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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How much do you drink? Honestly!

556 replies

Starlight1984 · 23/10/2025 10:31

And yes, yes I know there is an "alcohol support" section of MN but this isn't for help or advice or anything other than curiosity!

Just been reading on another thread about what people do and don't do which others would find unusual and a LOT of the posts include people saying they don't drink alcohol which I find insane as pretty much everyone I know drinks to some degree!

Anyway I'll start, I don't (or try not to!) drink from Mon - Thurs but on average will have a bottle of wine on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. So 3 x bottles of wine a week. I know it's above the guidelines of "normal" drinking and know I need to cut down but it's something I genuinely enjoy. DH is the same. We never get drunk. We just slowly drink 3-4 glasses over the course of the evening (from about 6pm to 11ish) whilst making dinner, sitting down to eat, watching a film / reading a book... It's just something that helps us to unwind after a busy week!

So for AIBU

YABU - No thanks, would rather have a cup of tea.
YANBU - Pour me a large one!

OP posts:
Brackenfield · 23/10/2025 10:33

Nothing Mon to Thurs (if out for a meal or something this may change), then most weekends I will have a bottle of wine, a glass or two Fri, Sat, Sunday eves.

Holluschickie · 23/10/2025 10:36

Maybe 1 glass of wine or one small gin a month. DH doesn't drink and I dislike drinking alone. Don't need the calories either.

BrainItch · 23/10/2025 10:37

I used to drink a bottle of wine over 2 days and a lot more on weekends.

I now go about 2 weeks between drinks, sometimes longer and then I will only have 1-2 drinks then stop. It’s no longer a stress relief or really that enjoyable. One drink gives me a nice buzz but more than that gives me a headache and a bad nights sleep and bad breath and IBS.

I gained an insane amount of weight living this lifestyle with alcohol plus was unfit and out of shape, sluggish and not in good health. I had chronic IBS, pre-diabetic and back pain and terrible skin.

I found other things to enjoy and wind down. I’m not trying to be virtuous or competitive I’m being honest. I looked like shit and the comparison now I’ve never looked or felt better, so much more energy.

I really do think alcohol can be incredibly subtly destructive over time without realising

I would obviously advise anyone drinking this much alcohol to cut down for their health

Flatulence · 23/10/2025 10:37

I don't drink if I have to do much the next day. So, for me, I don't usually drink Monday to Wednesday, then have c. Half a bottle on Thursday. I don't drink on Friday (or if I do I have a glass) and then have c. a bottle Saturday evening over about 4hrs. So usually c. 1.5 bottles a week, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less.

Obviously that's a typical week. If I'm on holiday or it's Christmas or there's a celebration then it looks a bit different.

I used to drink quite a lot more; I should probably drink less still. But like you, I enjoy wine very much and having lived in both France and Germany I see it as a core part of enjoying good food in a social setting.

HundredMilesAnHour · 23/10/2025 10:38

I drink a couple of times a month at most. Either a couple of glasses of wine after work with colleagues or a glass or two with a friend over a meal usually. That’s it. I don’t drink at home.

Edit: When I was younger I was out drinking all the time. But these days I just like a glass or two of something that tastes delicious and it’s very much about the taste for me rather than the effect. Like the poster above, I also used to live in France and I appreciate good wine paired with the right food.

Chafing · 23/10/2025 10:39

Since menopause I really can't drink much. I have two or three gin or vodka and tonics on a Friday and Saturday night, and very occasionally up to two glasses of white wine (less than half a bottle) instead. Don't drink Sun to Thurs.

FuzzyPuffling · 23/10/2025 10:39

A glass of Prosecco with Christmas lunch.

And a thimbleful at communion.

Truly, I don't drink.

Bellabomb · 23/10/2025 10:40

When I was working full time I often used to pour myself a glass of wine and soon as I got home, then have another with dinner. That was 15-20 years ago and since then I've gradually cut down.

Nowadays, I very rarely drink alcohol. I think in the whole of this year I've had maybe two or three glasses of wine, when out for a meal or at a friend's house. I'll probably have a glass with my Christmas dinner, so that'll be four.

On an everyday basis, I just don't crave it any more like I used to. I'd rather have a nice mug of tea, favourites being Rooibos, camomile, green, white, Earl Grey and oolong.

Lottapianos · 23/10/2025 10:42

A couple of drinks, a couple of times a week. Maybe a cocktail on Friday, and a half bottle of wine or a couple of pints of ale on a Saturday

I used to be a massive boozer - think 4-5 bottles of wine every weekend. That scares me a bit now. Life is definitely better with less alcohol

FastFood · 23/10/2025 10:42

I generally don't drink from Sunday to Thursday, unless I'm meeting some friends.
Thursday Friday Saturday, if I stay at home, I'll have a bottle of wine over 3 days, sometimes a little aperitivo on top of that.
If I go out with friends, it can be way more.

worrisomeasset · 23/10/2025 10:43

I don’t drink from Monday to Thursday (unless I’m on holiday or it’s Christmas). I’ll exceed government guidelines on Friday and Saturday and will have a couple of drinks on Sunday (but not too much as I’m usually at work on Monday).

DeQuin · 23/10/2025 10:44

For me it depends on how old I am when you ask the question. In my 30s I was drinking half a bottle of wine whenever I felt like it (=Mon, Tues, Sun) and at least one or two cocktails on other days (=Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat). And then more if there were a social occasion. Fast forward to post menopause and a single glass of wine devastates my sleep (night sweats, hot flushes, pounding heart, anxiety the next day) and is just not worth it. I don't think I ever had a problem with alcohol, but in retrospect I was definitely drinking too much. I stopped completely when I was pregnant, and the reality of needing to get up in the night several times a night for five years, and then looking after small demanding people all day definitely changed my behaviour.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 23/10/2025 10:44

I don't drink in the week but probably have one bottle of wine over the weekend. You are on at least 30 units a week, that's a lot!

Definitelynotme2022 · 23/10/2025 10:44

When I'm at my bf's house, then I tend to drink, but rarely when I'm at home with my dc's.

Last night we went to the pub and I had to large vodka and tonics. I like it, but I can take it or leave it. I've given up alcohol many times before, once for 2 years, so it's not an issue, it's a social choice.

Meadowfinch · 23/10/2025 10:45

One glass of wine at a birthday supper out but seldom anything else.

I have some blackberry liqueur that I'll have one or two over Christmas.

I've already had one brush with cancer, am clear now and intend to do everything I can to stay clear. Alcohol is just another poison the body has to process, that I can easily avoid.

And I'm usually driving so it's easy to say no.

ByLemonFish · 23/10/2025 10:45

I was drinking a bottle of wine every night!!!! Started during covid when we were both working in care sector and very stressed
Started using mounjaro end of June, hate the taste of red wine now. Have an occasionally G&T. Have lost 22lbs and I'm sure my liver is pleased

GreyCloudsLooming · 23/10/2025 10:45

I don’t drink at all, not even Christmas and birthdays. This was since I was diagnosed with cancer five years ago. But I was only a very moderate drinker before then - a glass of wine at the weekends perhaps. I’ve never been drunk in my life.

BatchCookBabe · 23/10/2025 10:46

None. Have been teetotal for a year and a half. DH is too. 3 years for him.

Don't miss it, and we have saved loads of money!

sunnydisposition2 · 23/10/2025 10:47

I have at least 2-3 sober nights per week. Then I’ll probably have about two bottles of wine and maybe a couple of gins over the rest of the week. It’s definitely over the 14 recommended units and I know I need to cut down but like you, I enjoy it and I find it hard to give up the things I enjoy. It’s very easy to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine over Sunday lunch or a couple watching a film in the evening.

When I was younger I never drank during the week but was a massive binge drinker at the weekends. I’m not sure which is worse really.

Original poster
Starlight1984 · 23/10/2025 10:47

Oh Jesus I'm glad I started this thread now 😂

OP posts:
WithChips · 23/10/2025 10:47

One or two glasses of white wine Friday night, Saturday night or both. I will make one glass last a long time.
If I go out I will order wine or a white wine spritzer. Never really drink any other type of alcohol.

SprintBack · 23/10/2025 10:48

Maybe a small glass of wine with a home cooked meal on a Friday or Saturday night.

A couple of glasses if we are out, about once a month.

A couple of glasses of an alcoholic drink, most evenings, on holiday and time over Christmas/NY.

Lju · 23/10/2025 10:49

I've never been a big drinker. I was ill at the point most teens were testing their livers, so I learned to go out and have fun without the booze. As a result I realised I could save money and have a clear head the following day, but still go out and have a great time. Then I realised my step-dad was an alcoholic and saw him pretty much lose everything and that was the nail in the coffin for me. I sometimes enjoy a mulled wine or cider or baileys or two in the festive season, same for Pimm's or a cold shandy in the summer and the occasional espresso martini, but can equally go without and not be bothered. Would always opt for a soft option when others are drinking wine/fizz. I'm quite interested to monitor it and see how much I actually drink over a year....I'd guess it's about 25 units as an absolute maximum.

My husband on the other hand used to easily finish a bottle or three of wine a week and not think anything of it. He's realising as we're getting older that his waistline can't handle this anymore so has cut back considerably.

All different really!

StokePotteries · 23/10/2025 10:50

I go through phases. I do Dry Jan, then often drink just one small 125 ml glass of wine a night, maybe two at weekends for several months. As summer kicks in that creeps up to two glasses a night as standard (1/3 bottle) and that stays until Christmas, when I drink a bit more on special occasions like parties or Christmas Day. I would love to do Sober October and plan to every year but we often go on holiday in October and I completely forget. So, over an entire year it probably averages out at 1.5 bottles of wine per week. I love enjoying wine and a few other drinks. I hate feeling drunk though. So my body automatically stops after 3 glasses.

Luckyingame · 23/10/2025 10:50

Honestly?
Zero.
Since I hit certain age, even a little glass of white wine would mean I couldn't function properly and have the "illusion" of being in total control of my life.
It sucks, but there are worse things than not drinking alcohol.