Slate: 'How normal is your drinking?'

if I read correctly, this is isn't Slate, per se. The writer is leaping off a chart and story from the WaPo.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/09/25/think-you-drink-a-lot-this-chart-will-tell-you/

I'll have anywhere from 3 to eight beers a night. I prolly average five a night.

 

Ten beers a day sounds like a lot, and it would be, if only for the sheer volume. Ten Jack-and-Cokes, though? That's a little more doable, I'd say. And it becomes even more doable when you define "one drink" by a measure of alcohol, rather than by the physical drink. If you're making five double Jack-and-Cokes, intentionally or just because you pour however much seems right, that's your 10 a day right there. And the average Long Island is probably four or five on its own.

That said, I *still* don't believe that's 10% of Americans.

 

A buddy and a three-time loser at the rehab game would look at 74 drinks in a week, giggle and call them lightweights.

His fourth attempt at rehab has proven to be more successful and he's back on the wagon but when he was drinking, a case of beer a day was pretty normal. And that was just the day to day, going out, well I remember a three-day camping trip where he brought 10 cases of beer and was out by the end of the third day.

Life of the party, probably checked in at 300, 325 then and owned a restaurant and bar. Drank when he played golf, which he did daily. Drank at work, drank when he worked in the restaurant's kitchen. Drank constantly.

Every sin and tall tale one can think of, he's done.

But Jesus and his wife are keeping him straight now and hasn't had a drop, he claims, in going on four years.

 

For the better part of the past decade I had a beer with dinner every night and often another beer or a little bit of whiskey to wind down at the end of the night. Since this past summer, I've cut down quite a bit -- maybe 3-4 drinks a week. I haven't had a single drink over the past month (nutrition challenge at my CrossFit gym -- strict paleo for a month) and between the nutrition and the lack of alcohol I feel great. The challenge ends tomorrow and I'm looking forward to having a beer or a scotch, but I've realized that I haven't missed it as much as I thought I would and will probably stick to only a couple of drinks in a week. Cutting out the empty calories has been huge too.

 

In college, I regularly downed a fifth of whiskey, usually with three or four beers, when I wanted to get drunk. That was rarely more than twice a week. But I had friends who drank close to that much five times a week.

These days, I only get drunk maybe once or twice a month, and I rarely top 12 drinks on those nights. I probably average about a drink a day, all things accounted.

 

With heavy alcohol people, consume their (hard) liquor in bigger and bigger glasses.. so a "drink" may contain six or seven shots.

 

Right, because there's no difference between the guy who has a beer while watching the game or wine with dinner and a guy who averages 10 drinks a day.

 

That's A reasonable point. My less-frequent-lately nightcap probably is at least two shots.

 

Gradually the elements of my life that triggered heavy drinking have been eliminated.

Drank a lot in college. Not in college anymore.

Drank a lot in my 20s, when I was single and worked a lot of nights with fellow 20-year olds. Not in my 20s any more, don't work a lot of nights.

Had a GF who loved to party. That got old after about seven months of drunken, coke-fueled stupidity on her part.

Drank a lot one night a week when I played city league softball in my 20s, 30s and 40s. Don't play softball anymore.

Got married. Had a kid, who I was in charge of getting ready to daycare, elementary school, etc. Did not want to do that with a hangover.

Tailgating? Job change, have to work during games now.

I probably have 3-4 beers a week in the summer or fall, when I can sit outside. In the spring or winter, I hardly drink at all.

Eliminate the things that trigger heavy drinking, and you won't drink heavily anymore.

 

Yeah but how realistic is it to stay in bed all day?

 

I am trying to imagine 75 drinks a week. I guess I am a bit surprised that 10% drink that much. In my prime I drank a bunch. There were Saturdays in the fall where we would hoop for a couple of hours in the morning (this was after closing the bars on Friday night after coaching a game) and then post up from 11:00 AM-2:00AM watching football or hoops and talking stupid. Easily 30 or more beers were consumed plus another 10-15 on Friday. But when we would do that I would not be pounding the rest of the week. I know there were plenty of weeks where I easily drank 75 beers but not every fucking week. Wow. Now I drink better beer and am probably good for 10-15 a week tops, with some weeks much less (I am also married and 52). When called upon and on a good day on the golf course 15+ is still in range but I won't drink again for a couple of weeks.