[Closed] Benefits of not drinking?

Steady now

He's got a point though.

An alcoholic is someone who drinks more than his doctor 😀

IMO of course.

There's drinking and there's bindge drinking.

Bindge drinking is expensive, anti-social, very bad for your health and writes off whole days for hangovers. O gave that up 10 years ago.

Drinking or 'moderate' drinking is none of those things - but it's not without it's drawbacks - there's that whole driving thing - going to a party, restaurant, funeral, wedding, seemingly the whole of bloody December - and most people will want a drink or two - then it's taxis, picking up the car the next day and of course a few can become a skinfull pretty easily. I've pretty much given thats up now - mostly because it's pretty inconvenient.

I thought I'd give up drinking for February , it's shorter than January .

Neal, I know that. Having someone so glibly talk about a problem that is so damaging and difficult to stop does piss me off quite a lot though.

For your reference, I don't have a problem. I don't drink. My wife, on the other hand, used booze as a crutch after we lost our second child and, as a result of this, very nearly destroyed our marriage and her health. So please, if I am a little bit touchy about the subject of alcoholism and the damage that cheap booze does, forgive me.

Willard I can see why, alcoholism is a horrible illness see some terrible cases at work.

Better sleep and more on top of all the small stuff. I wouldn't want to completely give up but staying off it most of the time is great

For your reference, I don't have a problem. I don't drink. My wife, on the other hand, used booze as a crutch after we lost our second child and, as a result of this, very nearly destroyed our marriage and her health. So please, if I am a little bit touchy about the subject of alcoholism and the damage that cheap booze does, forgive me.

I stopped drinking some 10 years ago after my first son was born ,my best mates mum and daa had a pub locally and the 90s seem to be a bit of a blur ,at the time all weekend benders wouldnt have phased me but now ,lager just seems to want to kill me , anything after 2 pints and I know the next day , poor sleep and gut rot the following morning ,id rather have a proper cup of tea.

Better sleep , more money knowing if a lady looks fine instead of the beer goggles clouding eyesight ,and the biggest plus is not having you head down the bowl from 11am the next day

I quit drinking after my children were born..
in hindsight, as a single dad I can say that it was a foolhardy endeavour, brought about by a sheeplike adherence to popular culture..

Stressful days respond very favourably to a glass or two of your favourite tipple in the evening.. your kids will thank you for it

Abstinence is wholly unnatural to sentient mammals

tbh drank about 4 bottles of Belgian beer over Christmas and about 3 the last month 🙂

Have one regularly on a Friday lunchtime a nice German wit beer which tastes absolutely great..

I think not drinking all the time lets you truely appreciate a good drink.

I find the same with food cutting crap out of my diet and having a treat on weekends just mAkes you appreciate it more

Is that why you so glibly suggested that the rest of the world should pay more even if the rest of the world can drink sensibly? Pretty selfish attitude that, isn't it?

Try a shot of empathy as a chaser when you're next having a round.

I've pretty much given up buying alcohol, I only drink now when it's on expenses 🙂

Well having given up for January (again) I can only assume I wasn't drinking enough beforehand as I feel no different.

Abstinence is wholly unnatural to sentient mammals

Hell yah 🙂

Pretty much stopped due to health issues last march then have gradually gone back on. Noticed no difference with weight (I'm still a fat biffa) but definitely improves sleep patterns, although I dropped coffee at the same time (from six cups a day!) so that may have been an effect too.

Stopped drinking after New Year, not for dry Jan, which I'd never actually really heard of until this January, I was a bit put out by everyone seemingly jumping in my bandwagon, or off it actually.

Sleep seems better, I feel sharper, more focused, I'm a bit lighter but that could just be Christmas indulgence going, I feel smug when I see someone with a hangover, I feel irritated by drunk people, I see people in pubs, drinking, and think they're mugs, I'm enjoying a nice cup of tea more, I may have turned into what I despised. I've not done anything really stupid for a bit.

I'm not missing alcohol.

I'm not sure what to do with my cupboard full of splendid malts...

i drink on a saturday every week. pale or blonde beer. around the 4% mark. 6 to 10 pints. which as a weekly quota is not too much.
why stop something that you enjoy?

i could quite happily never go for a big lash up night out again, but its the odd pint of good ale in a country pub after walking the dog, or the satisfying cold lager after a summer bike ride, or the nice red wine with a meal, or the bloody mary at the airport before a stupid-am flight... why deprive yourself of these moments? just enjoy in moderation...

i was at a funeral on friday, boozing for maybe 9 or 10hrs. saturday was a write off and i was no company to my kids who i hadnt seen all week. then we had to go to a leaving do saturday night so it didnt take much before i was rolling again. sunday was much the same as saturday and i didnt ride my bike all weekend. admittedly this was a one-off weekend but fk that.

I intended to do dry January but I didn't think it was worth not having fun on night out. I also never really drink unless its a night out, dont see the point in wasting calories having a beer in the evening after work or something. Tbh my best and fastest road rides seem to be on a hangover (fresh air feels good and all those carbs from the night before maybe?) so I dont think it affects me too much. Would like to stop my habit of having a fag or two after work though as I know that's bad for me.

Not wasting an entire Sunday feeling sorry for yourself?

This is me when I MIX my drinks. Idiot.

There are no benefits to not drinking. There are benefits to enjoying booze and taking more out of booze than what booze would take out of you.

So you don't drink? What then. God? Tamazepam? Living good means moderation but also enjoyment. Stopping something isn't that.

I can't remember the last time I managed to drink more than 6pints.

I'm that much of a lightweight I felt pretty 'unstable' after 1 pint of Peroni this Sunday arvo... I had to have a little snooze.

No real reason I don't drink much, I simply don't drink at home, especially in winter, possibly summer after a ride, a cold beer... but I can buy a case of beer and it lasts months.

Going alcohol free for someone like myself I suspect would make very little difference. I rarely get drunk (it's been decades) and probably average maybe something like the equivalent of a bottle of wine and a couple of beers a week (to be honest I'd be surprised if it was even that high).

If you're drinking a lot and getting drunk regularly, then I'm sure it'll make a difference financially and physically.

I'm that much of a lightweight I felt pretty 'unstable' after 1 pint of Peroni this Sunday arvo... I had to have a little snooze.

My other half can't drink more than two (small) glasses of wine without feeling squiffy whereas I work with girls who can put away 1 bottle of wine with ease.

I was once out-drunk by binners female mate. She could drink 😯

Well I managed my first night without a drink since last time I was in hospital and I can report the findings:

No better night sleep
Still snored
Still woke up with a dry mouth
Don't feel any fresher / worse
Lost 2.2lbs in weight

I don't feel any health benefits tbh- I'm almost dry now, have been for a few years. But then I wasn't a heavy drinker before I stopped.

The economic benefits are twofold- obviously, you spend less on drink. And when you do drink, you need half as much to make you fall over. I had [i]one[/i] pint after a ride on sunday and I was zonked.

Havent drunk for 25 years

Only benefits is not acting like an arse when drunk, I was a hopeless light weight and would suffer for days. A couple of extra quid in my pocket. A couple of my mates look really rough these days but they are heavy drinkers.

Down sides is being like a fish out of water in pubs, find them very alien and being the nominated driver which does get a bit old.

What about the benefits of drinking (in moderation)? I quite like 2 or 3 pints in my local every now and again. It doesn't cost me a great deal, gets me out and chatting to people and improves my mood. It also supports the local community.

Benefits of drinking :

I become very witty and funny
I can dance like a pro
Girls get prettier
I sleep like a baby

Well for one people drinking doesn't cause none drinkers to develop many diseases and illnesses, where as smoking does

Tax v addiction, heavily taxing alcohol isn't going to stop alcoholics drinking, but it is a luxury so a taxable commodity IMO, but as DD says a little empathy wouldn't go amiss either.

*punch ups, A&E strain, punch ups in A&E, etc

but back to the OP, I don't drink much normally but do get squiffy about once a month or so and blotto a few times a year.

I do have dry weeks/fortnights and see some marginal gains, clearer head, weight loss, save money. Kids and a computer game addiction are the main strain on my sleep but booze doesn't help either.

Had a bad accident November 2013 and I was on heavy painkillers for a few months. Drinking was cut to zero, decided to keep it to a bottle of wine over the weekend from having a glass or two a night or a couple of beers.

Result, much clearer head, deep sleep, improved mood, weight loss and early morning rides. I really enjoy a nice glass of wine on a Friday or a couple of pints in the local on a Sunday afternoon now. Wish I had sorted it years ago.

Tbh if you only drink on Fri & Sat (or Sunday) then all is good.

I hate riding with a hangover. Thicker blood and exercise = bad news.

First post having lurked for months. Very entertaining forum. We moved out of town 12 years ago and I got into the habit of a few beers every night while either working on the house/garden or even while just fannying about. Over the last couple of years it's been four or five cans of Fosters every night. Twelve months ago i quit my twenty a day smoking habit; six months ago quit my 6 cups of coffee a day habit, four months ago I stopped buying bike/fishing mags and I'm coming to the end of my first "dry January". This is the longest I've gone without a beer for years. To be fair, I don't feel much different; possibly a bit brighter in the morning, I still weigh 11 stone, still eat the same. The fags must have made a differenced to my riding, though I didn't really notice and skipping the Fosters hasn't either. The only thing I've noticed is my interest in music has perked up again.

yunki - Member

Abstinence is wholly unnatural to sentient mammals

I once read a theory that humans changed from hunter-gatherers to farmers simply because of the ability to produce regular amounts of decent tasting alcohol. Nothing to do with a nice veggie casserole or daily loaf of bread, but they wanted a good pint of ale.

The danger is habitual drinking; drinking every night. Not to excess, just 1-2 drinks EVERY night. I think thats what makes you sluggish/fouls you.

[i]The danger is habitual drinking; drinking every night. Not to excess, just 1-2 drinks EVERY night.[/i]

Agreed, especially when the habit creeps up from 1-2

Lost 5lb from not drinking for 2 nights which seems a bit alarming as there has been no other change in terms of exercise or diet. I guess the first pounds are the easy ones to lose.

Plus you have too much energy on your hands. Amazing how relaxed/lethargic a couple does to you every evening. I've started going to sleep at 11pm+ now (before it was 10pm). Last night I had to endure a whole hour of WRC action 😀

I tried abstaining a six years ago (we were trying for kids) and didn't lose *any* weight at all nor feel any better for it.

Over the last few years though I started drinking more and decided to cut back (I still drink at the weekend but leave it during the week) and that, coupled with increased exercise, has led to a 7kg weight reduction since last September. I have no idea which of the two has caused the biggest effect on my weight though.

And I sleep rubbish when I don't drink – very restless and easily woken by little sounds.

I lost 4 stone in the 9 months before I snapped my foot off by not living in hotels, eating hotel meals and drinking every night.

The first 2-3 stone disappeared pretty much on their own but the last one required a bit of exercise too.

Unfortunately 6 months in bed after the accident followed by a pretty depressing couple of years afterwards has put most of that back on again. Mainly down to the booze which is why I decided to cut it back. Let's see how it goes.

Since the start of this thread I have been amazed how many of the 'happy clappy' squad selling hypnotherapy and herbal enemas tell you that you will get great benefits and encourage you to think of the benefits and how it will all be worth it. From what I can tell from this thread the benefits are :

Spend less money
A bit more energy
A few less rough mornings
A bit of weight loss sometimes depending on where your calories come from

Whoop de friggin doop! I shall be joining the Thursday night slow ride for a beer in the garage 🙂

Well tonight was designated drinking night so lets see how it goes.

1/2 a bottle of wine in the sauna while Mrs WCA prepares food.
Other 1/2 with the food
A few beers with the boys when they return from the Thursday night ride

If I don't wake up with a cracking headache weighing 2 stone more I will be severely disappointed!

Cutting down not cutting out
I removed approx 30 pints of beer from my diet last week

[b]1st week Summary
[/b]Not feeling that much different
Evening TV seems even duller than usual
Lost 5lbs in weight

Target
41 lbs to go

I was originally thinking 1 pound a week was a steady and sustainable rate or weight loss which gave me a completion date in December.

I know I won't continue at the current rate but might up the target to 2 pounds a week which gives me a July target date.

The great thing about setting your own targets is you can adjust them to fit the achievements 🙂

Good luck WCA. Keep at it.

After my 30 days off I can report the effects!

6kg weight loss!

Went to the pub, got pissed on much less than I used to!

Normal service has now resumed 😆

[b]1st week Summary[/b]
Not feeling that much different
Evening TV seems even duller than usual
Lost 5lbs in weight
[b]Target[/b] - 41 lbs to go

[b]2nd week Summary[/b]
Not feeling that much different but went for 8.5 mile ride on Sunday
Seems strange to be relaxing in the hydrotherapy pool without a glass of wine
Lost 3lbs in weight
[b]Target[/b] - 38 lbs to go