To be blindsided by doctor's comments about my alcohol consumption?

[omafiet]

I am 42 and overweight. Since having my third child and injuring my back I've gained 2.5 stone. The weight gain hasn't been linear - in fact this time last year I was in reasonable shape and doing a triathlon - but I know I need to do something. Now.

I have been having some unusual stomach symptoms recently and after my friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer I figured to be on the safe side I should get checked out. I have a great reply with my doctor and respect her advice.

After doing the physical exam she asked me about my drinking habits. I replied that I drank half a bottle of wine, two or three times a week. So, up to 1.5 bottles a week. She put her pen down and told me that this was really excessive and I needed to cut down, if not stop completely for a while.

I'm a little freaked out and have decided to do a 90-day booze-free challenge. But is 1.5 bottles a week really so bad? When I was in my twenties I'd drink that in a night . How much do you drink?

Lowlandlucky that’s horrific, but I’m not surprised after seven whiskies in 45 minutes, bloody hell. Imagine downing a shot of whisky every six minutes.

I think as we have such a binge drinking, heavy drinking culture in the U.K. we often forget that alcohol is essentially a poison and have this weird mentality that you can drink as much as you can physically are able to and the worst consequence will be a hangover or doing something stupid. I wish more people understood you can quite literally drink yourself to death in an evening. Especially as not everyone knows about health conditions they may have, which can exacerbate the risk.

I read a story about a woman on holiday who died after drinking too much in a small space of time. It terrified me and I have been careful ever since, soft drink breaks etc. Reading what she drank it wasn't that different to what I would drink on a night out. We can forget it's poison as pp suggested.

ACPC - I think I remember that story and if it's the same one there seemed to be a significant discrepancy between what her partner reported she had drunk and the amount of alcohol they found in her blood. Another case of people underreporting, maybe?

OP, up until last year I drank a similar amount to you, and wouldn't have thought it was excessive. Threads like this would've reassured me that what I was drinking was totally fine - normal, within Govt guidelines, and basically what "most" people do.

I stopped drinking last year as part of my sports training, and it really has been revelatory. I now realise that no, it's not normal or healthy to drink half a bottle of wine a few times a week, and actually that's a lot of booze. It's like the wool has been pulled from my eyes. I know that sounds preachy and weird, but my whole outlook has changed, and I've realised just how dependent our society is on alcohol. To relax after a hard day at work; to celebrate anything (even kids parties!?!), to enjoy a night with friends, as a bit of "me time" - there are so many reasons people use to drink. I used to do it. And now I don't, I feel so much better. My skin is clearer, I've lost a couple of pounds, I never feel fuzzy headed, and my running has never been better. And that's when I didn't even drink to "excess" in the first place.

So yes, I can see why you were shocked, but I think giving up completely is a good idea, even just for a year or so. The benefits are huge, even if you don't have a "problem" in the first place.

verticality It likely is the same story. I didn't read about a discrepancy but I'm guessing her partner maybe didn't want to admit how heavily she drank.

Runningonempty84 there’s always a reason to drink isn’t there? To celebrate any number of things (birthdays, weddings, engagements, new job, finishing a job, new baby, kids leaving home, great day at work, university offer, etc etc) and commiserate too (break ups, job loss, an argument, funerals, bad day at work, etc). I think it’s scary how pervasive it is in our culture.

I drink btw (not atm as I’m pregnant), maybe two or three drinks every week or two usually. But I can see how much of our social norms revolves around alcohol and that can make it very difficult for someone to accurately assess their own drinking and the harm it’s causing when then can look around and think ‘well at least I don’t drink as much as them’.

And on threads about drinking, if anyone shares that they don’t drink or drink a small amount you always get so many snotty defensive sarcastic replies along the lines of ‘oh I allow myself a thimble or whisky once per year’ ‘I have a sniff of sherry every decade’ etc. as if someone who drinks more feels personally attacked or aggrieved by the fact that not everyone drinks as much as them. It’s so transparent.

that can make it very difficult for someone to accurately assess their own drinking and the harm it’s causing when then can look around and think ‘well at least I don’t drink as much as them’.

One of the sad things about my dad's alcoholism is that he doesn't have to open his eyes to it because so many people have said "well he's hardly George Best, is he?" As if the standard for being an alcoholic is drinking whisky at 8am. It isn't. You can be an alcoholic drinking too much red wine, if you're physically and psychologically dependent on the stuff.

I drink. Generally I buy a bottle of wine on a Friday night and drink it over the course of a weekend. So there are 4-5 days a week when I don't drink at all. I also haven't drunk anything in January for the last 4 years. But yes, I think we have a skewed view of what moderate drinking is. The OP is somewhere in the borderland so cutting back for a while and seeing how she feels is a good idea.

It sounds like a a lot to me. Apart from it being a lot there’s about 650 calls in a bottle of wine! That’s not going to help with your weight gain.

I am 44, I drink double what you do, sometimes more. I do believe it's too much and I am taking steps to try and reduce it. I don't find it affects my weight at all though, thankfully, although of course it's not great for my health.