r/cutdowndrinking

I've been sticking to weekend only wine drinking but am now struggling to keep to 7 drinks a week. I try to skip Friday night and then have wine on Saturday / Sunday. But this weekend, for example I'm already at 7 glasses of wine between Friday and Saturday.

Honestly I feel like it's a mind fuck anyway cause I'm not getting overly buzzed I'm just passively drinking. So I think I need to think of something else to drink AFTER I have a couple glasses if that makes sense. I normally have seltzer water so probably need to get back to that.

I'm always under 14 by the week easily but I'm a woman so I know it really needs to be 7 not 14.

Hey all, after a couple weeks ruminating over this and googling every combination of key phrases I could think of, I decided I'd just ask others for their opinions on this.

I've been sober for 95 days, after many years of heavy daily drinking. I'm 31F.

On the 29th, I'm traveling to stay with my best friend of 16+ years and on the 30th we're getting a group together with some "drunk d&d" where there will be irl challenges and quizzes with drink concoctions made for the punishments. I told her I was fine with it, I think it'll be fun. But my worry is with my liver. I was diagnosed with an F3 liver in July, around when I quit. Now, my health journey the last 90 days has been fantastic. I've lost 40 lbs, I started walking, jogging, I'm starting to play softball, I eat well (low fat, low sodium, lots of fruit and veg and protein from legumes and fiber from whole grains etc) and I started feeling WAY better even a month in to my sobriety.

Everytime I google about drinking one time with a recovering liver, I find stories from people who describe their desire to moderate after 100 days, 400 days, 2 years, as "I felt like I could drink a couple nights a week, or on weekends, or for special occasions" or "I missed it and just wanted to try it every now and then." And thus the cycle begins and they relapse and they're back a year later on day 1. That's not me. I don't particularly care to get drunk, I don't need it in my life, I'm not curious. I should just tell my friend actually, I don't want to drink, and she'll respect it. But the idea of a drink themed d&d night sounds fun and like it'll be a fun memory and I'd like to take part.

The big question is, and what I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience or knowledge of (because my doctor will absolutely tell me not to in fear of me relapsing), will the progress on my liver completely stop and push me into cirrhosis? Will it send me to the hospital? Am I signing my death warrant taking a 4th shot? Or will I slow it/set myself back a bit, have a terrible hangover, and risk myself wanting to drink more? Cause I think I can handle the latter. I know every alcoholic thinks that. But truly, I am so in love with my new, active, sober life, I'll be happy to get right back to it after that night. I'm not meaning to ask for medical advice here, just if you happen to know what one night of some drinking (I'm thinking after 3 or 4 I'm going to say my head hurts and tap out of having any more) will do to a liver on the mend from fibrosis.

Thanks for any insight 🙏

I quit drinking in 2023 and got a couple of years under my belt. There were honestly about a dozen times I may have had 1-2 drinks during those 24+ months, but I consider it a huge accomplishment with undeniably positive results.

Around January of this year, I started dabbling with an odd glass of something here or there. By summer, I was imbibing and telling myself I would "quit after the nice weather ends". All the times I had drunk before this, I never got back into the high numbers or late nights. By the end of summer, I was getting much too comfortable with a beer after work, or buying a box of wine (to share, but only with 1 other person).

Sobertober sounds like a cheesy name, but stopping/cutting down for a month, ANY month, is a great idea. It's only the 4th, but I made it through one of the biggest hurdles already: weekends.

I'm a social drinker, so hanging out with people or even talking on the phone (yeah, I'm that old) can be a BIG trigger. Maybe I'm just tired of being tired for the past few months, but I mentally didn't want to drink. My buddy had a beer, and the smell wasn't inviting; it was just stale (and it was a fresh cold beer).

I remember how much better the last 2 years of sobriety were for me. I wouldn't have what I have now if I didn't make those choices. This is my motivation to see each day, week, and this month through. I feel like that will naturally reset my sobriety, and I'll have a much easier time getting back into it.

For now, it's lots of tea, juice mixed with carbonated beverages, water with lime, cooking delicious meals, walking the dog in wonderful woods, SMART recovery, and documentaries about the dangers of alcohol. I have a lot of success drinking non-alcoholic beer and wine when I'm socializing too.

Is anyone else doing a sober October?

TIWNDWY

I go to a lot of concerts and it's almost always a guarantee that I'll be spending the next day miserable and hungover the next day. I always have some drinks before and tell myself it's going to save me money because drinks at shows are expensive but in reality it almost always means I drink far more than I would have otherwise and still drink a lot at the show. Last night I had a concert that was one I'd been anticipating more than just about any other show I've been to this year. I wanted to have a clear memory of it but still have some drinks and enjoy it so I didn't have any drinks beforehand. I had a total of 5 throughout the night at the show which is a lot less than usual for me and it made such a difference. I didn't feel awful in the morning, I actually brushed my teeth and went to bed when I got home instead of falling asleep on the couch, I was productive today instead of being miserable all day. Feels good to actually succeed in drinking in moderation

really felt the urge to just let go tonight but i knew i would regret it and i was able to hold on and just have some iced tea instead

Hi, I’m a man of 41 years old. I am asking for some advice and ways people have used to stop the weekly weekend binge.

I have basically drank since I was 18 years old, most weekends. I do use recreational drugs also, coke. This is only when drinking. It’s like it goes hand in hand.

In general, I’m fit and healthy, I train in the gym 4-5 times per week, eat relatively well, etc. I work shifts, which has me working 2 weekends and having 3 weekends off.

The 3 weekends I’m off are generally ruined by drink. If, for example, I go out on Friday evening, it usually results in me drinking and doing coke for 10-12 hours. The following day, so hung over, I barely get out of bed. The day after that, I can function but I am still nowhere near over the hangover. Then I feel massively depressed and hate myself. I promise that I’m not doing it no more, etc., etc., but then gradually, though the week when the hangover has worn off, it comes to Friday/Saturday and I go to the pub and it happens all over again.

I do have quite a big social circle with a lot of friends, which means we are all asking each other to go out each weekend. Due to there being that many of us, this means there is always some of the friends in the pub to meet up with.

If I’m not drinking with friends, I am drinking with my partner, but it’s the same situation. We go out, drink, take coke, 10-12 hour binge, dead for 2-3 days.

I really want to try to get out of this cycle. What advice or ways have people used to kick this cycle?

I’m not saying I won’t drink ever again, but would really like to chop it right down, maybe once per month or something.

Thanks all.