How much to drink on a weeknight

[Pandaghost]

I went out for "a drink" with 4 friends last night. We are all between 35 and 45 and have children (eldest out of all kids is 11, youngest is 1. Most have 2 children).
1 person drove. 4 drank.
1 had one wine and couldn't have anymore because of work tomorrow.
1 had 2 wines.
2 had a bottle of wine each. 1 had this and a further vodka and coke (unsure if single or double).
All said they felt fine today (except the driver who had a headache which is clearly unrelated). All have busy jobs working either full time or 4 days a week and were in work today.
My question is how much would/could you drink on a midweek night knowing you had work and children to sort out and genuinely feel ok? I was the person who had one wine and couldn't handle anymore on a week night!

I won't usually drink at all in the week now, and barely at weekends too. If I do I wouldn't have more than 250ml of wine, which is either one glass or two depending on the size you go for!

Binge drinking is classed as more than 6 units within a few hours, and a bottle of wine is usually around 10 so drinking a whole bottle in an evening is definitely too much IMO, whatever you tell yourself.

I didn’t drink when my children were small because I couldn’t be arsed with feeling knackered the next day…never have been an early morning person!
I am an all or nothing person ,so one drink always ends up with throwing the empty bottle away,so certainly am not a holier than thou person!

👏👏

If you bothered to read my posts then you'd see that wasnt what I was doing 🙄

Genuinely the last time I drank a bottle of wine in one evening I have no recollection of getting home, woke up on the kitchen floor at 4am and spent the next day in bed. I appear to have become allergic to alcohol in middle age.

i now rarely drink and if i do it’s one glass of low alcohol wine. I feel I’m judged for not drinking to be honest.

1 bottle of wine but its normally just a couple

I don’t really drink on weeknights but if it was a one off like this I would have one, any more than that and I would struggle the next day!

@Pandaghost I was always judged for being a lightweight! My drinking friends always made me feel awkward for not wanting more. They undoubtedly judged me but because I didn’t drink much (2 glasses or nothing if I was driving) and having too much made me feel ill. They got the benefit of me driving though! We lightweights have our uses.

On my 19th birthday I seriously got drunk and had actually driven to the pub. A guy who owned a garage drove me home using his insurance but I was sick in my own car! Never again.

Maybe 1 glass and a coke. But i guess unless they're drinking a bottle a night its ok.

I don’t any more but could easily drink 1.5-2 bottles of wine and function reasonably normally the next day.
Should I? Absolutely not which is why I don’t any more.

Same for me. I avoid week night drinking and try and stick to one on weekends. I would feel shocking in work after a whole bottle.

Nothing, and I feel much better for it.

21 years clean and sober today 🎉 so for me none. But I think it all depends on the individual. Some people have a couple of glasses of wine every night … so a bottle and a vodka on a night out isn’t such a huge leap. Occasional drinkers could be suffering after two …

Nothing, I am practically tee total these days. I don’t miss it, I don’t need it.

Going out for a drink is a common turn of phrase. We weren't going out for a meal or on a night out. The phrase used was "we'll go out for a drink" hence me using that phrase to give some context which i think was important.
As I've explained, I wasnt noting what they drank but it was discussed "are having another one? Yes ill have....". Nothing unusual in that for us as a group.
We have a group chat. One person (the driver) said she had a headache and felt shitty. Everyone else said they felt fine. Again, not something id see as being weird...
E.g "should have had a drink last night, got a banging headache anyway"
"Oh no, I feel surprisingly good"
"Ive just been the gym"
Etc

Not sure why people on here take perfectly innocent conversations and make out like people are weirdos for it

Zero. I never drink or go out midweek. I wouldn't be fit to get up with my dc then next morning.

So if I was working the following day I would be comfortable with one 500ml bottle of cider and a couple of glasses of wine. About 6 or 7 units. I wouldn't even notice the alcohol in that many drinks.
That's relaxing at home and watching tv. If I was out and about with friends I would probably feel it more - as others have said it's getting to bed late that's the killer, not the alcohol.

One glass, two absolute maximum if I want to be fully functional the next day. Very rarely do I drink at all during the week, and less and less at weekends, which is bloody boring but it’s just not worth it.

@MrsJeanLuc 7 units 7 days a week is 49 units! 14 is the recommended amount. So I’d start noticing the alcohol!

Depends when you start/how long a timeframe you are drinking across, I go weeks sometimes months without drinking at all, but went out with a work friend for dinner recently, we went straight from work at 5 had a glass of wine in a bar, then went for dinner and had another glass with the meal, then a short drink after dinner. I was home by 9:30 in bed by ten, fine for work the next day.

A bottle of wine and possibly a gin or two.

I'd have a bit of a cotton wool head the next day but wouldn't feel too rough (I'm 50 if it's relevant!)

The OP didn't sound judgey at all to me, just curious.

It’s really odd to note what every member in the party drank, you were obviously keeping a note of who was drinking what when you’re able to list what everyone drank.

I think yhe age of your children is also relevant. I would happily share a bottle with someone on a weeknight. But when my dc were much smaller, frankly, it wasnt worth it. I was permanently exhausted, disrupted sleep etc.

Half a bottle of wine in the week with food however I find it easier to work
with a hangover than deal with children all weekend! I would drink more on a Thurs than Friday Eve !