[jbkunt2]

I have a bad habit of drinking 4-6 nights per week. Probably 3 of them ''heavy'' the others are just 2-3 beers/drinks.

I am looking to change my ways.

I just really enjoy having a nice, relaxing, tasty drink. I look forward to it, to be honest.

I'm 29 and living in Chicago, which is a big booze/foody city and that doesn't help.

I particularly think I need to pack-in the home drinking.

How often do you drink?

Has anyone transitioned from being a regular drinker to a strictly social drinker? Any tips/advice/thoughts?

[jake1720]

I was at ~3-4 in my early years of college. Now I rarely do it.

It's pretty simple: Stop drinking.

[lavidaloca]

Once every 2 weeks.

[masoud_akbari]

just at weekends- but its normal for students at uni

[Lime]

2-3 times per week, sometimes more.

[evilhei]

1-2 night per week but rarely more then 2-3 beers at the time. Once a month I also have some wine and maybe every 3 months some whiskey.

[Adrenaline]

1 night a week, unless on vacation- then every day lol. That one night is pretty heavy though, usually going through 10-15 standard drinks.

I only drink when I have a reason to such as going out on the town with friends or going out solo to game girls. I never randomly crack open a beer at home and begin drinking just for the sake of having a drink, and I don't go on dates so there's no real reason to drink outside of Saturday nights.

Apparently binge drinking once a week is worst than having a few 3-4 nights a week though, so maybe I should change my ways.

[r1d34u]

Everyday in uni, once a week everywhere else.

[Pride male]

I quit drinking.

[kaotic]

Depends on if I have dates or not during the week. I never go out drinking on the weekdays other than that.

If they're over 21 of course we're grabbing drinks.

If they're under 21 we're just hanging out bowling or shooting pool or something, I won't drink without them.

Sometimes I won't even drink on the weekends.

[RichieP]

Very irregularly, I cut that shit out. Remember, alcohol is chemically a poison. Maybe once a month if it's a real good party (i.e. someone is buying bottle service, or I feel like splashing out and doing that in a high-end club).

At 30+ yrs I just dont need to be poisoning myself 2 out of every 7 nights. Road to ruin, especially for someone trying to better themselves and get somewhere in business, career, etc.

Just my view though. I know some people can handle it and grow old with it. To me it's poison to be minimised from now on though.

Ok here's me preaching: At 29 yrs old you're kind of at the fork in the road - keep drinking like you are, and you'll be significantly worse off in a few years than the guy who minimized his drinking, in terms of health, wealth and general life accomplishments. The brain doesn't work properly when you're poisoning it regularly. Just my 2c, feel free to ignore it though.

To transition, you need to just redefine what alcohol is for you. For me that means something for special occasions, and only then. Go two months totally sober and get used to being out while not drinking. Then just bring it back for the really worthwhile parties. For me, "worthwhile" has to be either a) a good friend throwing a big birthday party / getting bottle service, or b) a night where I want to buy a bottle and splash out. Any other night out, I don't drink.

[Easy_C]

I don't. I used to be the "glass of beer(or wine) with dinner" type of guy, and now I just don't drink. The biggest reason why is that it's empty carbs that I simply can't afford given the amount of desk work that is involved with being a student at a high-tier business program. You spend most of your day working on spreadsheets with unpredictable opportunities for exercise.

The sole exception is that I will opt for a lighter drink (usually a gin and tonic or a light beer) when I'm at a networking opportunity where drinks are being served. It gives you something to do with your hands while you talk to people.

[Hannibal]

Once or twice a week. Sometimes I drink very heavily, but I've been working on cutting that out. Also cut down on smoking as a result (~3 cigarettes a day as opposed to 10-12).

Haven't noticed much of a difference, to be honest.

[MikeS]

Usually between zero and a handful of times a month in social settings the last several years. And only rarely more than a couple of beers or drinks.
More often than not I'll get water or a Sprite with food even if I'm in a restaurant with friends. And I frequently - except for summer - prefer afternoon dates (extremely slim chances of drunken first date sex in my current country of residence anyway, even if I still enjoyed the drunken part like I did when I was younger).

The last ten years or so (I'm 39 now) I have generally been drinking a hell of a lot less than I did in my teens and twenties.

[Bkc2a]

1 to 3 beers per day 7 days a week.

[younggun]

Right now, 2-3 times a week pretty regularly. I've gotta cut that down to save money, still in uni.

I want to stop having casual beers and stick to going reasonably hard (6-10 standard drinks) once or twice a week. This is the range where I operate best with girls, enough to not feel out of place in a club, but not too much that I'm slurring words and giving off the drunk guy vibe.

I also wish I could be a hard liquor guy, but every night I've been on hard liquor in the past couple months I've blacked out.

[RoastBeefCurtains4Me]

For 15 years or so I've been drinking like you, 3-6 nights a week. About three of those nights, I'd have 8-12+ drinks, often drinking from right after work until bed time. Other nights, just 3-4, so about 40 standard drinks per week. I've been trying to back way off from this.

I've come to see that the effects of drinking go far beyond just the hangover. Even I am not hungover, I've found there is a long term shadow over my mood. Over many years, heavy drinking has kept me from facing up to situations in my life that I think I would have handled better had I been a light drinker.

Plus, I've come to see how bad it affects my fitness. Again, it's not just the calories. Those can be minimized by drinking liquor with diet soda or other low calorie mixers. However, I think the alcohol weakens the body long term, so it doesn't burn calories correctly even when you're sober, and your body doesn't respond as well to exercise. It's hard for your body to build new muscle when it's trying to repair itself from being poisoned.

Finally, I'm tired of feeling bad in the morning, from hangover. Even when the hangover is very faint, and really is only noticeable for first hour or so after waking, there's usually that point when I roll over in the middle of the night and wake momentarily, feeling like shit. I'm tired of this. I want to feel completely good and healthy, without even a shadow of this kind of badness.

My dad was a teetotaler until 40, then fell into drinking heavily for about 10 years. After that, he dropped way back, and has drank minimally for about 20 years. I see myself falling into this pattern too. I've had my years of drinking heavily, and now I'm putting it aside. I've been cutting way back for months now. I still have my nights of drinking from 6pm to midnight, but now these are less than weekly, and I drink far fewer nights per week.

[Sidney Crosby]

I don't drink that often, drinking 1-2 drinks doesn't really do much for me, If I'm drinking I drink to get drunk. So usually I only drink if I'm at a party of going to a club etc.

[AtyourCervix]

I try not to go over 2 nights a week.

[Tex Cruise]

7 nights per week, 8 to 20 standard drinks per day, I'm on my 8th (edit: make that 9th) right now. You guys are starting to make me think this might not be normal.

[cascadecombo]

^ How much do you weigh?

[big poppa]

I generally only drink until I feel the effects as well, which is maybe 5 times a month, 6-8 standard drinks each time. I did recently spend 15 days in Japan where I drank every day including 3 nights where I must have had at least 20+ drinks. I've tried to go 30 days without alcohol since then but I've fallen at the 6 or 7 day mark both times.

[Fortis]

1 or 2 drinks every two weeks or so. At the stage of my life where I am not going out that often and really have no interest in going out too often.

I used to drink 2-3 times a week, but I made a conscious effort to cut down. I feel like alcohol ages your face prematurely and I pride myself on looking good so I cut that shit out.

Of course, I make exceptions for special days: my birthday, friend's birthdays, hanging with RVF friends, but these aren't weekly events.

[RougeNoir]

4 nights a week. 1 or 2 days of binge and 2 days of a beer or two. Luckily for me, Lent starts February 10th and I'll jump on the wagon except for red wine.

[The Black Knight]

(01-22-2016 12:23 PM)RichieP Wrote:  

Very irregularly, I cut that shit out. Remember, alcohol is chemically a poison. Maybe once a month if it's a real good party (i.e. someone is buying bottle service, or I feel like splashing out and doing that in a high-end club).

At 30+ yrs I just dont need to be poisoning myself 2 out of every 7 nights. Road to ruin, especially for someone trying to better themselves and get somewhere in business, career, etc.

Just my view though. I know some people can handle it and grow old with it. To me it's poison to be minimised from now on though.

Ok here's me preaching: At 29 yrs old you're kind of at the fork in the road - keep drinking like you are, and you'll be significantly worse off in a few years than the guy who minimized his drinking, in terms of health, wealth and general life accomplishments. The brain doesn't work properly when you're poisoning it regularly. Just my 2c, feel free to ignore it though.

To transition, you need to just redefine what alcohol is for you. For me that means something for special occasions, and only then. Go two months totally sober and get used to being out while not drinking. Then just bring it back for the really worthwhile parties. For me, "worthwhile" has to be either a) a good friend throwing a big birthday party / getting bottle service, or b) a night where I want to buy a bottle and splash out. Any other night out, I don't drink.

This is pretty much where I am at now. I just see it as poison and I don't think the cost/benefit is worth it anymore.

Seems like everyone who is 30+ and drinks a lot looks like shit while a lot of non-drinkers look pretty decent. I don't really care if I feel a bit crappy the next day but I do care about aging pre-maturely and having my overall health adversely effected; I want to be able to game young chicks for as long as possible.

When I've drank heavily in the past, I could actually see the aging effects in the following days: bags under my eyes darken, glow on face gone, wrinkles lingering longer. Workout quality took a bit of hit too. Never really helped with securing a bang either (I gamed without alcohol for years); actually has costed me a few bangs when I've gotten a bit too sloppy. And all for what? To feel silly for a few hours? Just not worth it to me.

I'm probably done with drinking for good now.