I drink everyday & i don't consider myself an alcoholic
Posted , 15 users are following.
I am a 48 year old man and on average i drink about 10 bottles of wine a week. i feel fine look fine & am very healthy, but in gov stats im an alcoholic.
Why is this, i work abroad alot (Spain) where wine consumption is the norm.
I exercise 5hrs a week my weight in 11 to 11 1/2 stone. If i drink white or rose wine i make them spirtzers 3rd sparkiling water, 3rd wine & a 3rd ice, if i drink red then i drink a glass of still water with each glass. I also drink good beer maybe 20 to 30 bottles instead of wine for 3 days a week & drink the same amount of water with each bottle, i never have a hangover, feel slugish. i dont eat junk food drink tea or coffee or popfizz drinks i only eat freash foods no packets or takeaways i make my own. So tell me is my life style wrong?
0 likes, 55 replies
loon66 dibbleskarr
Posted
Well I just came across this interesting thread. Given that it was a year ago, it would be interesting to see where things are at for you 'dibbleskarr'. When I first read your post, I too, thought your wine intake was pretty high. And I thought it was interesting that you mentioned your mother's father and his drinking habit. Same in my family And I also went through a period of drinking 1 bottle of wine every night (I'm female). I'm also an executive and I eat healthy. And I made it to work every day including 7 AM meetings. And I exercise. I'm sure all looked fine on the outside. When I used to drink 2 glasses of wine on Friday night and finish the bottle on Saturday night (with no drinking during the week) - I thought I could always 'handle' my alcohol intake. Never would I have a problem. But like many have said on this site, it creeps up on you. Your tolerance gets better and better. Friday nights turned into one bottle and Saturday was the 2nd. Then I began including Sunday. Then a few rough days at work and a Tuesday was squeezed in. Then a Thursday. A few months passed and then it became a 'daily' ritual. I'd be lying if I didn't think it was a little 'excessive' but hey, I was functional. Looked good. High end job, good salary. The funny, social one. But I'd also be lying if I didn't admit to noticing 'subtle' health changes that began taking place. Being a health care professional and knowing that excessive alcohol is actually carcinogenic - the subtle changes I began to feel in my body were beginning to worry me. I also knew my mood would get strange. My husband began to tell me that he didn't like some of the things I would blurt out in the evening after several glasses of wine. When my teen age children agreed with him and told me what I had said word for word, I was mortified. And yet I couldn't remember a damn thing when they told me the next day. I'd also be lying if I didn't say that there were 'some' mornings that I got up for work and felt like crap. But I also figured out the many ways to avoid that. Good wine. Water inbetween. Eat well. Motrin before bed. Visine for the red eyes in the morning. But there were still some 'rough' mornings. And I got to a point where I had had enough. I picked a day and stopped cold turkey. I miss the wine and there have been some days that I am craving so badly but I'm hanging in. It has only been several weeks but feeling so much better. Better sleep, lost weight, energy and so much sharper in mind. And feeling calm and stable. I sometimes tell myself that I might have a prosecco at Christmas so I hope I can do it or just abstain altogether. Time will tell. Hope all works out for you. You might just be an anomaly.
gwen45436 loon66
Posted
Blimey, this one hit me (thread). Talk about honesty - this site is just amazing. Totally relate. I had a good job (PA to MD) always smart in suits and heels, exercised daily, lifted weights, eat no processed, cook from scratch ( 5 a day minimum). Held my job non stop until I left after 14 years to work with my husband in his Sign company. Absolutely no-one at my works had a clue to what was going on at home each evening.
I have also lost weightt (boozy weight I call it). Sleep though, you are lucky - I'm not good here. Long long nights of reading, wishing it was morning.
You are doing well, my several weeks of dropping down from what was 1 bottle a night and creeping upwards to 2, has dropped to 1 glass a night. I truly do not want to lose that. I look forward to it. But I am noticing, I am starting to want another one.
But for alcoholics it is a life long battle.
Thanks for sharing and good to see you on here......................G.
p.s. What is Motrin ?
loon66 gwen45436
Posted
Nice that you lost weight. I was gaining. Clearly, I'm too vain - another issue i had with the alcohol. Give me wine and then I ate, big time. But the belly was growing. I admire you for being able to stick to 1 glass of wine per night. I wouldn't be able to do it. I need to give myself more time. Hang in there and stick to your schedule.
Motrin is like aspirin but it's an anti-inflammatory. Works like a charm.
gwen45436 loon66
Posted
What I would not give to have a bottle again and sleeeeeeeeep. Flipping bliss.
Trouble with not sleeping is that it makes you slurry in your speech, and then you sound drunk. Not good when you are asking for a something like a half pound of cheese and it comes out like a calf hound of peas lol.
Very frustrating.
scottyH dibbleskarr
Posted
Hi Dibbleskarr. Just some info from myself. I'm 46, former college athlete, 6'1" 205 and a crossfit junkie that still runs and mountainbikes a lot. Iwas drinking 1 bottle of red a day. Probably started at 530 and stopped at 930 before going to bed. I was up at 4am for a 90minute workout before work. A few Espresso, to work by 7 and then a repeat....I felt great, was stronger than i was at 21, and my 5k times were a hair under a 7min pace. I founded my own company 15 years ago and enjoy a very high income, great family etc...THough I will admit my job remains stressful...Hopefully by 50 I will sell out and then its time to relax!!!
Anyway, last winter we were in Hawaii for 2 weeks. I probably averaged 1.5 bottles a day. Still eating healthy and running. Got home on a Saturday and had a family event Sunday starting at noon. I probably had 2 bottles of red that day. Monday around 2pm out of nowhere...bam!! HR to 100, dizzy, and extreme anxiety...a crazy amount....lasted 3 days, had insomnia, crazy anxiety, mild nausea. Before this never had any problem taking a day or a week off booze....
All I'm trying to say is be careful. It wouldnt hurt to have a few days per week of abstinence to let your neurotransmitters have a rest. Personally I dont think a bottle a day is too much if you are living the lifestyle you are...Just realize you are pushing the line as you may end up going to two bottles before you know it. You dont want ot end up where I did....I started up again slowly and still get some weird symptoms....
Anyway, good luck. Stay fit, enjoy the wine...and no, I dont think you are an alcoholic. I dont think I am either..I do however think I got myself physically dependent by binging on holiday....in the end we are all different. THough you are increasing your risks of a number of cancers by drinking large amounts of alcohol.