well ive finally succumbed but i spose i knew i always would at some point. pleased with myself tho as even tho we went to the pub on nov 1st, all i had was a few diet cokes whilst the others were on beer/wine/prosecco. and thanks to this thread i think ive changed the way i look at alcohol now, mainly due to the link that @wheelsonfire1 put up which was a really informative read. worth linking to again for anyone that might have missed it.
and yes 'health reasons blah di blah etc etc' which we all know anyway, what really struck a chord with me was the last paragraph.....
If you don’t want to give it up entirely, perhaps the trick is to balance the (relatively) small health risks of low consumption against the fact that having a glass of red with some friends remains a lot nicer than the other health risks we are routinely exposed to. “Alcohol is the best drug for socialising that we know of,” says Nutt. “And the whole history of humanity is socialising – we’re an enormously social species and alcohol facilitates that. The problem is that about 10-15% of people really struggle to control their drinking and quite a few people drink more than they should without knowing it.” Nutt suggests two things. “First, you should be aware of how much you drink, in the same way you’re aware of your weight and waistline, and try to reduce it if necessary.” The second point may take some practice: “Never have a drink that doesn’t give you value. Most people have one drink and carry on – but most of the value comes from that first drink.”
and particularly those last 2 sentences. “Never have a drink that doesn’t give you value. Most people have one drink and carry on – but most of the value comes from that first drink.”
we had my grandaughters birthday part yesterday in town. i walked in the pub and saw Neck Oil on tap. its one of the few that i actually really enjoy so i had a pint. then we went across the road for the meal. nothing took my fancy so i just went on diet coke again whereas before id have just chosen the 'least worst' option just to carry on drinking.
TLDR: im going to drink far less than i used to, and only drink when i feel that theres some 'value' to it, drink by drink. so the first one or two might be lovely, but if i dont particularly fancy that third one then i wont.
