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Dry January

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DWill

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Re: Dry January

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I can't tell for certain whether, when the first website says 14 drinks per week is the upper limit of the moderate range, this is the same as 14 units of alcohol. A unit of alcohol seems to be in almost every instance less than people consume in one drink. A 5.2% alcohol bottle of beer is 2 units, for example. That isn't even very high alcohol compared to other beers at the local brewpub. When you add 4 oz. to make the pint, one beer can easily be 4 units. So this makes me rethink how many "drinks" I typically consume. I'm generous with the booze in a mixed drink, for example.
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Re: Dry January

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Oh crap, that info on units doesn't look good. Tell ya what, I'm going with the following - they said "drinks" not "units" in the definitions above...

A standard drink is equal to
a 12 oz (355 ml.) beer with 5% alcohol (average for most U.S. beers).
A 5 oz. (150 ml.) glass of wine (12.5% alcohol).
1.5 oz. (45 ml.) of 80 proof liquor (40% alcohol).

http://www.moderatedrinking.com/home/de ... md_defined
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Re: Dry January

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DWill wrote:I took a class once on addictions, but am not all that knowledgeable despite that and working in a mental health agency. It surprised me to read in Robert's linked article that physical dependence can be separate from addiction. Now I'm really interested to see if I might have withdrawal Sx, even though I'd say I'm about a 10-drink per week type. That's not that much, is it (he asks hopefully)? It did occur to me, also, that I can't remember a week of my life in the past 40 years where I haven't imbibed. When I retire in about 5 months I plan to go off on a 5-week hike, during which I don't plan to drink (and won't find much available, anyway). I'll do this January abstinence first to make the dry walk not so much a trial.

I already exercise quite a lot, so I'm a bit unsure what I will end up doing for activities to replace the slight buzz that I've enjoyed for so long.
I liked Robert's link as well, particularly what Abraham Lincoln said about not passing moral judgment on those who are inclined to drink to excess. I'd rather not go into my own drinking past, but I do speak from experience, and I know there's no easy definition for alcoholism. The lines are fuzzy. There are those who drink a fair amount who get by just fine. And there are those who binge drink on rare occasions, but make questionable decisions that can get them in trouble. So the one tried and true question to ask of any drinker is" "does your drinking cause problems in your life?" Not everyone can answer this truthfully, but it is the question to ask.
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DWill

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Re: Dry January

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LanDroid wrote:Oh crap, that info on units doesn't look good. Tell ya what, I'm going with the following - they said "drinks" not "units" in the definitions above...

A standard drink is equal to
a 12 oz (355 ml.) beer with 5% alcohol (average for most U.S. beers).
A 5 oz. (150 ml.) glass of wine (12.5% alcohol).
1.5 oz. (45 ml.) of 80 proof liquor (40% alcohol).

http://www.moderatedrinking.com/home/de ... md_defined
Okay, I like this standard also. Nobody ever went into Joe's Bar and said, "I need a unit."
Last edited by DWill on Mon Jan 02, 2017 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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DWill

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Re: Dry January

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I liked Robert's link as well, particularly what Abraham Lincoln said about not passing moral judgment on those who are inclined to drink to excess. I'd rather not go into my own drinking past, but I will say I speak from experience. There's no easy definition for alcoholism. The lines are fuzzy. There are those who drink a fair amount who get by just fine. And there are those who binge drink on rare occasions, but make questionable decisions that can get them in trouble. So the one tried and true question to ask of any drinker is" "does your drinking cause problems in your life?" Not everyone can answer this truthfully, but it is the question to ask.
The medical definitions of alcoholism continue to change, so I think you're right that the best way to identify a problem is to ask whether drinking is causing, or is likely to cause, a serious problem in one's life. Getting into a driver's seat intoxicated, yet getting home safely, is a problem regardless of the luck of the outcome.

I recall that G.W. Bush gave up drinking not due to textbook alcoholism but to a conviction that drinking was interfering with his relationships and his focus.

The Dry January tradition (I'm not sure how far back it goes) seems to offer "non-problem" drinkers an opportunity to take a step back and evaluate the role that drinking has assumed in their lives. Even if no serious harm seems to have resulted from drinking, maybe a reduction would be beneficial, or maybe some protection against heavier drinking will come out of it. What I might find, for example, is that my routine, non-social drinking is mostly a habit that I might as well not have and can dispense with without too much difficulty. But I don't know yet.
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Re: Dry January

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As I recall, GW Bush stopped drinking after a final ultimatum from his wife...

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DWill

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Re: Dry January

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[quote="LanDroid"]As I recall, GW Bush stopped drinking after a final ultimatum from his wife...

That could do it, too!
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Re: Dry January

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Mr. Tulip wrote:I...do not eat between 8pm and 12 noon, intermittent fasting for sixteen hours every day.
I'm interested in that because I kinda do that naturally as a poor reaction to stress. I have been wanting to change that by eating breakfast, etc. But you do this deliberately presumably with good results. What's the deal - maybe I don't need to change my bad habit?
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Re: Dry January

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LanDroid wrote:
Mr. Tulip wrote:I...do not eat between 8pm and 12 noon, intermittent fasting for sixteen hours every day.
I'm interested in that because I kinda do that naturally as a poor reaction to stress. I have been wanting to change that by eating breakfast, etc. But you do this deliberately presumably with good results. What's the deal - maybe I don't need to change my bad habit?
Intermittent Fasting is discussed at http://jamesclear.com/the-beginners-gui ... nt-fasting and http://www.mercola.com/infographics/int ... asting.htm

Breakfast advocacy is mainly Kelloggs marketing. Breakfast is actually bad for you because failing to fast means your body burns sugar for energy instead of burning stored fat. Also a daily discipline of not eating for sixteen hours is good for building will power.

I just read a good article about giving up all added sugar for a month.
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Re: Dry January

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OK thanks. Intermittent fasting doesn't "feel" right to me, but I'll check into it and try to sort it out.
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