8 Drinks! Are You Kidding Me???

wonderwoman234

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

This

RestartingAgain1

I rarely drink, but this is say 2 glasses of wine every other day is heavy... and having one glass a night(which is recommended) is almost being a heavy drinker. thats insane

Blacklance36

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

What a bunch of lightweights.

BinaryPulsar

I think it depends on the person. I can't drink 8 drinks a week (also depends on what they consider a drink to be). I would have a headache, brain fog, tummy ache, be less productive, and emotional. But, that's just how I am. Other people do fine with more. If you are doing fine, and happy, then nothing to worry about. Maybe because I weigh 100 pounds.

FatFreeFrolicking

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

I second this.

It may be the fact that I don't drink but I believe someone who drinks 8 drinks a week is a moderate to heavy drinker. Who has time for that?

In the medical community, 8 drinks a week is without a doubt classified as a heavy drinker.

redheaddee

So one beer or one glass of wine with dinner each night, maybe 2-3 on a Friday...guess I am a heavy drinker. :shrugs:

Atrocity108

Years ago, I had a doctor who insisted that I was an Alcoholic, because I was consume 4 or more beers in one setting. Now, I told her that these sittings would only happen once every two months or so (as I do not drink that much.). She still insisted that I needed help, that I was an alcoholic and a binge drinker.

I never saw her after that.

Alidecker

I personally don't think 8 a week is much, there are some weeks where I don't hit that many and some weekends where I hit that many. We discussed this at lunch today, four women one in 20s, one 30s, one 40s and one 50s. We all thought it seemed low.

shmerek

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

What a bunch of lightweights.

I would be dead on my feet if I had a drink a day. I weigh a buck and change and never drink.

FatFreeFrolicking

Years ago, I had a doctor who insisted that I was an Alcoholic, because I was consume 4 or more beers in one setting. Now, I told her that these sittings would only happen once every two months or so (as I do not drink that much.). She still insisted that I needed help, that I was an alcoholic and a binge drinker.

I never saw her after that.

By medical definition, a binge drinker is a woman who consumes 4 or more drinks during one sitting or a male who consumes 5 or more drinks during one sitting. So that is why she was referring to you as a binge drinker.

However, for a male to be considered a heavy drinker, he would need to consume 15+ drinks a week (which you do not do).

Galatea_Stone

I bounce back and forth on how much I drink. Some weeks I drink nothing. Other weeks I will drink as many as 9 or 10 drinks. Most of the time, it's around 5.

The CDC does have some biases, but to the extent that alcohol consumption leads to increased disease risks, the information is useful. In the case of alcohol, there have been numerous medical studies that show women are more susceptible to certain diseases based on increased alcohol consumption. I can understand the reclassification.

I don't, however, have to like it. I just have to admit that under the CDC guidelines, I'm considered a moderate to heavy drinker. Maybe it's a good cue for me to cut back a bit more.

terra415

Okay understandably its not the drunk or buzzed feeling, but yes the constant increase in activity that one's liver and organs go through when drinking is something to consider. I understand that the CDC is not labeling me, but trying to (or I naively hope) that they are trying to control alcohol related diseases.

Again, I cannot say why it bothers me. I do remember my party days and looking back at how much I threw back on a nightly basis is shocking. I am amazed I kept up with the basics of life while still pounding 6-10 drinks every evening. I could see a major difference between days I drank and days I didn't even though I didn't really get a hangover. I always considered these past few years (or at least this last year of MFP, and eating substantially better) to be a low to moderate drinker. So in that completely NON-MEDICAL context, I feel like I had a slap in the face. But maybe I'm to a point to change things up in my life and live a little cleaner in the nutrition sense. Why not alcohol?

Ready2Rock206

I'm not sure I even have 8 drinks in an entire year.

terra415

I bounce back and forth on how much I drink. Some weeks I drink nothing. Other weeks I will drink as many as 9 or 10 drinks. Most of the time, it's around 5.

The CDC does have some biases, but to the extent that alcohol consumption leads to increased disease risks, the information is useful. In the case of alcohol, there have been numerous medical studies that show women are more susceptible to certain diseases based on increased alcohol consumption. I can understand the reclassification.

I don't, however, have to like it. I just have to admit that under the CDC guidelines, I'm considered a moderate to heavy drinker. Maybe it's a good cue for me to cut back a bit more.

Okay! You totally said it better than I did .

Slacker16

By medical definition, a binge drinker is a woman who consumes 4 or more drinks during one sitting or a male who consumes 5 or more drinks during one sitting. So that is why she was referring to you as a binge drinker.

TFW you can kill a six-pack in under 10 minutes (or at least used to).

To be honest, these days, four drinks seems to be the upper limit I can drink if I don't want to be hung over the next day. Must be getting old, can't party like I used to...

I just have to admit that under the CDC guidelines, I'm considered a moderate to heavy drinker.

If 14/week and 4/day are the limits for dudes, that would make me a moderate drinker that occasionally way, way, way binge drinks :indifferent:

KameHameHaaaa

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

What a bunch of lightweights.

I would be dead on my feet if I had a drink a day. I weigh a buck and change and never drink.

I'd trade being able to drink my guy friends under the table to be under 200 lbs! Dont get me wrong though, I actually havent drank in about six months aside from sangria here and there. Used to be a heavy heavy drinker. And by heavy I dont mean 8 a week, more like 16 a night! Quit cold turkey after I realized how many calories I was consuming.

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

Wow. I'm a very heavy drinker then.
But it's ok, I have lots of excuses. I only drank on special occasions like Christmas and occasional outings 2 or 3 times a year until my 40's, and I only started drinking daily about two years ago because my shoulder hurt. So I have to catch up. And I mostly only drink red wine. I drink less than my husband and most if my friends. I don't get wasted on weekends and black out. It's just a COUPLE. And wait *hides red wine behind back* who are you to judge me? *starts getting aggressive*

Nothing to see here!

snikkins

Years ago, I had a doctor who insisted that I was an Alcoholic, because I was consume 4 or more beers in one setting. Now, I told her that these sittings would only happen once every two months or so (as I do not drink that much.). She still insisted that I needed help, that I was an alcoholic and a binge drinker.

I never saw her after that.

By medical definition, a binge drinker is a woman who consumes 4 or more drinks during one sitting or a male who consumes 5 or more drinks during one sitting. So that is why she was referring to you as a binge drinker.

However, for a male to be considered a heavy drinker, he would need to consume 15+ drinks a week (which you do not do).

I get what you're saying re: binge drinking but I think the point he was trying to make is that the doctor shouldn't have been so insistent on such a negative label since it happened so infrequently. Labels have varying amounts of impact on people, as seen in this thread. If it were me in that situation, the all or nothing approach would have bothered me as well, but for others, they may use it as a way of denial. (Note: the denial thing isn't directed at anyone, just a thought in general because I could see people doing that.)

As for the 8 drinks making a woman a "heavy drinker," that seems a bit low, especially if it's 15 for men. I get that women are typically smaller than men, but it seems like a rather large disparity without having any idea as to the reasoning, which I'm willing to admit. So, if someone has the reason for this, I'd love to know.

doctorsookie

Rule of thumb: don't believe any of the crap you see on fox or CNN. Unless its animated because they usually get it right. LOL

Sarahsteve7kids

As someone who use to drink many more then 8 per week I listened to the story with great interest! The emphasis was on the fact that 8 drinks didn't make you an alcoholic or problem drinker but it was the cause of so many problems! People can label themselves how ever they chose but really just like the food we eat our bodies also know what we are drinking! Men in the study suffered much worse than woman!