Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum and new to using a forum as a support helper with my drinking problem. It's been rough.
Alcoholism runs in the family and unfortunately
I am a functional alcoholic like my dad.
I imagine my case is a bit different from other users but we'll see! I am
looking to cut back more than quit all together. When I say cut back I mean maybe having a couple glasses of wine no more than once a week with friends. Definitely want to
quit hard liquor all together though.
My reason for wanting to do this is
for overall health and mainly weight loss. My weight started shooting up after
I quit smoking New Years before last and I found out last year that my
estrogen is very high and progesterone very low, which also attributes to my weight issues. As many of you probably know,
alcohol increases estrogen, so it's important for me to cut back. I believe smoking balanced the hormonal effects of alcohol because some studies have shown
nicotine can block estrogen.
Any who, now I am
25lbs heavier (and 35lbs from my goal weight) and quit running a few months after the weight gain since I became so frustrated with my lack of progress. I had started running in efforts to lose the last 10lbs and
was running 5 days a week for a few months. I have also noticed my face and belly have become significantly bloated and frankly I hate looking at myself in the mirror now.
The one time I didn't drink for 4 days my weight went down by 2lbs and behaved the way my diet would work when I still smoked cigarettes and before I started drinking. So I am fairly confident if I cut back drastically on drinking I can lose the 35lbs fairly easily as I have maintained my healthy eating habits for a few years now and have just started to run again.
In summation, I
currently drink 3-10 drinks a night, every night, and have been doing this for a couple of years at least. Surprisingly it hasn't effected work (as I said, functional alcoholic). In that span of time I have quit for a month 2 times and once for a measly 4 days. My
goal is to have no more than 2 drinks a week and only if I'm out being social (no more drinking alone as I have been doing) and to
lose 35lbs! Any advice or shared stories are more than welcome! 
~ Valery