How can I be in the top 5% of drinkers at 20 units a week?!

[Pooshy]

I've been tracking how much alcohol I drink since the start of the year in an effort to cut down

It's working and I think I probably drink about half as much as I used to, around 20 units a week on average. Still over the women's recommended limit of 14, but this is better than I was

However the app I'm using says I'm in the top 5% of drinker so that means only 5 people out of 100 drink more than me

Surely that can't be right... how many unit do you drink a week usually?

20 units a week would probably have been fairly normal for me pre fertility treatment. Since treatment, pregnancy and baby my drinking has reduced massively, partly because I rarely go out now! This week I've had one glass of wine at a work thing, two glasses of Prosecco at another work thing and a g and t at home.

"It’s not pearl clutching to say you don’t drink much."*

I agree, but it is to say that someone drinking 20 units a week has an alcohol problem. It isn't healthy, I agree, but I wouldn't get my knickers in a twist if someone was drinking that much.

If someone was eating to a point where they are damaging their health, we'd all happily call that an eating problem. Ditto tanning or whatever else.

Same with booze.

Of course you don't see it when you're in the midst of the habit and gravitating towards people with similar habits.

I was the same. I liked my wine and so I downplayed the unhealthiness. "Everyone" else drank similarly. What was the problem?

I use to drink a bottle of wine a night, five nights a week. I was completely sure this was no problem.

Then I was forced to stop for medical reasons and l lost the habit. Now that I'm okay to drink again, I don't want to. Ive lost the taste for it. I've also gained perspective on how unhealthy it is during that time.

You're still enjoying it and thus self-justifying, which is perfectly natural but accusing light drinkers or "pearl clutching" is just silly.

I can’t think of anyone who drinks more than 2-4 glasses of wine in a regular week, many of us zero, and most of us had wild, heavy drinking years in college and early 20’s. Alcohol doesn’t go well (it goes too well) with family life. So lots of people stop drinking much at all I find.

The majority of adults do not drink at all or only drink on special occasions so drinking more than your recommended units very week if going to put your in with the heaviest drinkers.
Fwiw I drink between 2-12 units a week most weeks and rarely have a completely alcohol free week.

I can’t think of anyone who drinks more than 2-4 glasses of wine in a regular week, many of us zero

Birds of a feather flock together.

This is exactly why half of thread think the other half is bonkers

It's not that "alcohol has become an acceptable social norm". It was always here. In many countries in Europe 20 it is basically just a lunch consumption and they are healthier than we are here. 🤷‍♀️ Where I grew up we usually had beer with lunch to help to digest it, but we have big lunches and small dinners.

20 units is not a problem. Problem is when you can't go without.

Agree with one pp. It looks like lots of people don't really know what units are.

It's great many don't drink, it's great many watch their intake, really. Kudos to you (no sarcasm), but it's not great or even just ok to start telling people they 'have a problem' over the internet when they don't.

I would get through about that most weeks.

DH and I will have a single G&T most week night evenings.

We'll share a bottle of wine on a Friday evening.

And we almost always spend time with friends on Saturday evenings, so would easily get through a bottle of wine pp. Often more.

Friends, for the very most part, are the same.

I don't get hangovers, so don't feel any ill effects. Sometimes I think it would be much better if I did. I do want to drink less as I know it's not healthy.

I am an ex alcoholic and don’t drink at all, ever. Haven’t for about ten years.

The thing is with drinking quite heavily is that usually drinking is a social activity, done with others who are also drinking a lot. Therefore people don’t realise / kid themselves that they’re not drinking that much as they surround themselves with people doing the same.

When I stopped drinking and started to realise a lot of my friendships were built around drinking I realised how dysfunctional my relationship with alcohol actually was.

20 units is not a problem. Problem is when you can't go without.

Agree with one pp. It looks like lots of people don't really know what units are

Not so, unfortunately.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/19/women-drink-two-glasses-wine-night-should-sent-liver-scans-gps/

So 20 units is roughly 2 bottles of wine a week. I’d normally have 10 units per week.

Regularly I don't drink that much, it's quite a lot (maybe 4-6 on a normal week) I did this week but have been away

Threads like.this are difficult as people who drink a lot will sometimes accuse those who don't of being ' holier than thou:

I know the feeling as I am very overweight and occasionally try to tell myself I don't eat THAT much but threads on here of the : 'what do you eat on a typical day'' often disbuse of that idea.

I genuinely don't drink much however. It is nothing to do with being 'good' on any way. I just don't think about drink, don't crave it and have maybe 1-2 drinks if socialising every few weeks. On average over a year, I drink less than one unit a week. Cake however ,.........

StealthBanana:

"Am also amazed at how little socialising posters on MN do. “Oh I’ll have a drink at my next night out in April”. What? Do you not have friends and family? Do you have people over to your house? Go for Sunday lunch occasionally? What do you do with your time if you never socialise???"

An equally likely interpretation of that same post is that the poster very much inetends to socialise in various ways between now and April, but only intends to drink at her next 'night out'.

Again,

Alcohol ≠ Socialising
Socialising ≠ Alcohol

It's strange isn't that on weight threads, the MN majority are often quite harsh about overweight. I quite often wince at how abrupt posters are; "Eat less, move more, "You're fat because of what you shove in your mouth."

Yet on alcohol threads, simply saying you don't drink much or mentioning health guidelines gets you a load of disbelief and heckling ("Pearl clutchers", "You're underestimating")

MishMash surely you understand that people like different things in life? I personally would never go on a big night out (what’s the point of that ?) but happily enjoy a couple of glasses of wine at home most evenings.

And I agree that people clearly mix with their own tribe, I don’t think I know any tee-totallers, most people I know like a glass or two of wine.

My mum puts away roughly 14-28 units A NIGHT depending on whether she only has half a bottle of gin or a full one.

After growing up and watching this I drink 0 units a week.

Working in a pub I have seen a huge increase of people choosing soft drinks midweek. I think people are consciously thinking more about their alchohol intake. But I also have daily regulars that put away 6+ pints easily.

20 units a week is too much and risks health issues

Given that the U.K. guideline doesn’t appear to have any scientific basis, do you have the evidence for this?

Most things I’ve seen and read suggest that risk of harm starts at about double the recommended 14 units (which is what I try and stick to)

Colehawlins
Exactly

I also socialise more often than I drink. Saying I have a couple of drinks every few weeks when I socialise is not the same as saying I only socialise every few weeks.
If I host at home for example I provide alcohol I just rarely want to.drink it myself

"I guess we drink 2-3 bottles a week, so I would drink between 1 -1.5 bottles - is that 7- 10standard drinks?"

Then you're probably also drinking about 20 units.

I used to work for an alcohol charity and that being in the top 5% sounds right to me. Well done for cutting down as much as you have. The charity I worked for uded the Audit tool www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-use-screening-tests it was developed by the world health organisation and is used by health professionals to assess the risk of your drinking.

The app may have this. It's with having a look at it as it looks at impact of drinking not just how much.

"Am also amazed at how little socialising posters on MN do. “Oh I’ll have a drink at my next night out in April”"

I'd just presume those are the people with small children.

These threads fascinate me as I literally don’t know a single person in my personal or professional life who is teetotal. I could understand if it was just my mates as I might reasonably be drawn to people who also drink. But even when I extend out I don’t know anyone who doesn’t drink ever. I did have a colleague who when he was younger never touched a drop but even he posts about a nice glass of red every couple of weeks now.

No judgement one way or another from me. Each to their own.

I am teetotal because I just don’t like the taste.

However, for those who claim that “it’s fine, not a thing to be worried about,” about two years ago I had to have a liver scan. While being scanned the sonographer pointed out that my liver looked fine, so I explained the reasons for the scan and then went on to say “I don’t drink at all,” to which he replied “yes, I know. Even if you drink a tiny amount your liver looks different on a scan.”

So for those thinking that 104 bottles of wine ie. 78 litres a year is perfectly fine and anyone who wouldn’t drink that is holier-than-thou, you’re wrong.

You can of course choose to do with your body whatever you like, but let’s not kid ourselves that because others do it it’s a good idea.

"the broader point I was making was that in my 20s sans kids I drank more because I had way more time and far less of these commitments. I now drink far less in my 30s because I don’t have the time or inclination with a toddler and a really hectic life. I then went on to say that in my 50s it might well be that my alcohol consumption will go up as it did with my parents."

In my 40s with no kids, I still like a drink, but can't go out as much as when I was younger because I just don't have the energy and need to make sure I get enough sleep. I try to avoid doing anything during the working week and I'm rarely out past midnight even on the weekend. Your life changes as you get older whether or not you have children.

The only way I can imagine drinking even more as you get older is if you can get semi-retirement or something. If I worked part time, I could probably go out during the week sometimes.

I don’t why posters think if you don’t drink you don’t socialise. Not everyone has to drink at every social occasion. My mil is teetotal and she’s out all the time.