I love it HF!!! That first compliment when someone you recently met says "you're not drinking much, are you?" or something along those lines.....it's happened to me recently too. What a good feeling, even if sometimes you feel like you're not the biggest life of the party anymore

Well, it’s time for me to report my weekly process. I was on fire this week, all the way till the last night. But, I still finished with my lowest total 32.40. A couple of interesting facts, two nights were almost half of my consumption. And I know why. Sunday I was on an extended date, and she drinks. So over eight hours, I drank eight beers. Then, Tuesday night, work sucked, so I tried to get drunk. I couldn’t. I can only drink about a beer an hour. So, I gave up around 1 AM. I went to bed damn near sober and went to work tired and nalovered. That sucked worse.

Despite my two indiscretions, I finished lower than ever. I just have to control the binges. And that makes me laugh: eight beers constitutes a binge these days! And, I can’t drink hard liquor. Nor wine. The thought just isn’t appealing. I tried to drink a Captain and Cream Soda, and couldn't. It made me sick to my stomach. So, I guess my lizard brain needs to learn that it’s drinking days are over.

It’s still somewhat disappointing to finish high. I think I sabotaged myself a bit, too. I was thinking about it too much. But, the beauty of TSM is this is a brand new week! Wednesday was a 2.85 unit night. Tonight probably a 2.85 unit night. So, tonight, I sit here, clear of mind.

Nal on my friends!

Inspiring stuff, HF. There are a couple of things that I took from this...

- 8 beers constitute a binge.
- Avoiding wine, hard stuff.
- 32.40 as a weekly total (very close to the ULMD).

That is incredible progress. And as for "sabotaging" yourself with two mild binges - you've set yourself up for several additional instances of incremental lowest totals. If you completely blew away your record this week, then it may be awhile before you break that lowest total number again. I think the small victories along the way are important, as they are encouraging.

Enjoy the clarity. You're doing great!

-H

It’s time to make my weekly report. Actually, I am a day early, but my numbers aren’t going to change between now and then. That’s because today, my alarm went off and I chose not to take the pill. No pill, no alcohol. No alcohol and I am having an unplanned AF day. Numbers for the week: 36.50. One AF day.

When I started to take the pill, I remembered I am currently out of beer. The thought of going to the store and buying more wasn’t appealing. I am tired and the idea of standing in line for beer just seems like a lot of trouble. When I started last August, I would have been very upset right now. I even kept “emergency” alcohol against just such a calamity. Today, I simply don’t care.

I have no idea what this means for the long term. I think normal people make the type of choice I made today. This week, my numbers were up 4 units. The sad thing is I binged and consumed 14.25 on Sunday. I actually wanted the beer. My lizard brain kept at it. I couldn’t drink fast enough to get drunk and my lizard brain wasn’t letting up. I just got a good buzz and stayed up way too late in an attempt to drink a lot. Yesterday, I felt awful. I still drank.

While not a record, it’s the first time I have had an unplanned AF day. I am not hung over today. And when the alarm went off, I had a choice. For whatever reason, I chose not to drink.

Hope everyone is doing well! Keep naling on!

Hey HF,

Thats awesome news about your unplanned AF day. This could be the start of something good. By choosing not to drink becuase you can't be bothered to stand in line for beer? Unheard of as of last August? Sounds like you are on the right track to me. Funny how that nal changes our thoughts to good thoughts.

Have a great AF day! I hope its a good one.

Best,

that is so terrific! Another good sign, of good progress.

Yeah, as a beer drinker myself, its really a lot of effort to get a buzz on...I feel like I'll drown before I get there...but I still press on sometimes. In fact, sometimes I think if beer was the only alcohol in creation, I'd be pretty close to "cured". But unfortunately, Lizard Brain knows where the box'o'wine is kept, and is willing to give up it's beer-loving principles for that harder jolt. Hmmm...that might be an interesting challenge for myself this week: pledge to ONLY drink beer. Okay, deal!!! You heard it here first, folks: hold me to it.

Chrissie

HF, some inspiring stuff there. I think this is what TSM is about - it gives us the CHOICE to drink or not drink. We might still choose to drink (and on occasion drink more than moderately) but it is no longer a compulsion, a runaway train that we cannot control. Keep fighting the good fight!

Latest week units, 17.89. AF days: 3. Consumption by day:

5.70, 0, 2.85, 6.49, 2.85, 0, 0

Not quite ULMD, only because I exceed 5 in a sitting. Twice. Those were long duration drinking sessions (6+ hours.)

Best week ever for numbers. It dawned on me that I was drinking mechanically. So, I decided to try AF days and found I can do them with no issues. So far anyway. TSM is a roller coaster, I could go through an extinction burst this week for all I know.

New moderation rules are in place, we will see what I can do with them. Early on I didn't follow many moderation rules, as I didn't think it would be productive. I am now at a much different place. I think the basic rules early on are good: don't get hungry, eat before you drink, alternate, etc keeps things between the lines, but beyond that, I am not sure they would be helpful. They might even be harmful.

However, after a while, it becomes necessary to exert some will power and take charge.

Awesome progress HF! Congratulations!

HF, you have come a LONG way, baby, and in a very reasonable length of time. Yeah, it's nice when you try something - like AFs, or setting goals and stopping @ a certain au# - and find you CAN! What recently felt like "no way!" becomes "okay, I can do that..."

BTW, I'm curious as to what your age range is: 20s, 30s, 40,s??? I may have missed it somewhere but if you'd rather not say, that's cool, too.

Anyway, thanks for the happy post!

Chrissie