Drinking all weekend?

@SamphireAndSalmon ageeed it’s so hard when everyone else is going nuts.

I find it’s easier to stick to if I’m thinking about future me.

This is my aim. Mostly I achieve it. But the festive period is hard.

Have a listen to this podcast OP 💖

https://open.spotify.com/show/2dtOPIAy9m0WKVJgiUhmRU?si=84AG0nk4Q0qfC20uIE1WVg

This. It's happened this weekend. Puts me off going out to be honest.

I do this

I was watching the Blue Zone diet programme where they look at different zones around the world where they live to 100 seemingly healthy, no dementia, heart disease, diseases that we associate with older age and they did drink moderately - good quality red wine though and has to be with other lifestyle commitments.

I do this sometimes but it's not good, it's not normal and I'm trying really hard to stop. It doesn't matter if you're not drinking in the week; if you're drinking four bottles of wine over the weekend that's nearly 40 units. Which is a hell of a lot.

This stood out me too. Not being able to stop once you start is a giant red flag saying you have a drinking problem.

No it's neither good nor normal. Is it fun?

Drinking can become a habit. If it's not fun, then put it down for six months and control it.

As a fellow heavy drinker, it could only be a matter of time before it creeps into weekdays. At least have a break- might not work for you but the 'try dry' app has helped me stop for weeks at a time and when I start again I'm drinking only half a bottle on a couple of times a week for a good few months. January is a good time to start taking some time off as loads of others will be doing it too.

I can easily pack away a little of bailies or the best part of two bottles of wine on a Friday night and then repeat on Saturday.

Ooft. That's a LOT.

Just googled Baileys (Drinkaware). It's 17% ABV and a 50ml serving is 0.8 units. So a litre bottle would have 20 servings of 50ml meaning that bottle is over 16 units. Then you've got wine on top.

And the recommended limit is 14 units per week.

I absolutely cannot be arsed with the crap nights sleep and feeling crap the next day.

I refuse to make myself feel crap!

One drink. Two tops.

For example this weekend away at a spa- one glass of champagne and one cocktail.

I used to drink quite a bit until I had kids. Then I just could parent with a hangover. We then moved to the Middle East where alcohol was not available (well it was but not legally!) so we drank rarely (normally when we travelled ). We now love I a country where it is legal , but I've found that I don't enjoy it as much as i used to. Wine makes me feel like death warmed up the next day even after two glasses. We will have a few beers on a weekend occasionally , but if someone said to me you can't drink ever again it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. My family are big drinkers and I definitely notice it when I see them.

If I understand you correctly (apologies if not) you’re looking to be able to reduce/stop at one drink without going cold turkey. I’ve found the only thing that works in this case is a replacement drink, and unfortunately most alternatives are packed with sugar (tbh debatable if a glass of 0 dosage 11.5% champagne is worse for you than a mocktail packed with sugar in my view). I started buying kombuchas and then eventually brewing my own. They are a bit expensive but still cheaper than a drink out and all the sugar is fermented out and the only thing I’ve found that comes close to the complexity of an alcoholic drink.

My other suggestion is a Coravin and buying less wine but better quality but that’s probably overkill for most people 🤣

Absolutely not normal or healthy. I used to drink like that when I was 18. I'd die if I tried now, at 38.

Ah see so when I’ve had a bottle of Krug or Zind Humbrecht I can never just have one, but I have also been to many a wedding where the wine was not just foul but undrinkable. So even finishing one was a challenge. Where does that leave me? 😜

As a friend who is an alcoholic (but currently sober) once said to me "One is too many and 5 is not enough".

I know exactly what you mean, and I am 100% in the same position. No advice, unfortunately - if you find an answer I would love to know.

I'm 15 years sober. I couldn't just have one either.
My life is immeasurably better having none.

I don't get to decide that, but we all know that 36 - 40 units of alcohol a week isn't good for us (I went back and re-read the OP's posts @snuggleswithmygiies and I stand corrected).

No doctor has recommended drinking that much every week ever @Xmaswomble.

I am not holier than thou about drinking. I probably drink a bottle and a half of wine a week max (15 units at most). I have seen my BIL drink himself to death - his death certificate states the cause of death as alcoholism.

It’s definitely not what everyone does (see average consumption figures below) and the quantity of alcohol will almost certainly do you harm in the long term. Alcohol consumption is a funny thing as you can get away with it for years and then suddenly be badly affected (the liver is very good at what it does, until it ins’t any more). The temptation is for drinkers to think they’re fine and carry on, but the problem is that by the time you realise you’re not fine, it’s very bad indeed.

I also think you’re just missing a lot of what life has to offer by being either drunk or hungover for such a large proportion of your life.

PP mentioned This Naked Mind and I second that suggestion. It might also be worth giving up entirely for a bit- a month maybe- and seeing what that is like. Doesn’t have to be a permanent thing for now, but might give you a bit of clarity as to what to do next.

It was normal for me in my 20s but definitely not now. I'm 48 now and my body just doesn't want alcohol anymore! OK, I'll have a glass with dinner sometimes but drinking all weekend? No thanks. I'd feel rubbish.

@RampantIvy it's already been said it was either wine OR Bailey's

That is never OK for anyone

Why do you get to decide that @RampantIvy? I’m a little confused

Four bottles of wine and a bottle of Bailey's over three nights is approximately 55 units of alcohol. That is never OK for anyone.

I drink. I enjoy wine, but don't drink anywhere near that amount of alcohol.

The OP definitely has a problem.

I'm up 6am at weekends as I have a lot going on in family life which wouldn't tie in with drinking copious amounts of alcohol. I prefer to be sharp every morning and know what's going on.