I don't know that this is a matter of getting it "right" so much as it is reading the handwriting on the wall. From the many, many comments I've read around attempting moderation, I've yet to see a single person here celebrate being successful at it as a long-term solution. Many come back needing support...which is a good thing...and many more simply disappear.
One person wrote his daily drinking schedule in advance for a couple of weeks or so and the rationale behind it...a very lengthy comment that I stuck with until my eyes glazed over. He insisted that his plan was rational, well thought out and afforded him the best possibility for success. Haven't heard from him since. Other people came back reporting that they brought a whole new world of hurt into their lives as a result of attempting moderation.
It seems to me that by the time you make it to SR, moderation is no longer an option. I never attempted it because that's not the way I drank. I do appreciate that most of us will hang on to our drinking at any cost, but it seems like unnecessary suffering to me, particularly when compared to abstinence.