I quit drinking and have experienced no discernable benefit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you replace wine with hot chocolate, you will not help your sleep at all. Avoid sugar all together and don’t eat or drink anything within 5 hrs of going to bed.

5 hours? Do you stay up late, eat dinner insanely early, or skip it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I’m with you. DH does dry January every year and loses 8-10lbs (now in early 50s) every year. He is a beer + bourbon drinker. I do dry January and I definitely do not loose weight. No change in sleep, energy, mental clarity, skin, etc. I do it to support my DH but but for a glass of wine (sometimes two) a day person, I have not seen reality match the hype. Happy for those who have/do, but I’m with you OP.

This is like us! My husband stops drinking for a month and the weight falls off. (But he likes heavy beers, so I get it.) I have a glass of wine a couple of times a week, and this seems hardly worth giving up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your risk of cancer has decreased, so that’s a longer term benefit.

Not if she regularly eats red meat. I like how we all ignore that one because its inconvenient but harp on the alcohol one.

Do any women regularly eat red meat?

I go months without eating red meat.

LOL yes, some women eat red meat. I probably cook it every other week. Even worse, I also eat pepperoni on pizza on a biweekly basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I’m with you. DH does dry January every year and loses 8-10lbs (now in early 50s) every year. He is a beer + bourbon drinker. I do dry January and I definitely do not loose weight. No change in sleep, energy, mental clarity, skin, etc. I do it to support my DH but but for a glass of wine (sometimes two) a day person, I have not seen reality match the hype. Happy for those who have/do, but I’m with you OP.

This is like us! My husband stops drinking for a month and the weight falls off. (But he likes heavy beers, so I get it.) I have a glass of wine a couple of times a week, and this seems hardly worth giving up!

Your DHs must be huge!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:400cal/day is almost 1lb/wk

Exactly! And my weight is exactly the same after 6 months. I wonder if this is because I'm a low weight? I did notice I became more hungry when I stopped drinking, which is ANOTHER thing-- I read that I'd be less hungry. I replaced the wine with a protein hot chocolate and yogurt. Even though this is a net zero calorie change, I had read that you'd lose weight because alcohol slows the metabolism. Nope.

You have your answer on weight - you made up the calories. Of course you are not going to lose weight.

The articles claim that you lose weight even without a calorie deficit due to metabolic efficiencies and reduced water retention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I’m with you. DH does dry January every year and loses 8-10lbs (now in early 50s) every year. He is a beer + bourbon drinker. I do dry January and I definitely do not loose weight. No change in sleep, energy, mental clarity, skin, etc. I do it to support my DH but but for a glass of wine (sometimes two) a day person, I have not seen reality match the hype. Happy for those who have/do, but I’m with you OP.

This is like us! My husband stops drinking for a month and the weight falls off. (But he likes heavy beers, so I get it.) I have a glass of wine a couple of times a week, and this seems hardly worth giving up!

This kind of makes sense, in that 2 glasses of wine a week isn't anywhere near the caloric intake of nightly drinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you replace wine with hot chocolate, you will not help your sleep at all. Avoid sugar all together and don’t eat or drink anything within 5 hrs of going to bed.

Nothing but hot lemon water within 5 hours of waking up, too. A handful of almonds at noon. That should do you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also quit 1 to 2 glasses per night 3 months ago and haven't noticed any positive changes. I was promised amazing skin and sleep. If anything, I'm getting less sleep because I'm not as relaxed when I go to bed now.

Exactly. There's been a flood of articles about how quitting a nightly glass of wine will positively impact your life. I buy that it positively impacts my life in a kind of cold statistical way. But it doesn't make your skin glow and your sleep improve and any of the other host of benefits described.

A friend of mine qhit for 1.5 months and told me that she felt no different. She seemed relieved when I told her I also do not feel any changes. I'm starting to think that my experience is widespread but that we are all inundated with messages that our lives will become magical and we will achieve spiritual enlightenment that we currently cannot attain due to penchant for a glass of wine at night. Everyone who's chimed in here says their experience was like mine. If you drank at these levels and quit and experienced measurable improvements in sleep, skin, etc please chime in.

Yes, I've seen all these Instagrammers talking about how alcohol is "literally poison" and professing to feel so much better without it. I think some of the current movement is due to the cancer risk (very valid) and some is just the buzzword of the moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never did either.

I eat healthy and always have exercised 6 days a week.

Giving up drinking made no difference.

Same. I stopped my 4-5 night a week drink or every so often two habit about 18 months ago. Zero benefits. No weight loss. Blood pressure the same. I will still have a drink or two on Friday nights, but giving up that drinking only made me think, as a recent empty nester, "well, there's just one more thing gone from my life that I enjoyed." I mentioned to my husband that I miss having a glass of wine with dinner when we go out. He berated me, saying "you don't need alcohol to have fun." I agreed, but reminded him that food and drink in fact is one of life's enjoyments. Done in moderation, it's a nice thing. Not having it anymore is just one less thing to enjoy in life.

[Anonymous]

There's also the question of under-reporting. Lots of people under-report their drinking. That one glass of wine might be a 12 oz. glass (I think 6 oz. is considered a serving.) And maybe we refill it. So, are we really having one small glass, after which I would not expect major side effects, or the equivalent of three or four? If it's three or four, I would expect to feel pretty different after giving it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your risk of cancer has decreased, so that’s a longer term benefit.

Not if she regularly eats red meat. I like how we all ignore that one because its inconvenient but harp on the alcohol one.

Do any women regularly eat red meat?

I go months without eating red meat.

LOL yes, some women eat red meat. I probably cook it every other week. Even worse, I also eat pepperoni on pizza on a biweekly basis.

That's not red meat. I eas sausage or pepperoni on a pizza once a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:400cal/day is almost 1lb/wk

Nor if you replace it with hot chocolate.
Am I the only one who noticed that?

This is the hot chocolate I replaced it with. No caffeine, no sugar. Label claims sleep benefits.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Premier-Protein-Good-Night-Powder-Hot-Cocoa-Mix-10g-Protein-0g-Sugar-11-Vitamins-Minerals-Nighttime-Blend-Magnesium-Zinc-20-Serve-1-Tub/7333214316?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101432076&sourceid=dsn_ad_82a1172e-9aef-4deb-a6c1-b1278a1d5253&veh=dsn&wmlspartner=dsn_ad_82a1172e-9aef-4deb-a6c1-b1278a1d5253&cn=FY25-MP-PMAX2_cnv_dps_dsn_dis_ad_mp_s_n&gclsrc=aw.ds&wl9=pla&wl11=online&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImMy1-uH3igMVhWJHAR2J9xh4EAQYASABEgKpzfD_BwE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never did either.

I eat healthy and always have exercised 6 days a week.

Giving up drinking made no difference.

Same. I stopped my 4-5 night a week drink or every so often two habit about 18 months ago. Zero benefits. No weight loss. Blood pressure the same. I will still have a drink or two on Friday nights, but giving up that drinking only made me think, as a recent empty nester, "well, there's just one more thing gone from my life that I enjoyed." I mentioned to my husband that I miss having a glass of wine with dinner when we go out. He berated me, saying "you don't need alcohol to have fun." I agreed, but reminded him that food and drink in fact is one of life's enjoyments. Done in moderation, it's a nice thing. Not having it anymore is just one less thing to enjoy in life.

Why did you give up drinking? The only problem with one drink a night is expense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your risk of cancer has decreased, so that’s a longer term benefit.

Not if she regularly eats red meat. I like how we all ignore that one because its inconvenient but harp on the alcohol one.

Do any women regularly eat red meat?

I go months without eating red meat.

LOL yes, some women eat red meat. I probably cook it every other week. Even worse, I also eat pepperoni on pizza on a biweekly basis.

That's not red meat. I eas sausage or pepperoni on a pizza once a week.

Pork is red meat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you replace wine with hot chocolate, you will not help your sleep at all. Avoid sugar all together and don’t eat or drink anything within 5 hrs of going to bed.

Do not do this. Dehydration will ruin your sleep