Using the Drink Tracker

[KevFromCanberra]

I am finding the Drink Tracker to be one of the most useful tools around.

Since joining the panel, I have gone 12 days AF. I am finding that it really helps my motivation knowing that I will have to post my intake of alcohol on a public forum.

One question for the panel is this? If I have to go to a pub or bar or party due to pressure from work colleagues or family members would I need to count low alcohol drinks as drinks for the purposes of the Drink Tracker?

In Australia we can get very low alcohol drinks, e.g. Cascade Light. This stuff is 2.2 percent alcohol, and I can drink it like water without ever getting near to feeling even slightly drunk. You would really have to pump this stuff down your throat with a fire hose to get any sort of buzz from it. The only risk is that there is a tendency being in a drinking environment to slip in a "real" beer to add a kick to proceedings. That is where my previous attempts at moderation using low alcohol beers have failed before the Drink Tracker.

I am very tempted to class this low alcohol beer in the category of a soft drink, so that as long as I just drink that, I get to post a zero for the day's drinking in the Drink Tracker. That would give me the motivation to resist pressure and temptation and not slip in the heavy beer.

The other strategy I am planning is to insist on getting the low alcohol beer in a bottle so that I am 100% sure that none of my family members or friends decides to be a comedian and buys me real beer when its their round.

What does the panel think? Would I be cheating or kidding myself to class a day where I had a few low alcohol beers as not drinking?

[Pride before Fall]

Using the Drink Tracker

Hi Kev,

I wouldn't post a zero if I had an alcoholic beverage, low or not. A nonalcoholic beer, yes. Is your plan to moderate?

Pride

[Brigitte Bardot]

Using the Drink Tracker

Hi there,

The Drink Tracker is a fantastic way to keep track. But to echo what Pride has said, a drink low in Alcohol content is still alcohol and will not count as a complete AF day. To post a 0 that would mean you would have consumed 0% alcohol. If you have 3 drinks at 2.2% you would post a 3 in the Drink Tracker.

All the best!

[KevFromCanberra]

Using the Drink Tracker

OK, it sounds like I cant sweep the low alcohol drinks under the carpet and will have to declare them on drink tracker. Fortunately I have not had any yet so will nto need to make amendments to it.

As for my drinking / non-drinking plans, I guess my long term plan would be to never drink again.

My short term plan is to practice periods of abstinence with periods of moderation. At the moment I will find it too hard to avoid all situations where alcohol is consumed without becoming a hermit.

I was invited for lunch time drinks today with a group of the guys, including my boss to watch the cricket. They did not come back and were still at the pub when I left the office to go home at 6PM. In retrospect that was a good session to avoid. If I had gone and moderated, I would have had to drink a lot of low alcohol beers or soft drinks to keep up with the rounds. But not going with the rest of the crew made people from other teams come by my desk and ask me why I had not gone and if there was something wrong.

This is the case where not attending this sort of event worked for my sobriety, but was possibly a bit of a weak cop out on my part, because now I missed an opportunity to network with colleagues and management, and have made myself look like an anti-social oddball. I dont think a long term solution where I just avoid all social situations is going to be sustainable.

I dont want to spend the rest of my life in a limbo world of recovery where I am always fighting an inner battle with myself. I want to attain a post recovery state where alcohol does not exist as a concept to me. I dont wander around spending my waking moments craving other drugs like heroin or LSD because I have never tried those substances. Ideally I would get to the same state with my attitude to alcohol.

[Marshy]

Using the Drink Tracker

Hi Kev,

I just wanted to say that the social stuff does get easier. I found that I did have to avoid being around people drinking for a while and did become a bit of a hermit initially but once you get through that and get stronger in your resolve it gets much easier and I'm now totally fine being around people who are drinking.

For me it was worth putting my social life on hold for a while to come out stronger on the other side.

And why would you want to sit in the pub watching us thrash you in the Ashes anyway? :H

[KevFromCanberra]

Using the Drink Tracker

Hi Marshy, thanks for the tip about the social life getting easier. I think that in my previous AF attempts I probably did not persist long enough to get to that stage. So this time I will just hang in until it gets better.

I am glad I didnt go to the session though because, some of the serious pi$$-heads from other teams had gotten wind of the gathering and were heading down to join them after work. There will be some sore heads tomorrow.

To tell the truth the cricket was not much of a draw card for me. I have never really gotten into it. Of course Rugby is another matter, but then again watching the Wallabies V England is not much fun for me either lately. I still have nightmares about John Wilkinson's goal in the 2003 world cup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGNttA3XwTA[/video]]YouTube - Jonny Wilkinson Wins the World Cup

[Brigitte Bardot]

Using the Drink Tracker

Hi Kev, I still find right now that I am avoiding certain social situations till I feel stronger. I'm getting there, slowly but it is happening. I'm avoiding Christmas parties right now unless there are children there since that does make it easier. I can go and not drink since I will have my little girl with me and I can leave earlier since she has an early bed time and it's before the drinking will really start as all the parents leave pretty much at the same time. Trying to moderate is not in the cards for me. I've tried and failed many times, and I'm not going down that road again. Since I've been abstaining things have been much better. I'm learning to enjoy things again without having a drink in my hand, it's a new relearning process but it's for the better in my opinion. If you like, we have a great daily and weekly thread in the AF section and you're more then welcome to contribute. It and all the lovely people in it have helped me become AF and you'll get great support. All the best,

[JackieClaire]

Using the Drink Tracker

Hi Kev,
I haven't added my hellos yet but :welcome:

I couldn't resist when I saw the Jonny (:h) Wilkinson link.

His former team was just up the road from me and I've seen him practising kicks like that many times.

Anyway Kev, just to reiterate what Marshy has said it does get easier.

J x
:l

[Eve11]

Using the Drink Tracker

Brigitte Bardot;1023585 wrote: Trying to moderate is not in the cards for me. I've tried and failed many times, and I'm not going down that road again. Since I've been abstaining things have been much better. I'm learning to enjoy things again without having a drink in my hand, it's a new relearning process but it's for the better in my opinion.

Hey B.B.,
Thanks for sharing and for your honesty regarding not being able to moderate. For those who just aren't ready to go AF yet, this is a great place to try to moderate and there is a wealth of information in the archives here. But it is a tricky thing - the moderating concept - and very true that a lot of folks end up finding it easier to abstain then struggle with the moderating battle. As we moderators keep re-introducing alcohol into our systems, the cycle of craving continues whereas those who abstain don't fight that continous battle.

Appreciate your thoughts.

:l
Eve11

[Brigitte Bardot]

Using the Drink Tracker

Hi Eve,

To be completely honest, I really wish I could moderate. Maybe down the road once I've had more AF time under my belt I may feel differently and may be able to handle it. I really don't know. You are very right, it is tricky trying to find the right balance. To those who are successful in moderating I applaud you, it's not an easy road no matter which path you choose.

All the best,

[KevFromCanberra]

Using the Drink Tracker

OK, Drink Tracker tells the sorry story.

I had a social committement to meet up with an old mate from England over in Oz on tour. This guy is a BIG drinker and when I used to work with him in London so was I.

He made a special detour down to Canberra to catch up with me "for a drink" his words.

Met up with him and a few of his travelling buddies last night at 5PM. Arranged with my wife to collect me at 10PM and intended to drink low alcohol beer.

To make a long story short, I did not drink low alcohol beer and about 9:30 rang my wife to tell her not to come and get me as I would get a cab home.

Arrived home 4AM no keys, had to bang on the window to wake my wife up to let me in.

Is she happy today? NO

Am I happy? Sort of.

I was smart enough to book today off as rec leave ... just in case. Had a really good sleep on the couch and have no hangover, just the head feels a bit blurry. Dogs are demanding a walk and I am ready to head off on that now. All beers removed from the fridge and back where they belong in the garage. Probably wont drink now for at least 30 days because it isnt really that great at the end of the day, and with XMAS and my social obligations over, I cannot see why I would bother.

This is why I prefer moderation over abstinence. If was an abstinence fanatic I would be beating myself up now about what a loser I was and how sad it was that I had "fallen off the wagon". Would probably use it as an excuse to get seriously wasted today. But as a moderator, all I can say is that I slipped up, no harm done, lets get back on track with the moderation and healthy living.

[KundaliniGirl]

Using the Drink Tracker

This is why I prefer moderation over abstinence. If was an abstinence fanatic I would be beating myself up now about what a loser I was and how sad it was that I had "fallen off the wagon". Would probably use it as an excuse to get seriously wasted today. But as a moderator, all I can say is that I slipped up, no harm done, lets get back on track with the moderation and healthy living.

Ken, my sentiments exactly.........As long as the drinking that you do doesn't get you back into a rut and sabotage your goals...........

I too want to occasionally be able to drink, but I don't want to get back like I was. If I did, I would go back to being AF. So much better to control it so one can have drinks now and then. The best of all worlds for sure.

KG

[Eve11]

Using the Drink Tracker

Kev,
I think you'll find that the moderators (and you being one as well) may still beat themselves up when they don't meet their moderating goals at times. But I think for most of us...as long as we haven't had harm done from the times we overdo it, we can pick ourselves up and get back on the path of moderating as we aspire to with no hangovers or remorse or "what did I do/say last night?" worries.

Hang with us and we'll all keep each other strong.:l
Eve11

[KevFromCanberra]

Using the Drink Tracker

I am very lucky to have a patient and understanding wife.

She was not happy with my late arrival home last night and evidently had been awake all night waiting for me to come home because she knew I did not have my keys with me.

But she did give me some brownie points that I did get home in one piece and not all that inebriated considering. A fair bit of grovelling and making her many cups of tea and she seems to back on side with me. Its not as if I am sitting on the couch downing a 6 pack 7 days a week, and I think she does recognise that.

I am annoyed that I drank so much, but it was at a pretty slow pace, with me talking a load of B.S most of the evening. Its annoying that meeting up with this old mate involved having to consume so much booze.

But that is it now. He heads back to England, probably wont cross paths for many a year, and I have systematically weeded out all my other drinking friends from my life.

I did have a commitment to visit family in Victoria this weekend, but now that I had the big drink-up last night, I have cancelled that. So aim will be to see the week out with just two drinking days for the week.

I really do not see any need or have any desire to drink that much ever again.

[KundaliniGirl]

Using the Drink Tracker

Kev, it's funny how we can get sucked in by old drinking buddies. I actually was contacted by an old friend I used to drink infamously with. I purposely did not rekindle the relationship because I knew she would be a bad influence on me (or that I would let her be ). I told her what I was doing with al and that I couldn't be around her (in a more diplomatic way). So, we decided not to get together. I'm sure I did the right thing! And, like Eve says, I think I'm to the point where even if I do have an over-the-top night, it will not lure me back into drinking! I like feeling good every day and am not willing to compromise that very often if at all!

So good that your wife understood and that things are better now.

KG