I was never, like, the heaviest drinker to begin with, but I had good tolerance for years: quick to a buzz, long to shitfaced, hung over exceedingly rarely.

Not going out or drinking socially has fucked that up. Now I hit a bottle of 4.7 and feel it. It's cheap, but it just ain't the same.

Anybody else in this boat, or have you maintained? What have you done to get back in training?

Alternatively, anybody give it up?

2/10/2023 11:10:26 AM

I've mostly given it up due to old age, as my hangovers are extremely unpredictable. I can have way too much and be ok the next day, or I can have 3 beers and be sick until 2PM the next day.

2/10/2023 11:16:45 AM

I don't blame you, I wouldn't even bother with swings like that.

2/10/2023 11:22:17 AM

I really wish I understood why. It doesn't make any sense to me, from the perspective of body chemistry, why it would be so different. Is it the content of the drink? Too much sugar? (I don't typically have very sugary drinks though) The tannins in whiskey, my liquor of choice?

2/10/2023 11:29:24 AM

It's probably the poison

2/10/2023 12:45:02 PM

Is this really something to strive to "train" for? To be better at ignoring toxicity? I stop at 2 drinks maximum unless it's a very long event or function in which case I might have 3. Or 2 beers at a cocktail hour and 1 wine at a formal dinner. The ultimate lightweight!

2/10/2023 4:46:51 PM

Quote :

"Anybody else in this boat, or have you maintained?"

I got tuh maintaaaain

Quote :

"I've mostly given it up due to old age"

in after due 2 age :3


oh and I never was much of a drinker bc it seems to just make me tired, and liquor made me crazy so I essentially gave that up. it's kind of nice having a cold one every now and again tho, with some peanuts or somethin'

2/10/2023 4:57:40 PM

^Wit a li'l onion on it!

2/10/2023 5:08:07 PM

this pandemic's made me a featherweight

littlemac.jpg

withalilonion.jpeg

2/10/2023 5:25:38 PM

Eh, I just drink a lot less these days. Usually during the week, I'm not drinking. .I might have a glass of wine in the evening or something. On the weekend, I might hit up an unlimited brunch if I don't have shit else to do that day, which is again somewhat rare.
Alcohol certainly hits me differently in old age. I feel like if I drink too close to bedtime, the alcohol just sits on my stomach, and makes me uncomfortable enough to disrupt my sleep. And if I drink heavily, I've realized my hangovers manifest themselves physically the next day...but then mentally for 2 days where I feel like it depressed my mood.

[Edited on February 10, 2023 at 5:50 PM. Reason : also, booze is expensive.]

2/10/2023 5:50:02 PM

Quote :

"I've mostly given it up due to old age"

Same here. 2 beers or 1 glass of wine just increase the frequency of my poops in the evenings. I like trying a mix-n-match of craft beers from Total Wine on occasion (not in one sitting), but drinking is mostly a waste of time these days.

2/10/2023 5:56:48 PM

since I started paying attention to my consumption habits a few years back, I have gone for stretches of time where I would have a six pack or more a night multiple nights a week. yet I rarely find myself tipsy or waking up hung over. my tolerance is almost certainly at all time highs. I say all this merely to add a data point to this discussion.

2/10/2023 7:39:24 PM

Yeah I wouldn’t say I’ve intentionally chosen to reduce my alcohol intake for any specific reason. The occasion to drink just doesn’t arise as often for me. My/our social circle has tightened as we’ve gotten older (partly due to Covid but also just having a growing a family). It’s extremely rare that I’ll drink more than 3 drinks on a night where I’m drinking. I usually top out around 2 drinks.

When I do drink more than that, hangovers are definitely worse. And to answer the question, yeah…I can get a buzz off 2 drinks. Which wasn’t the case however many years ago when I was a heavier drinker.

Drinking too late at night will definitely fuck up my sleep too. So I guess I do try to avoid much drinking during the week

[Edited on February 10, 2023 at 7:42 PM. Reason : Aa]

2/10/2023 7:40:38 PM

^^ On that same note, I'll go weeks without drinking at all, but if I get a kid-free week or weekend, I'll go ham and feel pretty "okay" the next day. Especially true if my work's having an All Hands week with open bars.

2/11/2023 2:18:36 AM

I still enjoy drinking in the evenings many a night. But 99.9% of the time it's beer, so that's usually a little easier to pace and a little more forgiving the next day.

2/11/2023 2:22:25 AM

I drank heavily through the lockdown period (as well as through most of the years before that), but with two small children and starting to pay more attention to my health, came to understand I shouldn’t/can’t keep that up. I had a pretty heavy drinking period to end the 2022 year, and decided to give that dry January thing a try. I made it through the month no problem and decided to keep it up through February. Haven’t had anything since January 1. I’m not giving up alcohol forever, but I’m hoping this will be a good reset and plan to make it less frequent when I do bring it back

2/11/2023 7:44:53 AM

Quote :

"I really wish I understood why. It doesn't make any sense to me, from the perspective of body chemistry, why it would be so different. Is it the content of the drink? Too much sugar? (I don't typically have very sugary drinks though) The tannins in whiskey, my liquor of choice?"

dehydration is what makes your head hurt, need to be hydrated before you even start drinkin. i buy those tubs of electrolytes to mix in water off amazon and drink powerade zero

2/12/2023 9:59:44 AM

^Headaches aren’t the problem here. It’s that yellow bile that just builds up in the stomach, causing nausea all day, until about 2 PM. It’s just not worth it anymore.

2/12/2023 11:33:09 AM

Antacid? Probiotics?

2/12/2023 2:03:02 PM

^^I have no idea what you are talking about. Sounds like you're dying.

Like, bile doesn't make you nauseous.

2/12/2023 2:03:55 PM

sounds like the pandemic's made the OP....

a bitch ass crying

2/12/2023 2:34:27 PM

^^^^^^have you lost a lot of weight since quitting?

2/13/2023 8:22:38 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ how is that going?

2/13/2023 10:44:04 PM

You are also 3 years older now…

2/14/2023 6:14:30 AM

The occasions to drink are fewer and far between these days. I tend to choose my drinks for the enjoyment of the drink and less for the effects. Mainly having wine at home or trying different cocktail recipes. But it's all in moderation these days.

It has helped that my wife is a very light drinker. And I have just stopped buying beer completely. I'll drink beer at a game or at the bar but not having it in the fridge has helped just avoid those empty calories.

2/14/2023 7:58:59 AM

Quote :

"^^^^^^have you lost a lot of weight since quitting?"

I think I am down a good 10-15 pounds, without any other significant changes. Physically I definitely feel better.

2/14/2023 12:26:07 PM