Tips and Tricks for Drinking Moderately

I hate to state the obvious here, but it seems like it's worth mentioning.....a good way to moderate drinking is to have other ways to combat anxiety and sadness other than with drinking.

 

Last drink I had was 1January. Dry since. I have been drinking N/A and some are ok and as someone posted they still take a chunk from your wallet. I feel much better not drinking. I too was also getting a sinus headache after a few hoppy beers. I have been averaging over 2 beers a day for a long time. I don’t count ABV or size so that 2 a day is an average of all beers logged into Untappd. Split a bomber 4 ways is 1 beer, a can of spice barrel Bigfoot is one beer. My goal this year and beyond is to keep my beers to no beer when I need to be up and at work early am and try not to have one when I get home at 11pm. This one is tough as unwinding and then getting in early just yells beer me Unless I’m on holiday I’m not a big day drinker so most of the time I drink while prepping food and eating said food. The other thing I noticed prior to January was I felt like shit the day after having 3-4 beers and I was also getting more buzzed than I was used to on the same amount of beers. Guess that’s just my body yelling at me.

In theory if I can stick to no beer before an early work day, no beer at 11pm that cuts out 5 days a week and I should then only be having beers twice a week, days will vary based on my odd schedule. I am going to keep buying the zero alcohol SN and try the Lagunitas. These seem to scratch that itch. If I can get to this point I can also then buy beer that is more $ than I will pay now since I will in theory be drinking much less.

Shall see how it goes. If I remember I will come back here and post my weekly drinks once I start drinking again.

Enjoy

 

I usually let myself drink 4 nights a week.
What keeps it in check is whatever im going to drink that night I already put in the fridge in a specific spot. Thats what I'm going to have ,I know it,and I can't act stupid later and pretend I didn't have too many.

 

I also try to stick to the Monday thru Thursday rule and eat well on those days.

I try to lift weights and do cardio 4 times a week (I average 3 days)

Problem is I eat and drink like an asshole Friday, Saturday, and Sunday....basically negating any progress I made during the week. So I start every Monday from 0.

This worked fine through my 20's and 30's, but in my 40's this is not sustainable.

Still trying to find my balance.

 

Lower abv beers. I didn't really start gaining weight untill I started drinking IPAs and multiple pints a day. I need to incorporate some n/a beers.

I always try to eat better than I already do. I rarely eat sweets/deserts, especially if I'm drinking I pass easy. Exercise of course.

This 1 is big. Days you want to go lighter or just have 1-2 or drink na. Find your triggers that make you say fuck it and have a extra few, or fuck it to that hangover.

 

did any of you gain a lot of weight from drinking heavily?

 

Some great comments and advice in this thread and I have tried just about anything you can think of over the years and some lessons I can share:

• You cannot exercise your way out of a bad diet.
• Not drinking during the week and then going big on the weekends doesn't work. If you don't believe me do the math on how many calories/carbs you consume, not only from the drinks but what you may eat after you get cravings from the alcohol. Now add that up over a month and then a year.
• Alcohol will effect your reasoning and inhibitions so put the one or two drinks you want during a session at the front and hide the rest if you need to.
• Alcohol effects sleep and some beers do effect me in other ways e.g. sinus issues (I see others mentioning this also) so no two beers may be equal.
• Alcohol will effect your nutritional absorption so keep this in mind with meals.
• Keep track of how much you are actually drinking and one 8% beer is not the same as one 5% beer.
• Constantly think about how long it will take to burn off what you are consuming and/or how much work you put in that day and how it can all be offset by a few drinks.

I have had to drastically reduce my beer and alcohol intake and am pretty close to giving it up altogether. It was a fun hobby and I enjoyed the years immersed in it but it did get a bit out of control and it took some time for me to take off the extra weight I had put on and was not happy with, and this is coming from someone who worked out constantly and can't sit still and had a good diet.

 

Cool thread @AlcahueteJ I’ll chime in that scotch (or bourbon if so inclined) with a pint is a nice way to stretch a session but not go crazy. I find it helps me maintain thoughtfulness. Kinda sucks banging through a 4/6 pack of something you really like and not really *tasting* it because your palate’s blown or you’re into a session and it’s all the same.

Practically speaking - I drink NA beers, usually only drink on weekends but also look for some spontaneity. Meaning, say I have an early tee time on a a Saturday maybe I’ll just have a couple NAs and take a Friday night off so I’m feeling fresh in the morning. I also try to pick out what I’m going to have that night and put it in the regular fridge, that way I’m deciding on my intake before my head is cloudy.

I think just being deliberate and intentional about what one consumes is good. Staying mindful while you’re drinking (or eating) is never going to be a bad thing. I think moderation comes inadvertently when you’re thoughtful about your consumption (and that’ll be a different threshold person to person)

 

@AlcahueteJ I use an app called drink control. Have been about 2+ years now. Def is eye opening to see how any 16oz beer over 7.5% is putting you over daily limits. Love the app though and I like tracking. I still drink plenty of beer just am much more careful how many days a month I drink and how much on each day

 

Industry here, tagged in the post but choosing to reply and resuscitate my personal handle.

It is helpful and interesting to see all the ways folks deal with this sensitive issue. When I quit smoking over a decade ago, I was finally successful just doing it cold turkey and not talking about it to anyone. At that point I had tried plans, limits, hacks, etc, and found no success.

I think what I learned about myself at the time was to be thoughtful about my goals. I wanted to be healthier, I wanted to boost my sensory perception and I wanted to stop an expensive crutch of a habit.

So personally, I don't have any great plan. I try to be mindful about what I consume, where and with whom. I rarely have more than a single beer at home with my family; I never have more than two if we aren't hosting guests. If I open something and I don't like it, I toss it. No time or attention span for bad beer!

Sampling for QC purposes is never the same as drinking. We do it in small quantities, or at home with an app-based program.

Oh, and on a trip last year I learned about glutamine rebound - which is what happens when you drink too much and wake up at 3am, wide awake. I hate that and try avoiding it at all costs, which usually kills the temptation for a third beer right quick.

 

Before a kid and COVID, I drank the two nights for which the next day I didn't have to get up for work. I also tried very hard to usually combine these with days that I wouldn't be exercising the next day (e.g. going to the gym). Well, that plan doesn't really make sense with a 3 year old, a wife that has 2 part time jobs with odd hours so that we can balance each other's work schedules, no childcare, etc. There's never a moment that I am not "on", so I just try to be conscientious of when I drink.

I'm more likely now to have many nights that I am up late, and I drank too much the last few months due to being perpetually sick, and having to work a LOT of long nights. So, I'm trying to get back to the 2 beers a week. The only thing is that 2 beers a week is sometimes 2 12-oz cans, 2-16oz cans, or perhaps 2 500ml bottles. The last 2 days I have opened two 500ml bottles (one 12%, one 10%). That's more than I'd like, but I've been pretty good, and I really wanted to drink both of those. So, I feel satiated. If I am only drinking lagers, I'll let myself have 3 or 4 instead of just 2 in a week - IF I want.

This is incredibly easy to control if I am getting reasonable amounts of sleep and/or going to the gym instead of sleeping. It's very difficult for me to control if I have week after week of late nights. It's miserable. Beer makes it less miserable. That's an unhealthy attitude, but it's true.

 

Working 12 hour night shifts instantly reduces the number of days I can drink by a huge amount.

Other than that I just wing it. Honestly I probably average 3-4 beers per week. It’s not a lot but I appreciate each one a whole lot more than when I was drinking 2-4 a night.

 

If I feel like drinking, I drink. If I don't feel like drinking, I don't. Haven't had a drink since last Wednesday. Also, I tend to take at 1 or 2 days a week off from drinks intentionally, mostly as a calories reducer, as I'm a sizeable human as is.

 

I have cut down on my consumption considerably over the past three years due to weight and health issues. I'll still drink whatever and whenever I want, but I have zero qualms about dumping half (or more) of an expensive beer down the drain if I don't feel like drinking all of it. I finally got back into cycling last summer after a long layoff; however, I absolutely hate exercising indoors, which makes it tough to lose weight during these brutal winters in the upper Midwest. Just cutting back on the alcohol makes a big difference.

TL/DR: Half a beer instead of a whole one.

 

Props

 

I love The Future Is Unwritten! I was disappointed to find that Dark Milds from some other breweries around here are in the 4-6% range.

Some things I try to do are:

• Focus on buying beers that come in 12 oz cans. This is about lower alcohol and lower cost. I haven't run the statistics but I feel like beers available in 12 oz cans have a lower, um, average ABV. Lately I'm enjoying the Zero Gravity variety pack, New England Face Hugger, Dogfish Head Nordic Spring, and Oxbow Northern Lager. I still buy fancy fourpacks but I try to think of them as treats.
• Ask myself what I want when I reach into the fridge for a beer. Am I just thirsty? Is it habit? Or am I really going to enjoy the flavor profile of a particular beer?
• Specific to me: be wary of the Tree House can list. Now that Tewksbury is open it's almost convenient for me to go on any given weekend. Of course they hype the 8% hazies but I try to focus on the lower ABV offerings.

 

Two methods:

Keep a low stock. I generally don't have more than 8-10 beers in my fridge at any given time. When it does get over 10 (usually when I go to Tree House), I stop buying until I get it down. Every once in a while, I'll get down to 0 which creates an opportunity for an exciting trip somewhere to load up. Keeping a cellar full of beer is a slippery slope, don't let it happen.

Have a weight goal, and adjust drinking habits based on whether your over/under. This keeps me in check more than anything, as I'm into fitness/nutrition.

 

For me, the best way to reduce beer consumption is to not have any in the house. The best way for me to not have beer in the house is to not go to the store. The best way for me to reduce going to the store is to not go on BA. I go on BA every day, but for the moment, I’m doing a good job at not going to the store. Having said all that, I confess that I am planning on going to the store tomorrow. I blame the Duvel tasting thread for that one.

 

There's a piece of me that wishes can/bottle sizes were calibrated to produce one standard drink, regardless of abv. The 3.1% abv dark mild I mentioned earlier would be in 19.5 oz can. My 5% abv House Lager from Jack's Abby stays in its current 12 oz can. The 12% abv Sucaba that's been sitting in my basement for five years would be in a 5 oz. bottle (Don't tell @Hotajax, ha). Obviously this would never happen, but if it did, I'd like it.