Alcohol in Moderation

[Grateful]

For whatever reason, people with diabetes sometimes want to reduce their alcohol consumption. I'm starting this thread not as a discussion of the why's and wherefores of that goal, but rather, a place for practical hints in achieving it.

I have several tips for the wine-lovers out there; things that helped me a lot.

• Buy smaller glasses. Here in America the standard glass is huge (12 fl oz or even 18). After some searching, we managed to find 6-oz glasses (online from Amazon).
• Buy half-bottles of wine (375ml). They are quite a bit more expensive per glass, but if you are reducing your overall wine intake you could end up spending less overall (we did). They are hard to find in shops, so we buy them online. There are specialist online dealers both here in America, and in the UK.
• Or, you can save money by buying standard bottles (750ml) then decanting them into a half-bottle decanter flask. This lets you re-cork the bottle immediately and save the rest for tomorrow, and the wine decanted today will "breathe" nicely for today's consumption.

I know that these are really stupid tricks and that we ought to be able to reduce our wine consumption without them, but ... they worked for us!!! For many months now Mrs. G. and I have been down to a half-bottle between us, per day (on weekdays). We "cheat" with a whole bottle about once per week.

(Edited later to restore a missing gerund.)

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Just give it up, save a fortune.

 

[Deleted Account]

I heard a lovely woman on the radio today talking about reducing her drinking.
She limits her consumption to a small glass of wine a day now. But was missing what goes around drinking such as the socialising and the sounds of the fizz and the delight of opening a new bottle. She was decreeing the delights of alcohol free gin which she enjoys with her slimline tonic with everything that goes around the pouring and mixing her drink.
No idea how good the gun tastes but it was lovely to hear her enthusiasm for replacing her large drinking habit.

 

[Diabeticliberty]

My doctor once told me if I gave up drinking and dancing and acting silly in bars and clubs that I would live to be a 150 years old. Well he said I would feel like I was 150 when I eventually turned up my tootsies

 

[DCUKMod]

I heard a lovely woman on the radio today talking about reducing her drinking.
She limits her consumption to a small glass of wine a day now. But was missing what goes around drinking such as the socialising and the sounds of the fizz and the delight of opening a new bottle. She was decreeing the delights of alcohol free gin which she enjoys with her slimline tonic with everything that goes around the pouring and mixing her drink.
No idea how good the gun tastes but it was lovely to hear her enthusiasm for replacing her large drinking habit.

My alcohol tolerance is dreadful these day, but who knew? Alcohol-free gin?

https://www.alcoholfree.co.uk/spirit-substitutes-c-2_66_62.html

(Other alcohol-free retailers are available.)

 

[Kentoldlady1]

I heard a lovely woman on the radio today talking about reducing her drinking.
She limits her consumption to a small glass of wine a day now. But was missing what goes around drinking such as the socialising and the sounds of the fizz and the delight of opening a new bottle. She was decreeing the delights of alcohol free gin which she enjoys with her slimline tonic with everything that goes around the pouring and mixing her drink.
No idea how good the gun tastes but it was lovely to hear her enthusiasm for replacing her large drinking habit.

This is me. I had a little routine at the end of each day which included pouring a drink. I did try the alcohol free stuff, but really didnt see the point. So now I just try and find something else to do.. If I get past 8pm its not really a problem, but the habit is really hard to break.

Tbh I have found giving up the wine much harder than giving up most of the carbs. I know my liver is happier, but I would so easily go back to vino!

(Is that diabetes cure here yet?)

 

[librarising]

My alcohol tolerance is dreadful these day, but who knew? Alcohol-free gin?

https://www.alcoholfree.co.uk/spirit-substitutes-c-2_66_62.html

(Other alcohol-free retailers are available.)

Can you report a moderator for encouraging pre-Christmas spending ? Asking for a friend
https://www.alcoholfree.co.uk/whissin-750ml-p-521.html?cPath=2_66_62
Geoff

 

[LittleGreyCat]

I'm just over 2 weeks into a dry period at the moment.
This is part of my effort to "baseline" what my body is doing and what the effect of various "treats" might be.

I find it very hard to moderate anything, from carbohydrates to booze. Apart from anything else the first drink tends to relax me enough to think "oh, well, one more won't harm me".

Alcohol allegedly goes straight to your liver and is laid down as fat.
Beer is the worst (sob) because of the extra carbohydrates.

I must say I don't feel any better for it, and I haven't seen a remarkable change in my weight or general feeling of well-being. My BG seems marginally better but I have upped the exercise and cut out food treats as well.

After another week or so I will start adding a bit back in ready for Christmas.

 

[wiflib]

Why is the subject of giving up alcohol even necessary? If you have to find ways and tricks if doing so, you are likely to have an issue with it.

 

[librarising]

Why is the subject of giving up alcohol even necessary? If you have to find ways and tricks if doing so, you are likely to have an issue with it.

Some of us drivers have to be inventive when it comes to joining in with the festivities.
Neither problem drinkers nor teetotallers, since we know teetotallers don't live longer. They only seem to
Since a YT video compared that whisky to cream soda and Irn Bru, I'll be going nowhere near
Geoff (who enjoys a dram or two)

 

[DCUKMod]

Can you report a moderator for encouraging pre-Christmas spending ? Asking for a friend
https://www.alcoholfree.co.uk/whissin-750ml-p-521.html?cPath=2_66_62
Geoff

You can give it a go, but I'd have to give myself a stern talking to, then work out how to warn myself not to do it again.

 

[Grateful]

Why is the subject of giving up alcohol even necessary? If you have to find ways and tricks if doing so, you are likely to have an issue with it.

Good question. My OP specifically states that the suggested discussion topic is: drinking alcohol in moderation, not giving it up altogether! I kicked it off with my stupid tricks for achieving "moderation." Coz I will admit it, pre-diagnosis I was immoderate -- including a daily three pints of excellent, very-high-carb beer for many years (which presumably did me no favors in hastening the advent of T2D). I still drink beer, but only rarely (once every week or two) and a lone pint (sigh!).

Of course I totally "get" that some people imperatively have to give up alcohol, for medical reasons, but I'm not (yet) one of them. Also that some people just don't want to drink alcohol, for whatever other (non-medical) reason.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Why is the subject of giving up alcohol even necessary? If you have to find ways and tricks if doing so, you are likely to have an issue with it.

I must say that seems a bit of a strange approach.

If there is something that people have issues with, it is generally good to share and discuss.
Much like other diet issues such as fruit, carbohydrate in general, fats.

If you have had a habit all your adult life then it is a big thing to change it drastically, and also would be irritating if it turned out that you didn't need to anyway.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I'm a wine drinker, red only, so virtually carb-free. After diagnosis I gave it up almost completely because of the calories and I wanted to lose weight, not because of my blood sugars. Once the weight had all gone I used it to help increase my calories in order to stop losing weight and maintain. That was 3 years ago. My weight has maintained, my blood sugars have normalised.
Red wine is on the list of stuff to eat/drink to keep the heart healthy, so I keep drinking it daily, but in moderation most of the time!

 

[britishpub]

One persons moderation is often another persons excess.

 

[Bluetit1802]

One persons moderation is often another persons excess.

Yep, as the most commonly used phrase on this forum states .... we are all different.

 

[jay hay-char]

For whatever reason, people with diabetes sometimes want to reduce their alcohol consumption. I'm starting this thread not as a discussion of the why's and wherefores of that goal, but rather, a place for practical hints in achieving it.

I have several tips for the wine-lovers out there; things that helped me a lot.

• Buy smaller glasses. Here in America the standard glass is huge (12 fl oz or even 18). After some searching, we managed to find 6-oz glasses (online from Amazon).
• Buy half-bottles of wine (375ml). They are quite a bit more expensive per glass, but if you are reducing your overall wine intake you could end up spending less overall (we did). They are hard to find in shops, so we buy them online. There are specialist online dealers both here in America, and in the UK.
• Or, you can save money by buying standard bottles (750ml) then decanting them into a half-bottle decanter flask. This lets you re-cork the bottle immediately and save the rest for tomorrow, and the wine decanted today will "breathe" nicely for today's consumption.

I know that these are really stupid tricks and that we ought to be able to reduce our wine consumption without them, but ... they worked for us!!! For many months now Mrs. G. and I have been down to a half-bottle between us, per day (on weekdays). We "cheat" with a whole bottle about once per week.

(Edited later to restore a missing gerund.)

Some interesting ideas, there, I'll toss in a couple of things that have occurred to me. The first thing to say is that Mrs h-c and I have never drunk during the week: having to get up at the crack of dawn just isn't any fun if you're feeling bleary and befuddled from the night before, particularly if you've got to go to work, so we've always restricted our drinking to the weekend. I have calculated that, in doing this, I probably average about 10 - 12 units per week. I can see the DN raising a sceptical eyebrow when I say this to her at my reviews, but I'm pretty sure it's an accurate estimate and in doing this we never got into the habit of pouring a drink every evening, which makes it much easier to be restrained.

I like a glass of scotch, accompanied by a bit of water (for a single malt) or diet dry ginger (for the cheap supermarket blend that I normally drink). I used to just slosh some into a glass, so had little or no idea of the amount of alcohol that was imbibing. I now keep a 25 ml shot glass to hand, which holds roughly a pub measure; about 1 unit of alcohol. At first I thought the drink that resulted was a bit insipid but I've got used to it now, and it probably goes to show how much alcohol I was drinking before I started measuring it.

Having said all that, I love both Scotch and red wine, so I can't see myself ever giving up alcohol completely. What I have had to do is to give up dessert wines - which I used to love - and fortified wines like port and sherry, because of the high sugar content. I was never a great beer drinker, but I will occasionally have a bottle of Mexican lager, particularly if we're having a BBQ in the summer, which I know is not good from a carb point of view, but sometimes you've got to indulge a bit, haven't you?

 

[Jo_the_boat]

This is a paragraph from the postscript of Malcolm Kendrick's book, The Great Cholesterol Con.

If you don’t drink alcohol, start. If you do drink, drink regularly – don’t binge drink – and make sure you enjoy
what you drink. Drink with friends, drink sociably; don’t drink to get drunk.

Kendrick, Malcom. The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It (p. 266). John Blake Publishing. Kindle Edition.

His book is interesting, some of it I understand, but for some reason the paragraph above stood out.

 

[Paul_Sheffield]

I can't see me ever giving up modest amounts of single malt scotch, or nice reds, or the occasional real ale (I'll dial back more on that one because of their carbs though), etc.. Quitting them is unlikely to extend my lifespan by any significant amount, or improve my health one iota, and I like drinking them. The main thing I've noticed about my alcohol consumption over the years is that it's declined in quantity naturally, and the quality of what I consume has gone up.

Cakes and plain chocolate biscuits on the other hand...

 

[agwagw]

For whatever reason, people with diabetes sometimes want to reduce their alcohol consumption. I'm starting this thread not as a discussion of the why's and wherefores of that goal, but rather, a place for practical hints in achieving it.

I have several tips for the wine-lovers out there; things that helped me a lot.

• Buy smaller glasses. Here in America the standard glass is huge (12 fl oz or even 18). After some searching, we managed to find 6-oz glasses (online from Amazon).
• Buy half-bottles of wine (375ml). They are quite a bit more expensive per glass, but if you are reducing your overall wine intake you could end up spending less overall (we did). They are hard to find in shops, so we buy them online. There are specialist online dealers both here in America, and in the UK.
• Or, you can save money by buying standard bottles (750ml) then decanting them into a half-bottle decanter flask. This lets you re-cork the bottle immediately and save the rest for tomorrow, and the wine decanted today will "breathe" nicely for today's consumption.

I know that these are really stupid tricks and that we ought to be able to reduce our wine consumption without them, but ... they worked for us!!! For many months now Mrs. G. and I have been down to a half-bottle between us, per day (on weekdays). We "cheat" with a whole bottle about once per week.

(Edited later to restore a missing gerund.)

Good advice for us tipplers Also congrats on the low carb diet - so much better then a low fat. Finally, excellent to see a reference to a gerund!!!