How much wine to you drink?

Lucashood2016 · 09-10-2016 01:39AM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

This is true. There's a world of difference between lifestyle choice, habit, or problem drinking, and actual alcoholism. Most, but not all, people in Ireland are fairly heavy drinkers, and a portion of those would also be 'problem drinkers'.

That doesn't make them alcoholics though. Five or six bottles of wine a week is admittedly not good for your health and is a problem from that perspective but it doesn't make you an alcoholic.

The real problem would be if you made a decision to cut back, or were told you should cut back, but found you couldn't despite genuine intent.

what defines an alcoholic ?

RikkFlair · 09-10-2016 01:42AM

Used to have a bottle of red every Saturday night, cut that down to a monthly one, and started cycling recently. Lost weight, feeling better, but tonight is wine night and whatever calories I burned today pedalling into that ****ing headwind are being piled back on right now :pac:

One_Of_Shanks · 09-10-2016 01:44AM

Lucashood2016 wrote: »

what defines an alcoholic ?

Good question. Answer will vary depending who you ask, which is what makes it so tricky

For me..... Someone who is dependent on alcohol. (not how much they drink)

Lucashood2016 · 09-10-2016 01:47AM

One_Of_Shanks wrote: »

Good question. Answer will vary depending who you ask, which is what makes it so tricky

For me..... Someone who is dependent on alcohol. (not how much they drink)

so you could be someone thats damaging your health but not an alcoholic

One_Of_Shanks · 09-10-2016 01:51AM

Lucashood2016 wrote: »

so you could be someone thats damaging your health but not an alcoholic

Yes. Absolutely.

But that's just my opinion. Others will have their own opinion.

PS - Someone who eats beef burgers too much is damaging their health too.
4 burgers per week is too much and bad for you.

I'm being kind of silly now but you see what I'm saying?

Jesus. · 09-10-2016 01:54AM

meeeeh wrote: »

I have no desire labeling anyone but drinking large amounts of alcohol daily because it's nice to feel tipsy is having a problem:

Who is it a problem to?

(and you wouldn't need large amounts to feel tipsy)

Lucashood2016 · 09-10-2016 01:59AM

One_Of_Shanks wrote: »

Yes. Absolutely.

But that's just my opinion. Others will have their own opinion.

PS - Someone who eats beef burgers too much is damaging their health too.
4 burgers per week is too much and bad for you.

I'm being kind of silly now but you see what I'm saying?

No I don't agree, firstly you cant equate drinking too much to food consumption, if someone eats a burger every day yet remains in a deficit they will get no ill effects , at the end of the day all food is a combination of fat protein and carbs and if it fits your macros your ok. also if you drink a bottle of wine very night or a few cans and you dont think you have an issue you do

One_Of_Shanks · 09-10-2016 02:12AM

Lucashood2016 wrote: »

No I don't agree, firstly you cant equate drinking too much to food consumption, if someone eats a burger every day yet remains in a deficit they will get no ill effects , at the end of the day all food is a combination of fat protein and carbs and if it fits your macros your ok. also if you drink a bottle of wine very night or a few cans and you dont think you have an issue you do

What?

Your question was "can you be damaging your health from alcohol without being an alcoholic."

And I said yes. Of course you can.

But now suddenly you've jumped to drinking a bottle of wine every night.
Show me where I said I said it was ok to drink a bottle of wine every night.
Go on, show me where I said that.
You can't because I didn't.

The question I answered was about being an alcoholic versus drinking too much. So I said you could eat too much of a bad food without necessarily being addicted to that food.

If you're looking for an argument you're not very good at them, and I've no interest.

Jesus. · 09-10-2016 02:41AM

Lucashood2016 wrote: »

No I don't agree, firstly you cant equate drinking too much to food consumption, if someone eats a burger every day yet remains in a deficit they will get no ill effects , at the end of the day all food is a combination of fat protein and carbs and if it fits your macros your ok.

You can't equate drinking everyday to eating bad food everyday? Why not?

If you over drink you may harm your health. If you over eat you may harm your health.

Lucashood2016 wrote: »

also if you drink a bottle of wine very night or a few cans and you dont think you have an issue you do

What issue though? You've still not explained that.

learn_more · 09-10-2016 04:05AM

I drank 2 bottles of red wine tonight, then I went to the local dive, had a few pints, had a shot of whiskey that someone sneaked into the pub and gave me in the smoking area when the security guard wasn't watching. Home now and all I've got left is a 2 litre of bottle of pear cider. I'll prolly finish it before I go to bed.

anewme · 09-10-2016 11:56AM

Went to bring the bottles to bottle bank. There were 32 empty wine bottles in month.. There's only me there. I could not hide about it staring at me in the face like that.

That was when I knew that was the end of me and the wine in the house.

I've drank once in the last three weeks when I went out and I feel so much better from it.

No waking up with a fuzzy head, no drunk dial or text.

Also, I was getting that dreaded "wine waist", that round egg shape Middle aged women get and I've no doubt it was down to the extra calories in wine.

Vanity prevailed.

I read an article in Sunday Indo. Few weeks back entitled" lonely death of a miss ireland" about The beautuful Adrienne Rock who recently passed away from alcoholism at the relatively Young age of 51. She's not much older then me. She was also not what you think of as alcoholic, stunningly beautiful and looked years younger than her age. Her family published the article to speak out to others.

I don't mind saying, it put the fear of God into me.

I believe its a huge problem with women from 30's on.

It's a mugs game.

cactusgal · 09-10-2016 12:57PM

anewme wrote: »

Went to bring the bottles to bottle bank. There were 32 empty wine bottles in month.. There's only me there. I could not hide about it staring at me in the face like that.

That was when I knew that was the end of me and the wine in the house.

I've drank once in the last three weeks when I went out and I feel so much better from it.

No waking up with a fuzzy head, no drunk dial or text.

Also, I was getting that dreaded "wine waist", that round egg shape Middle aged women get and I've no doubt it was down to the extra calories in wine.

Vanity prevailed.

I read an article in Sunday Indo. Few weeks back entitled" lonely death of a miss ireland" about The beautuful Adrienne Rock who recently passed away from alcoholism at the relatively Young age of 51. She's not much older then me. She was also not what you think of as alcoholic, stunningly beautiful and looked years younger than her age. Her family published the article to speak out to others.

I don't mind saying, it put the fear of God into me.

I believe its a huge problem with women from 30's on.

It's a mugs game.

Wow, I just read that article. So sad. And it sounds like (just from the article) it developed from her drinking one or two bottles of wine at home every night.

I totally agree with you about the 'wine waist,' it really packs on the pounds. I work a lot, and (like everyone) have hard sh*t to deal with, and I really got into having a few glasses of wine in the evenings to 'reward' myself after a long day. I really felt I needed it to relax. But that few glasses every night was a few bottles a week, way too much and very habit-forming.

This week, I did not drink at all during the week. I had one glass of wine while having dinner out on Saturday - that was it for the week!

But it honestly was very hard to not have wine. For all of the people who drink a lot during the week, but say they don't have a problem - I'd encourage you to give up drink completely for a week and see how easy you find it to break the habit.

Colser · 09-10-2016 01:05PM

cactusgal wrote:

This week, I did not drink at all during the week. I had one glass of wine while having dinner out on Saturday - that was it for the week!

Similar here..it had got to the stage that I was drinking wine every night but what bothered was the fact that I was looking forward to it so much even making sure that I didn't need to drive to the shop etc. so that I could pour a glass.

No wine bought for the last few weeks as it really is a slippery slope and too easy to get into the habit of having way more than just a glass or two.

cactusgal · 09-10-2016 01:08PM

Colser wrote: »

Similar here..it had got to the stage that I was drinking wine every night but what bothered was the fact that I was looking forward to it so much even making sure that I didn't need to drive to the shop etc. so that I could pour a glass.

No wine bought for the last few weeks as it really is a slippery slope and too easy to get into the habit of having way more than just a glass or two.

Yes, completely! It really became something that I looked forward to way too much, every single day. Fair enough looking forward to meal or a special night out, but not for glugging down wine on the couch on a Tuesday!

anewme · 09-10-2016 01:28PM

I was exactly the same!!!! Busy stressful corporate crap day needed a wind down. They say if you don't put a glass within 2 hours of coming home then you won't bother.

Me, I made sure I don't go straight home now I go to gym,I go to evening hobby class rather than sit at home. It was a great way of breaking the habit.

That said I was in Avoca one day buying lunch last week and the cold prosecco bottles with condensation on them were literally calling to me, lol. I said, oh I'll buy one for a treat later. But will power won out.

Yes it's a bad habit that's hard enough to forego. The knack for me is to keep busy.

I love wine too much to give it up, but what's seldom is wonderful.

Buckfast W · 09-10-2016 04:31PM

Regular eating of food is a weakness in my opinion, your body should be able to survive by turning the suns rays into energy like plants.
In fairness though there are plenty of things that people do that alters there mental state, alcohol being one of them but people can also get similar results from eating chocolate or exercising. I don't view having a few drinks as a weakness, has four large bottles of stout last night and watched a movie, nice and relaxing don't view it as a bad thing.

suicide_circus · 09-10-2016 04:35PM

And it's just one of my many human frailties. What's your secret to perfection?

Gunslinger92 · 09-10-2016 04:45PM

God damn this thread, I'd murder some wine right now. :pac: alas I have an exam in the morning..

Shenshen · 10-10-2016 09:19AM

One_Of_Shanks wrote: »

Good question. Answer will vary depending who you ask, which is what makes it so tricky

For me..... Someone who is dependent on alcohol. (not how much they drink)

The interesting thing about a low-key addiction is that many people don't realise that they are in fact physically addicted. They'll only notice once they try and stop that there's something actually wrong.

My mom is a good example of that. She had 1 bottle of beer each night for most of her adult life. She might once in a blue moon have another 1 or 2, but that might happen twice a year maybe, on special occasions.
No excessive drinking, she never got drunk, it didn't noticably impact her health or anything.

But then she tried to go without for a month, and it was absolutely dire. Headaches, sweats, cravings, the poor woman was in bits.
She saw it through, though (she's a tough one, my mom), and she's drinking 1 bottle of alcohol-free beer each night now. She will occasionally have a regular beer, but again, maybe once or twice a year. And it's working fine for her.

I know that recovering alcoholics are said not to be able to have even one drink, as it would slide them right back, but somehow that's not happening for my mother. Maybe because she never ever got drunk before? I don't know.

MeatTwoVeg · 10-10-2016 10:38AM

Out celebrating a friend's birthday Friday. Drinks in on Saturday. A few beers and a couple of bushmills watching the match last night.
Not exactly hungover this morning but definitely not feeling great either.
Planning not to have anything for the next couple of nights.
TBH, I'm going to be really disappointed, and a bit worried, if I find some excuse to pour myself a drink over the next couple of evenings.

harry Bailey esq · 10-10-2016 11:00AM

dollyk wrote: »

:P you can buy 5% wine. Thats lower than some beers being sold.:)

Thats just a marketing ploy.A woman who likes a solo drink at home cant be portrayed on tv as someone in a tracksuit with a cigarette in one hand and a can of Tenants super or carlsberg special brew in the other.Weak wine is nothing new,lambrusco is around years.Its just marketed to young women as a 'classier' way of getting plastered.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 10-10-2016 11:01AM

I wouldn't worry too much. I have been binge drinking heavily since I was about 15 years old. As in, I could put away a 75cl bottle of vodka in my hayday. I loved drinking. I would pre drink getting ready to go to pre drinks before going out. Pre pre drinking, if you will. I mixed my vodka with my wine, I would drink drinks so strong my eyes would be running tears from them. I passed out from trying to chug an entire glass of tequila. I would drink at least one, if not two, bottles of wine in a night just to relax, not to get drunk. And then, boom. Nothing. I quit drinking for the best part of 2015, and then when I went back drinking, it just was no longer enjoyable. Like I would still have my nights out where I'd be going out with the sole intention of writing myself off, but as hard as I would try, I would be nowhere near my old self. I got a bad dose of drinking in August, at a wedding and since then, I haven't really enjoyed drinking. I've had one proper session since (for my birthday) but even now, at the weekend, someone text me early yesterday and wanted me to go for all day drinks. Now my old motto used to be it's not all day drinking if we don't start in the morning. Now it was nah, can't be arsed. Himself opened wine on Friday night, i had a glass he had a glass and we finished the rest on Saturday night. Usually he would not have gotten within an asses roar of my bottle of wine, much less drink half of it over two nights.

Suppose my point is, pretty much everyone I know would have said I had a problem with alcohol. Certainly an abusive relationship. But, after 13 or so years of binge drinking, I just don't enjoy it anymore. I could take it or leave it, and have left it many times because I just would not have enjoyed it. So, I suppose getting drunk and drinking - that can be more of a hobby to people than an actual addiction, or a reliance on it. It was thankfully something I never struggled with in giving up, when I stopped enjoying it i could just walk away.

Now I do realise that's not the same for everyone, and that everybody is different, but not all heavy regular drinkers are alcoholics

Clea · 10-10-2016 11:03AM

I have a half-up-to-one glass of red wine in the evening, as my doctor suggested it as a good thing. I am not a wine-lover in particular so sometimes just cannot drink it all as I do not enjoy it much.
But nevertheless it became a kind-of habit and I like it.

The Bishop Basher · 10-10-2016 11:04AM

Shenshen wrote: »

I know that recovering alcoholics are said not to be able to have even one drink, as it would slide them right back, but somehow that's not happening for my mother. Maybe because she never ever got drunk before? I don't know.

There are no hard and fast rules. Everyone has their own experience. As far as i'm aware, even in AA no one will tell you whether you're an alcoholic or not. It's a realisation you have to come to yourself.

But while most self confirmed alcoholics will tell you that they can never drink again, there is a growing body of "problem drinkers" who support the idea of moderation.

The movement itself was started in 1994 by Audrey Kishline who subsequently announced that it wasn't working for her. She rejoined AA and decided to embrace abstinence. 2 months later she drove a car drunk the wrong way down a highway killing a father and his 12 year old daughter. She spent 3 years in prison and I believe she continued to drink on her release before taking her own life a few years ago.

Despite this distraction, the movement has continued to grow in popularity and provides an alternative to the idea put forward by AA that abstinence is the only "cure". From a cursory glance around their website it looks like a lot of work for those who choose that path but so much of this is down to the individual which is why it's never really ok to label someone else as alcoholic especially when in my experience, the people doing the labeling are very often heavy drinkers themselves.

FizzleSticks · 10-10-2016 11:12AM

This post has been deleted.

Ragnar Lothbrok · 10-10-2016 11:41AM

This thread started out as a fairly light-hearted one, but my God, it's become pretty dark now.

There also seems to be a pattern emerging in that it seems as though those people who drink wine seem to drink far more often than those of us who drink cider, lager, stout etc.

I had seven pints of cider Friday night (after going to the cinema), four pints of cider and half bottle of vodka on Saturday night and four bottles of lager last night watching the Ireland match. I may possibly have a few bottles on Tuesday evening as the Cork City v. Dundalk game is on telly (COME ON CITY!!!). If the match wasn't on telly I'd not even consider drinking on a Tuesday night.

Wine drinkers seem not to binge, but do seem to find it easy enough to drink at least a bottle every night. I'd be far more worried about the effects of drinking a bottle of wine every night than having one or two binges at weekends.

A good friend of mine has been in Rehab as a result of her wine drinking. A few years ago she started having a glass or two in the evenings after work, and the amount she drank gradually increased until she was drinking three bottles per night. She said that the way her consumption gradually increased was quite scary - she didn't realise how much of a problem it was becoming until it was too late.

It does seem as though it's far easier and somehow more socially acceptable to drink wine every evening than it is to drink beer or spirits. I do wonder if it's subconsciously a class thing - that wine is somehow more respectable than beer or spirits?

meeeeh · 10-10-2016 11:49AM

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Suppose my point is, pretty much everyone I know would have said I had a problem with alcohol. Certainly an abusive relationship. But, after 13 or so years of binge drinking, I just don't enjoy it anymore. I could take it or leave it, and have left it many times because I just would not have enjoyed it. So, I suppose getting drunk and drinking - that can be more of a hobby to people than an actual addiction, or a reliance on it. It was thankfully something I never struggled with in giving up, when I stopped enjoying it i could just walk away.

Now I do realise that's not the same for everyone, and that everybody is different, but not all heavy regular drinkers are alcoholics

I'm a former-ish smoker. I used to go without a cigarette for a day, smoke only in the evenings and then smoke half a box. I quit easily, I never needed any nicotine replacements, I can even smoke couple of times per year and not go back full time smoking. But if I repeat it couple days in a row I know exactly what will happen. I am addicted to nicotine. Not all addictions are the same and not everyone reacts the same. But alcohol abuse is not defined as someone not being able to stay away from alcohol constantly.

Even during his benders my grandfather didn't drink every day and he could drink without getting drunk. His organs still fell appart and his drinking still affected his life and life of those around him. My mum spent years changing his colonoscopy bag after he fell of a tree. (Sawing off a branch drunk seemed a good idea). I can't subscribe to an idea that you have an addiction only when you can't help finishing a bottle after you had a sip.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 10-10-2016 12:01PM

To me,an addiction is a problem is when you need something to function, even normally. Be that coffee, alcohol or heroin. You try walk away from it, but it pulls you back. It's something that you reach for when things are tough. You're hiding it from your family and friends. You can't stop, or stop with great difficulty.

I don't subscribe to that. People use drugs recreationally. Can walk away completely unscathed. Now, that's certainly not something I'd personally take a gamble on, taking up shooting gear on the basis I don't have an addictive personality.

I'm saying, for me personally, I drank heavily for over a decade (I'm not saying this isn't damaging) and I'm saying for me, I could stop drinking for almost a year and not even miss it. Didn't think about it. Didn't crave it. Could go into a pub and not bother with it. When I started drinking again, I just didn't enjoy it as much. Staying out all night drinking just wasn't enjoyable anymore. It wasn't fun. Getting plastered didn't appeal to me. Going to bed fuzzy and warm from wine wasn't as comforting as it used to be. So, those Sunday sessions became more of an occasional thing than a ritual. Wine in a water bottle for the cinema was replaced by water in a water bottle. A 7up replaced the bottle of wine I'd be half way through before my main course arrived out. And it's not because I was worried about my poor liver glowing like an apparition, it was because that sh1t was boring me now.

Niamhy_Li · 10-10-2016 02:40PM

I think our whole attitude towards drinking in this country is "ah sure we've all been there" anytime someone gets extremely drunk! you don't have to be an alcoholic to get extremely drunk but it seems almost acceptable that someone can go to a bar,party,nightclub etc and get drunk to the point were they can't string a sentence together, can't walk, and fall asleep in public areas and nobody really bats an eyelid because it's been witnessed so many times before.

I remember being younger and going to family events and seeing aunts and uncles get pissed to the point were they were making no sense, and on the odd occasion watching my mam stumbling around the house trying to make her way to bed after having a few too many.

Roll on 20 odd years later and I've been in that situation a few times myself it often makes me wonder if the country ever had a sensible approach to drinking would I have ever gotten into those pissed states were it would have been easier to crawl to my front door after a night out rather than trying to walk straight. I can never see the majority of people drinking in moderation in this country

ceadaoin. · 10-10-2016 03:19PM

Shenshen wrote: »

The interesting thing about a low-key addiction is that many people don't realise that they are in fact physically addicted. They'll only notice once they try and stop that there's something actually wrong.

My mom is a good example of that. She had 1 bottle of beer each night for most of her adult life. She might once in a blue moon have another 1 or 2, but that might happen twice a year maybe, on special occasions.
No excessive drinking, she never got drunk, it didn't noticably impact her health or anything.

But then she tried to go without for a month, and it was absolutely dire. Headaches, sweats, cravings, the poor woman was in bits.
She saw it through, though (she's a tough one, my mom), and she's drinking 1 bottle of alcohol-free beer each night now. She will occasionally have a regular beer, but again, maybe once or twice a year. And it's working fine for her.

I know that recovering alcoholics are said not to be able to have even one drink, as it would slide them right back, but somehow that's not happening for my mother. Maybe because she never ever got drunk before? I don't know.

There's no way one beer a day can cause physical addiction. Sure it wouldn't take long to process that so she would have no alcohol in her system the entire night and next day. People who are addicted to alcohol have withdrawals as soon as their blood alcohol goes below a certain level. So If she wasn't having the same withdrawals every day while she was drinking then she wasn't addicted.

Sounds more psychological than anything else, not that that isn't also a problem.

How much wine to you drink?

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