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The writings of a former wine mom and sometime supermom maintaining weight loss, workouts, and wits. Started One Year Alcohol-Free on July 5, 2018.

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Hi, I’m Jen.

An occasional supermom of two aspiring superheroes, I have been known to polish off a jar of Nutella and/or a bottle of wine in one sitting.

But after six years of motherhood under my too-tight belt, I decided to cut the Nutella habit and invest in self-care. In 2017, I lost 25 pounds with Weight Watchers and started exercising regularly again. In 2018, I am hoping to maintain my weight loss, ramp up my workouts, as well as explore my relationship with wine.

Having completed Dry January and then another 76-day alcohol-free stint in the spring, I committed to One Year Alcohol-Free on July 5. ONE WHOLE YEAR WITHOUT WINE. It’s on.

Find me on Instagram! @maintaining_mama

Bye staycation 👋🏻 Welcome routine 🙌🏻 My kids were thrilled to return to school today and I was thrilled to send them back 😂 I mean, I was thrilled to have some time to myself and get back to my volunteer work! And now, if you need me, I’ll be crawling into bed with my book. I don’t know how I ever had the energy to watch shows every night - but when I think about the steady stream of sugar that was in my system in the evenings as a #winemom, I guess it’s no surprise. I miss good TV, but I also want to prioritize sleep and not tempt myself to snack. It’s a simpler and quieter life, this AF life. I think I’ll find the more books I read, the less I will miss TV. My body is already thanking me for cutting out the bottomless glass of wine and inevitable pint of Enlightened ice cream. I’m still settling in to this new normal, but I know it will serve me better than the old. #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

Happy Candy-Free Easter! 🐰💐🙅🏻‍♀️ Today is a holiday. I’m also solo parenting, as my husband left this morning for a five-day trip. These are two big triggers for me. Two giant flashing arrows in my brain pointing to TREAT YO’SELF TO ALL THE SUGAR AND SALT YOU CAN EAT! These arrows used to point to DRINK THE WHOLE BOTTLE AND THEN EAT THE WHOLE PINT! AND ALSO A BAG OF POPCORN! So, on balance, I’m improving my habits and I’ll take that, plus today’s Herculean willpower, as a win. Willpower, of course, is a finite resource. So I’m assembling my toolbox as we speak. Today was progress and I’ll take it✨ #easter #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

A Candy-Free Easter is in store for me! Because, just like with booze, this is about more than chocolate. New blog post is up. Link in bio! 🐰 #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

First bacon, then I got a deep tissue massage today - a moment of indulgence after a chaotic week. As my endless knots were kneaded away, I visualized all of my insecurities being released. I saw all the fear, all the doubt, all the wimpiness being wrung out of me like bathwater out of a washcloth. I am going to write my book. I am going to do the hard work. I am going to prove to myself, my husband, and my kids, that I can unleash my full potential and put my words into the world ✨ #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

Celebrating any victory I can find today, including my daughter scoring awesome shoes at @nordstromrack for - yes you read that right - ONE CENT! 🙌🏻 It hasn’t been the best week. My kids and I have been up and down and happy and mad and productive and lazy and loving and fighting. On balance, it has been more trying than not. But we have gotten through it together. And I have gotten through it without wine. It may be day 288, but this is still a victory. Yes, it’s easier now. I no longer need to pour my nightly seltzer into a wine glass. I hardly even think about drinking anymore, and that feels nothing short of miraculous. Ditching wine doesn’t solve everything. The hard stuff is still hard. Parenting is still a roller coaster. I still have moments I wish I could just numb out. But then I remember: numbing the bad means numbing the good. And that’s not a deal I will ever make again 🙅🏻‍♀️ #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

Am I where I want to be? Heck no. I am still very much a work in progress, and I’m still scared. What scares me now, if not booze? Freaking sugar, that’s what! As the wine witch has receded to a mere wisp in my conscience, the sugar monster has absorbed her power and begun to attempt a coup. My reliance on sugar has grown since ditching booze, and it’s starting to spiral out of control. I am managing to maintain my weight but the “to drink or not to drink” quandary that bombarded my brain on a daily basis is starting to be replaced by “to sweet or not to sweet” - and the answer, too often lately, has been GIVE ME ALL THE SWEETS. ✨NEW✨ blog post is up! Link in bio. Thanks to @iamicaniwillido for the inspiration to write about this! ⚡️ #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

Here’s what’s bananas: I am at my highest weight of 2019! 😬 I have been all over the place, playing mind games with myself about sugar and salt and blue dots and points. Today my scale called BS. And rightfully so. These games I’ve been playing? They’re rigged. Rigged to make me fail. I am smarter and stronger than that. And I deserve better, too. So we begin again. A new week, new points, new goals. I started reading “The Case Against Sugar” this morning and I think it is going to be eye-opening to say the least. Between my 4.6lb gain (😳) this week and this book, I feel committed to cutting way back on sugar and starting to lay the groundwork to go sugar-free for 10 days sometime soon (not yet). This week will not be easy. Between my kids being home all week, and wanting to splurge on Easter (read: Easter candy), this is not going to be an easy week to have to rein it in. But I know I will feel so proud of myself if I can do it. A Lifetime weigh-in right after Easter? That is boss status. It’s time to boss up 💪🏻 #weighinday #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

Day one of my new routine: up at 6am to read. Pretty exciting life I lead, eh? 🤓 But here’s what I figure: I make time during the day to exercise, and I make time to write. But I hardly ever make time to read during the day, and by the time I get in bed at night I can’t read anything that takes brain power. My “to read” shelf continues to grow and it’s time to make a dent. We’ll see how long I can keep this up; but I must say it was delightful to start my morning so peacefully☕️📖 After my nice calm start, it was a hectic day of back-to-back play dates including one at Legoland, which was jam-packed with other desperate parents and crazed kids. Ah yes, spring break staycation is upon us… And I’m not dreading it! Neither am I jumping for joy, I admit. But I’m not dreading having to be in full-on mom mode all week. I’m not missing being able to “treat” myself to wine at the end of these long days. Instead, I am building in my new reading routine. I am going to keep up with my workouts. I am hoping to strike the best balance I can, and not be too hard on myself if I don’t get a lot of household or volunteer work done. It’s all about my kids and me this week. Anyone else staycationing this week? Let me know your sanity-preserving tips! #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

I have been thinking about what I can do to deal with my sugar cravings. What booze-ditching tools have I acquired that I can apply to sugar? Willpower is a finite resource. So I have to equip myself with tools that will be effective in reducing my cravings and strengthening my ability to just say no. I already wield two weapons on a daily basis: exercise and hydration. But one of the best tools that has helped me in my alcohol-free journey is one of the simplest: knowledge. Knowledge is power. Not being able to UNknow the truth about alcohol has empowered me. It’s time to start learning about sugar - not only its impact on the body, but also its prevalence in our society and the way that it is produced, marketed, and sold to sugar fiends like me. I bought a book called “The Case Against Sugar” by Gary Taubes and I would love any other suggestions if anyone has good reads to recommend! It was in this reinvigorated state that I went to the grocery store this morning. When I got to the checkout line, to my right was a mile-long display of Bark Thins, priced two for $6, which is the cheapest I’ve ever seen them. I stared at the display and chuckled to myself. I had a moment of gratitude for the fact that there were two lines between me and them, meaning I would have to bob and weave through half a dozen people and lose my spot in line to grab a bag😂 I also took this as a sign that I can do this. I can crack this sugar addiction. I resisted Bark Thins on Friday and I resisted them again today. Every time I resist I build strength. And now I’ll start educating myself too. Game on, Sugar Monster, game on 👊🏻 #oneyearalcoholfree #oyaf #soberaf #indiscovery #iamstronger #jomo . . . #winemom #sahm #mom #momlife #momblogger #instamom #wwmoms #wwfreestyle #healthy #alcoholfree #sober #soberissexy #soberlife #grayareadrinking #sobermovement #fitness #strongisthenewskinny #bettertogether #weightloss #weightlossinspiration

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One Year Alcohol Free

July 5th, 2019

73 days to go.

My Drinking Non-Negotiables

I will not drink to relieve boredom.
I will not drink to relieve stress.
I will not be drunk in front of my children.
I will not drink when I am alone; or alone with my children during the witching hour or any hour.
I will not drink when I have to drive.
I will not drink when I am traveling alone.
I will always put my children, my husband and my safety before alcohol.

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