No self-discipline and very little will-power

[Eleanorann]

Is there any hope for me? I’m 73 and struggle to stick to any diet, as I love to cook and eat, but my biggest problem is wine. Any suggestions?

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, Eleanorann

We have just the club for you healthunlocked.com/weight-l... where anyone that wants to reduce their intake of alcohol can post and receive support.

You may also find this interesting healthunlocked.com/weight-l... and find this easier to stick to than any diet healthunlocked.com/api/redi...

All of the information you need about the forum can be found in Pinned Posts healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and I hope you'll be joining all the Events, Challenges and Clubs that we run, especially a weigh-in and the daily diary.

If you haven't already taken it, here's a tour of the forum healthunlocked.com/?tour=true

We've found active participation to be key to successful weight loss and, of course, it's a good way to get to know people, find inspiration and share support and encouragement.

Wishing you all the best

[Lytham 3 stone]

Hello, I have the same demon and I try to abstain completely apart from holidays.

Would you like to join us on our weigh in today? Here's the link, I hope to see you there x

healthunlocked.com/weight-l...

[Eleanorann in reply to Lytham]

Hello, thank you for your supportive reply. I suspect total abstinence is the only way forward for me, but I enjoy a celebratory beverage at the end of the day. So, if you have any recommendations for non-alcoholic drinks, I’d be very grateful.

[Pitterpatter3]

Is it white wine? Then you could do a white wine spritzer with soda water ( sorry) if it’s red... my fave. Then I’m not sure apart from sipping it slowly from a shot glass instead!

[Eleanorann in reply to Pitterpatter3]

Red, unfortunately! But I like your shot glass idea!

[Peachy40 Maintainer 2 stone]

How much wine are we talking about? I used to have a drink every evening...spirits...so to cut down, I committed myself to only 4 days a week to begin with.

Where I would add a bottle to my weekly shop, I also stopped doing that. Its more like 5 or 6wks now.

1 glass of wine 🍷 each evening is different to 1 bottle. Whatever you're doing perhaps try to cut out a little bit at a time. Going cold turkey is also an option, though you have to be sure that's sustainable for you personally. ☺

[Eleanorann in reply to Peachy40]

Thank you for your very thoughtful and helpful reply. That’s an interesting suggestion. At the moment I try, not always successfully, to have one booze-free day per week. The other days I can cheerfully polish off half a bottle of red wine of an evening, and of course this is waaay too much.

I’ve looked at alcohol-free options, but I don’t want to commit to buying, say, an expensive bottle, only to find that I hate it and it’ll sit in the cupboard forever, a silent and reproachful mistake.

What do you drink, if you don’t mind my asking?

[Peachy40 Maintainer 2 stone in reply to Eleanorann]

At the moment I drink gin or vodka mainly. Before I started on this journey...about 24wks now...I would also regularly have brandy and rum. The darker drinks are higher in carbs, so I have them only on occasions.

I know what you mean about the non alcoholic versions...it can be hit and miss.

I found it helpful to select the days I wasn't drinking that way I always knew. It then became times when a drink day became a nondrink day simply because I hadn't thought about it.

So if you decide its one day, pick a set day and see if that works for you.

There is also a drink less forum on here. Eleanorba can you share the link please? It's where others talk about what they have been doing to cut down or abstain altogether.

[Eleanorann in reply to Peachy40]

Thank you, that’s very helpful.

May I ask, do you think abstaining makes a great deal of difference to weight loss?

[Peachy40 Maintainer 2 stone in reply to Eleanorann]

Cutting down definitely helped with my weight loss. I also read that when you're burning energy, alcohol is the first that gets burned, which resonated with me. So I was conscious that I didn't want all my exercise to get rid of just the rum and coke I had the night before. ☺

I'm also feeling the overall health benefit of not drinking as much.

[Pitterpatter3 in reply to Eleanorann]

Don’t buy alcohol free wine, I did when I was pregnant hoping it may be a very slight substitute. A bottle of shloer light ( red) would be better. Sainsbury’s

[Eleanorann]

Thanks very much.

[1vern0n]

Snap! I too love food and drink and can easily contemplate my next meal while eating one. I wish I could have the mentality of "seeing" food as fuel rather than enjoyment. As for wine, I started buying the small/individual bottles as a way to restrict my intake and then moved on to the occasional measure of peaty whisky. I find that the strong flavour satisfies me better pretty much like vintage cheddar cheese rather than a mild cheddar.

I have to be careful because if I have more than one or two measures of spirits then I think about nibbles, finding that difficult to resist and hating myself the next day!

Good luck and may the force be with you.

[Eleanorann in reply to 1vern0n]

Thank you. I liked your idea of small bottles of wine, but as here in France we’ve just gone back into lockdown, that’ll have to be placed on the back burner.