the Drink Less Booze support thread.
 

i have gotten to where i LOVE beer. i just had that awkward conversation with my Doctor, where we did "booze math" together. a serving of beer is 12oz..not the 16oz pint i wish it was. :) it's not easy to answer; "so how much do you drink?" she did tell me (she thinks) ALL patients average DOWN the number.

while i do not drink often, when i do; it might be 3 pints. Pliny the Younger night @ RussianRiver, i had FOUR 10 oz pours. they are only supposed to sell us three due to the 10.25 % ABV, but i did the Jedi mind trick on the bartender. (had to call my wife to pick me up, i left my truck parked until morning) that was and has been my last beer. i just stopped.

I drank a lot in college. it got me fat.

now? i worry about my liver. hehe. i dont think it recovers like it did in my youth. it doesnt help me in keeping fit either. i am mtn biking like a fool, but it sucks..my younger riding buddies all want to meet at the brewery down the single track hill. i just pedal my happyass home now. last night, my wife had a beer..i had a fizzy water.

i have some delicious brews in my fridge..and i think i am just gonna let them sit there..my rye whiskey?! oh boy..i'll leave them as well.

one month of laying off the booze, and my wife said i am skinnier. i dont claim to feel better, no better skin, sleep, poops, pees..:)

who has stopped? just because. non-addicts please. anyone just stop because they want to? or who cut waaay back?

I can't remember the last time I had a beer. Maybe a glass of wine at Christmas dinner but it's usually Martinelli's sparkling cider for me. I'm always the one driving so don't mind. I recognized fairly early on that I'm a 'cheap drunk' and not good at it. I used to like to drive, a lot, too, so kept away from booze in college. I enjoyed driving my BMW 1600 out to LaJolla from SDSU to relax a lot more than what I found in a bottle.
I wish I could get my son to see the light of day about drinking the way you have. Maybe his up coming kid will help in that regard.

I have taken a couple months off recently - two separate months. It did nothing for weight loss, I'm afraid, as I don't drink that much daily, rather than on weekends. But it was good to reset. I have big bike rides every weekend now, that's helped curb any long evenings with friends and having too much.

Some new study shows that moderate alcohol consumption may extend your life. So I am trying for that. 1-2 drinks max - cutting the total number of drinks / day.

G

As a young guy, I used to party hard and binge drink - especially in my teens. My friends did too, and we didn't think anything about it - just what happened. However by the time I arrived in my early twenties, I wasn't much interested in drinking except for an occasional beer or glass of wine. I'm still that way at 50+ years past that point. Basically, I got to where I liked enjoying life unencumbered by things that altered me the way alcohol and substances did. My roommates in college used to complain I never got loaded with them. To each his/her own but I never could relate to being loaded on a regular basis.

Beer, I have stopped before, usually 6 months or so, when I wanted to lose weight. I find my Strava road bike times to be a little better when I don't drink, but not by much. I usually drink maybe 2 or 3 a week. When I spend a lot of time in my garage doing woodworking projects I may drink a little more. When riding my MTB if I had beer and Pizza the night before I can feel it during the first hour... I can do 30 miles of riding just fine, whether I drink or am not drinking, just feel low on energy for the first hour. I don't drink a lot of hard liquor, unless I have friends over. At 57 years old, I don't enjoy more than a couple at a time, just makes me sleepy.

My Shop fridge.

http://www.bswartz.net/iphone/beerfridge2.jpg

And on the "how much do you drink?" question the doctor asks ... the docs must multiply by 2x at least. It is like asking someone in the Bay Area or LA "how long is your commute" - people will always quote the best 95% percentile. Add at least 50% too get to a reasonable number.

G

Yeah, I'm done. The fiance and I went out on a much needed date night, this past Saturday. UGH! We Uber'd out for a nice steak dinner and just binged from there!!! Still trying to piece it all together, like something out of a Hangover movie. I have given it up before and yeah, ALWAYS feel better. We're normally two/three drinks a few times a week, but the older I get, the less I see the need for it. As of this post, the liquor cabinet is empty, and there's no beer/wine in the fridge, so it's a good time to claim my sobriety.

<<===I'll be changing the old tag line to "I wuz the liquor..."

EDIT: timely thread

i'm looking at it from the perspective of a non alcoholic, that loves booze, but needs to stop it.

just like if my doc told me i had to go vegetarian. (i'd get a new doc first,, and IF that doc told me the same thing)

I am more concerned about staying away from soft drinks than beer... but both will put the weight on, if you over indulge.

i havent had a soda since my late 20's. i find them cloyingly sweet now.

my wife told me that inability to just have one beer is a sign..hmm.

I've been off soda (other than unsweetened seltzer type water) for probably 15-20 years. I don't drink much alcohol. If I do it's usually 1 glass of wine or one beer, or sometimes the missus and I will split a beer.

I enjoy a DR. Pepper of Root Beer occasionally with a Greasy Cheeseburger. About once a month. But I try to ride my bikes enough to keep the weight off. Moderation, and knowing how your body responds to different foods. If I get over weight by 5 pounds I feel like crap and have indigestion. So lots of water and fish/chicken and green veggies, are my usual diet. Most of the guys I ride with are younger so I have to eat right if I want to not get dropped. :)

One bottle of wine = one serving, right?

Definitely. That's on the Alcohol Use Disorder list. Add one more sign and you have AUD. Likely mild, but need to keep an eye on it. I have seen people who were moderate drinkers lose it when life changes occurred. Doesn't even have to be something dramatic like a divorce or death in the family etc., even retiring or moving to a new location with heavier drinking friends!

G

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-use-disorders

If you find yourself rejecting a restaurant because it doesn't serve booze, you've got a problem.

Since diagnosed with type II diabetes, booze has been off my diet, since also "do not mix with alcohol" is on the meds label. I REALLY miss bakery goodies...hate TV ads for donuts, cakes, pies, all the high carb goodies.

Eat, drink, and be merry while you can boys...

(edit) The Golden Years can kiss my ass. But I try not to worry about the downer of my old age because I'm sure it won't last long.

thanks George. that was kinda eye opening.

i could possibly check off two on that list.

I drink a bottle of Scotch, Irish or Tequila now and then....It takes months to finish a bottle.

Lately I have been on a beer bhinge.,,4 bottles in about 8 weeks.

My big deal is when I drink anymore it's wine. I will have a glass while cooking dinner and one with dinner. I saw a study the other day that said moderate drinking can keep you alive into the 90s so now I think I don't want to be 90, I better step it up.

as one of the TV cooks used to say, the best way to cook with wine is in the glass

I can't remember the last beer I had....and it wasn't last night either ;). I used to drink a LOT of beer...going out to see bands, etc. and just having 1 or 2 wasn't part of the equation...but I digress...

After 3 decades....I quit :)

Didn't really quit...I just don't do it anymo'....just once in a while and after 2-3 beers....I've got a slght buzz. I just can't do what I used to do....nor do I want to....YMMV.

On a normal week, I may have 1-3 beers total (1 with dinner 3 nights). If I get together with friends on the weekend, and especially go camping, I have 3-4 a day (maybe only 4-5 times a year). Not very often do I reach for a second beer, unless dinner is extra salty.

My wife and her bestie put down the wine, and my buddy likes Jack/coke.....I stick with the beer.

I get through two bottles of wine a week. Another bottle if I go out for dinner.

God I hope so.

That is all I drink and thankfully I have a wine in moderation gene.

Vodka?

I don't stop 'til I get enough...and there is never enough so I don't.

Wine, one cup of coffee a day and water. That is it...I have had maybe 50 sodas in my entire life.

On a normal day, I have no more than 2 beers. Although they are always IPA's, I try not to drink them in the late evening. I also drink quite a bit of soda. The calories don't bother me..I'm 64 and 5'10 150 lb. The possible liver damage makes me wonder.

Had to cut back due to diabetes and elevated liver

Probably went from 30 beers a week (for decades) to 8 a week the last year or so

Don’t feel even an iota better.

Still have wine with dinner every night.

Still enjoy my craft beer and wine. I don’t care what the doctor wants to label me as, I enjoy my beer and wine and I’ll continue to drink whatever the hell I want

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1519681567.jpg


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One thing you do not want to get if you are borderline AUD, is a kegerator. I have seen that end badly. I have thought about getting a kegerator before because I really like tap beer, and do host a couple big parties a year, but decided against it.

G

Kegerator. I had to google that. You are way ahead of me :D

I homebrew which makes me an optimist because my glass is always half full. :D

And Bill, if you had to google kegerator I'll toss you one more "keezer"

5 Liter Kegerator
Doesn't get used much. Only fits Heineken
Being in the garage..it draws bugs bad in the summer.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1519683088.jpg

I have maybe one or two drinks a month, not drinking sessions - actual drinks.

Alcohol can be a coping mechanism, and aid to help one relax.

The trick for me was that it took no effort to cut back from 3-4 drinks a week to where I am today, it just happened as an unexpected outgrowth of something else.

That something else was constant exercise supplemented by cigars.

Totally unintentional as I said - it just happened.

https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/co-occurring-disorders/
https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/w...al-illness.jpg

I posted the above because I'm assuming you have no other issues other than choosing a high calorie hobby.

I'm getting off cigars slowly, switched to tiny cigars after several botched attempts at other things. I found that although cigars are relaxing, they only delay stress and there is a slingshot effect to them. I've seen it in other people and that should have served as a warning - but I didn't know.

My point, exercise may be a habit addition same as beer or cigars but it's a good habit to have.

Choose your habits wisely.

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/how-exercise-can-calm-anxiety/
Blowing Away Stress One Cigar At A Time | Science 2.0
Sure, but you have to go back to work after a vacation, don't you?

Cutting back here too. I'm really just a social drinker, so company happy hour once a month or date night is the only time I really indulge.

Its not uncommon for me to drink a bottle of wine at night. I'm a lush.

I quit all alcohol 4+ years ago - no regrets whatsoever.

Well, that’s two of us. Our habit is a cocktail at 5 - martini or a finger of scotch, split a bottle of wine with dinner, and then an after dinner cocktail. That probably equates to a bottle of wine a night each. Mrs WD weighs 130 pounds, but she keeps up with me. Some nights one or the other of us will not drink - maybe once a week.

I went from not drinking alcohol for 20 years to drinking two bottles of scotch a month. :eek: I need to cut back, or better yet, quit altogether.

Gave it up 32 years ago at 27 when I met the future Ms Rocket.

Don’t miss it, but really liked the taste of a cold beer back then.

I'm in that club, especially if I'm on "learn how to cook" nights.
The problem- aside from the health effects- is that it's $300 a month on the low end. No-can-do. If you actually want to learn even a little bit about wine then make it $500 or $800 or $1000. Unsustainable for my station. And a generally unproductive idea. Even for my occupation.

I drink a lot less than I used to. A 12 pack could last a year in my fridge. I do drink a lot when I have a party but I rarely drink during non-party time. I will occasionally have a drink if I feel like it.

I tend to drink too much soda and I also like the Mikes Hard Lemonade stuff since it's almost soda.

Another point, I ride a motorcycle on a regular basis and I don't drink when I'm riding. I like to go fast and don't want to take chances with drinking and riding fast.

No alcoholic initially thought they were alcoholics. Hence the cliche "I can quit any time" Just sayin...