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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Alcohol Free Wine and Beer

I decided to reward myself last night with a bottle of alcohol free chardonnay.  I have stayed away from the AF wine and beer for the most part, worrying that it might be a trigger of sorts. I found an AF beer that I really like but I know from past experience that AF wine can taste downright nasty.

I had the AF beer last Friday out to dinner for Mexican food and it was good, hit the spot.

Last night, however, I would classify the AF wine as punishment, not reward.  It was not the most enjoyable way to end my 30 day celebration.  I won't name the brand because some may like it and it may not affect everyone the same way....but my body did not adapt well.....

On the other hand, I may have found the cure for the errr......movement issues...that come with quitting alcohol.  In fact, I think this drink should be marketed right up there with metamucil, miralax and castor oil for that purpose.

It started out as a lovely evening.  Husband got home early and son was at sports.  We sat outside and I thought it really would be nice to have a glass of a wine-like substance in hand.  I was a little tired of my normal go-to drinks.  I wasn't having a craving, interestingly enough, I just wanted to participate in my old habit.

I digress for a moment...since switching from splenda to stevia, my taste buds have readjusted.  I used to not like tea with sugar anymore because I was so used to the extra sweet of splenda.  Now that I have been using stevia I've lost some of that sweet need.  I tried tea with regular sugar recently and it tasted sweet again.

I figured that my taste buds were normalizing also from not drinking and maybe the alcohol free wine would taste different now.

So....In great anticipation I poured myself a glass.  It looked nice, a pretty golden color.  Just the thing! I headed outside. I took my first sip.  It wasn't horrible, let's put it that way.  Sort of like a Riesling even though it was labeled Chardonnay.  Not exactly my thing but I've drunk those before.  Maybe sort of like a "slightly turned" Riesling.  I certainly haven't been above drinking wine that might taste a little off if the wine was there.

I believe my hubby used the term "pickled applejuice".  Okay, maybe.  But it still felt more grown up than sparking water.

Interestingly enough I kept pouring this stuff.  It's as if my old drinking habits kicked in.  After two glasses I had to go pick up my son.  I actually caught myself wondering if I was okay to drive after two glasses....wow....time warp.  I chuckled with an "oh right" it didn't have alcohol.  (It tasted so bad that I guess that's why my mind went there...)

When I got back I had another glass before dinner.  (Again, no idea why..)

We had burgers for dinner and, while I would like to blame them for what happened, given that the other two diners were not affected.....I don't think it was the beef.

Let me just suffice to say that right near the end of dinner I had flash backs to preparing for a next day colonoscopy.  (If you haven't had one, you don't want to know..)  This morning all systems were again "at go mode".

On the positive side, I start Day 31 about 2 pounds lighter.......now I will keep some of this wonderful, tantalizing, AF chardonnay on hand for days when I "need it" or for unsuspecting guests toward which I am not feeling charitable.  "Oh my dear, do try this wonderful Riesling I found and see what you think!! It's from a wonderful new winery I found...."

I have to get my kicks where I can......And now I head off to my day feeling so much lighter!!

HD

17 comments:

  1. Absolutely hysterical!!! Please do share the name so I can lose some weight too! On a different note, it's a good thing that it wasn't "real" wine. Your comment "I don't know why" regarding the other glass you had before dinner is telling! All or nothing! Even though you didn't even like it! Thank you for the chuckle and I want the name of the fake wine!!! I want to lose 2 lbs!! Hahaha. xo

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  2. Congrats on making 30 days. I think celebrating with chocolate and sparkling water may have been better haha. At least you tried. It's funny how old habits came straight back - drinking more glasses then intended and worring about driving. Bonus on losing a few pounds though xxx

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    1. Yes, it was strangely telling...there I was pouring away...It's cadbury and bubble water tonight!

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  3. So good to read this as I've been curious about AF white wine. But it's going to have to stay off my list since white wine was my go to drink after vodka. I'll stick with the AF beer. I do the same thing as you and drink it as if I'm still trying to moderate alcohol sometimes. On weekends I allow myself 2 AF beers for the moment. And oddly, 2 drinks was what I was trying to stick to when moderating. Old habits die hard. AF beer and chardonnay is a million times better than what we used to do regardless of old habits creeping in. As long as it doesn't trigger something. And thanks for the 'movement' tip!

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    1. I agree, still better than the previous alternative!!

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  4. How random, about 5 minutes earlier my boss messaged me to say her delivery of alcohol free wine had arrived from Amazon. She had red and said it was drinkable but a bit empty or hollow. Let me say I had no idea why she was ordering AF wine, I will wait and see if she says more but I will not be sharing my story. I like the sound of the clear out you had ha ha. I made some Kefir recently and drank too much and had the same experience. "Eye of a needle" springs to mind. Sorry TMI.

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    1. Also watch for the trigger behaviour I.e. Having a couple of glasses in quick succession. Do you do that with non wine like substances. Just be aware. AF wine was a trigger for me which is why I will only have AF beer.

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    2. Well, I do keep pouring the whole pellegrino bottle too. So I figure the habit may be "pouring" in general. If I have water, I pour it, AF wine, I pour it, regular wine, I pour it. Interestingly I only drink one AF beer or used to never drink more than one beer if that's what I chose....I poured though until the bottle was emptied into the beer mug....I shall ponder this....maybe if I just drink wine from a straw....jk...and the bottle would still be in the other room...so I would probably still pour.....best to stay AF until I get a handle on this!

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  5. This made me laugh - AF wine with added cleansing properties! Not keen on it myself, but it's good for the 'pouring into a wine glass' ritual.

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  6. You are too funny HD!! I've tried AF sparkling juice but not wine. I didn't mind the sparkling but having said that, I haven't tried it since I started my 1st 100 day challenge last year. I might get some for a special occasion though. I'm happy just drinking diet coke (even though it is the most unhealthy drink out there apparently!!) Handy to know of the laxative affect though! A x

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  7. Congratulations on day 30!!! The habit is there still, I drink lime soda and cranberry juice like it's the last drink on earth and I'm in the desert! I haven't tried AF wine but think it would be too much of a trigger right now, but I do like the idea of a quick drop in pounds ;) Might be something to consider when needing to get into those jeans of mine! Thanks for making me laugh tonight!

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  9. Well, you can always look at it as a "cleansing"! Too funny!

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  10. That is so funny! Maybe I'll have to try it just for the 2 pound lost! Hilarious :)

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  11. This really is so funny! Thank you for sharing your experience. I love how you said that back in the day, you certainly wouldn't have turned away any type of wine, even one that tasted "off". That is so sad and so hilarious- I of course was the exact same way! You are doing so well, HD! :)<3

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  12. I think that's a sign to stay off AF wine! This is a BIG debate in my head. AF wine and beer is not readily available in the UK and I think it's a trigger for me. And I gulp it down like I did the real stuff too, whereas my virgin concoctions I sip (perhaps because they are still in the experiment phase ;) So great you are on Day 31 happy to find you x

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