OK, So who's with me????

[ceeaton]

WAY TO GO @Ceeaton !

I am proud of you.

You got this! You made it over the hump of that first weekend! It is all down hill from here!

Now we just need a report from our own @boatboy24

Just tell me when I wake up tomorrow morning that I'm 1/2 way. I guess it is a week on Wednesday morning for me, so at least I can say I've gone for a week, it's all downhill to 14 days at that point, right? Then on to the home stretch to 1/2 way... Be nice if I could keep this weight loss up and do 40 in 40 days, but that would be a bit unhealthy. If I can average 2-3 lbs a week I'll be somewhere between 214-220, which would make my doctor happier. I'd like to hit 200 by the end of the year. If I take "school nights" off after this I may have a chance.

 

[ceeaton]

Had a nice top sirloin roast for dinner tonight. Would have been great to pair it with a nice dark, dry, did I say dark, super dry, smooth as silk, red wine. But no, I had to decide to live without the nectar of the God's for 40 days. My resolve is disolving.

 

[JohnT]

Had a nice top sirloin roast for dinner tonight. Would have been great to pair it with a nice dark, dry, did I say dark, super dry, smooth as silk, red wine. But no, I had to decide to live without the nectar of the God's for 40 days. My resolve is disolving.

I feel ya, but think of how proud you will be in just 29 days! You can do this!

 

[Boatboy24]

You got this, Craig!!

I feel your pain. Could have really used a nice Super Tuscan last night with my Beef Ragu. I lived though.

 

[ibglowin]

Keep it up guys, your doing great, looking great......

 

[TemperanceOwl]

Had a nice top sirloin roast for dinner tonight. Would have been great to pair it with a nice dark, dry, did I say dark, super dry, smooth as silk, red wine. But no, I had to decide to live without the nectar of the God's for 40 days. My resolve is disolving.

Don't give up now, Craig! This weekend is nearly over, and by next weekend you're nearly halfway home! You can do it!

 

[sour_grapes]

King of the castle, Craig! Master of your domain.

 

[ceeaton]

King of the castle, Craig! Master of your domain.

Sorry, but the wife is master...Queen of the castle, I'm but the servant waiting for her next decree (and I like it!)

I made it through. Just showing how ingrained my daily drinking habits were. Will take the full 40 days to modify them. I plan on doing a @JohnT and not partaking during a "school night", except Sunday night. Also plan on only evening glasses of wine with beer on Saturdays afternoons and Friday evenings. Should help keep my caloric intake in check. Will be interested to see what the work postal scale registers tomorrow morning. Hoping for 225 or below.

 

[meadmaker1]

in the last few days i discovered that a freind and coworler has intered rehab for yet another substance, alcohol.When it was meth I knew, he hit rock bottom and bounced back like a shining star. I had no idea alcohol had moved into its place.
I commend any check or ballance a person uses to stay aware of their ability to stay in control. I would like to point out however that simply not drinking for a period of time doesn't by it self mean there may not be a problem. And to be fair not stopping or having a regular drink or drinks does not mean that you do.
Good for you for testing yourself though, it does suggest awareness and control.

 

[ceeaton]

I would like to point out however that simply not drinking for a period of time doesn't by it self mean there may not be a problem.

I totally agree. The fact that I will still crave a beer or five as I listen to the Nascar race on the radio and putter with my wine and beer chores shows that drinking alcohol has become a very high priority in my daily life. I need to take action to not let it ascend back to those lofty heights when this beer/wine fast ends.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to day 13. Just 27 more days to go!!!

This week, my sister in law is up visiting from Atlanta. It is always good to see her.

My SIL and I are dangerous. I love to eat/cook, and she loves to eat/cook. So, on Saturday we spent most of the day cooking. She is also taking the pledge for lent, so we broke out a nice Swedish sparkling pear juice (lovely, since it is not too sweet) to go with it all. (see my post in the "what's for dinner" thread for a complete rundown on what we made).

While doing all of this cooking and eating, the subject of 90 acres came up. 90 Acres is a 3 star Michelin rated restaurant located only 15 minutes from my home. The last time I went there, my Birthday, I ended up treating 6 people to dinner and drinks. It was, by far, the best meal of my life but the final bill came in at $1,200.00. Ouch!

Feeling guilty over the money spent on just having dinner, I figured it would be a very long time until I went back there again. Then the wife pointed out that most of the bill was alcohol. We had cocktails before dinner, I had ordered some rather obscure and expensive wines for dinner, and we topped off the evening with brandy to go with our dessert. Since both my SIL and myself are not drinking, and my wife hardly ever drinks anyway, we could go alcohol free and eat there cheaply (relatively).

So, it was decided to give it another try. I made reservations for Sunday night. We ate 3 courses. I had a quail appetizer, a foie gras second course, and a wagyu beef entrée. Despite the saddened/down case look of our waiter, we kept to the sparkling water (which was free) and coffee at the end. The total bill came to just $207 for the three of us.

WOW! $68 per person for what many might consider one of the best restaurants in the state!! Now that is what I consider a bargain! They definitely make most of their profits from alcohol (no surprise).

So, in short....

1) If you are looking for a wine substitute, try this..

It was great! Not anything like a soda. Not too sweet and very flavorful and pairs well with food. Picked it up at (of all places) Walmart.

2) You may want to consider hitting a high end restaurant while on the pledge. Without the cost of alcohol, you will save a bundle.

 

[JohnT]

I would like to point out however that simply not drinking for a period of time doesn't by it self mean there may not be a problem. And to be fair not stopping or having a regular drink or drinks does not mean that you do.
Good for you for testing yourself though, it does suggest awareness and control.

Awareness and control is what this exercise is all about.

 

[Boatboy24]

I'm a week in now and all is well. I did (as planned) take a small (roughly half ounce) taste of the WS Amarone I have that is just about ready to bottle. After it came out of it's three months in a neutral barrel, I felt it needed more oak and decided to let it sit on cubes for a bit. That was about three weeks ago and if the oak was where I wanted it, I'd planned to bottle this past weekend. It's not there yet, so I have to wait another week or two. I even went so far as to exclude the wine from last night's chicken recipe and used chicken stock instead. No sense in opening an entire bottle of wine when you only need half a cup and can't drink the rest.

 

[ceeaton]

At day 15 and with 2 hour delays both today and tomorrow for the youngins', I'm getting the wine and beer chores done. All of my wines are racked and Kmeta'd (some were at 4 months, oops) and I have the luscious scent of Cab Franc on my hands which I don't dare wash off. No, I haven't licked them clean yet, but I thought about it. Not even a swish and spit because if I swish it's going down the gullet and then this grand experiment will end. @JohnT don't dare to ask me if I'm in next year, I can answer now, no way José. I miss my adult beverages, this tea thing isn't cutting it. I will continue with this "fast" only because I can't give up unless my wife does first. Those of you who are married know the competitions that sometimes arise, and this is one of them.

 

[Boatboy24]

Another day or two and it'll be a new habit, Craig. I'm only on day ten, but so far, so good. Easter is still a long way off though. I'll have a cheat day soon, though I'm not exactly sure when yet - trying to stretch it out a bit. Just washed down dinner with a Strawberry Almond Milk smoothie. My youngest brings these 'recipes' home from school. This was actually pretty good - just strawberries and almond milk. Nothing else.

 

[ceeaton]

It's already a habit, a bad habit. I'm done Palm Sunday at 12:05 pm while I'm getting the charcoal going for the Ribeyes we'll be enjoying. Still haven't settled on the dry red wine I'll be drinking, just have to remember that I'll probably feel a few sips since my tolerance will be way down. I'm sure it will only take a few days to build it back up to normal.

 

[Boatboy24]

I just got a shipment of some Red Mountain wine this afternoon. I really want to age it, but might open 1 bottle as my 'break the seal' bottle.

 

[meadmaker1]

All my rowdy friends have gone through rehab. Running out of folks to share my new obsession with. Lol .
Told my freind about your post, he told me it was the stopping to show his wife he could that woke him up. He had detox panic attacks. Ended up in e r .
he asked if any of you are loosing wieght. Hes lost 10 lbs in first week.
But he has it to loose and I guess I know why he gained so fast now.

 

[Brian55]

There seems to be a few different motivators driving this thread, so I'm going to share my 2 cents worth on a life time of what some might consider a hobby, others may label it social drinking, others might call it partying, others might label it as excess, and yet others might consider it an addiction.

Here are the signs of possible issues, where you might want to consider dialing it back a bit and reflecting on the motivation behind your passion for the vino:

If you're day drinking on days that aren't an actual special occasion. (these occasions should be countable on one or two hands, within any given year, no removal of shoes and counting on toes as well)

If you're finding yourself angry and/or fighting with loved ones on occasion while under the influence. Booze of any sort should be avoided completely, until the real issue is completely resolved.

If you're unable to cork up an unfinished bottle and save it for the next day, regardless of how early or late it is.

If you're waking up the next day, a bit hazy and forgetful of what you did the previous evening.

If you're over 7 years old, yet under 75, and have wet the bed.

If you're well past your 21st birthday and have thrown up due to excess drinking.

If you rely on arbitrary days on a calendar as motivation to help you "take a break" from your "hobby".

If you're past your mid 20's and still think being able to out-drink your friends makes you cool and/or admirable.

If you find yourself attempting to cure your daily boredom, or lack of motivation, by cracking open a bottle.

If you find yourself, unable to fall asleep at a regular hour without some liquid assistance.

If you find yourself making a list of potential alcohol related issues, caused by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, on a website dedicated to helping you make the very best tasting alcohol.

I could go on, but I'd like to hear other people add to my list of "pointing out the obvious" since it's sometimes not so obvious to all of us at that particular time.

If it's just a hobby, embrace it and enjoy it, if it's a habit, correct it.

 

[Brian55]

FWIW, I failed to cork up the remaining 1/4th of a bottle of RQ2015 cab/merlot that the wife and I opened earlier this evening. At least I'll probably sleep well.