HG, I love your list! You are such a positive and supportive person. I think having a good attitude is important in being successful in TSM (and anything else for that matter) and you have that in spades.

The increased clarity and control that most of us have once we start TSM is a benefit way beyond pure numbers. The numbers will come down. In the meantime, it's great that you can appreciate the difference between pre-TSM and post-TSM and aren't just hung up on the numbers.

HG--Must be something in the air--can pollen make us drink more? I too had a lousy week. I even planned an AF day, but before dinner decided I wanted wine, so I took a NAL and went for it.

Your list shows some GREAT progress! Good luck getting those units to catch up with the other good results.

Hi HG, thats a great post. I agree, we sometimes become too wrapped up in figures for objective evidence that TSM is working whilst forgetting the great non measurable things that are happening. Its really good for you to put them down in a post. Hope you have a good week and thanks to you I'll remember to stop to smell the roses. Where we are at the moment is much better than where we were.

Hi HG

As always you are an inspiration to me. That's a great list of positives. I do share some of them:
- I can take or leave alcohol more easily
- I remember what happened the night before (although if I am reading late at night after 8 or so drinks I sometimes have to reread some of the pages!)
- I still feel the effects of the alcohol but not as strongly and feel more under control
- Food is more important (as it should be)
Have a great weekend and good luck with the 4 a day and the exercise.


Cheers
Sticky

Thank you for posting your journey through TSM and documenting the positives. I hope that you end this adventure with full success.

Thanks everyone for your lovely posts. We are all such a positive group it is just a blast to pop onto this forum and get my fix for the day. I love each and every one of you!

Hi HG,

What a great approach you have to this process. You always focus on some positive behaviour change when the numbers may not be exactly where you want them to be. I loved your list and it really shows how the small behaviour changes are just as important as the numbers.

It sounds like you are battling habit at the moment- almost like your mind is fixed on the routine of a set number of glasses. One way to shave a few units off might be fine a wine with a much lower alcohol content. I don't know much about wine but I wonder if its possible to get one thats half the content? Then you could have the same number of glasses but shave off some units. I found that switching to lower alcohol content drinks helped me get the numbers down when my brain wasn't quite ready to reduce the number of actual drinks in a session.

I'm rooting for you. You will get there.

HG, I'm just getting caught up on your thread. Your progress is fantastic. It's often the case that you feel the changes in behavior and attitude towards drinking before you see the numbers go down and the AF days starting. This is working for you behind the scenes gradually reducing the allure of wine. The AF days will come. I wasn't having many of those around four months in. You are right about the routine of drinking if you want to change your drinking behavior you have to start with changing your behavior. The habit part of drinking to me was the hardest part. Change your evening routine around and you may see AF days starting. Great progress.

Thanks St. V and Susie - I finished week 20 last night and finally my stalled progress is over, at least I hope it is. For the last week I've noticed a stronger reduction of interest in alcohol. I still drink in my usual way and my usual place, but I notice I'm not focused on wine at all. Also, I get to the last glass in the bottle and I stop (at least I have the last three nights), so I'm finally at 4 glasses of wine a night.

My progress in reduction of units has been slow on TSM but the other changes have been remarkable. I can't even imagine getting drunk or for that matter buzzed anymore. I have lost an interest in doing that. I drink a really light wine with low alcohol content so 4 glasses for me isn't much over an evening and I don't notice getting a buzz. I do remember one night this week that I got a buzz and I didn't like it and stopped drinking until it passed. I don't want to get cocky as I know my road to regaining control isn't over yet, but I'm feeling pretty darn good about my life right now. You may not remember but my goal is abstinence so I have a ways to go to achieve that, but WOW I am so happy with what control TSM has given me thus far.