8 Drinks! Are You Kidding Me???

terra415

So while at the gym this evening, something really bothered me. I saw CNN on the television flashing, "CDC now classifies women drinking 8 drinks a WEEK to be 'Heavy Drinkers'". This of course just put a wonderful spin on my Friday. I never considered myself a heavy drinker by any means, but when a time and place occurs, I can throw down with the best of them. I do imbibe the occasional drink or two 3-4 evenings a week. Sometimes it feels right and sometimes I could care less. But for some reason as I envisioned a good beer in my hand after a long hard day (even a hard Friday) and collapsing into bed, this whole news feed started to bother the crap out of me. For some reason I feel so bad taking that drink. It kind of makes me want to drink more, or go for the popcorn buttered to hell and a 2 liter of coke, because that seems less of a problem.

I would say since being on MFP I have lost a great amount of weight and really do not drink like I used to. It is more shocking when you actually have to log that stuff. But by no means have I stopped. I find it interesting. I cannot be the only woman on here that has issues with this whole condemnation. Understandably, wouldn't it be worse to have all 8 drinks in one night? They need to clarify this stuff. Seriously! Okay, please someone! Anyone! Shed some light....

KameHameHaaaa

Haha just women huh? What a crock. 8 drinks is nothin!

jessspurr

I would consider someone who had 8 drinks a week to be a heavy drinker (regardless of division). The only reason I think that though is because I personally only have maybe 8 drinks every 3 or 4 months. So I guess you have to have something to compare it with to classify anything as "heavy" or "light". To someone who drinks 8 drinks a night, you would be considered a light drinker. To someone who doesn't drink at all maybe they would consider you a heavy drinker. If you don't consider yourself a heavy drinker then there ya go! Just my two cents!

jessspurr

They are trying to put you in a "box" and label you. It is meaningless.

baba_helly

I was just discussing this with my co-worker today. I don't generally believe any health related stories on the news as they are generally not verifiable by science and are also geared more toward being memorable by way of shock value than being completely accurate.

That being said, I don't know why you would let a story on the news make you feel guilty about your food & beverage choices.

psmd

They are trying to put you in a "box" and label you. It is meaningless.

I hate to be a downer but it is not meaningless. There are a lot of implications to being a heavier drinker, including a higher risk for alcohol dependence, medical issues, and mental health issues. And yes, 8 drinks a week, even if not in one night, IS considered heavy by the medical community.

It's normalized in college and in our twenties, but most people naturally decrease their intake by their thirties. Everything in moderation unfortunately.

Mr_Bad_Example

If a goofy story on CNN can ruffle your feathers that badly, maybe you should ask the gym to change the TV channel next time.

xDawnsgrace

i would consider "heavy drinking" more like a litre of vodka a night. 8 a week seems.. low.

fryfat

They can call it whatever they want, but when I'm done with this diet I'm having a drink or 8.

Aemely

I'd think this would be highly variable by person. If you don't have alcoholism in your family *and* if your normal "drinks" have very little alcohol in them, I'd be less worried.

This Unit/Calorie calculator seems to be more useful than the generic advice: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/understand-your-drinking/unit-calorie-calculator/ , as does this "self-assessment" tool: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/selfassessment .

I'd take the CDC's advice with a grain of salt (which apparently is now not as bad for you: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20140402/cdc-salt-guidelines-too-low-for-good-health-study-suggests)!!!

:drinker:

trophywife24

8 drinks in one week is just one beer (or whatever) and just two one night. That's barely a heavy drinker. Eight drinks a night is a lot, but in week? Meh.

pipertargaryen

ROFL. Per week, I'd say I have about 16 glasses of wine (1 and a half or 2 per night). I get drunk a total of never! If I have to work a night shift, I don't drink. If I had a night job, I wouldn't drink. I NEVER drink cocktails or hard liquor or pound beers. But I love a glass or two of wine.

I've lost 49lbs, and at this rate I'll hit the 50 mark by the 30th - which is exactly 6 months since the start of my journey, which is 1.92 pounds per week, or something. Which means, obviously, my drinking has not impeded my loss. I'm healthy and strong in ways I've never been. So, this study? I think it needs a drink

Edit: There's no alcoholism in my family, luckily. I'm the only one that drinks regularly. I take my wine with my supper (usually salmon or steak - it's just a delicious combo!). Now, my boyfriend is a teetotaler. He considers 1 drink a YEAR excessive (and he and his family own the busiest bar in town - go figure :laugh: ).

Grumpsandwich

and yet they suggest 1 glass of wine a day is good for you. Thats like teetering on the edge there! OH NO! lol

Jlew64

I saw a similar segment on CBS this morning... the piece was centering around alcohol related diseases and death... http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/06/26/325489951/excessive-drinking-causes-10-percent-of-deaths-in-working-adults

It wasn't necessarily trying to label people. BUT even the interviewer questioned whether one drink a day could be considered heavy drinking. The piece also discussed the more serious issue (health-wise) of binge drinking... 4,5,6 drinks in one sitting.
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking

SomeNights246

It seems like it would depend on what one is drinking and what they consider a 'drink'. But eh.

RabbitLost

The CDC has been spending a lot of time playing in back yards it does not belong in. There are other sources that are better for sodium, alcohol and many other substances. My doctor uses the American Heart Association guidelines. And even those guidelines contain the following disclaimer: "Also, it's not possible to predict in which people alcoholism will become a problem."

TL;DR? Meh.

AliceDark

If it bothers you that much, it might be a good idea to ask yourself why.

Sabine_Stroehm

Seven drinks is moderate. 8 is "heavy". Kinda nutty when you consider most medical professionals think it's great to have a glass of wine nightly. But hey, you had two last night? HEAVY. That seems odd.

You and hubs share a bottle of wine nightly? heavy. 2.25 glasses, with dinner. (and now it's heavy for both because he had the .25)

Later in the article (on the CNN website) another measure said "heavy" was defined as: They say "heavy use" is "five or more drinks on the same occasion, on each of five or more days in the past 30 days."

That's quite different.
I dunno.

amandzor

Personally. And this is just for me. If you're an adult do whatever it is you're going to do.

But I believe that drinking 3-4 days a week...is at least heavy to moderate drinking.

Think about it. You go to the gym 4 days a week, you're considered a moderate gym user.

Then again, I drink maybe once a month.

jessspurr

They are trying to put you in a "box" and label you. It is meaningless.

I hate to be a downer but it is not meaningless. There are a lot of implications to being a heavier drinker, including a higher risk for alcohol dependence, medical issues, and mental health issues. And yes, 8 drinks a week, even if not in one night, IS considered heavy by the medical community.

It's normalized in college and in our twenties, but most people naturally decrease their intake by their thirties. Everything in moderation unfortunately.

Actually, blinding labeling people with arbitrary adjectives is pretty much meaningless. I didn't say that being a heavier drinker was meaningless.

ew_david

I'll just get a bigger glass.