something like pie ala mode, or a shake/sundae!

Again, it's just a thought, probably influenced by my night out last night. (Oh no, run for the hills, D has crossed over to the dark side! NOT!)

D

[DfromCT]

October Mod Squad

3 in a row! Sorry, I had to reply to some of the posts I've missed being away 24 hours!

We now have two FF's! FlyFree is FF and farfallaP is ff....well, until I mix you up!

Welcome FF, and though we have different experiences, and typically think you should try a 30 day AF period to clear the head and body then consider your options, I'm in your corner and believe that any improvement is better than where you are without the effort. And I support that it's YOUR way out! :welcome:

Welcome, too to Chaaku. I love indian food, and was a bit remiss that I didn't go for the really good stuff in NYC last night. :welcome:

If anyone remembers my post yesterday morning I was talking about seeing a bunch of college buddies and music that I've been seeing (and typically drinking heavily) since I was a freshman in New Orleans. Well, the night was very interesting in a lot of ways.

My friends drank as much as we typically do, though I kept to my Arnold Palmer. LOL the bartender didn't charge me after my 3rd, and I probalby had 7 or 8 of them in the 4.5 hours I was there! The bands played in a big tent on a Pier in NYC, with bars and a large outdoor area (ping pong, fire pits, etc) and of course screens with the Yankees game on. The music was rockin and with a big enough crowd that it was a pain in the butt to go get a beer, most of my friends would get two or three at a time. There were quite a few times when the smell of the brew (a nice locally brewed Amber not to mention the smell of what I know was "KGB") and a friends need to set one down had me thinking about having one or two. But I told myself before the night started I wasn't drinking, and it wasn't that hard not to. Was REALLY glad when driving home after a long day and night that I didn't.

So what I watched was the pattern of drinking that was for years second nature for me when I see these bands. You have a full beer, but a buddy comes with another one for you so you drink the one down cause you don't want to be two handed for too long, then you finish the next one 10 minutes later and after 5 minutes your back at the bar. You order 3, drink one down and carry two back, one for your buddy, who's still nursing one... In an hour you've drank 6 beers, and by the end of the night as you slow down a little you've still had 15 or so! I didn't count, but know I had a whole lot less iced teas then they had beers (though it felt normal to have something in my hands, especially without my wife to dance with!) and still drank 7 or 8 iced teas. Now, add a couple of shots to the mix. OMG, I'm SO GLAD I'm not doing that anymore! :eeew::yukko:I may drink again, but I'm never going back to that. If I find myself there again, I WILL go the AF forever route!

Anyway, putting the consumption issues aside, it was a great time. The music was very good and it was great to see my buddies. It was also fun to see old friends, not to mention getting a chuckle out of the hook-ups going on.

TGIFF!
Dave

[vlivengood]

October Mod Squad

D sounds like an awesome night, I am soooo happy for you! I love how you played the night out cause I can totally relate and agree.

I appreciate the suggestion to try for AF and may, we'll see it is just hubby and I going to the movie so I will not drink prior to or during that.... so we are not meeting friends until close to 8pm (to be honest they are not truly friends, it is a work client who invites us out all the time and every once and a while I am obligated) So, seeing as I am not totally looking forward to their company I am kinda looking forward to a cold beer but it never hurts to keep AF as an option and something to shoot for..... I do wanna hit the gym early and I know if I AF it I will make it for sure

[Chaaku1]

October Mod Squad

Happy Monday Everyone

I thought I would kick off the week on the assumption that I would probably be the first one up (even though it is 1pm here), most of you are still having breakfast!

The Indian tapas wasn't tapas at all (they only serve their version of tapas at lunch times), the food was very good though....I did have a glass of wine with dinner and wore up with a slight hangover the next morning. That was a novel experience! How was you Indian buffet Freefly - hereafter I nominate FF (2) to avoid confusion as pointed out by D.

What an eventful weekend we had, following friday night - the decorators finished on Saturday (they have been doing up the hall, stairs and landing. We had to get the emergency vet in to attend one of the parrots who went into acute respiratory distress - he is NOT hand tame - so hubby got bitten x 3 when he caught him to be injected with steriods and antibiotics LOL ! He's absolutely fine now - the parrot - that is... :H Hubby has sore fingers!

D - Well done on you reunion night out in NYC - you should be very proud of yourself... so pleased to hear that you had a great time with your old mates too.

What are all of you planning for this week? Will you be going to a dog shelter V? I know I will be getting my bits ready for my trip to Santorini next Monday.

Hope you all have a great day

x

[vlivengood]

October Mod Squad

Happy Monday Fellow Modders.....

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and are off to a good hangover free start this morning....

Chaaku, have you been to Greece before? I am jealous sounds soo exciting and beautiful. Sorry about the Parrot drama although it did make me laugh, how many parrots do you have?

I am on an waiting list at shelter, they e-mail me if a dog matching our criteria comes in..... no e-mails since last week It will happen I know it will, we are meant to have a a dog a in our family and the right one will come to us.

Doing great on the eating right and excersise, hit the gym 5 days last week and plan on 6 for this week. Lost 8.5lb's last week... not entirely accurate.... when ever I decided to get on the weight loss track, I always kick my diet off on a Monday morning but start by weighing myself the Sunday evening before after dinner. Then my first weigh in and every weigh in after that is Monday morning when I first get up. So I know it is not totally accurate but I like that boost you get the first week from seeing a big number to help you stay motivated.

Well I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL WEEK

[DfromCT]

October Mod Squad

Good morning, All!

Had a great weekend with wifey and the boys, who slept ok both Friday and Saturday nights. Took them to Belmont (horse race track) where we meet a group of wife's friends to honor someone who died in 9/11. Did pretty well at the track (actually came home with more money than I left with!) and hit an Exacta by using a horse my boys helped me pick: Eurokaybymee!

The day that wifey and I have dreaded is coming: Tomorrow will be the last day of the night nurse! She's been with us since the twins were just a couple of weeks old, and her next assignment went into labor last night. She's typically with us Sunday through Thursday nights, now we'll be on our own! The good news is that each of the boys has been putting together stretches of sleep, the bad news is they don't necessarily do it at the same time! Also, lately they've been only taking 1/2 their normal feedings late in the day which makes them wake hungry rather than give us the nice long stretch.

Anyway, that's the big news here.

V- GREAT job with first week of diet. LOL, I lost almost 20 lbs when I stopped drinking, and would lose more if I didn't keep feeding my ice cream addiction! You're off to a great start, keep going, you'll feel so good excersizing coupling your AF days with modding.

Chaaku--I have a friend that gave his Mom a cocktiel (sp?) for Christmas years ago. They always had HUGE Christmas trees, and that year when the Mom opened the cage and tried to get the bird out, it immediately flew across the room, and into the tree (probably 14-16 ft. tree!) It lived there for a week, eating the popcorn and berries they had strung, and occaisionally biting a wire and shorting our a string of lights. On New Years Eve I put on these really thick bakers gloves and grabbed it. It bit me through the glove and I had a welt on my hand for a month!

BTW: Today is day 100 AF for me! Funny, but I don't feel like celebrating! I think downplaying my AF time makes it easier for me to do this, that's just me. Wifey got me some chocolate strawberries and preztels to celebrate!

[LibraryGirl]

October Mod Squad

Congrats on 100 days, D!!!! Awesome achievement!! I hope you and your wife adjust well to not having extra help at night. I'm sure it will be tough at first. Enjoy the treats!

Chaaku, your parrot story made me laugh too. I am still jealous of your holiday plans too. Glad you enjoyed the Indian tapas. I'll have to try that sometime. We have a new Indian restaurant I've yet to try.

V, wow, you are doing so good on your diet/exercise plan! I wish I could lose that easily! I'm only down 7 lbs after 2 months! Haha, I hope mine gets better (faster) too soon. Maybe I should try the gym?

I had today off and have been running errands all day. We actually went to play a little golf also, but got rained out pretty quickly. I'm not too disappointed as I was ready to get home, and bf got a rain check.

I've been attacked nastily in a pm by a member saying that she doesn't feel my intake is moderate, that I'm recruiting helpless, scared newbies, and that I should ask myself why other members find me so "objectionable" as she does. What the FLOCK?!! I swear if I took everything I read seriously, I really would have a problem with AL. This is ridiculous.

[FreeFly]

October Mod Squad

Hey Chaaku,

Well I was at the very end of a long queue (too polite methinks) so there were meagre offerings at the end of the line. Went with my Indian friend who enlightened me to my raging thirst at the end of the night (no al for me btw) that too much garam flour was used - LOL. I'm blessed with her cooking (so much better than the buffet) and she's promised to take me to her mum's for some serious authentic Indian cooking lessons Yay!

[DfromCT]

October Mod Squad

LibraryGirl;1393074 wrote: I've been attacked nastily in a pm by a member saying that she doesn't feel my intake is moderate, that I'm recruiting helpless, scared newbies, and that I should ask myself why other members find me so "objectionable" as she does. What the FLOCK?!! I swear if I took everything I read seriously, I really would have a problem with AL. This is ridiculous.

LG, I can bet dimes to dollars that the PM came from one of the same folks that thinks I'm recruiting newbies away from abstinence to "the foolhearty promise of a chance at moderation." Good thing we've learned to filter what's important to us and not let that crap drive us to drink.

I'm trying to sneak a round of golf in this week before a conference ties me up all of the coming weekend through next Wednesday.

[FarfallaP]

October Mod Squad

Hi Everyone!

DfromCT, congratulations on the 100 AF days...WOW!

Chaaku, Santorini, lucky lucky you! Greece is on my wish list...

FF, my "alphabet twin," how nice that your friend is so knowledgeable about Indian food...I am not very familiar with it.

LG, bummer that another member has been critical of you, especially since most folks are really trying to get back to business as usual, helping ourselves and each other deal with the issues which brought us to MWO in the first place. Your presence here is a benefit to us all; please pay no mind to the criticizer.

V, I'm like you in that I really, really need/like a big boost at the beginning of a weight loss attempt. Right now I am re-reading an old favorite, "the Four Day Win" by Martha Beck, to try to get myself motivated.

Most of the extended family has gone home, now we only have a few days of a few cousins (and our daughter) left, so the heavy lifting is past...

Have a happy week, everybody! Farfalla

[LibraryGirl]

October Mod Squad

Good morning! I was getting ready for work this morning and I realized that I said I'd been dieting for 2 months, and it's only been 1 month! Also, I measured and I've lost 1.5 in. in my waist.

Only have a few minutes, but hope everyone has a good day and I'll check in later.