Right on! Your drink count is basically cut in half and holding after three weeks. Day to day cravings and other emotions try to derail me all the time. I try to focus on the big picture, on long term harm reduction, and progress toward the goal of indifference. Easier said than done sometimes.

Congrats!

I also agree All41 that after the first few weeks your body does get used to the Nal other than for me when I take Nal+Drink I get very tired.
Nal on!

You might find this illuminating. Went out to dinner last night, and of course the other couple and my wife would be drinking wine with dinner. That's all fairly normal, what wasn't normal, is that I didn't have my usual pre-dinner at home drinks, my middle of the day drinks, and maybe a morning drink or two. Even better, I never do that anymore, and I never want to.

We even got there late on purpose, so we wouldn't have to stand around the bar, having libations for 45 minutes or so.

Anyways, I had a glass of wine along with everyone else before dinner, and had one glass out of the shared bottle of wine my friend purchased. All well and good, especially as this was premium wine.

No refill from the bottle occurred, no after dinner drink occurred, no nightcap occurred, as I had no interest in doing that. My best friend Nal was taken as per protocol.

I'm writing this, because this is what happens when alcohol loses its allure and drinking it addictively ceases to make any sense whatsoever.

I don't post drink counts, but this month was maybe 10 for the whole month. All occurred at dinner type events.

There still seems to be some doubt among folks that this is really an effective method, I assure you it is.

Well done all, keep the course.

Man I was sick as a dog last night, food poisoning from lunch I think. Unfortunately, I took my afternoon Nal and had a beer (poured out the second) before I realizing I was getting sick at dinner. I don't think the nal was the cause but it didn't exactly help matters either. I was a wretch, still am, but no fever. That's one way to keep your numbers down............

Well, one month down!

Had a bit of a spike last week but that's OK, still at about half of where I started.

I've been thinking about the coming holidays a lot. I have a few lingering bad memories from when I was a kid, and a few that I've created for my family in the past few years. My Dad was bipolar and a heavy drinker, and holidays were always a trigger........holidays weren't always fun as a kid. Things have never been anywhere near as bad in my own house, but even still, for me the stress and preoccupation with drinking hasn't been a good combination. Why are holidays so stressful anyway? I think I'll make a very conscious effort this holiday to take it easy. I have some farm related work to get done over break, but other than that I'm going to kick back and take it easy with my family. Thanksgiving this year went well and it would be nice to have a peaceful Christmas and new year.

You're off to a great start! The holidays can be a tough time, but you'll get through them fine. I'm sure of it. Your attitude is one focused on success, and I believe that's a big part of making this work.

Well done all41. As long as you're protected by the nal and follow the Golden rule. I say enjoy the holidays just like you normally would. Stay the course. You're doing great. Applause

Good for you all41, That is great that your drinking is down which I can't say mine is but we will just have to keep positive that TSM is still working for us.
This Christmas like the last is pretty sad for our family having lost my sister in April 2013 after a Bone Marrow Transplant and then contracting Leukemia but we all do get together and try and celebrate as best as we can.
Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and New Year!

Well not exactly what I wanted to see finishing week 5, but I guess this is in the range of "normal" and the honeymoon is over.

From my journal (Y=USA units, X=weeks):