The key to successfully cutting down is to find something that works for you. Write down how many drinks you want to drink per day and how many days a week you want to drink. Writing down your goals can help remind you that you want to limit your drinking.
People who drink within the recommended guidelines have a much lower risk of developing problems. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health only 2 out of every people who drink within the guidelines have an alcohol use disorder. Recording how many drinks you have may also help you reduce or slow down your drinking. If you are going to count how many drinks you have, make sure you are accurate. Learn what counts as a standard drink so that you can accurately measure how many you have had.
Stick to your goal even when you are away from home, dining out or in a bar. Some drinkers trying to cut down have been successful by pacing their drinking. That is, they sip their drinks slowly or making sure they have only one drink per hour. People who consume drinks quickly, particularly the first few drinks, are at greater risk of developing alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. Another trick for cutting down alcohol consumption is to use drink spacers—nonalcoholic beverages between drinks containing alcohol.
Some drinkers will alternate a drink of water, juice, or soda between their alcoholic beverages to slow down their consumption. For some drinkers, eating food will reduce their craving for alcohol. This is not true for all drinkers, but if eating something reduces your craving for a drink, making sure you eat a meal at times when you usually drink might help you reduce the amount you drink. Of course, it is not wise for anyone to drink on an empty stomach.
Whether you are trying to cut down or quit drinking altogether, it is a good idea to avoid situations in which you are used to drinking. People, places, things and certain activities can be triggers that cause you to have an urge to drink. Avoiding these triggers can prevent you from drinking when you otherwise might not do so.
Remember, your health is at stake. If drinking has become a big part of your life, try substituting other activities during those times when you might usually drink.
Take up a hobby , begin an exercise program, make new friends , or spend more time with your family. Find something that you enjoy that will occupy the time during which you would usually be drinking. Chances are you are going to be in situations in which someone is going to offer you a drink or expect you to drink with them as you have done in the past. Learn how to politely say "no thank you," and really mean it. Say it quickly and firmly so that you don't give yourself time to change your mind.
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The liver performs many essential processes in our bodies and reducing how much you drink means the liver can focus on these essential jobs instead of working overtime to process and eliminate alcohol. Changes now can protect our future health.
This means that how much and how often we drink now can have affect our health later in life. Making small, positive changes now will help reduce risks for a long list of health harms including cancer, liver and heart disease. Alcohol has almost the same calories per gram as pure fat and depending on the type, the sugar content can be high.
For example, one bottle of white wine ml, That is the equivalent of 8 teaspoons of sugar! Your skin should appear healthier for a few different reasons. A US study found that alcohol is a trigger for rosacea facial redness or flushing and can worsen the condition if you already have it. If you regularly have a drink to help you fall asleep which actually has the opposite effect , your body might take a few days to adjust into a normal sleep cycle without alcohol.
Keep going! Once you develop your new alcohol-free nightly routine, your quality of sleep will improve. This can help increase your concentration, memory, productivity. Use our online drinks calculator to estimate how much money you spend on alcohol during an average week. Multiply this by 52 and you'll have your spend for the year.
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