It’s no secret that as a generation, we still consume a lot of alcohol! You only need to watch a health-related documentary, read any health section or magazine, or go out with friends in the evening to come to the conclusion, that in the UK we still consume quite a bit! No judgment here! I am including myself in this generation of people.
It’s pretty bold of me, to speak for a whole generation isn’t it? I thought I was totally just in this statement, but I am beginning to realise that actually, lots of us are trying to do better!
The more I am thinking about it, I can recollect other people saying things like “I only drink at weekends,” or “I only have one or two glasses of wine if I go out, otherwise I prefer tea in the evenings now!” And “I’m training for an event so I won’t drink tonight.” It seems like these voices did not resonate so much with me, and I have been choosing to hear the ones that made me feel better about having a drink. It’s nice to feel you are in good company, isn’t it?!
“Hey if they have a glass of wine every day, why shouldn’t I?” I would think, as I come down from putting children to bed.
Or I would say to myself, “It’s this wonderful weather/ terrible weather that makes me fancy a glass of wine at the end of the day!” “All in moderation.” And of course, probably the most used excuse “I feel like I deserve one after such a busy day.”
I’m starting to worry about it. Obviously, sometimes I prefer to think about the apparent benefits of having a glass of red wine, but I’m pretty sure that drinking alcohol almost every day, can’t be good! Studies are suggesting that any possible health benefits are far outweighed by the harmful effects of alcohol. So periodically I think about cutting down.
Looking into it a little further and studies are beginning to tell us what we already suspected deep down. That the safest level of drinking is none! Meaning, they no longer want to give us a “safe level” by which to assume that we will not be damaging our health as long as we stay under a certain number of units.
Like most health related news stories, this is heard but easily gets lost among the other hundreds of messages out there, along with “Cut Down on Dairy” and “Eating Meat Will Give You Cancer.” I am not always ready to fully embrace the findings and change my way of life.
No time for Energy Slumps
And then, a couple of weeks ago I listened to an interesting podcast by Emma Gannon, interviewing Shamadean Reid. It was about how to improve your own productivity and how monitoring the way everything that you do can have an effect on your productivity afterwards. Down to everything you eat/drink, the people you see, the time you get up and so on. This got me thinking, and the next time I had a couple of large Gin and Tonics, I noticed how slow I was with general functioning the next morning! It’s not rocket science is it?! So I have decided that it’s time, and I am up for the challenge to improve my productivity with a few simple lifestyle measures!
As a couple, we don’t drink loads these days! I feel that I could be giving you the wrong idea here! But it is most nights, and that worries me. My forty year old body feels it’s age and it’s asking for better treatment! So September gives the fresh-start feeling, and especially with both children now trotting off to school, I want to start some healthy, new habits that will help me get the most out of my days. Plus Ben has a few more weeks before his big birthday, so maybe we can use that as an added incentive! I’m thinking party outfits, and birthday photos here!
Cutting Down Alcohol – Weekday Efforts!
I have been working out how to do this, as I want it to be an achievable goal! If I try to stop drinking alcohol altogether I would fail, and to be honest, I don’t even want to! As far as I’m aware, I don’t have any related health problems, and the amount I have is most definitely not extreme, but I just want to give my body a few days off each week so that I might benefit by feeling I have improved energy and productivity the next day.
Not only that, but it will probably reduce our weekly shopping bill by a bottle of wine and maybe a pack of beers between us. Always a positive!
I don’t want to go without a glass of wine or a G&T on a Friday to celebrate the start of the weekend, and I most definitely don’t want to go without one on a Saturday either! Sunday I often think I won’t, but then a glass of wine on the sofa in the evening is just too irresistible, which leaves us with Monday-Thursday. And I feel that this is do-able! In fact, it’s pretty embarrassing to even admit that I need these rules implementing! I am not sure how it became so normal to drink alcohol so regularly, and I feel like it shouldn’t be such a big deal to change. More of a conscious effort.
I’m slowly dropping this bomb-shell on Ben! Yes he is in it with me! I think that very often after a long, stressful day at work he enjoys a beer or something when he gets home. More often than not, I will have a drink with him too. As I said, any excuse! But we are both looking to improve our life-style and pay more attention to our health as well, so we will give it a go. I will update you on how it’s going! We will post a few efforts on Instagram, to try to keep us on track. So follow us if you want a good laugh over your glass of Rosé!
Old Habits, for Older People
As a little aside, I came across some good news about the generations following us. According to Alcohol Research UK, It sounds as though there is a trend in favour of not drinking alcohol in young people today. I am pleased to hear this, as on the face of it, this sounds like a healthy trend. It does slightly beg the question, what has taken it’s place? I just pray that it’s not some new and hideous drug that I’ve never heard of. For the first time, I’m thinking that maybe this obsession with selfies is not so bad! If it discourages young people from getting into trouble through alcohol anyway! I guess you’d be a bit silly if you started posting selfies of yourself after a big drinking session? No?!
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I haven’t had a drink since 2006 and I never miss it
I prefer lime with soda as it so refreshing and feel really social as well
Thanks for your comment Vicki. That’s a good idea, I will try that one 😉
Your thoughts are totally legit and this is the right way to go. I read that you should give your body a break from drinking at least on 2 days a week. Even if your consumption is moderate, alcohol is toxic and your body (mainly liver) has to metabolise it. Your greatest advantage here is that you have your partner on board. Otherwise I doubt, that you’d hang in there as you only drink moderately and don’t see any harm. Keep it up and let us know how it’s going.
Thanks for the encouragement Felix. I am feeling strong and actually haven’t really missed it either!
Good for you guys. My wife and I are in our late forties and honestly, we drink a lot less than we used to. We never drank much to begin with but as we got older, drinking just lost its appeal. You both will be just fine. Very good read.
Thanks Joe. It seems like we just needed to recognise it, like lots of habits people fall into. Thanks for the encouragement 🙂
Hi Joanne
this is a great post and I must say I am one of those people who says “I only drink at weekends,” or “I only have one or two glasses of wine if I go out” and agree with everything you are saying.
Thanks for sharing a great post.
Thanks Chris. It seems like more and more of us are getting on the right page with this! Thanks for visiting the site.
Keep it up! Just take your time and drink less and less as you go, it makes it a bit easier. For me personally, I used to drink pretty much every single day. Although at that time I was “functioning” I probably wasn’t working as efficiently as I should have been. Anyways I had a weekend where I overdid it drinking and ended up in the hospital a couple months ago in April and have not had another drink since. I do think about it sometimes, but I feel a lot better these days without it. A lot more productive. Great article cheers
Thanks for your comment Huy. I’m sorry to hear that you had such a horrible experience, but well done for doing so well since. It’s going well for me so far!