Drinking used to be my hobby (easily 60+ pints a week) but when I turned 23 and met my wife, she, I mean I realised that I needed take better care of myself and be a bit more mature...
Only drink a couple a week now but can also go weeks without a drop. Unless I'm on holiday and can have several a day, often spread out and often with food. Mmm red wine and steak... Mmm pizza and a cold beer...
Of course, I’m assuming that the drinker is working; looking at it from own POV. Because if I was drinking 60 pints a week I wouldn’t be doing anything other than working, drinking, trying to recover, working, drinking, trying to recover. 60 pints a week doesn’t leave a lot of time for other activities, even if you swallow them at the bar one after the other.
I'm not so sure. In the 90's I used to work in bars and restaurants. We all used to consume heroic amounts of booze. Both during and after the shift. Still got stuff done. Even now you see tradesman drinking. A few cold tinnies on a hot day. Lovely. Going back in time you have the late great Fred Dibnah, liked a few beers, got a lot done. George Orwell sinking litres of wine whilst working in Paris kitchens, he wrote some good books... Even further back and people drank beer in place of water because it was cleaner.
8-15 pints a week, a couple a day at the local. Been like that for a lot of this year but have made a concerted effort recently to cut down a bit as it has been affecting my sleep and my waistline! Last 4 weeks I have had 4 or 5 pints total and I feel much better for it.
Guy at my local is known as “Johnny 5” because as well as his name actually being John, he comes in at around 5 after work every day and has 5 pj ts of Guinness. Says he doesn’t drink at home and he doesn’t drink at weekends when he’s got his daughter. He’s a roofer and I do t know how he manages it day after day with that much beer inside him!
Effects on your weight will be down to your metabolism, activity levels and how much else you eat. But with a few exceptions most heavy drinkers I know have impressive beer bellies 😱
This is true. But here's one for you: how come you rarely see fat street-drinkers? 'Jakeys' for our Scottish readers. You know, always staggering around with a tin of something strong. Generally, they're admirably thin. I think 'good food' and living a comfortable lifestyle make one fat. Likewise, you see happy content couples, then they break up and all of a sudden they're shedding the weight whilst hitting the booze every night...
Thin alkies: They probably don't eat much and just pass out, wake and repeat. They get their calories from the booze. Medium term nutrition deficit.
I remember heavy smokers used to be wretchedly thin also.
Average consumption is roundabout 10 units per day. More if there’s stuff going on at the weekend (gigs etc). Been like that for at least 10 years. Very rarely get very pissed, only get hungover after big (as in >10 pints) days at the weekend, have a normal job/family, ride my bike every day and fitter than most.
Is it a problem? Not yet (yes I know it will be eventually) in health terms, but it outweighs the other negatives which is massive social anxiety, a lifetime of insomnia and various other things.
More than anything else I just enjoy it. That’s reason enough for me.
outweighs the other negatives which is massive social anxiety, a lifetime of insomnia and various other things.
Insomnia? You will have a better quality and less interrupted sleep without the use of alcohol. Sure your physical dependency on alcohol might not let you sleep if you stop but it simply tells you that you have an alcohol dependency problem - alcohol isn't the solution it's the problem.
And if it helps with "massive social anxiety" then imo that proves, despite your claims to suggest otherwise, that you are getting pissed. Alcohol will either significantly affect your brain or it won't affect your brain in a measurable manner. If it is helping you deal with social anxiety then it is affecting your brain in a significant and measurable way. IMO
Regarding the tolerance and driving thing, that’s where I think the set-in-stone limits are a bit unfair.
tell that to one who has lost a loved one or had life changing injuries because somebody thought the limit was “a bit unfair” and didn’t apply to them.
the limit is there for a reason, it applies to everyone (except MP’s, Lords, Chief’s of police etc)
despite your claims to suggest otherwise, that you are getting pissed.
I never claimed otherwise (and stop trying to turn this into an argument BTW). If it didn't have an effect I wouldn't drink the stuff. What I mean by 'very pissed' is leglessly, slurring words head spinningly pissed, and that almost never happens these days, largely because I have a very high tolerance. As for the insomnia, I've never been able to sleep from a young age. The minute I go to bed I lie awake thinking about all sorts of crap and can't switch my brain off. Alcohol helps with that. Also see my last comment.
Guy at my local is known as “Johnny 5” because as well as his name actually being John, he comes in at around 5 after work every day and has 5 pj ts of Guinness.
£500 - £600 a month on Guinness!
Far too much.
Probably 3 -4 bottles of wine a week, supplemented by a few beers on a Friday and Saturday night.
Try and aim for 3-4 nights off during a week, but realistically at the moment its only 2-3
I never claimed otherwise (and stop trying to turn this into an argument BTW).
Okay fair enough, you were referring to 'legless pissed' and you accept that even if you are functioning it affects your brain. TBH I had missed the word "very" in "very pissed".
And I'm not trying to turn it into an argument btw, but it is a fact that many people deny the affect that alcohol has on them, as MrSmith's comment above highlights. It's also a fact that many people get rather defensive about their use of alcohol 😉
but it is a fact that many people deny the affect that alcohol has on them
Totally agree. I can't speak for anyone else but I'm extremely aware of the effects on me. I know exactly how much I consume, the potential health impacts, not to mention the financial cost, and also the perceived benefits. At some point the negatives will outweigh the positives and i'll do something about it. Not yet though. 😀
Normally a bottle of wine a week, maybe a few beers.
Many of my friends don't drink, so socialising is normally nice food / cinema rather than pub these days. Sometimes I'll have a half / weak beer if eating out but I don't like driving after drinking, even small amounts.
I used to drink far too much, for reasons. These days I try and direct my addictive personality towards positive things. Working so far...
At some point the negatives will outweigh the positives and i’ll do something about it. Not yet though. 😀
It's a similar attitude to that of many smokers - when you are young and believe that you will live forever giving up smoking isn't a priority, however there eventually comes a point when you realise that your body simply isn't young enough any longer to fight off the effects of smoking.
And of course like many drinkers many smokers believe that they can give up whenever it becomes necessary, just now isn't the right time.
I doubt that anyone who has been drinking heavily for many years isn't left with some permanent damage to their cardiovascular system, however unaffected they might feel.
It’s a similar attitude to that of many smokers
Yes it's exactly that. Without alcohol consumption I'd be a social recluse (yes sad I know but it is what it is). Yes it will have affected my health, and could affect it a lot more in future now I'm getting older. But I weigh that against a lifetime of generally positive experiences and impacts. As for whether I can give up. Who knows? I'll cross that bridge if/when I come to it.
Churchill was rumoured to have drank over 40000 bottles of Pol Roger champagne in his lifetime, and quite possibly over 100k bottles of alcohol of various kinds. He was 90 when he died. That's 26 bottles a week!
Insomnia? You will have a better quality and less interrupted sleep without the use of alcohol.
I take issue with this. For some people there may be better quality sleep - however that is measured - but my sleep is much less interrupted after a few drinks. I can guarantee that I'll sleep though the night after drinking, whereas I'm very restless and prone to insomnia when I haven't had any alcohol. Either way, I'm rarely any more rested the next day when I don't drink alcohol compared to when I do. I don't think I'm alone in this.
Churchill also had a driver, didn't have to operate machinery etc. Some of the daily volumes being discussed in this thread would result in folks being a real risk to others, not just themselves.
As regards the sleeping thing, I've managed on 5 hrs for most of my life. It makes no difference if I've had alcohol or not. What's true "generally" isn't always the case for every individual.
It's my understanding that alcohol-induced sleep isn't "good" sleep. Though I suppose poor sleep is still better than no sleep.
There might also be a difference between alcohol induced and alcohol enabled. 😉
Looking at the sleep data off my Garmin, I can't see any correlation between my (admittedly quite low) alcohol consumption and poor sleep. I'm maybe not having enough beer to spot any difference. Do you think I should experiment a bit more? 🍺🍺🍺🍺🤪
There might also be a difference between alcohol induced and alcohol enabled. 😉
Good point well made.
I’m with Daz on this one - often literally - we have sunk many (usually post-ride) pints together over the years.
I know that my drinking laughs in the face of government guidelines*, but so what?
I’m not sat in a park, drinking cider and shouting at buses.
We went out riding on Sunday, finished at the pub where we sank 6 pints each, sat in the sun, talking bollocks. It was very enjoyable. That’s fairly usual. I’m have a pretty active social life, including being out on school nights, which tends to involve sinking a few.
* As far as those guidelines are concerned; I’ve a mate who’s a GP who says they were pretty much arbitrary numbers, plucked out of the air, so I wouldn’t worry too much about those anyway
As far as those guidelines are concerned; I’ve a mate who’s a GP who says they were pretty much arbitrary numbers, plucked out of the air, so I wouldn’t worry too much about those anyway
Sounds like sensible advice. Did you meet him in a pub btw?
In other shocking news some GPs have been known to take illegal narcotics. Makes you think.
Btw you don't appear to be with Daz on this binners. He fully accepts that at some point it will affect his health and he will need to consider doing something about it.
Like I said: I’m with Daz on this.
I smoked for decades then knocked that on the head about 8 years ago when I felt I’d reached the point where I was probably pushing my luck
Thin alkies: They probably don’t eat much and just pass out, wake and repeat. They get their calories from the booze. Medium term nutrition deficit.
First post mortem I ever attended was that of an alcoholic male street drinker in his fifties. The pathologist pointed out that he was emaciated/malnourished, with all sorts of other issues. Experience showed over the next thirty years, that alcohol is far more important to many of these tragic individuals than food.
Maybe I'm not trying hard enough, but I'm pretty inconsistent, saw lots of friends this weekend just gone, but they all live in places we need to drive to, so 1 drink out with them then probably 1 when I got home. Nothing since a small red on Monday night and will probably have another glass from that bottle tomorrow night, maybe even 2.
I have the advantage/disadvantage that I can no longer stomach beer (fodmap IBS problems) and I like wine, but not enough to get really into drinking much of it. Cider I can take or leave, I find after a second pint it's too sugary even for me with my sweet tooth. Can't really do spirits either so 2 G&T's is enough.
Will occasionally have an event and drink more, but not that regular these days. So overall answer is it varies, probably more than I should, likely less than a lot of others (especially the 60 pints a week overachiever!).
they were pretty much arbitrary numbers, plucked out of the air, so I wouldn’t worry too much
I felt I’d reached the point where I was probably pushing my luck
So your reassuring words "I wouldn't worry too much" are qualified by the acceptance that at some point you are likely to feel that you are probably pushing your luck.
How will you know when you have reached that point before the damage has already been done?
A word with your GP mate? 😉
pretty much arbitrary numbers, plucked out of the air
This is true.
I'm not saying that alcohol consumption is a physically healthy thing but a limit of 6 pints a week is very, very low.
I don't know anyone who regularly has a drink, who drinks this small amount.
I would consider that almost tea total.
Varies for me. Left to my own devices i could happily do 4 to 5 bottles of red a week or 4 to 5 beers a night for 5 nights.
I try and only do 3 nights on it but depending how fed up I am Thursday is sometimes on the cards
Heavier night seems to be Sunday #Monday fear.
My nan was one of the smartest people I knew. She was very active in the garden and ate very little, but she chain-smoked rollies from a very young age and drank wine from the box from getting up in the morning until bedtime.
Then one day out of the blue aged 88 she just died!
Keep away from this stuff. They're killers!
mostly one a night, sometimes none, weekend maybe two or three units - AF beer bought online at the same time as full-fat beer enables this
My nan was one of the smartest people I knew. She was very active in the garden and ate very little, but she chain-smoked rollies from a very young age and drank wine from the box from getting up in the morning until bedtime.
I think you're being slightly sarcastic here, but I'll take the baton.. 😀
She sounds like my grandparents, all smokers, all drinkers to some extent. All dead, mainly in their 60s, early 70s, one in his early 50s. But, what I need to add to the alcohol and smoking is that they generally tended to come from very deprived backgrounds, have a terrible diet by modern standards, and have worked in some appallingly toxic places. (Nickel works, munitions factories, and so on.), and lived their lives surrounded by poor air quality and other chain smokers, as per the norm pre-80s.
Frankly, I'd be more amazed if any of them had made it to their 80s. 😀
Then one day out of the blue aged 88 she just died!
Jeanne Calment, who at the time was the oldest woman in the world, gave up smoking at the age of 117. Five years later she was dead!
I’m have a pretty active social life, including being out on school nights, which tends to involve sinking a few.
This. For example the last week:
Friday - Out with mates in Manchester, about 6 pints
Saturday - MTB ride followed by pub, then a 40th birthday party in the evening, 8 pints at least
Sunday - Friend over visiting, a takeaway curry and a few beers at home.
Monday - Down the pub with a mate in the afternoon, then ran into some other mates and stayed out longer than planned. Another 8 pinter
Tuesday - The weekly tuesday night MTB ride, followed by pub and 4 pints
Wednesday - Down the pub to see a mate who's leaving the country. Another 4 pints
And this is not an atypical week. I suppose I could stay in and not see anyone, or not drink when everyone around me is, which would be even worse. All I know is that without the social life (much of which revolves around bike riding) I'd be lonely, miserable and depressed, which IMO is much more dangerous for my health.
Too much, some social, some not. Had a bit of a scare when I just totted up last week's total. Relieved when I took another look and realised I'd counted the bottles that my wife and I had shared, rather than just my half.
Still. Not all necessary, looking to keep a closer eye on myself!
Heck, you drank in 6 days what it would take me almost 60days to get through. I think I'd wet myself after 4 pints of anything.
This. For example the last week:
Friday – Out with mates in Manchester, about 6 pints
Saturday – MTB ride followed by pub, then a 40th birthday party in the evening, 8 pints at least
Sunday – Friend over visiting, a takeaway curry and a few beers at home.
Monday – Down the pub with a mate in the afternoon, then ran into some other mates and stayed out longer than planned. Another 8 pinter
Tuesday – The weekly tuesday night MTB ride, followed by pub and 4 pints
Wednesday – Down the pub to see a mate who’s leaving the country. Another 4 pints
Fun Police have been doing the sums. ONS Stats say average pint is now £3.95. So that week in the pub has cost around £120. That is not including takeaway and beers at home.
And this is not an atypical week.
Blimey! 🥴
ONS Stats say average pint is now £3.95.
If only. Apart from the 40th birthday party which was at the cheap local cricket club it was all 5-6 quid a pint. Reckon I spend about £600 a month on 'socialising'. It's worth it.
Ignore our comments… it’s mostly jealousy (well, it is on my part anyway).
Ignore our comments…
If it wasn't for the fact that it's pissing it down I'd be on the weekly road ride tonight, and you can guess where that ends (your local actually!). This weekend I'm up in Newcastle visiting family and some old mates, which won't offer any respite.
ONS Stats say average pint is now £3.95.
I'd drink a lot more if that were the case 😀
This weekend I’m up in Newcastle visiting family and some old mates, which won’t offer any respite.
Newcastle is probably the best city to go out in right now (just don't tell anyone).
I’d drink a lot more if that were the case 😀
Yeah, get a schooner for that price and you're doing well. Assuming you actually like beer that is. I'm very much in the "drink less, drink good stuff" category. If beer was cheaper, or I was richer, then I'd drink more, for sure.
