Starting around 40 I noticed that even a glass of wine affected sleep pretty directly. It also made me a lot less alert that evening and the next morning.

I wish that weren’t true because I did like — I still like! — the way a glass of something signaled the transition into “my” time. It was a source of pleasure. But I did pull back my drinking, and I sleep better now.

Alas.

Anonymous wrote:Yet another story in the NYT today, literally repeating, without any actual data, the same story they have run at least twice in the last three weeks. It was affirming to see the comments this morning at least questioning the reporter on why she wrote it with no data, no specifics, and no transparency. People are finally waking up to the fact that something is going on behind this growing temperance movement. It is right to question the validity of all of this.

What do you mean by this? Are there theories as to where this movement is coming from?

Anonymous wrote:I drink 1-2 glasses of wine most evenings. So moderate to heavy. I read things like that I had to pee at night or woke up at night because of the alcohol. I read that alcohol caused weight gain and if you quit drinking, it just falls off. Relationships improve, they say.

None of this has happened for me. Possibly, I may experience less anxiety. But that's hard to tell for sure and hard to pinpoint causation.

I'm not going to reverse course, I'm kind of stuck with not drinking due to a medical reason. But, I do want to say that people are kind of overhyping the immediate benefits. If you're doing dry January, do it for the mental discipline, do it for the hot chocolate. The rest of it is kind of misleading.

So says you… It’s different for everyone.

I developed a fairly heavy daily drinking habit during COVID. I quit completely, but no noticeable benefits except no hangovers. It didn’t even make a difference with weight. Everybody says no drinking is magic for weight, skin, hair but I didn’t see any of that. I trust it’s better for my liver and other invisible things, but no tangible effects.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same. I quit drinking too (with the help of naltrexone, which has been incredibly helpful. More doctors should do more to help patients. No one even knows about it).

I will say that not only do I not see any benefits, my life is also less enjoyable now. After a long day with the kids, there's nothing to look forward to when they go to bed. But I do plan on sticking with it. I don't think I could get more Nal out of my doctor and I don't think I could have stopped without it. I tried many times over the years.

Really, why? What’s the point of long life if you’re not enjoying it? I’d rather have a slightly shorter life that’s fun, than a longer one with few pleasures.

I agree. And I see it with my parents in a living care facility in their late 80's.

Anonymous wrote:LOL if I lost a lb a week from quitting drinking I’d be underweight fast.

I quit because it made me terribly anxious the next day. It made me puffy and bloated in the face. It made me sad sometimes while drinking. It made me foggy headed and unable to see my exH”s alcoholism and how I was enabling him.

Do you, OP. But your singular short term experience doesn’t reflect that of all people who quit drinking. For me it’s been a game changer.

Alcohol is super lowbrow/low vibration. Alcohol sober is so trendy out west (where I live) and I freaking love it. We have recognized how it ages us and keeps us inside getting fat and anxious, vs out experiencing the world at large.

I don’t hang with drinkers.

I am with you until your highbrow BS. If you have to put down others, you are not so klassy!

Well that’s good to know, I won’t quit then.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same. I quit drinking too (with the help of naltrexone, which has been incredibly helpful. More doctors should do more to help patients. No one even knows about it).

I will say that not only do I not see any benefits, my life is also less enjoyable now. After a long day with the kids, there's nothing to look forward to when they go to bed. But I do plan on sticking with it. I don't think I could get more Nal out of my doctor and I don't think I could have stopped without it. I tried many times over the years.

Really, why? What’s the point of long life if you’re not enjoying it? I’d rather have a slightly shorter life that’s fun, than a longer one with few pleasures.

Not the PP, but what PP is describing is addiction - she's been prescribed Naltrexone and she didn't think she could have stopped without it. She was addicted to alcohol. That's why.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have long known that processed meat - bacon, sausage, pepperoni, as well as red meat is a carcinogen and it has been recognized as such and due to the industry you never ever hear about avoiding it on a regular basis whereas right now, huge alcohol is the devil message everywhere.

What's your gut instinct about why the focus is alcohol now vs red meat, processed food, environmental factors, etc?

DP here. It’s two things: the cannabis lobby and further testing by government to see how messaging works to change society. Will enough of society stop thinking critically and follow the herd if the right messaging is repeated over and over? For the last year, the answer was largely yes, but I think people are finally starting to wake up.

+1 I'm really starting to buy into the conspiracy theory that the cannabis lobby is behind the recent negative messaging around alcohol. Even in DCUM you had a post immediately after the surgeon general's recommendation asking for recommendations of gummies or a THC drink to replace alcohol.

Very interesting!!!! I am really glad that I read this. When I heard about the alcohol study, I was like there are all these old ladies over 100 that say a glass of wine a day is a part of their routine.

Ha! I also did a quick search of cancer in Italy and couldn’t find any study about this correlation.

Certain people can drink every day with no issues, but then others of us can't, especially as we age.

I've saved a lot of money by reducing my alcohol consumption, plus lost weight

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have long known that processed meat - bacon, sausage, pepperoni, as well as red meat is a carcinogen and it has been recognized as such and due to the industry you never ever hear about avoiding it on a regular basis whereas right now, huge alcohol is the devil message everywhere.

What's your gut instinct about why the focus is alcohol now vs red meat, processed food, environmental factors, etc?

DP here. It’s two things: the cannabis lobby and further testing by government to see how messaging works to change society. Will enough of society stop thinking critically and follow the herd if the right messaging is repeated over and over? For the last year, the answer was largely yes, but I think people are finally starting to wake up.

+1 I'm really starting to buy into the conspiracy theory that the cannabis lobby is behind the recent negative messaging around alcohol. Even in DCUM you had a post immediately after the surgeon general's recommendation asking for recommendations of gummies or a THC drink to replace alcohol.

Very interesting!!!! I am really glad that I read this. When I heard about the alcohol study, I was like there are all these old ladies over 100 that say a glass of wine a day is a part of their routine.

For me, it was about the commitment to eating healthier, exercising, and prioritizing just being healthy in general.

Anonymous wrote:Get old enough and you will get up to pee even if you never drank alcohol.

+1

Get old enough and you will get up to pee even if you never drank alcohol.

Alcohol, IMO, is an addictive drug. I became addicted to it and I feel that I am better off without abusing that drug.

I never started off thinking that I would abuse alcohol but that's where I got and while I haven't see that weight loss (I replaced all the calories I got from alcohol with actual food), I am not as bloated. I feel better overall. I sleep better.

Over the time that I have "stopped" I tried to dip my toes back into it and learned very quickly that I can't to that - I went back immediately to my past abusive levels.

It's a choice that I made and I feel that choice benefits me. Are there other things that I can do to improve my overall well-being? Sure - all the crap food that is out there now is on of them too. Store bought chips and cookies and other stuff don't help.