Five ways to reduce your alcohol intake
Is your booze intake at home on the rise the longer this pandemic continues? Here are some back-to-basic tips to get your drinking levels down to safe limits
Argh, the stress of no work, rounds of interviews and no job bagged at the end of it means more of us have turned to alcohol to deal with anxiety, children at home, not to mention health concerns. While a glass or two can raise our spirits, it’s well documented that a few too many acts as a depressant and affects our mood and energy levels. Positivity can drain away like the dregs from a bottle of red.
If you’ve found wine o’clock is getting earlier in your home and the living-room bar is open most nights, then it’s time to start thinking more tonic and less gin.
Remember the government’s guidelines for weekly maximum alcohol intake is just 14 units – for men and women. Quite a tough target to stick to when you think that one full-bodied bottle of wine contains 10 units. A few practical steps and mindfulness can help you put the cork back in the bottle and tap into more positive vibes.
1. It’s easy to underestimate how much you drink. Register free with an online drinks tracker. Drinkaware.co.uk is an excellent site, which allows you to log your daily drinks and set targets. Here are few sobering unit examples from the site:
A 175ml glass of 12.5 percent ABV red wine = 2.2 units and 156 calories
A pint of 4 percent ABV beer = 4.3 units and 304 calories
Half a bottle of 13 percent ABV white wine = 4.9 units and 341 calories
A single 37.5 percent ABV gin with diet tonic = 1.3 units and 75 calories
So, in one week the maximum you could drink of one of the bevvies above and keep within 14 units is either: 6 glasses of red wine; or 6 pints of beer or lager; or 6 glasses of white wine; or 14 single G&Ts.
2. Set a goal and tell people. This could be having a few alcohol-free days a week or taking a week or month off drinking. Statistics show that people taking part in Sober October and Dry January tend to drink less over the following year. Time off also gives your tired liver a chance to reboot. Having a non-drinking buddy also keeps you motivated.
3. Look for support. The website One Year No Beer was set up by previously heavy drinkers Andy Ramage and Ruari Fairbairns and offers evidence-based advice and support. You can watch inspirational videos from users who have improved their lives by quitting alcohol for a few months or years even. If you want to go beyond the free content, you can sign up for a 28-, 90- or 365-day challenge plan, starting from £59. Otherwise there’s the excellent The 28-Day Alcohol-Free Challenge Book by Andy and Ruari (£12.99) if you prefer print.
4. Stock up wisely. Avoid temptation by keeping beers and wine on ice in the fridge. Have a stash of delicious soft options and alcohol-free drinks instead. Beck’s Blue is a great alternative to lager and M&S Fizzero, a dry-ish sparkling drink, is my favourite alcohol-free fizz, with all the sparkle but no hangover.
5. Control cravings. When you get a craving drinks coach Nadine Christian advises a distraction technique until it passes, which is often just a minute or two. ‘We encourage people to use a mindfulness technique where they think of something they enjoy to distract themselves, or they can simply step away and walk around the block. People get anxious around cravings, but by taking yourself out of the moment, they’ll pass.’ Find excellent resources for cutting down at Drink Coach