How much do you drink? Honestly!

[Starlight1984]

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!

We sound very similar. I really enjoy food, but I know when I’ve had enough physically (when I’m stuffed) but also when I’d like a 3rd doughnut but I can stop myself (most of the time 🤣)

With drink, I too struggle to know when to stop at times. I like the feeling of being ‘a good merry’ as I like the relaxed feeling it gives me. I don’t drink M-F, though I used to drink Thursday, Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday during Covid, but I did reign myself in and now I have Sat/Sun to drink. Like you, if I’m feeling rubbish it takes the edge off and if I’m feeling great, I like to ‘celebrate’ with a drink.

I have managed to not drink or even think about alcohol from Mon - Thurs for several years now and this year, I’ve tried to extend that Sun - Thurs and have had surprising success. So in my mind I’ve cut my alcohol consumption by a third and am pretty pleased about that.

I now have a third of a bottle of wine on Friday and same on Saturday. Can’t drink a full bottle, this would give me a massive hangover. Indeed if I go so much as 1mm over the third of a bottle, I suffer.

Me too.

I also have a colleague who always says she hardly ever drinks…but actually when you talk to her she often says about going out for beers with her partner or friends, or going for cocktails. I think some people like to tell themselves they hardly drink - perhaps they never buy alcohol to drink at home - but actually they are drinking more than they realise. I am the opposite - I drink more than is recommended over the course of the week, but only at home. I never drink when I go out - I live rurally so usually drive everywhere. I am also not a fan of daytime drinking, so if I am out for lunch with friends I will stick to fizzy water.

All those who don't drink may well be obese and eat 5 bars of chocolate a night or a McDonalds every day. Or they could be gambling on online Bingo. Or smoking / taking drugs

This isn't very likely, though, is it OP, people who drink are more likely to be obese or smoking as these things cluster together, that's what surveys show, it doesn't mean you do if you drink alcohol, just it's more likely than if you look at the abstainers.

You have a sports hobby and again, this is somewhere people will drink more. Less sociable people who don't go to the bar after a match aren't going to drink as much.

I don't think you can tell what everyone is up to drinking wise by looking at your friends. It also changes over time, most of my very heavy drinking in their twenties friends have cut back now, the two that haven't that are women are verging on alcohol problems, IMO. Most of my mid-fifties friends drink wine when we get together but most don't drink like they used to.

My children's dad is a functioning alcoholic so I only drink on special occasions such as weddings or parties and even then I only have a couple. There are times when I am at an event and I really want to have a few drinks but after a couple it's like my body rejects them and I just feel sick. I could drink before meeting my children's dad but was never a huge drinker. The experiences of him and his family, who are all functioning alcoholics, have put me off for life and I feel like it's really important that I show my children a different relationship with alcohol to the one their dad and grandparents have.

I don’t drink Monday-Wednesday, Thursday one or two glasses of wine, Friday is generally date night so we have two or three bottles between the two of us, then Saturday night I tend to have probably a bottle of wine and Sunday one glass with my roast

Thank you and I agree 😊We eat healthily, don't smoke, both me and DH exercise regularly and have active lives so this is literally our only vice.

Pretty much everyone has an addiction or unhealthy habit of some sort (whether they admit it or not). But if you can moderate and balance it out with an otherwise healthy lifestyle then go for it.

You only live once.

I drank a little in my teens (never been drunk though) then stopped and haven't drunk now for 40 years. It just doesn't occur to me to do so, though my husband and children all do in moderation. I grew up with alcohol abuse in my family and saw the destruction it caused, and I suspect, sub-consciously, this is why I don't drink, but it was never really a "decision". I've never smoked or taken a drug either. Keep warning my teenagers I might do it all one weekend to see what I'm missing!

Nothing sun-thu unless I am off.
Fri OR Sat I have quite a few beers. I am not a wine person, I am a lager commoner (from beer country).
We crack open beers, turn on music, cook, catch up, chat, have fun so in that 5-sleep we can go through quite a lot of them.
I don't get hangovers unless I am stupid and don't eat and hydrate properly. Nearly 40.

The amount I drunk in my youth is scary now though😂

I typically have a bottle of white wine over Thursday (I don't work friday), Friday and Saturday. Plus occassionally 1-2 extra glasses per week at the pub.

It's never made me sleep worse, have bad skin, feel sluggish, gain weight etc, so I'm happy with my intake.

2 vodkas on a Friday night with the boyfriend.

Yeah, I need 'rules' to keep me on the straight and narrow with alcohol; I can't trust myself to keep it moderate without setting limits on the number of days I drink. I also suspect it will always be a bit tougher for me than it is for some other people.

2 glasses of wine a night with my evening meal

I kind of agree with this, but I think the benefits vs risks stack differently from peri and menopause onwards as the pounds are harder to shift, the alcohol seems to make you sicker after drinking and some people are embedded in very alcohol heavy lifestyles drinking bottles every night, I have a couple of friends who have a 'few' glasses each evening. Perhaps it's an age thing as well?

Rarely drink Sunday- Thursday unless birthday, gig, function etc. Usually drink 1.5 bottles wine over Friday/ Sat so thats 3/4 of a bottle each night. Am trying to reduce that to a half bottle a night as its interfering with my sleep. Will drink 3/4 of a bottle a day on holiday and usually regret the last glass. That last glass tips me over into merry and bad sleep !

I only drink alcohol in exceptional circumstances, eg a toast at a wedding. I occasionally use wine in cooking, like a risotto, which I don’t think counts because the actual alcohol mostly evaporates. I’ve never really had a taste for it, and the last time I drank a glass of wine (about three years ago) I had a terrible night’s sleep when i usually sleep like a log.

I just like beer and have about three 0.5l bottles per week. I am trying to reduce this to zero but struggle.

I live in Spain which is a great place to be an alcoholic - cheap alcohol! Almost everyone I know here of all ages drinks, whatever nationality they are. It’s not unusual for people to start on canyas at 10am. I get through about 3 bottles of wine a week (it’s about 12% alcohol here) but I can just not drink, I don’t mind. It’s just a bit of a social thing.

now my partner can get through a few large bottles of gin or vodka in a week so he is way worse but he gets a health MOT every year and so far, annoyingly, he’s doing ok health wise. And yes, I do think he drinks too much.

Very little these days. I just can’t be bothered most of the time.

I like alcohol free beers. I like a nice glass of white wine or Prosecco or champagne. I love cocktails. I used to love red wine but now it all tastes hideous to me unless it’s some super-special vintage and try finding that in the pub!

I had a glass of wine and a g&t on Tuesday. In the space of 3.5 hours. The last drink I had before that was…10 days before. Before that, I can’t remember. September sometime.

But in reality I don’t go out very often and I tend to value being able to drive home easily more than I value drinks.

And I cannot deal with hangovers any more!

2-4 bottles of wine a week.
I do drink too much but I also watch my diet and work out every day.

Before I was ill it was a bottle of wine shared Fridays and the same on Sunday and a pint of dry cider on Saturday.

Since August, when I was ill I've had two half glasses of wine. I don't need to stay off alcohol for medical reasons but I dont like the taste at the moment.

Nothing.

Can't abide alcohol or the obsession people have with it. "It helps us unwind" is bizarre to me. Why do you need a substance that alters your perception to unwind? Tragic tbh.

Virtually nothing. I never go out to pubs and would have a soft drink if out for a meal.

I have the occasional non alcoholic fruit cider at the weekend.

If its any consolation most beer is good source of number of minerals and in reasonable amounts apparently good for heart😁

Not a lot, maybe one alcoholic beer or glass of wine a week. I do however love a guinness, so I often drink guinness zero.