Harry01854

I loved vodka, so the one I tried was, just drink beer Monday thru Thursday and drink the vodka on the weekend. The idea being, it took longer for me to get wasted on beer and so I wouldn't drink as much and would sleep before getting wasted. Hmmmmm, I always got wasted before sleep.

But I was around AA a couple of times before this last. I thought that an easier and softer way than going to AA would be to find a deserted island and stay there till the day I die. Never got sober enough to look for the island.

No, there isn't any easier, softer way than AA and the 12 Steps. And I'm glad that God got me here.

Harry

LaFemme

Theoretically, you could find that deserted island and spend the rest of your life there but still be craving that drink. Better to be sober in the real world:-)

soberbythesea

My understanding is that the recommendation for "moderate" drinking is 1 standard drink a day for women, 2 for men. I believe the US concept of 1 standard drink (1 glass of wine) would be considered in the UK as 2 "units." For a woman consistently drinking 2.5 glasses of wine every day is not generally considered healthy in terms of any medical recommendation that I have ever read.

And my drinking a full bottle every day, which is enough to get me pretty drunk (I'm not a large woman) sure wasn't healthy at all either!

SoberJune282010

For me it was going to Friday's only. Friday's soon turned into Sunday night followed by at least 3 days of sickness. A 26er Friday, and another one Saturday, and beer on Sunday.

No moderation there!

JosetteCollins

I would not consider someone who only drank two and a half glasses of wine a day an alcoholic. A true alcoholic would not be able to stop drinking at that amount.

lildawg

I think the deciding factor for me would be whether or not they could do without the 2.5 glasses of wine.

For example, Daily Wine Drinker (DWD) is going on vacation to visit her beloved Memaw, who is a tee-totalling Baptist. DWD knows she won't drink in front of Memaw because it's just not worth the the stink it would cause. Wine will not be available at any time during the visit. If any drinking is done, it will be on the sly.

Does DWD travel with enough wine in her luggage so she can sneak her daily fix after Memaw goes to bed early? Or does she just enjoy the visit and not think much at all about her 2.5 daily glasses of wine?

You're right. Two-and-a-half glasses is not much. If you depend on it, though, I think even such a small amount takes on a different meaning.

soberbythesea

They may not be an alcoholic but they would not be drinking in a healthy/moderate way either, IMO, especially a female.

That is JMO though and obviously all this takes on different meaning for most of us... since I assume most others in this thread, like me, were most definitely NOT stopping at only 2.5 glasses. For me that would have been an extremely low-drinking day, something I'd only do once in a blue moon.

loveon2legs

Over the years I tried to moderate my drinking in many ways.. no drinking during the week (didn't work)...only drinking on the weekends(nope not that one either) switching beverage choices...wine to beer to coolers to back to wine again....and trying to control how much of it I would drink...nope that didn't work either.....it wasn't a surprise during my drinking days to drink 2 big bottles of white wine... or 3-4 smaller ones...once that ball was rolling...no stopping it!!
Its amazing how we try to trick ourselves......

AmericanGirl

All the talk of different international standards reminds me of one of my "easier, softer ways" -- a f-ing tour of international standards! Telling myself that the US standard was too strict, etc, and thus I should follow those of a laxer country.

There are many methods here I relate to. Trying to drink on the weekends only; only drinking beer and wine; setting a cap for the night (the most ridiculous method, prob, especially when I would do things like have "one glass" that was a 10 oz cup full); trying to be moderate but only get ripping drunk on special occasions; buying boxed wine instead of bottles because I convinced myself I would drink less if I didn't know exactly how much it was (as opposed to finishing one bottle every night (plus cocktails usually)); and, here's a great one -- having a drink or two before a party "to take the edge off" so that "when I got to the party, I wouldn't want to drink as much as quickly and thus get too drunk" (uh? ha); another ridiculous one -- being glad that certain drugs made me drink less (i.e, "well, I'm stoned out of my mind, but at least I didn't drink much"). And then there were days I successfully did moderate -- and felt like hell the whole time.

Good to hash this one out.

GettingStronger2

American Girl, I have to laugh. . .i would not buy boxed wine because I didn't know how much I was drinking. . .if i had the bottle, that would be it. The box seemed endless. Until it was the end. . .and well, I would be at mine.

Supercrew

Let me count the ways....
Weekends only
Drank beer only
Didn't drink at the house
Didn't keep beer or booze at the house
Didn't buy beer or booze
Drank water or soda between drinks
Bought Kudzu (herb) to help me drink slower
Walked or worked out after drinking
Bought literature on how to drink myself sober
Only drank after 6PM and before 12A
Only drink with friends
Only drink on special occassions
Only drink when I was out of town
Only drank when I was at home
Bought smaller bottle of Vodka and would make it last 2 1/2 nights
Only drank 3 tall boys before I got home from work
Only drink on the golf course
Only drink at the bar
Only drink Vodka
Only drink Friday, Saturday, Sunday recover Monday unless I needed a picked me up from the weekend take Tuesday off, drink light wednesday night so I didn't feel bad Friday AM to start the weekend session.

By the time I finished I was drinking fulltime about 5 days a week, normally 12-15 beers per day, and a half a bottle of vodka each of those nights....so much for softer and easier!......But I thought I was trying to moderate!!

Boleo

I duck-taped my drinking glass to a 35lb dumb-bell. It just caused me to learn how to drink like a dog (LOL!).

AmericanGirl

Those endless boxes, ha! Yeah. It never worked as far as I can remember; I think it just made me feel better to imagine it did. I also switched drinks around a lot throughout the night to confuse myself about quantities . . .and because I liked to pretend that there was such a thing as pre-dinner, dinner, and post-dinner appropriate drinks.

If I had just one bottle of wine in the house . . . sometimes that worked . . . but other times sometimes horrible things happened, like downing triple sec if I was all out of beer and liquor. I could almost puke just thinking about it.

Supercrew

I wished for the endless bottle, I would buy the big one hoping it would last longer, but it seemed to be gone before I knew it. Don't even ask me about the time I bought the keg for a party where about 5 beer drinkers showed up.....that was a fun 2 days trying to empty it so I could return it and get my deposit.

A normal person would have taped down the tap and let it run dry.....not me, couldn't let any of that precious beer go to waste!! What an idiot!!

Boleo

Reminds me of an old joke about an alcoholic:
__________________________________________________ __________

"This drunk was walking along the beach one day when he found an old bottle washed up on shore. He opened the bottle and a Genie popped out. The genie said "I am so grateful to you for releasing me from that bottle that I am going to grant you 3 wishes.

The drunk wished for a bottle of booze. The genie caused one to appear in his hand. The drunk immediately drank it down.

The Genie asked him what would be his 2nd wish. The drunk asked for another bottle of booze just like the first. The Genie said to him "How about I give you a self-refilling bottle that never runs dry?

The drunk said yes - the Genie produced the bottle - the drunk immediately drank it down - the bottle immediately refilled itself.

The Genie asked him what he wanted for his 3rd wish? The drunk replied "I want another bottle just like the second".

HReady

Heck that is 2 glasses of wine to me in my Favorite crystal wine glasses.

HReady

That made me LOL!

ElegantlyWasted

"Only drink Vodka"

That'l get 'er done...
Me too... Very calorie efficient!

HReady

Ain't that the Truth!

ElegantlyWasted

"Walked or worked out after drinking"
So relate...
1) Drank while using the treadmill
2) biking ui =ed a broken collar bone