How much do you really drink?

[GJD23000]

It’s an interesting topic, and I think lots of people wonder how their drinking compares to others. For us, my husband tends to have a beer or two most evenings, maybe a couple more on weekends if we’re relaxing or watching something together. I rarely drink during the week but will usually have 2-3 glasses of wine spread over Friday and Saturday evenings.

If we’re out with friends or at a party (which is rare now we’re parents), we can definitely drink more, maybe a bottle of wine each or cocktails, depending on the occasion. But that only happens if we’ve got a babysitter and plenty of time to recover the next day!

I’m genuinely curious to hear about others drinking habits and whether this is typical or not. No judgement at all—just keen to know! For context we have one child and are late 30s.

I’m currently pregnant so haven’t been drinking but I wasn’t a drinker before that.
my Mum’s an alcoholic and was my whole childhood so I didn’t want to risk becoming addicted myself.
My partner doesn’t drink either.
We usually love a few Baileys at Christmastime.
If we go out to an event (rare) he likes a vodka, I’ll drink gin.

We’re the odd ones out where we both work, all the other couples love a drink (or 4) with a meal etc.

Our vice is Cherry Pepsi Max 😂

I stopped drinking age 35, 8 years ago. Just got bored of it and feeling rubbish. Best decision i ever made.

I actually lolled 😂 I only joined Mumsnet this week and had no idea there were other none-drinkers.
I’m the odd one out where I live for not drinking!
Everyone loves a curry and a beer or a “tipple” before bed x

I'm 56.
I hardly ever drink now. Maybe half a glass of wine if I am out.
Watching my dbro die of liver failure rather took the enjoyment away. He was a social drinker, but drank most days.

Teetotal coming up to 11 years now. But when I did drink I wouldn't drink every day but I'd say over a week depending on where I was drinking I'd have 12 pints/ cans/ bottles of beer and 6 vodka lemonades. I'm in my 30's

It's sad that you felt the need to post that. Who here cares what you or anyone else drinks? All the judgement is coming from you, nobody else.

I'm teetotal. As long as I can find something to drink that I like, I'm happy.

Don't drink at home. Go out with friends or OH for a pub night probably once a fortnight-ish and drink 3-5 pints. Go on a big night out every couple of months (e.g. someone's bday, a gig, a party) and drink a lot, maybe 6/7/8 pints + shots/a cocktail. Go on a massive night out maybe two or three times a year, stay up all night and drink SHITLOADS like 8 pints + bottle of fizz + tinnies + rum & coke, anything going. Age 50.

I don’t drink alcohol at all really. I think maybe 2 units in the last 3 years. I’m just not interested in alcohol. I love good coffee and fresh juice.

On average about 4 times a week, more if I’m out with friends. I tend to drink less when on holiday, but will have a glass of wine at lunch if out for a lunchtime meal, a couple in the evening, but I go to bed a lot earlier. All the sightseeing, swimming, sun takes it out of me! Although if I’m away with friends I’ll probably drink more.

OP sounds pretty reasonable but watch out because it can become habitual and creep over time. We started out that way and was same for many years and then it got totally out of hand drinking every day for DH and 4-5 days a week for me. Now we're not drinking for the most part and feel amazing.

This is similar to me. I've had 2 glasses of Prosecco this afternoon with a friend but hadn't drunk for 2 weeks before that. For me it's totally depending on being social. Never drink alone.

I'm not teetotal, I've never deliberately given up or cut down on my drinking, but I just find that I don't really drink any more.

I might very occasionally have half a glass of wine at home (usually if we've got family round for a meal) but i never drink when I'm out any more. I used to think nothing of driving home after a small glass of wine over a 2-3 hour meal, but these days I won't drive if I've had anything at all (I find it difficult enough driving in the dark as it is!)

It does mean that I'm very jealous of people who quit drinking and feel so much better for it - I'm over here meat free, near enough alcohol free, caffeine free (thank you peri palpitations) and I still feel like shit!

I'm the same. I don't drink at all in my days to day. Alcohol has no part in my usual life and I don't ever buy alcohol.

If I'm at a wedding / Christmas / event, I'll have a few. A few is enough to get me merry.

Im 30.
My late teens and early twenties I was absolutely feral and was always out partying so I've had my fair share and I'm not one of the 'only had a thimble at Christmas' crew at all.

I just don't feel the need to drink unless it's an event. I've also never liked wine, hate the taste and gives me a headache. And I don't feel like spirits are something I should be having on an evening to 'wind down' with dinner. Don't judge those who do though.

i don’t drink, single parent to two additional needs children one of which has a serious heart condition so need to be ready for a hospital trip at any point. Genuinely not fussed though, absolutely ripped it in my late teens/early 20s so really don’t miss it. If my youngest didn’t have her heart issue I’d probably still not drink. Also since passing my driving test all those years ago I’m loathed to pay for taxis

I used to drink 2 to 3 bottles of wine a week but found in the last few months my hangovers were getting worse and lasting longer. A big night out in November took me 4 days to recover. My health in general hasn't been great the last year (I have an immune problem that I got as a child) so I stopped drinking just after Christmas last year. Its only been a few weeks since I stopped drinking but I feel so much better and don't really miss it so I doubt I will drink alcohol again (if I do it might only be at Christmas or my birthday) . I am 44 and I just felt the negatives of alcohol were out weighing the positives. I actually thought stopping would be much harder but than it was.

I'm an unashamed boozer.

Apart from pregnancy when I didn't drink at all, I've spent the last 10 years drinking every day and think nothing of sipping through an entire bottle of wine every day, over the course of 4 hours or so.

It's mostly because I'm an immigrant from a country where alcohol was ridiculously expensive so I never developed a taste for it. Then after moving to Europe I discovered the joy of inexpensive alcohol.

But now that I'm in my late 40s my body doesn't cope as well with alcohol as it did in my 30s so my consumption is dropping without me thinking about it too much.

I don't do dry January or Stoptober, those things feel a bit artificial for me, but I did notice that I now go 7 - 10 days without fancying a drink.

Maybe I'm coming full-circle to my alcohol-free 20s.

Edit: a while back I did seriously grapple with the idea that I have a drinking problem. Then I realised that I was just inventing punishments for myself over nothing. I just love to drink but I don't have to work hard to put down a glass or say no.

I usually drink 2 bottles of wine a week (more in December) but I am off it completely for January, and reevaluating it at the moment.

My plan is to drink just one bottle a week, strictly at weekends, and to have one weekend free each month

None at the moment as pregnant. Before that, probably too much. A couple of glasses of wine or a few beers if I wasn’t working the next day. I’d very rarely get pissed though, as I can’t bare the after effects now. I’d also drink more if on holiday. Not sure if I’ll still have a taste for it post baby, as I haven’t missed it at all tbh.

I’m teetotal. DH will occasionally have a drink when out with friends but doesn’t get drunk. We both drank a lot when we were younger.

Maybe I view it a bit differently as I don’t drink in isolation. I love a good steak and glass of Brouilly, or a vongole and Albariño. Feta and watermelon salad with a Provence rose in the sun. Dry gin martini with a twist and some oysters. A spritz and a plate of cichetti. G&T and some nuts and crisps at 5pm after a day at the beach. It’s a compliment to a meal or compliment to a situation. I rarely have pudding, I don’t have a glass of wine in front of the tv on a Friday. I don’t think of ‘alcohol’ as a homogenous drink, in the same way I don’t think I need a can of fizzy drink for the sake of it. It’s all about the time and place.

Barely drink now maybe a glass of wine, if I fancy, very rare though I’m happy to drink coke if I go out.
i used to be a big drinker, started at the age of 14, used to get served in local pubs, early 80’s!
Continued to drink for years, I’ve been so drunk I’ve not remembered what I’ve done on more than 1 occasion!
never have I ever suffered the next day 🤣
Over the years I’ve just drank less when going out, it doesn’t bother me now if I don’t drink.

used to drink on average a bottle of wine a night

sober 3.5 years

Very, very rarely. I have a health issue that doesn't bother me as long as I don't drink.

At Christmas I did have a Baileys coffee...hardcore 😂

On a normal week a bottle of wine a week spread over maybe thurs/fri/sat or Fri/sat/sun. Don’t go out much but would drink a couple of glasses on top of that if I went out for a drink.

DH barely drinks anything anymore - the occasional beer or glass of wine.

Nothing for many years.

Before AA I was a four bottles of wine a day drinker.