I have two glasses of wine a night.

OP

As a guy who thinks about things and is about he same age (I'm 45), I too wonder "if I quit this, or maybe did that.." would I improve? The one or two glasses of wine is nothing. go to Europe,or more specifically Spain or France. People there have three, four or maybe five glasses of wine per day, and one of those might be on their lunch break during work. I would often hear British and especially the French talk about how "you Americans worry about too many things.." And, maybe they are right. They drink more wine, much more than we do in our country, and they have a slightly higher life expectancy than us (Americans). you might recall the 60 Minutes episode about a year ago, talking about red wine and the consumption in Europe being much larger than here, and that the Europeans eat a lower-fat diet, drink more wine and have overall better health than we do as Americans. Much of the topic was about the red wine's cleaning properties of our arteries and valves around the heart.

In short OP, you are thinking too much. Keep training now that you are healthy, and you will see results both in times and waist line in time. It's just not going to happen in as short of a span as it might have when you were 25. Be patient. And, enjoy life. Drink a glass of wine, or two!

You have stated you go periods without, so why are there posts about you being dependent?

I hope you posted legit times. If so, it is impressive.

Good luck

The Department of Health recommends that men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day and women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day. 'Regularly' means drinking every day or most days of the week. And if you do drink more heavily than this on any day, allow 48 alcohol-free hours afterwards to let your body recover.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) advises no more than 21 units per week for men and 14 units per week for women. But also, have 2-3 alcohol-free days a week to allow the liver time to recover after drinking anything but the smallest amount of alcohol. A quote from the RCP... "in addition to quantity, safe alcohol limits must also take into account frequency. There is an increased risk of liver disease for those who drink daily or near daily compared with those who drink periodically or intermittently."

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee advise that people should have at least two alcohol-free days a week.

Some would argue that the upper limits of the recommendations are too high. For example, one study found that more than two units a day for men and more than one unit a day for women significantly increases the risk of developing certain cancers.

notme wrote:

Guys, this is getting way out of hand. I drink one or two glasses a night, that's it. .

This is fine. As long as you don't drink hard alcohol you are fine. Myself, I drink a sixpack of PBR a night and I'm not a drunk. I stick to beer so I can't have a problem.

not notme wrote:

go to Europe,or more specifically Spain or France. People there have three, four or maybe five glasses of wine per day, and one of those might be on their lunch break during work.

Good luck

20% of French and Spanish adults drink wine every day.

The UK has an alcohol problem.

You drink too much, a problem in its own right. And alcohol has calories. Eating fish and protein, as you call it, is not necessarily healthy. Eat plants and curb the drinking. I think you know your drinking is a problem, and you frame the problem in terms of weight, which is a kind of denial.

The fact you are monitoring your drinking in such detail (I went 5-6 days with none and felt fine, etc), and posting here about it, does indicate possibly alcohol abuse, or at least, an awareness that you may be developing a problem.You wrote: "My drink intake is about 10-15 glasses of wine per week, or 7-9 glasses of wine per week and about 5-7 bottles of beer per week."That is a fair amount of booze to be having regularly. That is not considered healthy, especially since I doubt you are having an actual "glass," as in 125ml, each time.

notme wrote:

locker room observer wrote:

You have alcohol dependency issues. Fix that first.

_________________________

Doubtful, since I went for more than 5 or 6 days a couple weeks ago without a drink, but thank you for your input.

I am just wondering if a total shut off will make a difference.

The other posts have been great. Common sense it seems.

I had an issue with some elevated blood pressure and went on the DASH diet for a month or so. You would be amazed at how the pounds drop off if you avoid alchohol along with junk food and sweets. I wasn't trying to lose weight, and am not overweight (5-10", 150 lbs....dropped to 145 in about a month). Give it a try and see for yourself the impact of eliminating alcohol, sweets, junk (chips, etc.).

Nope wrote:

The fact you are monitoring your drinking in such detail (I went 5-6 days with none and felt fine, etc), and posting here about it, does indicate possibly alcohol abuse, or at least, an awareness that you may be developing a problem.

You wrote: "My drink intake is about 10-15 glasses of wine per week, or 7-9 glasses of wine per week and about 5-7 bottles of beer per week."

That is a fair amount of booze to be having regularly. That is not considered healthy, especially since I doubt you are having an actual "glass," as in 125ml, each time.

The key word is possibly. Most of you seem to be reading too much into the OP's comments regarding his alcohol consumption. I'm guessing the vast majority of us who drink moderately could recall how much we've consumed in the past week. Yet it does not at all mean that we're on the brink of abuse. Not even close.

Get a prescription for testosterone.

looks like some are reading too much into everything said. Some go as far to take cut/paste partial phrases to fit their objectives. If it makes one feel better by saying something negative about someone else, then I would think that is a real problem. Forget I posted the original post. I was just trying to get some perspective on alcohol vs. weight, and my diet in general. I noticed not much was replied in regards to my diet or age.

I will just simply focus on mileage, staying healthy in my running and cutting back my alcohol or cut it out. Either way, I thank those that posted helpful suggestions. Some others may want to look in the mirror about self esteem issues?

PS I consumed alcohol in my 20's, quite a bit and never felt any craving. I rarely drank in approximately my entire 30's just due to a job with very long hours, and IK never craved anything, nor did I feel any better than when I had an occasional beer.

Thanks again.

notme wrote:

If it makes one feel better by saying something negative about someone else, then I would think that is a real problem.

Another case of asking a question, not getting the answer you wanted to hear, then blaming the responder as a "hater" or "negative".

The reason you get responses about the alcohol isn't only because of the amount, it's that you seem to have some kind of obsession keeping track of how much you consume, like it's a big part of your existence.

For future reference, if you ask a question and expect to only get the answers you'd like to hear, this probably isn't a good place for you to ask questions.

Some people and research shows that while drinking alcohol initially lowers stress, it starts to elevate cortisol after 20 minutes or so. It effs up blood sugar levels, hurts sleep, and lowers HGH production at night dramatically. He is a link that sums it up. You can research the individual claims if you wish.

http://www.robertyang.net/articles/alcohol

ajdcx wrote:

notme wrote:

If it makes one feel better by saying something negative about someone else, then I would think that is a real problem.

Another case of asking a question, not getting the answer you wanted to hear, then blaming the responder as a "hater" or "negative".

The reason you get responses about the alcohol isn't only because of the amount, it's that you seem to have some kind of obsession keeping track of how much you consume, like it's a big part of your existence.

For future reference, if you ask a question and expect to only get the answers you'd like to hear, this probably isn't a good place for you to ask questions.

Point taken. You are correct. Upon a review, I over-mentioned one portion of my daily routine. I could have easily focused on my obvious age-related slower metabolism, slower pace, large amount of time off of running, and spent less time mentioning specifics on number of drinks. Thank you. I did appreciate the majority.

runner who professes wrote:

You drink too much, a problem in its own right. And alcohol has calories. Eating fish and protein, as you call it, is not necessarily healthy. Eat plants and curb the drinking. I think you know your drinking is a problem, and you frame the problem in terms of weight, which is a kind of denial.

Count me in on having that problem then mate.

I do drink a pint after each and every run. Each run. I love to drink a cold brew after a morning run, and enjoy a few more after a warm climate race . Most races here start before 9 AM and I am sitting with some mates throwing back a few Fosters before 10. I love it. I guess I have a problem too boys? For that matter I guess most of us down under according to some weenie replies.

For the record, you yanks are lightweights. The OP is a lightest of lightweights. Two wines? C'mon boys. Man up, as you say.

Now, bug off.

This thread is further proof that this board is largely populated by a bunch of running-obsessed, organic food-buying, Trader Joe's-shopping, calorie-counting, weekly meal-preparing, OCD killjoys. The guy drinks two glasses of wine a night and he has an alcohol dependency problem? Rubbish.

He didn't say he drinks every day. He said he drinks every night.

I agree, almost everything written about diets and drinking clearly shows the obsessive nature of people on this board. Live a little. The best diet contains a bit of everything, and NOTHING needs to be completely avoided. There are no real benefits to eating organic either.

Look at the Kenyans, they eat a basic diet, lots of carbs, some meat, some greens, lots of sugary tea etc. Doesn't seem to bother or affect them one bit. In fact its because of this lack of obsessing over the mundane things that enable them to be focus on their running.

Ok, back again even though I will probably regret it.

I read the negative or constructive criticism and I actually looked back at the last number of days I can remember. Going back to 8 days ago, I think I've had four beers,and six glasses of wine. Total.

Two nights it was one beer. Some nights it was two wines.

One night it was half a beer only.

I feel the title might put people in assumptions, along with my opening statement. But I never thought this part of my thread would be the entire focus. Either way, I think my focus was on how to lose weight and get fit again. that's were I'd like to focus.

OP, I'll try to reply later regarding your original question (I'm similar age, maybe a little slower, and I also enjoy a drink or two each night), but I don't have time right now.

Ignore the critics. Too many people are, mistakenly, assuming 2 drinks equates to alcohol dependance or abuse and that's simply not true.