need to cut back on alcohol !

[pacergal]

congratulations, sergio!

 

[Koolau]

I know this is an older thread, but when I read it last year, it inspired me to severely cut back on my drinking. I used to drink 6-10 beers a week (usually on the stronger side), and cut it down to 1-2 beers a week, sometimes less.

Lost 20lbs in a year with absolutely no other changes. Went from 205 to 185lbs - still a bit heavy at 5'10", so I've decided a few days ago to just quit, period, and start walking an hour a day. Trying to hit 170 by the end of the year

I can't believe how much my sleep improved and just how much better I feel in general. 10 beers a week (which averages out to 'only' 1.5 beers a day) could be 2500+ calories with craft beers... it's ridiculously hard to overcome that with exercise, and I didn't want to eliminate 2500 calories of quality food a week to accommodate alcohol calories. Sometimes I drank because of stress, but I realized that it was doing nothing. Not only would I still be stressed the next day, but I'd also have a headache and/or feel lousy after a poor night of sleep, which made the situation even worse. Plus I've saved some money which I put towards the kids' 529s.

So I want to thank everyone for sharing their stories here.

What a great and practical story! Keep us posted.

 

[newchapter]

I quit for two years and credit this podcast for my success: https://www.recoveryelevator.com/podcasts/ Check it out. When I thought I had it licked, I stopped listening to the podcast and alcohol crept back into my life. I am back sober again thanks to the CafeRE community. I was working WAY too much in order to retire early.. I told myself I waned to be sober for at least 1 year before I made the decision to retire at 49 yo. In any event... I have not looked back about my decision to retire early, but the bottle did re-appear during covid after losing some good friends/family before vaccines were available. Thank God I am back on a great path. Just bought a 6 acre lot in North Georgia and looking forward to building on it one day.

 

[waynezo]

Sergio,
Looks like you have made some excellent choices!
Thanks for sharing them with us

 

[RunningBum]

Congrats, Sergio!

My body has apparently self-regulated. Alcohol, especially beer, can really irritate by bladder (IC/BPS). I think it's been over 3 years since I had a beer. I miss it, but I can live without it. I have bourbon, rum, or red wine once in awhile, and it's ok if I limit it to one or two. I can certainly see how it is better for me in many ways.

 

[aja8888]

Congrats to everyone who breaks away from this disease. It's not easy and continuing to stay off with the temptations of today is a chore. I've not had an alcoholic drink in going on 15 years now, to the best of mt recollection.

I finally found my grandparents (father's side) death certificates (immigrants from Lithuania) using Ancestry software and they both died of alcoholism in the early 1930's. He was 42, and she was 37 when they died in Pittston, PA, leaving my Dad and his older sister as orphans.

So, apparently my gene pool is not that great having both parents and at least two grandparents (can't find records on mom's side) as alcoholics.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Congratulations Sergio and Newchapter! Great success stories. Addiction has horrible impacts on all those around. It takes courage, self awareness, faith, and many other good qualities to overcome. Well done.

 

[sengsational]

I credit my ring to keep me from too much beer. My sleep quality goes south real fast after 2 beers. HRV tanks. I usually avoid alcohol completely unless I've had a few good nights, and then only 1 or maybe 2 if it's a low ABV. It's harder if there's beer in the fridge. Typically we have none, but buy for when we have guests, then for the following weeks, it calls me, lol!

 

[sergio]

Congratulations Sergio and Newchapter! Great success stories. Addiction has horrible impacts on all those around. It takes courage, self awareness, faith, and many other good qualities to overcome. Well done.

I wouldn't even say it was an 'addiction' and by some definitions I'd be a moderate drinker at 'only' 1.5 beers/day on average... and there were weeks where I didn't drink at all.

But even that was causing a major decline in my QOL as I found out over the past year. I can't believe I can still eat Ben & Jerry's and Chipotle and be down 20lbs without any exercise... now I'm 20lbs within my absolutely "ideal" weight, though it will take actually dieting and exercise to get back there --- I got all my 'free' weight loss already LOL.

 

[MuirWannabe]

I wouldn't even say it was an 'addiction' and by some definitions I'd be a moderate drinker at 'only' 1.5 beers/day on average... and there were weeks where I didn't drink at all.



But even that was causing a major decline in my QOL as I found out over the past year. I can't believe I can still eat Ben & Jerry's and Chipotle and be down 20lbs without any exercise... now I'm 20lbs within my absolutely "ideal" weight, though it will take actually dieting and exercise to get back there --- I got all my 'free' weight loss already LOL.

Yes, I apologize. I didn’t read carefully enough your post. You never stated it was an addiction and I shouldn’t have thrown that out there.

Again, congratulations on the positive life change.

 

[RetireeRobert]

Except for an occasional one beer a year (St. Patricks Day when I can find corned beef and cabbage dinner somewhere), I don't drink.

And it has now been probably seven or eight years since I have even had my one beer a year.

One time at my annual physical I told my doctor this for probably the third or fourth time. He said he finally marked me down in his charts as "non-drinker".

 

[Teacher Terry]

When I was 31 I quit drinking because even though I only drank about once a year I always got drunk. I had 3 kids and wasn’t taking any chances of becoming a alcoholic. Fast forward to 14 years later my kids were grown, I was divorced and I met who would become my husband. After about a year he convinced me that I wouldn’t have a problem with alcohol and I occasionally drank.

5 years later I was drinking wine many nights which escalated once I retired to every night. On august 7, 2020 I read The Naked Mind by Annie grace. I never drank again. I told my friend and her husband about the book. They read it and never drank again. I quickly lost 12lbs. Then I started to focus on my health and lost 33lbs.

When I found out that my husband was cheating again right before Xmas my mind was clear and I felt good about myself. I don’t know that I would have left if I had still been drinking. As Annie grace said in her book alcohol is a highly addictive substance so why is it a surprise when people become addicted.

 

[Scuba]

I do still drink, but far less than I used to. Wine used to be a much bigger part of our lifestyle. We belonged to two wine dinner clubs and numerous winery clubs, and often took wine tasting vacations. About 15 years ago, we decided we wanted to reduce the focus on wine, and while we still enjoy it, we rarely drink when we aren’t entertaining others. We quit all of our wine clubs. Cutting back has improved our weight and prevented health problems from developing.

My sister died of alcoholism at age 65. Bad way to go.

 

[athena53]

One of my self-imposed rules on this, especially after I ER'd, was that I would never drink alcohol alone.

I generally have opportunities, a couple of times a week, when out with family or friends so I have been able to comply with my restriction.

-gauss

I'm alone most of the time- not complaining because I'm a bit of an introvert, but my own self-imposed rule is 2 oz. of scotch per night and I measure it. I saw alcohol destroy my Ex- first his job, then the marriage and his relationship with DS and the rest of his family and finally his health and his life. I like alcohol and don't ever want a doctor to tell me, "you have to stop drinking or it will kill you" so I exercise moderation. It also helps that overdoing it (especially mixing 2 or more types of alcohol) disturbs my sleep, sometimes gives me a migraine at 2 AM and can result in bizarre dreams/nightmares.

When I made the sudden decision to ER at 61 (politics got toxic and late DH and I decided the numbers worked), my Dad called and one of his first pieces of advice was to watch the alcohol. I think he and Mom started to see "happy hour creep" and they cut back.

Congratulations to the people who realized they needed to stop and then did so.

 

[old medic]

I enjoy good craft beers... Probably to often... and sometimes to much..
I also enjoy brewing my own... and I have several good Hi Gravity recipes.
But my overall intake is down considerably from a few years ago...

 

[teetee]

I am not addicted to alcohol but I always wondered why lots of people are addicted to it. I mean you already lose consciousness when you sleep for certain number of hours per day, why would you want to stay in vulnerable state any longer by consuming alcohol.

It destroys your health, and causes potential danger to others (thinking about all the alcohol related DUI accidents on the road). There has to be a better way to feel good without compromising either.

I am so bad with alcohol that one beer will put me to sleep for at least 8 hours and wonder where I am for 5 mins minimum after I wake up.

 

[RunningBum]

I am not addicted to alcohol but I always wondered why lots of people are addicted to it. I mean you already lose consciousness when you sleep for certain number of hours per day, why would you want to stay in vulnerable state any longer by consuming alcohol.

I don't think you understand what an addiction is. For those addicted, it's rarely as easy as just deciding to quit and doing it.

 

[sengsational]

I am so bad with alcohol that one beer will put me to sleep for at least 8 hours and wonder where I am for 5 mins minimum after I wake up.

You are certainly an outlier in this regard too. Everything I've come to conclude is that getting to sleep might be quicker, but overall sleep quality and duration is diminished. If one beer would give most people 8 hours of sleep, it would beat every sleep aid on the planet!

 

[HenryD]

This thread is not helping my cognitive dissonance on this topic!

 

[mountainsoft]

We usually have a couple glasses of wine Friday and Saturday night while watching a movie or something, but not during the week. Unfortunately, over the last year or two we have added an extra night or two to our routine. It would be nice to cut back some, if for no other reason than to save money. Alcohol is expensive.

why would you want to stay in vulnerable state any longer by consuming alcohol.

I enjoy a glass of wine with my wife, or a good stout. It's also fun to visit wineries and breweries to try new things. However, I can't remember the last time I drank enough to get drunk. Once I get beyond a couple drinks I start feeling yucky and it stops being enjoyable. So I kind of have a built-in limiter.

Some people drink to cope, because they had a rough day, or to "drown their sorrows". Other's eat a carton of ice cream. I've never been the type to solve emotional issues with food or beverages.

I am so bad with alcohol that one beer will put me to sleep for at least 8 hours and wonder where I am for 5 mins minimum after I wake up.

Beer tends to make me sleepy too. One beer (usually a dark imperial stout) and I want a nap. So one beer is usually all I can handle. I've also noticed beer makes me really gassy. I assume from the carbon dioxide. Odd since other carbonated beverages don't affect me at all.

Wine doesn't make me sleepy like beer does, but it can give me indigestion if I drink too close to bed time. Too acidic.

White wine tends to give me a headache, while red wine does not.

Hard liquors like brandy, rum, bourbon, etc. give me a really fast buzz that goes away quickly, and then leaves me with a headache and yucky feeling. That's not much fun so I almost never drink liquors.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

One beer (usually a dark imperial stout) and I want a nap. So one beer is usually all I can handle. I've also noticed beer makes me really gassy. I assume from the carbon dioxide. Odd since other carbonated beverages don't affect me at all.

I would guess the gas is from the unfermentable sugars in your stout. Unfermentable by yeast, that is; your gut bacteria find a way!

 

[Winemaker]

Since retirement almost 7 years ago, DW and I have a glass or two of white wine with a plate of fresh cut vegetables (green and colored peppers, carrots, cukes, celery, sometimes some cauliflower, broccoli, or snap peas) with some sour cream dip and/or hummus. We will have another glass or two of red or white wine, depending on the evening's entree. We enjoy wine as an condiment with our food, too, as someone else mentioned in another wine thread. Sometimes, we go dry one or two nights a week. We do not see ourselves as having a drinking problem, but others may. DW weighs about 115#, and myself about 235# and have been at these weight levels for over thirty years.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I am about as abstemious as Robbie is parsimonious.

 

[bobbyr]

You are certainly an outlier in this regard too. Everything I've come to conclude is that getting to sleep might be quicker, but overall sleep quality and duration is diminished. If one beer would give most people 8 hours of sleep, it would beat every sleep aid on the planet!

too much wine and I would wake up at 2 am sweating big time and knowing I had not really rested. I think my liver was unhappy.

 

[NateW]

...It would be nice to cut back some, if for no other reason than to save money. Alcohol is expensive.

Yes it is. My last drink was in July 2005. By not drinking for the past 16 years, I have saved at least $59,000 (based on the amount of money I was spending on alcohol just before I quit drinking, and I only drank at home). Also, I probably would not be typing this now if I hadn't quit, nor could I have ER'ed, so there is a lot to like about not drinking, if you are an alcoholic. I got sober in AA, and it took many tries to succeed.

P.S. several years before I quit drinking I estimated I had consumed at least an 8000 gallon gasoline tanker's volume of beer!