[Drinking] Alcoholic/like a beer or two too much?

[Guinness Boy]

Still happily on the wagon but then it is only 2 days

Picking up on [MENTION=1022]Wilko[/MENTION] 's point I think the level of consumption on drinking days is key. My cousin was a classic example. He had health problems and the doctor told him on a routine check up that he had to stay below the recommended number of units a week, which at that time was around 20 for a man. This is going back a few years so there was no easy check on what a unit was, and he just equated a pint to 2 units in his head. He would go sober all week then, on a Friday, he'd go to his local after work and stay there until he'd drunk 10 pints. The landlord used to count for him. Then six days off again. To me that is dependant and I know he would really look forward to Fridays. But if someone can drink, say, three times a week, even if one of those is quite heavy from time to time I would see that as fine. It's purely subjective though.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

I drink just a 4 pack of beer a week, so 1 tinnie every 2 days.

But I do like the odd sesh - always on football days. So today will be a bender. Looking forward to it immensely, and 'Wet January the 4th' will arrive here at lunchtime with a vengeance

 

[DJ NOBO]

As some have said, a lot of it is habit. I never really thought I had a drink problem and probably still don't - I have not been pissed up for years, but I have beeen partial to a couple of glasses of wine or a couple of bottles of beer a night. Once I realised there were very few nights I did not have at least one drink, I decided to cut down and realised pretty quickly that it is harder than you think to stop. The day at a time, monthly target approach works for me.
Mrs N tells me that there is no point going alcohol free on some nights if I am going to binge drink on the others - she has a point, but is being very unfair if she thinks I do that!

For most people, Stopping can be fairly easy - you just don’t drink.
From the POV of someone who hasn’t drunk for three years I can also confirm it is quite boring.
imho The sweet spot is having a healthy relationship with alcohol where consumption is occasional and doesn’t creep up. This is more of a grey area and one I haven’t mastered yet

 

[Napier]

For most people, Stopping can be fairly easy - you just don’t drink.
From the POV of someone who hasn’t drunk for three years I can also confirm it is quite boring.
imho The sweet spot is having a healthy relationship with alcohol where consumption is occasional and doesn’t creep up. This is more of a grey area and one I haven’t mastered yet

No substitute for strong will and determination.

At my age I can tell the next morning if I had a glass of wine - there is little better than waking up feeling good (and virtuous!) after an alcohol free day and nothing worse than waking up with a banging headache after no alcohol!

As you say, moderation is the key. There is nothing wrong with a drink, just keep it to enjoyable, not excessive or morose mood inducing, levels.

 

[pearl]

The same as any other drug. You do not have to take it every day to have an addiction.

If you are an addict you will want it every day, there's a massive difference

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

No substitute for strong will and determination.

Can't agree with that. If you have to fight every day you will almost always fail in the long term. You need an entire change in your relationship to booze if your going to create sustainable changes.

I strongly recommend the Alcohol Experiment even if you just want to understand what alcohol does to you, habits associated with drinking, societal pressure etc. It's fascinating. Understanding all this helped me completely reset my relationship with alcohol.

 

[chaileyjem]

Any only if Adrian Chiles did any sort of follow-up?

I'd be interested to hear how he got on once the cameras went away.

He said this in a piece 12 months after the doc ...
“I have had some (but only some) success in moderating my intake “
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...n-what-heavy-drinkers-can-learn-adrian-chiles

 

[Bozza]

He said this in a piece 12 months after the doc ...
“I have had some (but only some) success in moderating my intake “
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...n-what-heavy-drinkers-can-learn-adrian-chiles

Thanks - I did have my doubts about his ability to stick it out, hence why I asked.

My AF stretch for 2019 starts today. I didn't drink on the 1st and 2nd but did on the 3rd (friends over for dinner) and yesterday (football). I know exactly what I had yesterday and it blows the 14 unit/week recommendation right out the water:

Battle of Trafalgar pre-match: 4 pints of Stowford Press
Amex pre-match: 1 pint of Strongbow
Amex half-time: 1 pint of Strongbow
Amex post-match: 1 pint of Strongbow
Prince Albert post-match: 1 pint of Arise
Train home: 2 cans of M&S Blackberry Gin Bramble

After the Christmas and New Year period, the break will definitely do me good.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Thanks - I did have my doubts about his ability to stick it out, hence why I asked.

My AF stretch for 2019 starts today. I didn't drink on the 1st and 2nd but did on the 3rd (friends over for dinner) and yesterday (football). I know exactly what I had yesterday and it blows the 14 unit/week recommendation right out the water:

Battle of Trafalgar pre-match: 4 pints of Stowford Press
Amex pre-match: 1 pint of Strongbow
Amex half-time: 1 pint of Strongbow
Amex post-match: 1 pint of Strongbow
Prince Albert post-match: 1 pint of Arise
Train home: 2 cans of M&S Blackberry Gin Bramble

After the Christmas and New Year period, the break will definitely do me good.

We know you as a bit of a cider drinker but 2 cans of M&S Blackberry Gin Bramble for a 25 minute train journey home?

 

[seagullwedgee]

I’m doing Dry January, only tried it once before in my life, 9 years ago. Days 3 and 4 the withdrawal was pretty tough, jittery, disoriented, slightly unbalanced, and unfocused. Today, day 5, those symptoms seem to have gone, hopefully I’m through the dark tunnel of withdrawal. I’m still counting HOURS without a drink, 118 hours as I write. I was consistently doing between 8 and 14 units per day, every single day, without exception. To think I’ve already foregone about 60 units, in just 5 days, really brings it home. Anyone else trying DJ, good luck, stay with it.

 

[Bry Nylon]

I’m doing Dry January, only tried it once before in my life, 9 years ago. Days 3 and 4 the withdrawal was pretty tough, jittery, disoriented, slightly unbalanced, and unfocused. Today, day 5, those symptoms seem to have gone, hopefully I’m through the dark tunnel of withdrawal. I’m still counting HOURS without a drink, 118 hours as I write. I was consistently doing between 8 and 14 units per day, every single day, without exception. To think I’ve already foregone about 60 units, in just 5 days, really brings it home. Anyone else trying DJ, good luck, stay with it.

I found the first week is the toughest and you've pretty much nailed that now. Now just get tomorrow done and carry on from there.

Great effort.

 

[Bozza]

We know you as a bit of a cider drinker but 2 cans of M&S Blackberry Gin Bramble for a 25 minute train journey home?

I followed the lead of my travelling companions.

 

[seagullwedgee]

I’m doing Dry January, only tried it once before in my life, 9 years ago. Days 3 and 4 the withdrawal was pretty tough, jittery, disoriented, slightly unbalanced, and unfocused. Today, day 5, those symptoms seem to have gone, hopefully I’m through the dark tunnel of withdrawal. I’m still counting HOURS without a drink, 118 hours as I write. I was consistently doing between 8 and 14 units per day, every single day, without exception. To think I’ve already foregone about 60 units, in just 5 days, really brings it home. Anyone else trying DJ, good luck, stay with it.

I should have added, in 5 days I have lost 4 pounds in weight. Haven’t changed my food intake at all, just cut out the booze and had 3 long fast walks. Gotta be the easiest way to shed several pounds.

 

[Lush]

I found the first week is the toughest and you've pretty much nailed that now. Now just get tomorrow done and carry on from there.

Great effort.

Yes. The AA mantra is ‘just for today” ie telling yourself ‘I’m not going to have a drink today.”

Then do the same tomorrow. Those ‘todays’ will soon start to stack up.

Well done to everyone who’s taken the decision to not drink today.

 

[Half Time Pies]

Looking back, one thing I wished I had done when I gave up was get some help/ support. For many people giving up or cutting down Alcohol will be treating the symptom and not the cause. In my case the alcohol was covering up some issues that needed to be talked through and I ended up a couple of years later going for counselling. Those two years or so without support were tough times and I wish I had reached out for help earlier.

I have some friends who have got a lot out of AA as you get support from people who are in the same boat and knowing that you are not alone is a powerful thing. There is a cross section of society at AA meetings, all types of people from all walks of life.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

I found the first week is the toughest and you've pretty much nailed that now. Now just get tomorrow done and carry on from there.

Strangely, I´ve always found the last week is the hardest, as you know it´s almost over so what´s the hurt in finishing a few days early?!

 

[chaileyjem]

I should have added, in 5 days I have lost 4 pounds in weight. Haven’t changed my food intake at all, just cut out the booze and had 3 long fast walks. Gotta be the easiest way to shed several pounds.

I gave up drinking in August 2018. My weight remained pretty steady until i started running regularly (about 40K + a week) in April/May 2019.
I've since lost 3 stone although the weight loss was flat over xmas ( a lot of turkey and cake i guess)

 

[cuthbert]

Yes. The AA mantra is ‘just for today” ie telling yourself ‘I’m not going to have a drink today.”

Then do the same tomorrow. Those ‘todays’ will soon start to stack up.

Well done to everyone who’s taken the decision to not drink today.

I found this very helpful, I also found it a good idea to say to myself each morning " I'm glad I didn't drink yesterday". I was drinking 20 units a day and I've been dry since Feb 2018.

 

[Bozza]

I gave up drinking in August 2018. My weight remained pretty steady until i started running regularly (about 40K + a week) in April/May 2019.
I've since lost 3 stone although the weight loss was flat over xmas ( a lot of turkey and cake i guess)

In stark contrast, I (temporarily) gave up drinking in January 2019. By mid-July I'd lost 3 stone having done no running at all.

Between July and December I ran 500 miles (most of which was between September and December) and I put on weight.

Therefore I can categorically state:

Not drinking = weight loss.
Running = weight gain.

 

[chaileyjem]

In stark contrast, I (temporarily) gave up drinking in January 2019. By mid-July I'd lost 3 stone having done no running at all.

Between July and December I ran 500 miles (most of which was between September and December) and I put on weight.

Therefore I can categorically state:

Not drinking = weight loss.
Running = weight gain.

We should have rival diet plans/books [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION]