I Drink 750ml Red Wine Every Night

This is an good book

Drinking, A Love Story - Caroline Knapp

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Hello from the OP nearly 8 years later! I see this thread was recently contributed to.

Not long after the initial run of this thread I felt uneasy about my 750ml per night habit, so I switched it to 4x a week, on Sun-Tue-Thu-Sat nights. I have followed this schedule religiously for several years, enjoying tea on Mon-Wed-Fri nights. I don't miss 7x a week. I don't feel guilty about 4x a week, 3L a week total.

I'm willing to accept something: I may very well be an alcoholic. There are many different kinds of alcoholics. Some (like me) obsess over the alcohol schedule, and how important that is to them. I think about this a lot, therefore, my brain may very well be wired to alcoholism. But I will continue with this most satisfying/enjoyable schedule vice abstaining. l am what I am.

I welcome your continued thoughts on this. Thanks.

[quote]Wino? wrote:

And quite honestly, I don't think this is a bad thing. I love red wine. I don't get drunk. I space it over about 6hrs.

If you don't get drunk -- or at least a buzz -- what's the point? Imbibing all those empty calories.

You should cut back to one or two glasses a night. If you can't do that, you have a problem.

My wife has drunk at minimum one bottle of red wine per night plus a half bottle (or more) for at least the last ten to 15 years. As a result she has gained about 50 pounds. I refer to her in my mind as a well-functioning alcoholic. She calls her wine consumption “ winding down.” Any discussion of this “problem” is met with silence and inaction. I’ve had it.

Re: discussion of alcohol effects on the liver

It is extremely variable in how regular alcohol use/abuse affects somebody. Some can drink relatively little and pass away from complications of cirrhosis in their late 20s, while on the other extreme some can drink regularly and never get a hint of cirrhosis. This is largely, but not entirely, genetically determined. Most, if not all, will get some degree of liver inflammation with regular, heavy intake, but the response to that inflammation can be one of fibrosis surrounding regenerative nodules (= cirrhosis) or no fibrosis and full healing. For runners, it is important to note that drinking to any degree is performance-decreasing, as oxidative and energetic stress is placed on the liver that would otherwise be used for metabolism for optimal muscle function and recovery.

JamesD wrote:

My wife has drunk at minimum one bottle of red wine per night plus a half bottle (or more) for at least the last ten to 15 years. As a result she has gained about 50 pounds. I refer to her in my mind as a well-functioning alcoholic. She calls her wine consumption “ winding down.” Any discussion of this “problem” is met with silence and inaction. I’ve had it.

Does she wear the pants in the family? If so, you'd better be careful. ?

I was in a similar habit for 3 years. I’m also in my 40’s.

I would say I wasn’t drinking a full bottle of wine, but at least 1/2 or 2/3 nightly, and probably 1-2 days per week I’d get close to a full bottle.

I’d wake up most nights sweating when I drank to much and always be a bit pissed at myself.

It didn’t seem to have a huge impact on weight or performance, but that’s a hard thing to test since i still drink.

I switched to whisky 1-3 drinks.... lately which has definitely cut way down on the volume, but still hoping that my current drinking hobby doesn’t develop into a problem. I feel in total control but that is what everyone with a problem says.

I often stop drinking for 3-4 weeks before major races to drop that last kilo. It seems to work, and I admit I do feel slightly better overall.

Wino? wrote:

And quite honestly, I don't think this is a bad thing. I love red wine. I don't get drunk. I space it over about 6hrs. I feel fine the next day. My running is not affected.

But several people around me have expressed shock / dismay / concern about this. Should I be having some doubts, good people of letsrun?

I know there will be the usual amount of trollism, but, this is a serious question. Thanks.

You're an alcoholic. Please seek help.

Vaporflyer wrote:

Wino? wrote:

And quite honestly, I don't think this is a bad thing. I love red wine. I don't get drunk. I space it over about 6hrs. I feel fine the next day. My running is not affected.

But several people around me have expressed shock / dismay / concern about this. Should I be having some doubts, good people of letsrun?

I know there will be the usual amount of trollism, but, this is a serious question. Thanks.

You're an alcoholic. Please seek help.

Back when I was a medical student my first patient to die when I was on shift was a 60 year old lady who had the exact same amount of alcohol consumption as you (over a 15-20 year period). She died of liver failure.

Be careful.

100m wrote:

Re: discussion of alcohol effects on the liver

It is extremely variable in how regular alcohol use/abuse affects somebody. Some can drink relatively little and pass away from complications of cirrhosis in their late 20s, while on the other extreme some can drink regularly and never get a hint of cirrhosis. This is largely, but not entirely, genetically determined. Most, if not all, will get some degree of liver inflammation with regular, heavy intake, but the response to that inflammation can be one of fibrosis surrounding regenerative nodules (= cirrhosis) or no fibrosis and full healing. For runners, it is important to note that drinking to any degree is performance-decreasing, as oxidative and energetic stress is placed on the liver that would otherwise be used for metabolism for optimal muscle function and recovery.

Bummer man.

In medical sense OP is a alcohol dependent, and consumption of 750ml of wine daily is associated with increased risk for all sorts of adverse health conditions.

In other terms, OP is an alcoholic, whether OP admits it or not.

I quit red wine on 3/9. I was drinking about 1/2 bottle an evening, sometimes more. I went through withdrawal of sweats and headaches. After 9 days the headaches persist but not as bad. I read it can take 6 months for them to cease. I quit realizing I was drinking too regularly and I want to lose weight. I have lost 3 lbs. I expect to not drink again. I am 71 years old.

My wife is around half bottle of red a night. When we met it was zero drinks 8 years ago. But in the meantime, I went from zero drinks to half a bottle of bourbon per night. That is bad. In August I realized I was in danger of being an alcoholic (obviously by definition I was), but I'm talking about NEEDING a drink to get through the day.

I cut back and go through about two bottles a month now, but the issue is those are binge still. So about 4 times a month I drink half a bottle.

Gotta clean that up.

Basically, you are having 4 drinks per day.

How old are you?

Four is borderline addiction. Too much for me, I'm prone to get depressed if I drink that much.

I have 1 - 2 glasses red wine per day, it's probably a bit too much but I love it.

Until I was 40, I averaged 4 beers a day and I'd get hammered about every 10 - 14 days on ten or more beers. Had to stop drinking for two years to get myself together. I had stopped training and racing, which sucked.

It's a personal thing. I guess Ed Whitlock drank half a bottle of red per day when he was running under 3 hours marathons as an old man. So there you go.

OH, by the way, when I stopped drinking for two years, here were the rough parts:

1) It took two full years to lose the DAILY ITCH to have a drink at 5pm. If I had tea with honey, that helped the oral fixation of drinking, and the need for sugar.

2) I fell off the wagon every 3 or 4 months and got hammered. It was a pretty awful experience to come back from each time.

Wino? wrote:

And quite honestly, I don't think this is a bad thing. I love red wine. I don't get drunk. I space it over about 6hrs. I feel fine the next day. My running is not affected.

But several people around me have expressed shock / dismay / concern about this. Should I be having some doubts, good people of letsrun?

I know there will be the usual amount of trollism, but, this is a serious question. Thanks.

I used to always have a glass of wine with dinner. Now I do only once or twice a week. Wine is a proven carcinogen. The wine lobby prevents a warning on the label.