My Name is Tracy and I Don’t Drink Alcohol

Friday night was Date Night. We haven’t done that in a longtime. We were overdue. My son had his Karate Movie night and that opens up the evening for us to get out on our own. We are home bodies so we typically stay home and watch a movie ourselves. But recently we realized we need to get out more and have a “Date Night.” Needless to say I was delighted to get girlied up! The dressing up worked so well that when my husband saw me he immediately had to take a picture. And then we were headed to our favorite restaurant.

Since I knew we were going out to dinner and would be eating out of my norm I planned my food for the day a bit differently. I had a simple protein shake after my Friday morning run and had a simple protein packed lunch. I administered plenty of tea throughout the day to keep from snacking.

We were going to our favorite restaurant and in fact it was where we had met on our first date. The hostess greeted us and apologized that “our table” was not available but she had a nice spot for us. She noticed that Ryan was not with us and encourage us to enjoy our Date Night.

I’m in a good place right now with my eating so I had a plan for eating. When I go out to eat I use the few bites technique. This especially works when you are out with non weight loss surgery people. I plan on a total number of bites for my evening and stick to that. Since I was with my lovely husband I knew there would be appetizers, main course and dessert. I am a dessert person so I would have voted for that no matter what. I typically inquire about the dessert menu prior to ordering my meal. Another planning technique. If there is no desserts worth having then I will use my bites elsewhere.

What I hadn’t planned for was the alcohol.

I didn’t try alcohol until about two years after weight loss surgery. I was a dumper so I was happy not to even try it. When I did try it I realized right away that if I was going to drink that one glass was going to be enough for me. Anything else made me feel sick.

After Ryan was born I drank more regularly. A couple nights a week. Not too much but it became a regular habit. I was working and it helped me to relax at night when I got home. I realized pretty soon that the extra calories and the affects on my body were not what I wanted in my life so I stopped drinking regularly. I decided I would have a glass of wine when we went out or at a friends or on the holidays but not as a regular habit. Still on those occasions I realized that my body might respond well in the short term, ie feel the buzz, but after my body had to recover from the dehydration and drag of the alcohol being in my system.

That’s when I wrote my blog post My Wine: I Just Don’t Drink it Anymore

Last night I drank wine with my dinner. I’m not sure what compelled me to drink. When I welcomed the offer of the waiter and ordered a glass of wine it felt exciting. The whole evening was exciting, the date with my husband and now the wine. I was enjoying every part of our special night out.

I hadn’t really planned for the wine. It wasn’t in my pre-planning. Maybe it should have been. Maybe I should have reminded myself that I don’t drink alcohol and that I do that because it doesn’t make me feel good in the long run.

Well, I am here to tell you that history repeats itself, it sure does. The wine made me feel very tired later at night and this morning I am very dehydrated and so in recovery mode. Really not worth it.

On the topic of alcohol I think for me it needs to be an all of nothing position. No more “on a special occasion.”

I just don’t drink alcohol.