Frosty Chop Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 I've been asked by my gastroenterologist to stop drinking for 6 weeks due to some abnormal blood test results with my liver function. I admit I have played it pretty hard on occasion with the drinking over some 30+ years and drink every evening, recently I have cut out the hard stuff altogether but I can't remember the last time I went an evening without at least a single beer. So then I had some horrible thoughts of being curled up in a sweating ball in a corner somewhere like a dying heroin addict. But here I am almost a week without and I am fine. Well almost, the part where I sit down my shed by my charcoal smoker cooking a lump of pig while listening to my internet radio country music station right next to the BEER FRIDGE is the only difficult part. Some relief came yesterday after an ultrasound on my liver where after I asked the sonographer "Have I killed it yet, any scarring?" he replied the doctors will have the images in 48 hours but there's nothing I can see that they will need to contact you about and it probably just needs to recover for a few more weeks. So roll on wagon I can't wait to fall off in March! Anyone else had to stop drinking for awhile what was your experience like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payno Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Hey Frosty. Tough luck on that one I've had to curtail my drinking - more for weight management than anything else. I generally can only let myself drink on weekends so I'm essentially 'on the wagon' for 5 days a week. However, when I do fall off the wagon and have 1 or 2 every day it does become very habitual very quickly. If you're not getting hammered each time though then it is more of finding an alternative refreshment that you like rather than breaking any actual addiction. (as evidenced by your lack of any withdrawal symptoms!) Like most things the more you have...the more you want, and vice versa. Doing things you would normally associate with drinking is the hardest part (ie your shed/pig cooking) so you might have to change your routine for a bit to reduce the cravings. Im thinking of doing feb-fast - just to prove I can and I know I'll shed a few kilos. You have my sympathies ....except for the Country Music part, that'd drive me to drink! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 I usually have at least one alcohol-free day a week, although ideally I'd have three. I don't binge quite as often as I did even a couple of years ago though, which is good. After about four beers I just don't really feel like another one. A night or two before big bike rides I definitely don't drink though, and before my big BIG ride last year I stopped for over a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 This is why I've said since I've been into the craft beers and brewing - if they, or I, could make these beers taste exactly the same and as good as they do, but with no alcohol in them, I'd drink them. It's not about the alcohol for me, it's about the taste, unfortunately nobody's come close to making a decent tasting zero alcohol beer yet. I probably don't drink as much as I used to now, though. I normally have one beer per night after work, and although I will head out on the piss on the weekends, it's only one night now, not both nights, and then the next day is an AFD as well. I suppose when I settle down with a wife etc. one day, I won't be out drinking anymore so it will again drop, but hopefully I don't have to ever get to a point where I have to give it up altogether, even if it is only temporarily. I'd miss the awesome flavours too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Due to the fact I mostly work afternoon shifts, I can't drink during the day before work anyways, so that in itself has become a bit of a savior for me. When I arrive home it's early hours of the morning & I generally don't feel like session drinking at those times of the day. I generally only have one or two after work & then don't feel like anymore. My days off work though, well that's another story... Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 By the way, I think we're going to need a standard unit here. When I say "one" I mean one stubby-sized beer, or half of a PET bottle. Is anyone referring to a 740mL drink as "one"? I only do that when I need a convenient technicality when being grilled by SWMBO ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Yes, by one I mean a schooner size glass (or what you weird Croweaters call a pint for some reason), or a stubby if it's a bottled one. I don't have any 750mL bottles. Occasionally I'll pour a proper pint but that's usually on a Friday night if I'm staying in or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Well look at you and all your glass-sized measurements now you fancy-pants kegger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Chop Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Hey Frosty. You have my sympathies ....except for the Country Music part' date=' that'd drive me to drink![/quote'] Haha thanks, I was wondering if someone would bite on my taste in music Since I posted this thread my shed beer fridge now has an STC-1000 on it and a Bootmaker PA in it. I figured there's no point in wasting the time and the fridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossm Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 G'day Frosty, Yeah about...well, between 20 and 30 years ago, I had a job out in the bush in the Pit lands, the camp was 100% dry and we used to go out for three or four week stints. We did break sometime in the middle and go into Marla or Kulgera for a night in the pub, but apart from that there was nothing. when I took the job on, like you I couldn't remember a time that I had gone a day without at least one or two beers. As the time to go got closer I started to wonder if I would be able to handle it, as it turned out it was no worries. (I was about 38-40 at the time) I have had to go off it a few times since for various reasons and don't have too much problem with it, I still try and have one or two days a week off now but that is not always successful....good move to catch up with your brewing while off it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Pirate Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 I used to work away 4 weeks on 2 off , those 4 on where in a dry camp and just no chance to have even a single cold beer after a hard days work (instant eviction from camp which nearly always meant loss of job ) during my 10 days at home I found that I didn't drink much either .....now I have 2 decent pubs and very drinkable home brew I'm starting to think I should force myself to limit intake and frequency , will start by dialing back the abv % and brew less often / smaller batches and enforce at least 2 dry days a week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 I tend not to drink Monday to Wednesday. I try to hold out until Thursday but that doesn't always work Friday, Saturday and Sunday I usually have around 3 beers each night. Occasionally I may have a couple more but I am not a big drinker. Last year I decided to have a month off drinking to kick start a diet and fitness regime and I found it surprisingly easy. It took me a couple of weeks afterwards to get back into the swing of things. Every now and then I will go for a week without a beer but it is rare. I would rather drink small amounts regularly than have a big binge session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcmax Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 I'm also a shift worker so I have at least 2 AFDs per week. I've also been giving the 5:2 diet a go (it works) where 2 days per week you don't have more than 600 calories, so that means another 2 days of no drinking.. But on the other days I like to have at least 3 sometimes 4 stubies in a session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headmaster Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Also doing the 5:2 for almost three years so two AFD's a week, usually mon/thurs. On the other weekdays one a day, the weekends two a day, although recently been blowing out to three on occasion, especially if I've mowed the lawn.. Some of my pale ales and IPA's have been up near 8% and the russian imperial stout I just brewed is over 9%.. so I should probably take this into account.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpack Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Yep for good health i now only drink on friday Saturday and sunday. I find i enjoy it more. Friday beers are sooo good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payno Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 I'm with Kelsey - I'd happily drink a non-alcohol beer if it tasted as good, but they don't and probably never will so guess we're stuck with it! I should confess that although I try to not drink during the week( he says with beer in hand) I'm like Lusty - the weekends are a different story and I'll happily knock off 8-9 beers in a session, plus a couple of wines to finish off, and I'd struggle to give that up - even for a month! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the villain Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 i currently work 2 months on, 2 months off, (sometimes upto 3 month swings.) usually im up in the tropics where its freaking muggy and hot all year round, so i think thats a long enough detox each time lol. damned dry ships, no grog. when i get home i will generally have at least one sometimes two tallies per day in the arvo, but do allow myself at least one day per week with no beer. i think my system well works for me :) im not a binge drinker, never have been, id much rather enjoy a beer or three each arvo watching the sun go down with the missus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaffeinatedSentryGnome Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 i used to go through 2 cartons over Friday and Saturday and nothing over sunday to thursday. now i go though 1.75 cartons over the week. except i switched from corona to sparkling ale so its probably the same amount per week just not a weekend binge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Hey Frosty Chop When you make beer that tastes as good as ours then you are at risk of overindulgence for sure. I agree with OVB in that I am more taste in taste. I feel sorry for the poor souls who have to put up with XXXX Gold and the likes. I can brew a 3.6% Ale with all the flavour and bitterness of an American Pale Ale - I do worry about the residual sugars from the higher temperature mash though. Cheers & Beers Scottie Valley Brew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I usually have two days a week without drinking anything. On the other days I'll have one or two drinks, either beer, wine, whisky or a combination of the above. I'm much more of a quality over quantity person though. I'd rather slowly savor a glass of a beautiful, complex wine than down half a bottle or more of an easy drinking quaffer. When it comes to beer I generally prefer to drink my home brew, although I do enjoy some nice commercial beers from time to time. I've been pleasantly surprised by the Balmain pilsner and pale ale that Aldi had available in cans recently for example. Also I buy a case of Coopers ESVA every year and slowly drink it. Coopers pale ale is always a favourite too. And then there are the one off variety night sampler sort of things. Like tonight Having said all that, the Christmas holidays were a killer with the amount of wine my mum's partner likes to drink and share around! My wife has put me (and the whole family in fact, herself included) on a 'Biggest Loser' challenge after Christmas, complete with weekly weigh ins. So I'm in the process of slimming down from a rather portly 77.6kg back to a trimmer weight. I'm 6 foot tall, so my wife's set me a target of 75kg so as to be on the lower end of the BMI scale for my height. But I'm going for 72kg at first, then 70kg. I'll be back to being bone, muscle and skin by then, which will be fantastic! I'm really looking forward to my pairs of Japanese denim fitting more comfortably again, they are definitely not made for round Westerners like me at the moment! So far it's been going well, I'm down to 75kg in 3 weeks by eating lots of healthy food so I'm not hungry, sticking to one or two drinks a night, not going too heavy on the Haigh's chocolates I brought back from Adelaide, cycling about 25km 4 days a week, playing basketball once a week, going for a few 5-10km walks a week and a swim every now and then. It helps being married to a dietitian who knows her stuff. I must say that the cats seem indifferent to the whole process other than complaining that their food bowls aren't quite as full as before and that they're getting picked up to be weighed once a week. Every morning when I make my sandwich for lunch they still beg me for ham and turkey as if they don't know it will put them in my wife's bad books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Jeez, I'm 5'10 and about 70kg and skinny as a rake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Nice Kelsey, I'll get there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payno Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Jeez' date=' I'm 5'10 and about 70kg and skinny as a rake! [img']lol[/img] I think 1 of my legs weighs that much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I'm enjoying the being unable to gain weight for as long as I can... or at least unable to gain enough to end up overweight. I'm sure this will end at some point in the future though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I hate to say it, but it will. I was the same, couldn't put on weight no matter how hard I tried. Now I'm getting weighed once a week by my wife! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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