I posted for the first time a couple weeks ago with my story. I now have 2 weeks of TSM under the belt so it seems like a good time to put up my first progress report. Actually, I think it's more of a baseline evaluation.

First off, I just want to make sure I'm counting with the same units as everyone else. Here is what I have in my Excel file:

Drink Al units
65 cl beer 1.83
50 cl beer 1.41
14.8 cl wine 1
33 cl beer 1
75 cl bottle wine 9

Are those clean numbers?

Ok, now for the stats:

Week 1: 40.72 units, 1AF
Week 2: 45.59 units, 0AF

A few reflections on the experience so far...

The golden rule is very simple in theory, but it takes some effort to put into practice. I neglected to take my Nal a full hour before booze-o-clock 4 times in two weeks and outright forgot about it on one of the nights. It boils down to the homecoming rush I experience each night. The kids literally tackle me when I walk through the front door. Just getting off my coat and emptying my pockets is a tall order. I'm finding it hard to sneak off to take my Nal before we put them to bed. Since we drink wine with dinner 3-4 nights/week and dinner starts shortly after the kids are in bed, it's tough to get the Nal down a full hour in advance. Question for the group: would it be better to take the Nal earlier, say 2 hours in advance, to risking taking it too late? I could keep it at work and take it before heading home.

Starting this TSM project, thinking of taking my Nal, keeping track of my drinks and visiting this forum have got alcohol on my brain 24/7. Not in the sense that I'm craving it, but that I'm constantly aware of my relationship with alcohol, my worries about my drinking habits and, of course, whether or not I plan to drink tonight. This is quite annoying since one of the things that first got me worried about my drinking was the increasing amount of conscious and sub-conscious thought I noticed myself devoting to alcohol.

Valancourt asked me what my alcohol triggers are. I think it's mostly boredom in the evenings. As I saw someone on the forum say, drinking is a nice way to put a period on the day. I like to drink while watching quality TV shows (is Mad Men a major trigger for anyone else?). And I think there's a Dylan Thomas element of raging against the dying light. I hate going to bed. I feel alert, alive and semi-euphoric at night. 11pm-2am is my time. The problem is that I don't function well on less than 8 hours of sleep and I've got to be up every day at 7am. When I force myself to go to bed earlier, I generally sleep quite well (especially when I'm drinking less).

I'm thinking of tracking my bedtimes along with daily alcohol consumption. Part of my drinking goal is also to be more responsible about calling it a night and respecting my body's need for sleep. I often feel like a split personality: there's night-me and day-me. The later is constantly getting screwed by the former. My hope is that by reducing my desire to drink I will also increase my willingness to 'go gentle into that good night.'

Can anyone else relate to this trigger?

Best,
David

Welcome.

Perhaps you can keep some Nal and a bottle of water in your car and take it before you drive home from work?

I'm curious about taking it a few hours before drinking too. Lately I have run in to the problem of taking it and then losing interest in drinking and then three hours later wondering if it would be better to drink something or nothing at that point. Like right now.

I don't know if you have a smart phone, but I started using something called daily tracker that lets you track all kinds of things. Personally, I am tracking alcohol, caffeine consumption, food (sortof), weight and sleep. I find it VERY helpful to see how much sleep I am getting and how that relates to other areas of my life. Obviously I could do the same thing in a notebook. I am sleeping much better now that I have cut back on alcohol and eliminated caffeine. I find that the 11-2am time has lost some of its appeal. Though, not all. I am a parent too and feel very protective of that time that is not work and not parenting.

Hi Bunton,

I've often taken my Nal 2 or even more hours before I start drinking, it works fine for me, it might for you too, it would be better than not taking it at all.

I get what you are saying about being obsessed with drinking, I felt like that too, but not anymore, taking Nal is a habit for me now and because my drinking is no longer a problem I don't worry about it anymore. Just give Nal and yourself some time and it will fall into place.

Changing your evening routine would probably be a big help, I'm guessing that it's the alcohol that's making you feel so alive at night. Part of our drinking problems is just plain ol' habit, like sitting in front of the TV drinking. Can you think of something else to do instead? Going for a walk, the gym, reading a book, taking up evening classes of some sort? Or maybe just drinking tea or coffee instead of your usual drink?

I find Melatonin supplements great for getting to sleep. Take it about an hour before you plan to sleep, then sit in a quiet, low-lit room, reading, for example, or better still, listen to music or an audio book in the dark, and just wait till you nod off, it really works. Melatonin is our own natural sleep hormone and darkness stimulates production.

BTW. I'd count 1.48 dl of 12% wine as 1.5 units. 1 dl=1unit.

Good Luck!

Curi

The easiest way to accurately figure the alcohol units is to use the calculator here:

http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/ccalcoh3.htm

The units for different countries vary a lot, but this one allows to to choose which country's units you want to use, and gives you control over alcohol content and amounts. In USA units a 750 ml bottle of 9% wine is 3.8 units whereas a 750ml bottle of 12% wine is 5.07 units. In UK units those numbers would be 6.75u and 9u.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Hello,

It's been a few weeks since I checked in so here is my next progress report:

Week 1: 41.72 / 1AF
Week 2: 43.60 / 0AF
Week 3: 40.27 / 0AF
Week 4: 48.00 / 1AF
Week 5: 34.53 / 1AF

The uptick in Week 4 was due to a week-long vacation. Ended up staying up late and sipping beers after my wife went to bed almost every night. A dope smoking friend stayed with us for 2 nights and I had the chance to smoke weed for the first time since I can remember. Interestingly, the feeling of being stoned made me lose all interest in drinking. We had some wine with dinner, but once we smoked a joint I only wanted water for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, I more than made up for this reduced consumption on the other nights of my vacation.

It's very frustrating to spend a vacation tired and nursing a hangover. All day long I ask myself, why?, why choose to feel like this? And then every evening, the evil "night-me" comes out and says come on... just a few drinks... you'll be fine in the morning.

Consumption was down a bit in Week 5. But this was more due to being exhausted from over drinking the week before than to any noticeable TSM effect.

I've had a few more compliance errors taking my Nal (less than 1 hour before drinking) but this is getting better with practice.

It's difficult to evaluate something so subjective as one's desire to drink. I can't say I've noticed a TSM effect yet: I'm thinking of the bottle of red wine on my counter at home as I type this report.

I will continue to take my Nal and hope for the best. We are taking a long vacation in August. I hope TSM will start kicking in by then so I can reduce my consumption, get enough sleep and enjoy the vacation during the day with my family.

On that note: does anyone have some ideas on reducing consumption while on vacation?

That is a toughie, the vacation factor. And I also do the same thing in re: to having house guests, in spite of the fact that my guest that arrives tomorrow doesn't drink!!! Yet I know I will want to adopt a mindset to "party". So I've made a "deal" w/ myself that I will be sure to do AFs every other day - that's not too much to ask of myself.

If your next vacation is the end of August, things might be very different by then. In the meantime 5 weeks is a good start and you are tracking and evaluating and following The Rule, so you are doing everything right. Thanks for the report!

Hey there Bunton:

Vacations are tough! Just got back from one. Managed to stay on the better side of the line for most of it.

Reading your thread I have two suggestions:

You might get a key fob pill holder. If you're in the US, REI sells a slim version of one that I've had on my keychain for a long time. It's made following the rule so much easier. If anyone asks I keep my heartburn pills there.

As for vacation, I sure know how hard it is to find that balance between struggling not to drink and going overboard. Hungover and miserable is a drag under any circumstances but especially when wasting a vacation day!

A lot of folks find they can moderate their intake better by switching to a less-favorite beverage, esp light beer. I know, easily said. But it can make a difference. Maybe try that a bit on the upcoming break.

Wishing you all the best!

Thanks for the vacation tips.

The light beer solution isn't an option because they don't sell it in Europe. I buy the lowest % beer I can find already... usually 4.2%.

Another issue is wine with dinner. My wife and I both enjoy it immensely and we split (I drink 2/3) a bottle pretty much every night on vacation. That's my booze baseline before she goes to bed to which I usually add several beers.

I like (well, it doesn't sound pleasant really) Chrissie's idea of forcing AF days. I was also thinking of scheduling early windsurfing lessons or something to force me to be up early as an added incentive to get to bed earlier.

Still, I can't shake this insidious feeling that partytime = heavy drinking and vacation = partytime, therefore I must drink a lot on vacation. It's going to require some serious willpower.

My wife came home from work yesterday with a slightly sad and confused expression on her face. Her office neighbor had died the night before. He had been a hardcore alcoholic for the last 10 years (the sort that drinks in the morning before work). He started drinking heavily after a divorce about 10 years ago. He was the father of two children aged 10 and 12. They were visiting him when he died. They aren't sure exactly what caused his death. It seems that they both had been out with friends when he passed. His 12 year old daughter found him at home keeled over on the table with a slice of pizza stuck in his throat. They think alcohol played a direct and indirect role in the death. He had been in and out of treatment (openly within the company) for several years and seemed to be making progress towards recovery. He was by all accounts a great guy and devoted father. Such a sad story. I wish he could have given TSM a try.

A sobering story that encourages me to double down with rigor on my TSM application.