Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

[ModerationNow]

Hi All,
I was wondering what your daily "capacity" was during your drinking career, :H , and how much you were able to cut down. Do you have occasional slips? Have you reached your personal goals regarding your drinking? Did you quit altogether after first cutting down?
Realistically, I'm not able to abstain (except during pregnancy) and my goals are 4 beers a day. I have moderated for a while and was pretty proud of myself but recently started slipping...I'm trying to get back to my original plan. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[5thaday]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

I'm only on day 4 of abstinence, so it's premature for me to speak of my 'drinking career' as if it is in the past. In any case, my usual daily alcohol consumption was either 2 bottles of wine, 1 bottle of wine and a pint of whiskey, or sometimes just an entire fifth of whiskey. I have sometimes tried to convince myself that beer would prevent me from drinking too much because it takes me longer to drink it, but even when I drink beer I put away at least 12 or so.

[sickofit]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

I'm no expert here as I am also getting a hold on this problem.

I use to start with about 4 beers then at least 1 bottle of wine (more on a weekend) and did this for 5 out of 7 days.

Since finding this site ten days ago I've had 1 wine, 4 days off, 2 beers, 1 day off & 2 beers last night. I just had enough of feeling like sh__t. I have changed our dinner routine which has made a dramatic difference, use to feed kids early and then we would eat after they went to bed so sometimes it would be 9.30-10.00pm which of course gave me ample drinking time....NOW we all eat together at 6-6.30pm no drinking time and I don't need a drink after dinner.

I don't think that I could do 4 drinks a day as after 3-4 I would want more. hope this helps.

p.s. why is it that giving up whilst pregnant is easy I felt the same during both pregnancies ...????????

[julie001]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

Hi,

I used to drink at least five days a week--a bottle of wine. Since finding this site, I have cut back two two times a week (usually). I still drink that bottle of wine (which is too much), but at least I am not compelled to drink daily. My goal is to drink once a week, preferable while I am socializing with others. It's been a gradual process (with slip ups), but I still feel positive about making progress. I know that I could never go back to drinking five times a week.

I'm not using Topamax or Campral, but I am using the other supps. I need to get into a routine so that I am taking them more regularly. I think the supps are very important to the healing process of the body. Just think of all the damage done to the body by alcohol abuse.

Everyone here has their own goals, but one thing we all have in common is we do not want alcohol to control our lives. Good luck. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Julie

[ModerationNow]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

Well, I will have to go AF for a while. Just found out that our bank accounts are way overdrawn and we have no more credit. Maybe a blessing in disguise. Hubby gets paid every two weeks, so there will be 0 money to spend til next Friday. By then, I'm hoping to feel less cravings for beer and hopefully stay off it for 30 days. 30 days from now, we are having family and friends come over from Europe for a party at our house and we will be serving beer and champagne and I would like to drink a little during the event...But for now, I'm off!

[mystical]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

Well, it's a little to soon for me to tell. I went for moderation and so far this week I have obtained that goal. I used to get drunk drunk every three or four days. My last drunk was last Saturday. I started this program Monday and have not drank until yesterday and I only had two beers. So six days without a drunk and I'm pretty proud of myself because normally I would have already had a good two drunk days in this week and it's just now the weekend. So only time will tell

[Guest]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

Hey Mod, my worst 3 bottles of wine or a fifth of vodka a day. Now 1-2 glasses white wine as spritzers. Huge change!
Smiles
Mary

[stillcrawling]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

I am a chardonnay girl but then began chardonany/champagne together...depending on the mood I could drink and drink as I relaxed through the evening -- next thing I knew I would have consumed a bottle of wine and 4 of those little champagne bottles -- my boyfriend would either work late or be playing tennis until 9:30 -- I had it hidden for a while but one night about two months ago he came to my place without calling first and his tennis had been cancelled -- I was lit ... he saw a side of me he had never seen ... wake up call!!! I have been AF since April 5th... but have been on pain meds due to an injury...

[zincityzen]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

I drink 2-4 glasses of wine almost every day. If I'm at a party or dinner, maybe I drink as much as 6 over the course of the evening, especially if it's free-flowing ($8 glasses of wine does actually moderate my drinking at restaurants!). I'll finish nearly a whole bottle of wine by myself in an evening once or twice a month. This is followed by an AF day. I'm rarely AF two days in a row, unless I'm on a diet or something. This is how I've been drinking for about 11 years.

[lushy]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

Good for you Janie!!!

[ModerationNow]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

Unfortunately, I'm still afflicted with this demon. I have been drinking SOOO much for many years (with the exception of pregnancies), that 6 beers are "good" for my consumption vs. 16. I'm too scared to quit cold-turkey at this point (although I have done that before due to pregnancy). But my consumption has become so high at this point that I'm truly afraid to just quit. My hope is to go down on my consumption by reducing it by one beer less each day until I have reached my current goal of 4. I can honestly say that I feel great when I do up to 4 beers a day (they are less than 5% in alcohol content and 12 oz. bottles). I'm also a tall woman (6 ft 1 at 155 lbs.), so the goal of 4 is not entirely outlandish for my frame (it certainly is better than 16, lol). I KNOW I can never stop entirely but I have to get a handle on this thing....It's strange because I'm a very organized, disciplined person in every other aspect of my life---but alcohol. What on earth is it that gets us so dependent on this stuff, psychologically more than physically for me...
I guess a big part in my life with alcohol is the association of pleasant times while drinking in Germany. Beer is not even considered "alcoholic" as in hard liquor. Kids can buy the stuff as young as 13 over there and it's not considered "dangerous", also because most people overdo it. But it's perfectly normal for the average Bavarian to drink 1 liter of beer a day and it's even recommended by some doctors. Of course, in a setting like that it is easy to overindulge without even being "blamed" (like here in the US). Not an excuse for me to drink like a fish, but maybe an explanation (to myself). My parents don't know of my affliction and I haven't tld them because I don't want them to worry about me since they are so many miles away in Germany...My dad had a big scare in his thirties when he drank a lot of Schnaps and smoked like a chimney. One morning he woke up so ill that he couldn't even drive or move, whatever. He decided to moderate drink and quit smoking. He did. He drinks 2 beers a day and only occasionally a little more in company/at parties. I do not know how he does it and I'm too afraid to ask because I don't want my parents to worry...Sorry for rambling here. It makes me feel better. I'm trying today to keep my beer consumtion down to "only" 6....I'm hoping to be able to arrive at 4 a day (for now) in a few days. Keep me in your good thoughts and prayers. Thank you all.

[catbox]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

1,2,3...bottles of wine or several beers a day...in the end it was all that and Vodka every day. I use to take days and weeks off though.
Zip Zero Zilch now! almost 9 months.
Has not been fun, but I'm happy to be sober.

[cassy]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

Hi all yes I,ve had all the drinking patterns over the years.
Came to this site feb.did 45 days AF for Lent and since then have tried to moderate.

I used to do a bottle of wine fridays, saturdays and sundays....then it crept to a few glasses on weekdays as well!!

all i can say is i feel and think differently about the booze at present and pray each morning that i dont spin out of control again.

i have psoted many times that i think moderation is so so hard based on my experience and reading posts of other moderators.

Seems like there is always the potentila for "slips" for moderators.HOWEVER for those of us who are at that stage of their journey..boy it feels so much better to be drinking less than half of how it was any having lots of AF days too...lets hope it lasts!!!

good luck anf thank you all for your honesty..i used to feel such self disgust but now I feel good to have made some changes in thoughts reklating to booze and action too.

Regards Cassy

[trixietrack]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

Let's see. for the last (approx) 11 years. I have been regularly drinking about 5 glasses of wine per evening.
I have a very social life style being that I live in New York City, sometimes maybe once or twice a month I'll drink 5 or 6 martinis with my girlfriends and join the drunk crowds in the bars and streets of New York.

A lot of the things I am involved with seem to revovle around drinking, so I end up drinking pretty much 5 to six days a week and maybe one of those days I am totally wasted and feel stupid the next day.
I have asked a group of friends lately if they think we are all habitual drunkards and they agree and say that this city is too stressful to be sober.
my goal is to be AF for most of the week, and maybe have a few on a saturday night with my boyfriend or friends I also don't want to drink just because I am home and feel restless.

humans become easily habituated to any substance

[satori]

Moderator: How much did you used to drink vs. drink now?

For the last 10 years or so I was drinking between 2 and 4 litres of 5.3% alcohol beer EVERY weekday (monday thru thursday) evening, and probably twice that amount of beer PLUS at least one (sometimes more) bottle(s) of fairly expensive wine on each of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All this was at home.

Sometimes - I would go out for some "serious" drinking.

Strangely, since I have been here, I seem to have a little more money left at the end of the month!

Satori

xxx