No wine for 6 weeks!
I've decided that my drinking has become a problem. I find myself opening a bottle of wine every day when i get home from work and slowly finishing it until the time i go to sleep. Sometimes I'll drink a bottle or two (or sometimes three) with my roommate while we watch tv together. I've also put on a lot of weight in the past 6 months and I'm attributing the bulk of it to my excess wine consumption.
I'm now on day 3 without wine and I honestly did not expect to be this difficult. My body will thank me as I get back into shape (just started hitting the gym 5 times a week and I've already lost 4 pounds in the past week and a half!) and I hope i can limit my wine intake to two bottles per week. This will also help increase my saving money.
Anyway, I guess i came here for support and encouragement. Happy day
I know exactly what you mean! I started to cut down on my wine intake a few months ago because I was doing the same exact thing (opening one everyday after work). I have noticed a HUGE difference in both my pocketbook & my wieght. Plus, now I hardly think about it, I maybe open a bottle every couple of weeks.
I know it's hard at first, but it will get easier! :)
I can only wish you the best because alcohol is just a bunch of empty calories. Although I don't drink wine daily, I do like to have a drink or two. I am thinking the only way to get my last 10 or 15 pounds off is to limit alcohol. Maybe only have wine on the weekend????? Or buy the new wines in the containers that look like soy milk packs and have a glass with dinner each night but just a glass.
Apparently, these packs keep fresh way longer!
Di
Mmmm... I love wine and beer! Fortunately (?!) there's no liquor store in my community, the nearest one is a 30 minute drive and I haven't got a car so my alcohol consumption has been pretty low this year!
Gotskates - Wine (not whine which is when a person or thing makes an irritating, high-pitched noise) isn't as dire a vice as you make it out to be. As with anything, moderation is important, and a reasonable amount of wine (a glass a day) can actually have positive effcts on health. It's also a really wonderful thing to enjoy with a meal and relax after a long day.
Gotskates, I know you're young, but that was rather inconsiderate. I'm sure you meant no disrespect, but try to consider your words before you put them out there, kay? We're all friends here. :D *hugs all fellow vegans*
Best wishes on your wine detox, Secondbase! We all have vices of some sort, and it's good that you've taken the bull by the horns and vowed to crack down on yours when you noticed that it was taking control. A nice glass of black and mint iced-tea at the end of a day is pretty stress-relieving, especially when it's warm out. I keep a gallon pitcher in the fridge nowadays.
Sounds to me like you're doing great even though it's obviously been hard. And just think-- four pounds down is 16 sticks of Earth Balance! :D Hang in there and when you feel weak, login to VegWeb for a little positive feedback. Best of luck and keep us informed.
Good for you, secondbase! I remember having a beer habit a long time ago. I just noticed one day that I would start drinking beer when I got home from work. It was a purely psychological thing for me, and it was really hard to break. It was a mindless habit that had slowly grown out of control.
Good luck! I'm sure you'll do just great! Oh, by the way, berry port sauce does NOT count as drinking wine, so you don't have to give that up!
Wow secondbase, good for you! I'm sure at first it will be difficult as your body detoxs, but hang in there! It will get easier and you've got all us vegwebbers for support! :)
Sounds to me like you're doing great even though it's obviously been hard. And just think-- four pounds down is 16 sticks of Earth Balance! :D Hang in there and when you feel weak, login to VegWeb for a little positive feedback. Best of luck and keep us informed.
Bookmama, now you've got me trying to figure out my weight in sticks of Earth Balance! I just did the math, and it's a LOT of sticks. ;D
Secondbase, you can do it!!!! I've never really been into drinking wine; I only have an occasional beer or two after dinner. But (and this may sound ridiculous), I never thought I could quit drinking Diet Coke. I used to chug them down all damn day long (for over ten years!), but somehow I quit. And I know wine and Diet Coke are truly different things, but I can imagine the difficulty in quiting.
My theory is that if you can quit something for a day, you're already halfway there. If you can quit something for a few weeks, you're 99% there. After about two months (or less!), you've got it licked, and you won't even crave it anymore. That just seems to be the way it is for me anyway. And after becoming vegan, I seem to always be quitting something new! (Cheese, sour cream, honey, refined sugar, etc., etc., etc...)
Well no way am I going to calculate my weight in Earth Balance, because that would leave me with the veg*n equivalent of Europe's "butter mountain"!! Sheesh. :D
Secondbase, you're very wise to be aware of the problem and deal with it, before it becomes such a serious problem you think it's normal! As the sibling of 3 alcoholics, I can tell you your relationships will improve, and life will be less tense!
The funny thing is, I know the alcohol-weakness gene is in my blood and yet, I can take a drink or leave it alone. Believe me, I count my blessings and I am careful. I too enjoy a nice wine, and for awhile I was buying one bottle a week. But it had to be a cheapie that comes with a screw-on cap (not normal in this wine-producing country) because it had to hold more than 48 hrs without going "funny". It was an Aussie Shiraz. Nice but it started turning my teeth black at the gumline. Not nice! One glass with a meal was becoming two, was becoming "well I might as well finish this" and the bottle was gone by the end of 2 days--and the next thing you know you're wrapping both hands around the neck of the bottle and crawling in.
Another thing I have noticed in my march toward health...when a treat becomes a necessity, you have a problem! Whether it be sodas, chips, wine or :-[ black olives. :-[ Addictions are tailor-made. Besides once you lose the "treat factor" it just isn't as much fun! I like a good wine, as food, but you're right--when you can't have fun or relax without asking the bottle, that's a problem.
I for one am proud of you, Secondbase. That's three I know of, fighting our problems: you, me (weight=laziness and greed) and DiverDi (smoking). More power to us! :-*
You're in my pocket.
Bookmama, now you've got me trying to figure out my weight in sticks of Earth Balance! I just did the math, and it's a LOT of sticks. ;D
You did the math? LOL ;D ;D
Secondbase,
DH and I are wine lovers too, but yeah 3 bottle a night is too much. Maybe you became aware of this excess thanks to little2ant's post the other day. Sounds like this isn't alcoholism and is just a "bad habit" that you've gotten into, the fact that you noticed it yourself and are making changes now before it becomes a problem shows this as well. I see you being successful. :)
Good for you.
How does your roommate feel about you cutting back? If you don't mention it to him/her they may just think you are snubbing them (during the wine/TV time) and be offended so you may want to mention your desire to cut back (for whatever reason you choose to share with them... weight loss or w/e :))
Good luck secondbase and keep it up! I have many times used alcohol for the wrong reasons (like as the only way to fall asleep...or should I say "pass out"), and like you, I decided to "dry out" for a while. I actually do it a few times a year. Sometimes I think I do it just to make sure I can do it (not drink at all that is). So far so good.
To me, great beer is like great food....I just want too much of it all the time. Lucky for me I hike and run all the time. If I did not, I'd probably weigh 300 lbs!
Keep it up, and keep us posted!
Baypuppy, it's wonderful to hear someone else say they don't like beer and wine. I'm the only one in the family who doesn't like wine and I feel sad that I cannot participate in the enjoyment. My DH is the only beer-lover in the family although the children will drink it at an event or occasion where it's the only option. I DO like sweet liquor drinks; however, I seldom have those because I prefer to eat my calories. It's just too easy to drink something--I don't sip.
And about the Earth Balance-weight-loss thing--I started that when I heard people saying, "I lost only 1/4 pound this week." It sounds like so much more to think about it as a whole stick of butter (or Earth Balance) and is more encouraging. I use the image myself. :)
Bookmama, this reminded me of something that happened many yrs ago when I was visiting my mother (so you know it was a long time...). She got some beer because she knew we drink it here, but I didn't like it! I was so used to European beer which has a greater proportion of hops in it, giving it that bitter (but also refreshing) taste, and more body. American beer tasted just like soapy water...somehow it didn't have enough "fizz" either. I thought maybe the bottle had been partly unsealed in transit, so I tried another--soapy water. Ugh! Poor mom--her face just fell. But I really couldn't drink it.
I'm like you in the sense of when faced with something I don't usually eat or drink I ask myself, "Is it worth the calories?" In the case of a real treat, maybe so--when faced with industrial pastry, no! Never!
I too like the image of that stick of butter off my thighs!
Hey secondbase,
You just made me think of me. I too drink too much. I'm thinking of going "straight" during the week, then "treat" myself on the weekends. But with only one 12 pack between two of us. No more than that. I usually put away a 12 pack by myself in two days.
So, I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens. And good luck to you :)
Yay, karatekid! I'll keep you in my thoughts too!
Yabbitgirl, it may not be that you were used to European beer, I just think you have good taste in beer. American beer always tastes like soapy water! :)
American beer always tastes like soapy water! :)
Only the "mass produced" American beers....there are lots of tasty micro-brewed beers in the US! :D
Congrats secondbase! I completely know how you feel. I used to have a glass or two of wine at night with dinner but decided about a year ago that it was just too much. I work SO early during the week that I decided Sunday thru Thursday I would not have wine or beer. I have a few on the weekends if I want. It took a while to get use to it but I feel SO much better now. I run more during the week (training for the San Francisco ½ marathon now, ouch!) and sleep better at night. It is hard because we have all this good wine in the bay area! GOOD LUCK and I know you can do it!!
American beer always tastes like soapy water! :)
Only the "mass produced" American beers....there are lots of tasty micro-brewed beers in the US! :D
Well... you know what I meant! I'll let you back into the dork club if I can still be in the beer club!
Secondbase, I'm so sorry to get off topic so easily! I'm still wishing you the best of luck on your endeavor, and we are all here for you, even if we're a little nuts sometimes! :)
American beer always tastes like soapy water! :)
Only the "mass produced" American beers....there are lots of tasty micro-brewed beers in the US! :D
This is true. :)
How's it going for you secondbase? don't forget to update us here. We really want to know how you're doing!
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