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?

I don’t mean to sound virtuous sorry. I am just thinking through logistics and also wondering about the demographics of drinkers (SAHMs, retired people, WOHMs- who drinks how much). So kids in bed at 7. Older one asleep by 7:30. Chores and everything else aka life admin done by 8. Dinner with DH if I haven’t eaten with the kids. Then one of us often needs to do another hour of work. I really need to be in bed and ASLEEP by 10 if I want to be up by 6/6:15 the next day. That means if I want a nice bath, a good book to read, any ‘me time’ at all before the grind of the next day, there isn’t a great deal of time to drink anything more than 1-1.5 glasses a night. And that’s assuming I am not catching up on some work in the evening.

We do sometimes drink on a weekend afternoon and then I nap with the toddler for a bit. In my head being hungover with a toddler is my idea of hell. But my other one is older so I can see how if I have two older kids it might be easier to drink on a Friday and Saturday and find it easier to function. So again I wonder how much of the drinking pattern changes as people go through life stages.

I think it's a generational thing. I think 20 units a week is insane. But I think it's related to age and class. Middle class people who are 35+, say, are the people drinking half a bottle of red wine each night and thinking it's normal, in my experience.

My friends and I are in our 20s/30s, are on tighter budgets, and never go out drinking anymore since graduating, and don't drink in the house as a habit.

From what I understand, the generation below (teens/early 20s) barely drink at all, and lots are tee-total.

To me, half a bottle of wine a night would be a drinking problem. We've just started drinking again after having a baby, and will have, say, two cans or beer, or one big bottle of cider each on a "treat" night each week. Which is enough to get us a bit buzzed. That's two units each a week. So 20 seems insane.

A glass of wine at home is 2-3 unit. A bottle is 8-10 units.
I don't drink really, and when I do it's low strength wine.
But it sounds like a lot of pp are underestimating the actually units they are having. How is anyone having one unit? That's have a small wine?

I drink about 20 to 30 units a week. But I don't drink at all Mon to Thurs, but I make up for it at weekends

I don’t drink much at all. I don’t actually enjoy the taste of alcohol, so only drink to get pissed boost my confidence in social situations (weddings etc) maybe once per year. But I hardly ever go out and don’t like being around drink people either. I don’t know what changed because I was a big drinker when I was younger and a student. Perhaps it was when I stopped going to clubs. My family are all big drinkers and always comment when I turn down an offer for a drink; “oh you really know how to have fun, go on just have one, are you are you just want a soft drink?”. I’m almost looked down on for basically being teetotal.

None really. I might have a bottle of non-alcoholic wine once every few months, but the amount of alcohol in there is about the same as an overripe banana.

Was never very interested in alcohol, not a fan of the taste and fizzy alcohol lcan give me bad stomach cramp.

I’m having more this week than I usually do, because I’ve got the week off. Friday night was out for dinner at the pub. Had two pints of peroni. Last night had two glasses of red. Tonight another two glasses of red. Tomorrow I will probably skip it and just have tea. Throughout next week I might have a glass of wine with lunch if we eat out, and then I probably won’t have any in the evening.

I might drink like this for a weeks here and there but usually I only drink at the weekend, and usually I have two or three beers of an evening or two or three glasses of wine. Sometimes I’ll skip those and just have a couple of measures of cognac or whisky.

Then I’ll have weeks at time where I don’t have any at all. I don’t particularly like what it does to my face and skin.

Potol what do you mean you don’t have time to drink 2-3 glasses of wine? We went to the cinema early evening today, got home around 8pm, I then cooked dinner, whilst drinking a glass of wine, then sat down to eat & had two more glasses of wine ... so DH & I consumed a bottle of wine between us over the evening, I wouldn’t call that alcoholism?

You don’t have to stop everything to have a glass of wine , last night I was doing some low key committee admin .... I had a glass of wine at the same time.

Most weeks none, I usually have maybe one night out a month where I'll have a few cocktails or a bottle of wine

I've also worked with cancer patients, and you can see the correlation with heavy/regular alcohol consumption clear as day when you're seeing patients day in day out (particularly oesophageal and stomach cancer). So regular heavy drinking doesn't hold the image of a sophisticated/classy/fun lifestyle to me. I'd rather be a square and drink in moderation.

Potol loads of people have answered your question

Why do you keep repeating it

" I am more interested in how well people think they function the next day"

High functioning alcoholism is a thing.

Loads of people including famous / high profiel / successful / go getter types are drinking too much and / or drugging.

Loads aren;t of course and are in a bad way.

Why do you keep asking the same thing though?

Hmm 2 bottles of wine (or equivalent units) a week pretty much every week is A LOT.
Age 18-22 I drank a lot. I’d be out 4 nights a week. 20-40 units a week, most weeks. One day I just thought ‘what the fuck are you doing’ and just stopped.
The last 8yrs or so I drink maybe a glass of wine a month when I fancy one. Maybe once a year I will have a whole bottle on a girly night in/out.
I worry about my mum, she’s in her early 50s and has at least 2-3 bottles of wine a week. I think that’s just way too much.
I don’t know how any drinkers over the age of 25 cope with hangovers tbh, mine are horrendous and not worth a drink for

I need a lot of sleep.

I struggle to function with less than a solid longish amount uninterrupted.

It was catastropic for my mental health when I had kids and was sleep deprived.

Some people can survive / learn to survive on very little sleep.

I don't quiz them about whether they are being honest or not. I couldn't do it. They can.

Loads of famous historical people who got shit done were alcoholics.

Loads of alocholics end up in a mess though.

Thats' the way of things.

Potol you need to enjoy a glass of wine in the bath, very relaxing . I can assure you I am nearly always in bed by 10pm, having enjoyed my wine (in bed now !).

0 for me too, usually. I don't drink at home, only when I go out (which up until last week is hardly ever). This week I've probably drank more than that as I was 3 nights in a row!

I have around 2 bottles of wine total a week so also around 20 units. Trying to make sure I have at least 3 alcohol free nights a week as that will help reduce it as I rarely have more than 2 medium glasses but over most nights that adds up.

None

I drink when I go out but that's only every couple of months, so most weeks it's nothing.

Love these threads. Most of the replies are either from teetotallers or those who only have half a glass of wine on special occasions

I don't drink at all at home, unless we have evening guests, which is rare. Dh doesn't drink so no sharing a bottle of wine. I'll probably have a glass or two of wine or prosecco when out socially, once or twice a month.

Until this year I did drink at home, on and off - would get through a bottle in about ten days on average, I guess. Sometimes it would take me a week or less (rarely under 3 days), sometimes longer, sometimes I'd go weeks without. Not doing it any more is a combination of CBA and knowing it wasn't really good for me.

I drink about four glasses of wine a week so about 8 units. I’d never sleep if I drank 20! More than two in one night makes me sleep really badly.

My one bottle of wine is half a bottle on a Friday and either a Saturday or Sunday shared with DH over a meal. We don't drink Mon to Thurs.I sometimes have a little bit more and sometimes less but it's always part of the weekend. I enjoy wine and the occasional cold beer, life is better for it but I very rarely exceed 2/3 small glasses. If I do, I really don't enjoy my sleep.

I have a glass of wine most nights, usually about 10pm. Two or three at the weekend.

Regularly drink 20 units a week here in various combinations but with about 3 alcohol free days a week, one night a week drinking more than I should and the rest notched up through the odd glass of wine here and there. I'm always trying to improve and drink much less than pre children!

None this week.

Probably only one or two units a month.

I used to drink much more in my 20s and early 30s.