Can a binge drinker ever become a moderate drinker?

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I am a binge drinker, never have cravings but at least one day over the weekend Dh and I turn off the telly put on some music and drink from 7pm until bedtime,
I will easily sink a bottle of wine and him 6-8 cans.

I did consider giving up completely but I look at my mum 80 this year and enjoys a glass of wine most nights but she’ll only have a drop about a small glass measure and make it last but when it’s gone it’s gone and she doesn’t make a night of it.
I don’t want to binge anymore but is it realistic to think I could enjoy one glass in a restaurant or one glass in the garden or even relaxing in the evening without the need to go back and finish the bottle?
I seem to be fine not drinking for a while but then I wish I could just have one when others do.
Would my tolerance level lower enough to get used to one glass?

Fine.

Are you just unwinding with your partner at the weekend tho? I don’t like wine but I know lots of couples that drink together like this at the weekend. Is it problematic in that it descends into arguments or you don’t remember going to bed? Which bit bothers you?

I enjoy it, I just worry what my liver thinks.

No arguments, I don’t feel physically drunk even after a whole bottle, just chilled but that will be my tolerance.

I don’t think a bottle once a week is that much, I my opinion, I could be wrong!.

It’s obviously not ideal to have all your recommended units in one go, I think a bottle of wine is around 10, but I don’t think it would be health damaging if you take care of yourself otherwise.

I am similar in that if I open a bottle I will finish it but I am able to have the odd glass or two when out and not have to drink more - although if I am honest I do want to.

It doesn’t sound to me as if you have an unhealthy or dependant relationship with alcohol.

I don’t think your liver will be too pissed off with you if you only drink a bottle of wine once a week. I reckon it’ll think it’s a really lucky guy compared to the beatings I see some poor livers get despite the person looking the picture of health!

I’d say enjoy your chilled evening with your husband guilt free and live well the rest of the time and you’ll be just fine:

I was a binge drinker in my late teens, early twenties. I would get absolutely smashed on wine and smoke too. I'm now in my 40's and only occasionally drink now only having a glass of wine with a nice meal. Very occasionally I might have a bit more than this but only if it was at a party for example. My husband is the same so I think that helps.
my motivation for drinking less is that I can't really sleep when I've had more than one to drink and I get terrible headaches the next day so it's not really worth it.

Just a random thought: if the psychological thing keeping you drinking is finishing the bottle, have you maybe considered stocking up on some half bottles? If you open one and plan to have a glass of something non-alcoholic after the first glass of wine, you might find that by the time you finish the first half-bottle you feel that it’s not worth opening a second?

The only way is only have the alcohol in the house you are planning to drink, but no more, and start on a couple of alcohol frees.
So don’t stock up on half bottles, only have one half bottle in the house.
Same for OH, only have 4 beers available.
Alcohol free beer is pretty good, wine less so.

Give up completely for at least six weeks, preferably several months. Reintroduce slowly after that.

Or simply try to moderate. See if it works. If it does - bingo. That said it will be harder if your DH continues to drink all evening.

And no, it doesn’t sound like you are addicted to me either but agree that isn’t massively healthy.

I have up to a bottle on a Saturday night watching movies with DH, I don't see the problem. It's the only night I drink. To me binge drinking is more drinking to get really drunk?
Personally I wouldn't feel great drinking a glass every night, I feel my mood drops if I drink anything two days in a row.

A bottle of wine is 10 or 11 units. That's your 'safe' weekly amount.

And yes you can switch. Most of my previously wild friends moved to the parenting stage and had one glass, and then stopped because someone always has to be fit to do a hospital run. It's fairly normal.

I'm 60 and now I have one glass when out to dinner, it tastes lovely, but if I have a second glass it tastes off, so I don't bother.

A binge drink for a woman is 6 units so 10 is definitely going to be bad for her liver & health (as she realizes) if she's doing that every week then she's right to be concerned & sensible to cut down.

A binge drink which will risk your liver & overall health is defined as 6 units for a woman.

A bottle of wine has about 10 units so that is a serious binge & will be damaging your liver, especially if it's every week.

DH and I do a very similar thing to you and your DH once a week, we do often have a drink or two at the same time - it’s a nice way to stay connected as a couple sharing new music we’ve heard reminiscing about gigs we’ve been to and catching up on our weeks - so don’t stop doing that! I think the idea to buy a small bottle of wine is a good one or try non alcoholic beer. DH and I like nice whiskey but we would generally only have one - so is there a drink you can sit and savour so it lasts longer. I’m the same with ale I like the taste but can only drink a max of two before I feel full or get bloated so never gave more than that.

I wouldn’t class a bottle of wine a week as binge drinking. If you were getting black out drunk once a week that would be worrying. Perhaps swap to low alcohol wine?

We used to do that at least twice a week in our twenties and thirties, but not anymore.

Our desire to drink has dipped a lot with age; we still enjoy a drink at the weekend, but nowhere near as much.

Although we do still occasionally get drunk even though we are old enough to know better. I’d like to stop that but it is at least getting rarer.

A binge drink (defined as drinking that will seriously risk your health & damage your liver) is 6 units for a woman.

A bottle of wine (10 units) is a huge binge & not normal or healthy

I'm doing an alcohol reset right now, going to give it a miss for 6 to 8 weeks and go from there. I've noticed I am binging more. I think the summer and the good weather has increased my drinking too.

However, lately due to life stresses, I've definitely been using alcohol/wine as a way to tune off from life.

Life is getting better and I need to break the cycle of alcohol. I worry a lot about the genetic component of alcohol, I've two close family members who had issues with addiction.

I drink at 1-2 bottles of wine every friday night, have done for 20 years.
My liver function is perfect and I dont see a problem with it at all.

A bottle of wine a week isn’t what I call binge drinking

It is. The equivalent of a bottle of wine over the course of a week is very, very different from drinking an entire bottle in a single evening, every week.

It’s definitely possible. Check out Adrian Chiles’ book The Good Drinker. Or listen to a couple of podcasts where he talks about it. I think you can reduce your drinking, safeguard your liver and still have a good boogie from time to time. I drink a lot less than I used to. Good luck.

A bottle of wine is too much in one go. It's normalised in the UK so you will get a lot of posters saying it's fine. Buy a couple of mini bottles instead, your body and mind will thank you for it in time.