Drink Problem

[vickster]

Why not turn your lager into shandy, at least then you’re getting all the calories but half the alcohol units?

 

[PeteXXX]

I stopped drinking a year ago last May. It was more the thought of not drinking any more than actually not drinking!
I'm quite as happy with soft drinks, or coffee, now.
Occasionally, when the weather is hot and sunny, I think a cold one or a bottle of wine might be nice, but it might set me off again.

Good suggestion by @vickster re shandy!

Good luck giving up/cutting down

 

[Arrowfoot]

At this stage, don't go cold turkey as it usually leads to binge drinking. Target a day in the week, get a can or two and look forward to it. Make it a routine. Stick to that day religiously and don't change. The approach is addressing your ability to control the situation.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Since the pandemic i've managed to get into some bad ways with alchohol.

Basically, if it is in the house I drink it - Beer, Wine etc
When it's not in the house I will buy a few cans, and drink them all.
I can go a whole week without anything, but on a Friday I can down 4 cans of San Miguel and then I don't want to ride on the Saturday.
I HAVE to tone it down. If I buy less, or none, that helps.
I seem to have a reliance on it, and it so expensive to drink too.

The Euro 2020 matches havent helped, I seemed to think it was OK to watch nearly every match and to have lots of beer each time.

Arghhhh.

You've made a good first step: you realise it's a problem. Well done: many don't get that far.

 

[Tenkaykev]

There are some excellent low alcohol beers from small craft breweries available. They were dishing out Erdinger at the finish of the Berlin half marathon a few years back and it was a revelation, if you'd told me it was 0.5% I wouldn't have believed it. Adnams " Ghost Ship " is a nice refreshing hoppy ale with a hint of citrus, again 0.5%. There's a lot more available than was once the case, it might be worth finding one that suits your taste buds and sticking with that?
Very best wishes 👍

 

[Julia9054]

There are some excellent low alcohol beers from small craft breweries available.

I recommend this excellent company
https://wisebartender.co.uk/
I don't drink during the week but I often drink too much at weekends. I don't seem to be able to crack the "one or two glasses of wine and then stop" thing so every couple of months I have a month or two not drinking completely.

 

[AuroraSaab]

Some people are moderators, some are abstainers. My other half can just decide not to eat chocolate or cake and will stop completely. I struggle to moderate myself. Like the op with drink, if there is an (open) bar of chocolate in the house I'm not satisfied until it's gone.

If you are someone like me, who has tried for years to moderate themselves, the answer will always be that you are better off abstaining altogether or setting rules for when you can eat or drink.

If you don't want to give something up completely, 'If ... then..' is a good system. eg.

If I'm at the cinema, then I can eat chocolate.
If I'm at a party, then I can have a drink.
If I'm on a bike ride, then I can have cake.

If you can moderate yourself but want to cut back, counting down instead of up can work. ie. your limit is say 3 drinks, so count down - 3, 2, 1, instead of up to 3. Psychologically, it's easier to say 'Just one more won't hurt...' than to have another one once you've used up your 'allocation' for the night.

Lots of good tips on building habits in James Clear's book 'Atomic Habits', and Gretchen Rubin's 'Better Then Before'. Easy to find out what to do, but hard to make it stick though.

 

[ianrauk]

Thank your lucky stars that you haven't got an out of control drink problem rather than you like a few cans of an evening.
Alcoholism is a terrible disease that robbed me of one of my best friends a few years back and is slowly taking the life of another (he's only just out of hospital with severe kidney damage).
Good luck on cutting back on your alcohol intake.

 

[rogerzilla]

SO is a (dry) alcoholic and would strongly recommend AA. She thinks I'm weird as I can genuinely take it or leave it! I rarely drink, and it's generally only one, as I don't like the dehydration or the hangovers.

 

[MontyVeda]

Buy less, drink less. I'll give it a go. I wanted to do a month off, that was what I told myself, but I didn't last a week.
I guess like smoking, a gradual reduction is probably going to be more successful in the long run for me.
I am totally sick of it, I wan't to cut it down to a reasonable, normal, manageable and acceptable amount.

P.S. I don't get silly or drunk, I don't drink it all fast / at once, but it definately affects me and my family to a certain degree. I'll be a bt grumpy the next day rather than chilled and in control.

thanks all

buy a couple of cans instead of four and don't crack the 1st one open 'til after 9pm?

I guess that strategy depends on how close the off-licence is and what time it closes. Good luck

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've been teetotal for about 15 years now. I don't know you so don't have specific advice but ...

I recommend this excellent company
https://wisebartender.co.uk/

I too recommend wisebartender.

 

[Big John]

I read many years ago that drinking alcohol was bad for you. After some serious consideration I gave it up. I've not read anything since.

 

[Justified_Sinner]

Basically, if it is in the house I drink it - Beer, Wine etc

I got to a point in my twenties when I had to face up to the fact that I had become an alcoholic. It took friends shouting at me and pouring my booze down the sink to make me realise that there really was a problem. In a way, you're in a much better position because it sounds as if you've realised it sooner than most.
I had to ensure that there was no alcohol in the house in order to stop or I'd backslide. I also have to be honest and say that I had to stop going to pubs as well as the temptation was too great and even today, I don't like to go into pubs. Maybe you'll be OK. It is a personal journey but in my experience, most people do have the strength to stop if they want to and there is no shame in asking for help with that, no matter how difficult that is.
I replaced alcohol with endurance mountain-biking eventually (Polaris and the like)!
I've not had a drink since January 2nd 1991and I've lost count of how long I've spent on my bike.
I'm not sure if that helps but I hope you can take something useful from it.

 

[PaulSB]

@Rooster1 I fully understand and empathise with you on this one. My experience is exactly the same. I have always enjoyed the occasional glass of whisky of an evening, perhaps once or twice a week. My other alcohol would be a G&T with my wife on Friday and/or Saturday night, perhaps a glass of wine. I found I was drinking a whisky every evening, then two and so on. I was never drunk, it was never excessive and it was purely through utter boredom. I've put on 3kgs on my waist which I am very unhappy about and the extra weight, in my mind, has impacted my hill climbing.

I became very unhappy about it, almost depressed, until one day a couple of cycling buddies asked me what was wrong. I explained and they understood. Telling people gave me a greater incentive to stop. I'm back to once or twice a week. I'm drinking plenty of water during the day and tonic water with lime, orange etc. of an evening. I haven't shifted the extra weight yet but I'm confident that will happen.

There are tens of thousands of people "suffering" some sort of excess brought on by lockdown. You're not alone. Find a comfortable way to do it, not cold turkey. Good luck.

 

[yello]

Making the transition is difficult with others that know you used to drink.

My neighbour came around today. "I need a favour" he said "there's a beer in it for you"