5 Steps to Cutting Back on Drinking Alcohol
If you think you have been attached at the hip with alcohol, then you need to find ways to cut back. Don’t wait for it to develop into a problem before taking measures to curb it. As they say, prevention is better than cure.
If you are reaching for alcohol for everything in your life – good or bad – then that is good enough sign to cut back on drinking. You don’t have to give up entirely, but limiting is what you need to aim at. Your aim should be improving your health and your life.
1. Count Your Drinks
With me, I don’t drink regularly, but when I do, there’s no stopping. That has been the reason for many hangovers and puking sessions. Counting your drinks is important to know when you need to stop. The first step is to not keep on ordering because you think you don’t feel it – it is going to hit and trust me the more you intake the more sudden the hit is.
Before you go out to drink, make sure to set a realistic goal for yourself. Set a limit of a number of drinks that you can’t exceed and make sure to stick to it.
2. Slow it Down
One of the things that leads to me drinking more is gulping down my drinks. I love rum more than beer so when my friends ordered beer, I would order rum. Now, rum is a hard drink and doesn’t need as much as beer to get you drunk. While my friends were on their first bottle of beer, I would be 2-3 drinks down because the quantity varies.
Now, I won’t tell you to start drinking beer if you love beer because there is no point in having what you don’t like. What you should be doing instead is pacing yourself. Instead of keeping on sipping your drink, try to slow it down. It will make your drink last longer and you won’t intake as much alcohol.
3. Include Non-Alcoholic Drinks in Your Order
If you have been here for a while, you know my love for cocktails – both at home and at bars. I have a few favorite cocktails that I always have. I am not very good at using non-alcoholic drinks as spacers but that is what you are supposed to be doing.
Water is the best solution, but you can have sodas, juices, mocktails between your alcoholic drinks to slow down your consumption. I reduce the number of hard drinks I consume by replacing it with cocktails. It makes me feel like I am still drinking but it doesn’t affect me as much as downing rum would.
4. Eat. Eat. Eat.
Eating reduces the appetite for drinks in many people. Also, having a full stomach will not only stop you from having more drinks, but it will also stop you from getting drunk. Once, I hadn’t eaten properly for the past day or so because I was busy at work. I got drunk with not even half the amount I can usually handle. It is important to keep yourself fed and hydrated if you want to have a good drinking experience and for also not having more alcohol in your body than what your body can handle.
5. Learn to Say ‘No’
If you have people in your life that keep pushing you to have “just one more drink,” then you need to learn to say no. Saying no doesn’t mean you aren’t being a sport, it means you are being responsible. Your first responsibility is toward yourself. Learn to know when to stop, and not let anyone push you past your limit. This is a big part of giving up anything.
