I was trying moderation for the last few years of my drinking. Most of the time I got it right, a few times I got it very, very wrong. But the main thing, and the reason I ultimately decided to quit, was that moderation involved a huge amount of effort. I had to time when I went out so the pubs would shut before I had too many. I would obsess about alcohol all the time. Counting units, checking how strong different beers were to see how many I could manage and stay in my limit. And even with all that work, I'd still get it wrong. A pub would have an unexpected late license and no way I'd stop once I'd already had a few. And the rules went out the window on work trips with some disasters there.
And the real kicker? I drank because I wanted to be drunk. All that work to stop myself from getting the one thing I was drinking to get. What was the point?
So I quit. Two years ago. And I'm way, way happier now. My life is dramatically better in so many different and unexpected ways.
So can you moderate? Who knows. We've all heard rumours about the mythical former heavy drinker who now enjoys one or two every now and then. Never seen it myself, but that doesn't mean it's just a fairy tale. But I'd ask myself why I wanted to moderate. For me, it would just bring stress and tension into my life for no benefit whatsoever. And if you try to moderate and turns out you can't what do you stand to lose? Besides everything, that is.