Cauliflower

Hi guys! Just a quick check in; all is well here. I am looking forward to celebrating the 6 month mark later this month!
I still have no internet, grrrr, Next week after the thanksgiving long weekend they will come out and install.

Swim, you are so lucky! Enjoy your trip, I always wanted to go to NYC.
Inc, I am so happy for you! I mean, every thing sold is a good thing, right?
Amp, you ran 14k?! Wow. I was so impressed with my 2k, lol!
And everyone else, I miss you! I hope to be online more often very soon.

Angie247

Hi all. Feeling good and I'm sleeping wonderfully! I'm about to head out to work in a few minutes but wanted to check in and tell you all that you're awesome!!

Cauliflower

I just finished reading a book and found myself battling it out with my AV! Geesh. The characters in the book where drinking wine while grieving together on the phone, because they found themselves alone on Christmas. I AV popped up right away. Crazy thoughts.

I'm busy working now, having tea after a long hot shower and quiet meditation. Strength renewed! Speaking of strength, I start my strength training class tonight. First time taking any kind of fitness class!

None for me today because I have come too far to start all over again.

OMD

Hi all,
Good to see everyone is doing well! IC it must feel really good to get closure on that part of history.

I had some really excellent work related news today and would normally be out celebrating this situation. As it goes I am not, and it feels a bit odd to be honest. I guess I haven't faced this before - a genuine circumstance in which I would have a drink.

Ah well, I am sure I will be grateful in the morning, and I keep thinking about what my friend said to me when we were together a couple of weeks ago about thinking very carefully before having that drink because it might not turn out very well. Very true.

By the way, tomorrow is 6 calendar months for me

Best wishes
OMD

KeyofC

Congrats to the milestones guys! High five!

Cauliflower

Way to talk yourself through OMD. You can still celebrate, just in a different way. Congrats on your work achievement and your 6 months!! Take a bow, you deserve it!

amp123

Well done OMD! 6 months is amazing and the work stuff too! We have to learn to "celebrate" in different ways, that's all

stargazer016

Congrats OMD! You are leading the charge for the rest of us over the six month mark!

stargazer016

Glad everyone is working their way through their AV moments and breaking the chains of picking up the bottle when strong feelings sweep into our lives.

amp123

I just noticed something curious. A few years ago I joined myfitnesspal.com. I needed to lose quite a lot of weight because of my life style. Obviously, with all the calories on beer and wine,I was heading into my forties and ballooning like the Michelin Man...

Anyway, I lost a lot of weight by training pretty hard. I knew I could do it quicker and better if I dropped the booze but that was just untouchable so I had to work round it.

I still have the habit of recording my weight on the site nearly every morning and today I opened up the progress chart for the year and it was really interesting. I may have mentioned that I was an every day drinker who cranked things up at the weekend? Well, the first half of the yearly chart (November 2014-April 2015)/is like a serrated edge. Every weekend I would put on between 1 and 2 kilos and then exercise like a lunatic during the week to lose it again. From April till now the graph is basically flat and progressive. I've lost a few kilos since I cut out the booze even though I don't exercise half what I used to.

Amazing how hard I used to have to battle to keep my body in line and now it just does it for itself. I was so deluded about booze! Thank goodness I've had the strength to put things right! It can't have been healthy caning my body with such mixed approaches!

Looking forward to 6 months. Feels like a REAL block of time. Half a year....

OMD

Thank you everyone! Today is the day! I shall celebrate by doing a 6 mile run !!

Amp - I am totally with you on the weight front. I mentioned ages ago about literally always running with a hangover. So now I don't drink alcohol I don't have all those empty calories that I used to fight to keep under control. I am faster and stronger even though I don't run as often because I now spend some of my leisure time swimming (as I have tediously documented in the past - this was something my sober self set out to achieve - am still working on it). I recover more quickly and - amazingly - have not been injured for the past 6 months so it was like alcohol was smart bombing my entire body.

Anyway, I really really want to thank you all. I could not have done this without you. You have literally been the difference between success and failure. 6 months ffs!!!!

Best wishes
OMD

Incontrol15

CONGRATS OMD!!
6 months. Awesome!!

Can you imagine where you'd be today if you never stopped?

KeyofC

Hey OMD! Congrats to you!

stargazer016

This was so me. I was working out seven days a week and tracking every calorie on my phone app. It would have been so simple to just quit drinking and save 500 plus calories a day but that thought was truly untouchable. I'd rather skip dinner.

Incontrol15

That is just too funny. But so true.
For me...I wasn't worrying about weight. I drank most of my meals. I ate maybe 1 meal a day and even then I wouldn't eat a lot. It's truly amazing my body didn't just quit on me.

Dee74

Congratulations from me too OMD

D

stargazer016

That's a great point, Inc! I really haven't given much thought to where I would be today if I continued drinking over the past half a year. Pretty scary I'm guessing.

Incontrol15

Oh man...I can't imagine how bad things would be. I'd have to expect my first DUI for starters and losing my license. Have no way to earn an income. Add a DUI to my resume in top of bankruptcy. Never mind being fired from 20yr career.

I'd be sooo broke, DUI or not.
A miserable person as a whole. Anxiety and depression would have worsened. I was already romanticizing suicide by the time I quit.

Angie247

Congratulations OMD!!!

SwimKim12

OMD, congratulations on six months! You are doing great! Maybe you'll be able to celebrate with a swim?!

So, here I am back at day one. I hate writing that. Yesterday was rough. I drank a 24 oz beer in the afternoon and it hit me pretty hard so I took a two hour nap. Woke up and felt absolutely horrible. Went out and walked around for almost two hours bc I thought it would make me feel better. Instead, I ended up doing laps around the block trying to decide whether or not I was going to buy more booze. Went into rite aid, bought a bottle of Chardonnay and felt somewhat relieved. Had a glass of it and thought it tasted pretty gross- really sweet. I looked at the bottle and it was 6%. I felt so stupid and I just poured the rest out. I figured it was some kind of divine intervention to keep me from getting drunk. Then I proceeded to lapse into a depression, feeling so incredibly lonely, cried for an hour, was almost inconsolable. Somehow snapped out of it and watched some HGTV. Went to bed feeling okay. Woke up this morning feeling okay. But on day one. Which sucks.

I'm heading to Connecticut today to visit my alcoholic aunt and uncle. I will tell her I quit drinking and she shouldn't give me too much grief about it.

I guess I discovered a new anti-drug: crying. I'm trying to focus on the positives: I'm in a great place and have lots of people who care about me. I just need to show myself that same kind of care, especially when I'm not feeling well.

Sorry for the downer update. I hope that you guys are all doing okay! I'm glad you're here to hold me accountable.