[Closed] How many of you don't drink?

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Me and her currently getting raj'd to oasis who are back on spotify! Sorry!

I stopped drinking in January this year.

I have never been a big drinker though to be honest and a heavy week for me would have been 3 bottles of Magners.

I gave it up because I was drinking purely because it was there and wasn't actually that fussed.

Haven't been tempted to start again and I never get any comments from anyone when socialising.

I drank strong punch out of a large storage box the other day, aside from that no.

Nope 🙂

i rarely drink, tbh i find it boring if i do it regularly.
several times a year i will ask mrs mac to get some beer (or whatever) in, but by the time im home the mood will usually have passed so it will sit for a couple of months.
however, when i go out i tend to get absolutely mortal, which has led to some epic pisstaking at work 'you were in some state when i saw you at the weekend' etc.

I don't drink as often as I'd like to. Basically because I can't afford to. Nothing to do with a desire to get shit-faced, I just like the flavour of a good beer or single malt. Friday and Saturday night, two pints down the pub. Simple as that.

Me! Well, at the moment at any rate...haven't had a drink in six months. I've lost quite a few pounds, gained some bank balance but I feel a little at sea, my drinking persona was larger than life and full of fun, but my sober persona is meek and awkward. But I talk a lot more sense these days.

Do I miss it? In a word, yes. However, I don't miss sitting in the the lounge and sinking eight cans of ale and the resulting hangover the next day and subsequent self-berating.

I don't, haven't for over 20 years.

I've been on the wagon for about 6 months and intend never to drink again. Not for any other reason that i wanted to stop...been a big drinker in the past, but was down to a couple of cans a night before i stopped do a nice whisky thou

I'm not a non drinker but I really don't do it that often. Probably not even once a month. Then it might be a couple of bottles of crabbies. I don't like the taste of beer so I think socially, that's been a big influencing factor.

Not much, although I really wish I'd just stop full stop

For me it's wretched awful stuff really.

Yup I have the odd glass of wine but only at home with Mr MC I certainly don't drink with work colleagues and I think the last time I was hideously pi**ed was about 7 years ago. Not interested but I have a vino when I feel like it. Everything in moderation does you good.

Nope. I hate alcohol. Wife's a lush though.

Rarely although not through any moral or physical objection.

13 month old in the house means getting up in the middle of the night is hard enough as it is...

I often go months without having a drink. I used to drink excessively in my mid 20's but just grew out of it.

I used to drink pretty heavily, including some periods in my life when I would drink all day every day..
Only ever for fun with friends though..

I stopped when our kids were born, which I think was definitely the best course of action for dealing with sleep deprivation, screaming, teething etc..

I'm gently easing myself back into social drinking now.. I miss the community of the pub, and I firmly believe that intoxication is a vital and natural process for human interaction..

Stopped drinking 1st September on the basis wifey would soon drop. After the birth I decided to go on until Christsmas, just because I can.

On Friday I went out with the lads. It's quite sad watching people deteriorate in front of you when you are sober. I'm not sure in what capacity ill go back as I quite enjoy a beer, but I think it'd definately be on an enjoyment basis rather than to get drunk. Probably a couple of pints/rums at the weekend.

Very rarely. Occasionally have a bottle of wine with the GF on a Friday night. Have gone over a year without drinking previously.

Can take it or leave it really.. it doesnt agree with me and I've always been a lightweight at it.

Last drink I had was about 10 days ago.. we all got multiple punctures so called the ride off and went to the pub. had 4 pints and spent the next 24 hours very ill. 😳

About 3 years for me now, just don't really feel like it. Funnily it winds my friends up too, some of them can't understand how/why I don't drink!

Went out on Friday night until 5am and had fun with friends and still don't feel the need to be pissed. Being tired the next day is fine, being tired and feeling like the world is going to end, no thanks!

Very very seldom and then only a small wine or a shandy. Hit the big 50 in a few weeks so l might get drunk to forget about it 🙁

I gave up when i hit 30, almost 5 years. My work colleagues don't get it at all and my mates are even worse. I keep getting what do you drink when you watch the footie, erm tea?

For me i got fed up of the hangover on a sunday just wasting the day wrecked all the time. Now im up most sundays off out on the bike and enjoying having what feels like an extra day each week.

I like the occasional pint after work in my local and the odd Thirsty Thursday as its £2.25 a pint every Thursday which is a bit of a draw, I also like a glass of red with my Sat & Sun tea and look forward to my Birthday & Xmas bottle of Malt. I have considered giving up alcohol altogether but wonder if I have the will power to maintain it. If I thought or Mrs FH thought I had issues with drink then I would give it up, I drink far less now than I used to now I'm not a member of any wine clubs.

At the start of this year I stated going to the village pub as I'm not from the area and felt a bit isolated. It has been great for building up social interaction.

However, I did notice I was starting to go down the pub twice a week and get sloshed. I have cut it well back to two pints on a Friday night and a couple on the odd Saturday.

16 years not a drop. At 21 my life was pretty much revolved around drugs/music scene. Woke up one morning and walked away from the lot.

No alcohol for me.
Partly because of health reasons and also it used to be very expensive as a young hip thing around town and I just couldn't afford it, so got into a non-drinking habit.

About 10 years now since I considered myself a drinker.

I wasn't alcoholic in the sense of 'can't function without a drink inside me' but whenever I had a drink, I couldn't stop - the switch that said you've had enough now didn't work and as a result I was getting into messier and messier situations. I twice vomited in my sleep and woke up covered in it (fortunate not to choke on it I guess) and a couple of nights out in London ended up coming round to find myself sleeping rough in underpasses, etc., one time minus the cash contents of my wallet.

Cutting down wasn't an option, every time I tried the switch would just malfunction again, so I had to stop. To start with mates were a bit odd about it and they didn't really understand the situation that drove me to it - they were more 'good man, you're a monster on the beer' - but in time they came round. I drove a lot which gave me the excuse not to drink, and other times just avoided the first one. I didn't drink full stop for about a year, then gradually reintroduced it but the switch works fine now, and the same group of mates have all grown up a bit too so the peer pressure is gone too. I can go months without a drink, other times i fancy a beer or a glass of wine so i have one, and occasionally I go out drinking for a special occasion, but I'm in control now not the other way round.

10 years

August 1995

Longest without a drink for me was 7 months. It felt great.

Will give going teetotal a shot if I become a parent I reckon. At a stage in my life where I don't feel like I need a drink to relax or take the edge off a bad day.

I have not had an alcoholic drink for 11 months. Before that was probably having literally a drink or two every couple of months and probably only got drunk a handful of times in the previous 10 years. Prior to twenty-seven, I didn't drink every day but every few weeks would have a big night out where I would ill-advisedly drink to excess. Never out if control or paralytic but would consume around sixteen to twenty double measures between 10pm and 2am.

I had my day and enjoyed it - but don't miss it at all, hence why I drank so rarely before I thought why bother and stopped completely.

I rarely drink anyway, once a week I might have a glass of wine or a beer, or my favourite single malt (Im building a collection!) usually with a meal. Occasionally (once every 3 months or so) I will binge on half a bottle of jd and coke but I rarely have the time or inclination to drink. It just doesn't figure in my mind as something overly pleasurable unless its hot, sunny and Im really thirsty. And then its just to refresh.

i gave up both drinking/smoking back in 2004.haven't touched either since then 🙂

All my heavy drinking was between about 16 and 21, i.e. bloody ages ago

I like beer but I only have 1-4 drinks in a week now

Not worth giving up at that level; I'd feel or get no benefit and it's just nice now & then

Haven't been pissed for about 10yrs

I don't drink anywhere near what I use to, then I was constantly travelling (and on expenses) and when at home we both liked a drink - most days. Plus money was no object...

Now I manage a couple of bottles of beer and 1-2 glasses of wine a week at home and a beer after night-riding. Any more makes it hard.

As in last week we had a couple of reds with dinner, and then 40 miles MTBing in the Borders the next day - it was a struggle 😯

Very very little, I like the odd glass of a premium cider, but thats it. I don't like what it does to me; two or three drinks will seriously cloud my judgement, 5 or 6 gives me full on tourette's.

Made a lot of bad calls when I was younger and drinking most weekends, can do without that these days.

Couldn't handle the 2 day hangovers anymore so I stopped last year 😕

A couple of units a year is about my lot...tastes icky.

havent had an alcoholic drink since my 18th birthday part which was over a decade ago now (which makes me feel ancient 🙁 )

I may be drink 2-3 times a year and probably no more than 1 or 2 bottles of beer or a glass or two of wine. I was a big drinker in the past - gave up about 10 years ago. Age caught up with me, but I can't say that I miss it.

I stopped in January this year when I decided that being fat at 16 and half stone wasnt good for me.

Hence getting back into bikes and this mornigns weigh in was 11st 12lb and 32in jeans down from 40in so it must be better for me.

I've never been able to stand the taste of anything alcoholic. And now I'm beginning to suspect I lack the gene to process it, since even half a measure of whiskey or similar gives me a terrible headache right at the front of my head within a few minutes of drinking, without any symptoms of inebriation, then it goes after about half an hour.

Not drink alcohol, no not going to try that one thanks.

Very rarely drink pints - maybe one pint at pub quiz night or something but that's it. Can't drink proper beer/ale either so I have to resort to lager which just means all the proper beer drinkers take the piss. 😳 I'd much rather have a good coffee to be honest.

I like red wine though, will have a glass or three with dinner when I'm with friends. And I like whisky mac too, it's a nice winter drink after an evenings fell run or ride sitting by a nice pub fire.

I drink when I go out with friends. That is it. I have no intention of making booze necessary for having a nice relaxing evening at home though. I just don't see the point. Biking is my booze :p

i stopped on new year's day, 1988.
if i hadn't, i'd be dead by now.

Only a couple of times a year for me when out with mates. Don't really like the taste of it anymore.

i stopped on new year's day, 1988.
if i hadn't, i'd be dead by now.

I sometimes wander if we'll look back in 20 to 30 years and think the same way about booze as most people do now about smoking. Jesus H! people really did that to themselves? They paid through the nose for a substance that damages them.

I havent had alcohol in over 8years & dont miss it.

mrs_oab has not drunk in years - just does not agree with her and makes her feel ill.
Both of us are light drinkers - I love a good beer, or whisky now and again. I probably have an alcoholic drink once a fortnight.

I never really got into drinking, tried a few flavours of beer/wine 1 glass normally never liked the taste and it made me very ill, so I just dont bother

Median weekly alcohol consumption is zero, but I have the occasional beer or wine. I don't get drunk.

Is there anyone on this thread who's never drunk alcohol in any significant amount?

I am not a none drinker, however i used to drink heavely at uni and the year or so after i would be out every monday, Wednesday Friday and saturday, occasionally the days between too.

I have cut back and only drink very occasionaly now christmas, birthdays, new year,and the od drink with the family probably no more than 7 or 8 days a year.

No reason for it just don't fancy it. It never had an effect onmy life i was always fit and healthy and i haven't lost weight or got any fitter since stopping.

Yes Molgrips 4 years at Uni boy did I drink! that's probably why I don't so much anymore, don't really like thep erson it turned me into.

I have to resort to lager which just means all the proper beer drinkers take the piss.

That's terrible, I'd never do that. 😉

I was hammered last night and could do with cutting down.

Don't drink at all. Anything alcoholic tastes bloody awful. Plus I wouldn't drink anyhow as I hate to feel rough and I have two small kids so the last thing I'd want them to have to see is dad drunk frequently or with a hangover.

Lived in Ibiza for years and was drunk and coked up every single day, just got bored of it and kids are way more important.

Good beer, wine and whisky.

Not a lot of it though, you'll rarely see me drunk.

That said, I could do without alcohol, I have no love for it.

Hmmmm, just need to figure out a way of extracting it from fine wine and beer 😉

Only during the week (I don't drink). It's a very easy "rule" to implement, it has clearly definable boundaries etc. Also if I've had a really bad day it's easy to make the logical jump to "Having a drink tonight is solely for use as a crutch which is a Bad Thing so don't do it".

However I have found that tends to mean drinking less at the weekend too. Winner all round. I can now fill in those medical things and genuinely tick the lower ranges without any "adjustments".

I drank for the first time on Saturday since August '11 because I lost a bet. Didn't add anything to the night and wrote the day after off.

Back to not drinking again for a far better net result at life.

I was teetotal for a few years but started again a few years back. But I rarely drink still, a month can go by without easily and then it'll tend to be a couple of ales followed by a couple of whiskeys rather than a real session. Occasionaly I'll pick up a couple of bottles of something in the supermarket if I'm in the mood but generally we don't have much alcohol in the house.

As someone said above, nothing wrong with anything in moderation.

[i]you don't drink?[/i]

What a terrible idea. I've been drunk for nearly two months.

Ok, you've convinced me. I'll give it a go this week.

Off the sauce until the weekend....

BTW, what can I expect to happen during a week of sobery-ness ?.

Is there anyone on this thread who's never drunk alcohol in any significant amount?

I'm interested in this too - and er, why*?

* I've never done any drugs, just scared of the out-of-controlness-and-trusting-someone-whose-making-mind-altering-chemicals-for-me really, so am wondering if its for the same reasons

I never really drank much at all.

As a student at the start of my last term in my final year we went to the art college bar flush with a grant cheque.

I drank in moderation but someone must have spiked my beer. I was seriously drunk, my friends put me in a taxi, there was no hope of me riding home.

I lived in an Edinburgh New Town basement. The coal bunker door was immediatly opposite the house door. Somehow I confused the two and ended up in the coal bunker......butt naked.

I awoke freezing at dawn with no idea where I was or how I got home.

Worst of all the taxi driver had stolen all the cash I had.

As I said, I didnt drink much before then, I seldom ever drink now.

I drank in moderation but someone must have spiked my beer.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I haven't drunk for over two years. I used to enjoy it, and drank most weekends, but the hangovers got worse and worse and I got sick of wasting my weekends nursing a hangover. No drink means more time for getting out on the bike, and more money to spend on new shiny bits for it!

I only ever intended to give up for a few weeks, but the extra energy, money and time I gained seemed to make sense, so I never started again.

I still go out to the pub with drinking friends on occasion, and the view of drunk people as a sober person is really something everyone should experience at least once. A bit like a window onto your own past behaviour.

Some people can enjoy a few pints and enjoy their night, but most drinkers have had at least one night where they overdid it. For me abstinence is the easiest way of avoiding that happening again. You do have to modify your social life to adapt though - staying in a club until 4am is not as appealing when you aren't looking through the 'goggles'.

One huge benefit is being able to drive everywhere. I can travel to clubs and gigs much further away and not have to worry about accommodation or transport. If a party gets out of hand, you can always jump in your car and escape 🙂

Each to their own - I certainly don't have a problem with others drinking, but I also think as a society we put far too much emphasis on drinking and pubs, and it's sad that not drinking is seen as 'weird' or 'alternative'. I might have given up a lot earlier had I known anyone else who had done the same - you feel a bit outcast at first.

I probably have a drink every couple of months, I had two bottles of cider at a works do last week then switched to coke.
I've been properly drunk once this year.
I've gone a couple of years before without having a drink. It just doesn't bother me - I used to drink quite a lot in my 20's but guess I just grew out of it.
Given the choice I'd rather drive on a night out than drink.

I haven't had a drink for 19 odd years now. I don't like the taste of alcohol and stopped drinking it when i was 17 (so when most were just getting started). I discovered that i could have more fun sober and it ment that I never had to worry about getting home. It also meens that you can remmeber all the embarassing things that others have done.

Each to their own - I certainly don't have a problem with others drinking, but I also think as a society we put far too much emphasis on drinking and pubs, and it's sad that not drinking is seen as 'weird' or 'alternative'. I might have given up a lot earlier had I known anyone else who had done the same - you feel a bit outcast at first.

agreed, although in my experience you never really stop feeling somewhat on the outside of things at times due to how all-pervasive alcohol tends to be in our socialising. you just learn to accept that there's going to be times you will feel like you're a total alien, to be honest!

Like a lot of people here, I'm not tee total but instead a very occasional drinker, happy to take it or leave it and never more than a couple of pints at a time.

The common theme among the posters here seems to be the lack of importance that they place on drink. I don't regard it as a big deal but friends and colleagues think it is an essential element of any social event. This is proven by the lengths and expense they go to with taxi's etc just so they have have a drink and therefore 'have a good time'.

I usually offer to drive because I'm not bothered about drinking, this is always met with the 'don't you want to have a good time?' argument. That makes me want to drink even less!

agreed, although in my experience you never really stop feeling somewhat on the outside of things at times due to how all-pervasive alcohol tends to be in our socialising. you just learn to accept that there's going to be times you will feel like you're a total alien, to be honest!

Absolutely. I'm fairly sure when I was drinking I would have viewed teetotalers with the same suspicion. It seems to be such an uncommon thing when you're in a pub full of drinkers, but the point is exactly that - the people who don't drink are off doing other things. It's finding those other things (and people) that is the hard part, at first.

I imagine it's much easier to have never drunk, as your social circle would likely have more people in it that don't default to 'pub at weekend'. Coming from a more party/pub-orientated youth means you've naturally acquired more drinking friends than non-drinking.

I totally agree that socialising can be harder though - the UK in particular seems to focus all social activities around drinking. Not drinking at something like a stag-do is met with some bewildered looks. However, not being hungover the following day, or waking up to bizarre photos you don't even remember being taken do make up for it somewhat 🙂

'tis interesting what Franks says ^^.

I've been confronted by a whole list of "good ideas" from my work colleagues about how to get home, how to organise my time, and indeed, how to have a good time at the office Christmas Party (including eye fluttering young ladies), becuase apparantly thats a good time for me to "fall off the wagon early".

Frankly, that whole "here's how inconvienient it would be" reminder, plus the anticipated hangover / wandering around cold in town has put me right off.

I shall turn up and do my duty with a couple of glasses of / Coke Zero and make my way home.

I shall then in the morning have an inner smirk at the stories of those that have shamed themselves, and those with banging headaches.

'don't you want to have a good time?' argument

This is what people who have never grown up say, hence the immature mentality towards drinking*

Mature adults couldn't really give a monkeys if you drink or not.

(* or, they don't really like you / each other & are basically saying "I can't tolerate spending time with you unless I'm drunk")

I got bored of feeling shit and making a **** out of myself so gave up for a few years. Now I have a few every few months, but even then I shouldn't as the thought of a few beers is much better than the reality.

For me there is no where to go after 2 pints - stop drinking and soon feel a bit tired and rough OR keep drinking and it all gets messy.

5 pints and I'm leathered, then it's 3 days before I feel right again...a heavy price to pay for something not that great.

you can drink and not have a hangover you know.
you can still ride your bike as much

everything in moderation!

you can drink and not have a hangover you know.

There seems to be quite a lot of people who don't drink at all.

Do you not like enjoying a nice wine or beer? If not, fair enough. if you do, is it not possible for you to just have one or two (ex alcoholics excluded)?

I'm not a fan of getting drunk, but to never taste a fine wine or tasty ale just seems a bit much.

On the ability to appreciate certain drinks/cost to health:

Heaving drinking = lose/lose
Zero drinking = lose/win
Limited/moderated drinking = win/win

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