Niki Bezzant outlines the many reasons you should look at lowering your alcohol intake.
With summer comes, for some of us, a feeling of wanting to be more active, to eat a little bit more lightly and perhaps also a desire to drink a little less alcohol. I've been feeling this way myself; I'm not a big drinker anytime really, but lately I've been enjoying the feeling of not drinking at all and getting outside to move my body a bit more.
If drinking less is something you're aiming to do this year or even just this month, good for you. There's much to recommend being a non- or moderate drinker. It will lower your risk of many diseases, including at least six types of cancer. It'll likely improve your sleep. And it could very well see you lose a little weight as well.
Like any habit, changing the habit of drinking takes a little time. There are, however, some ways to make it a bit easier. A big one is changing your environment. Like any habitual behaviour, the less convenient something is, the less likely we are to do it. We're less likely to snack on chocolate biscuits if there are none in the cupboard. We won't automatically open the fridge and reach for the wine bottle after work if there's no wine in there. Ditto the beers. I've got into the habit of only chilling a bottle of wine if I know I have people coming over; this has completely trained me out of drinking casually at home. You might also find it useful to make a rule for yourself of only drinking when you go out; this assumes you're not out four or five times a week, of course.
Once you're in the habit of drinking less, the question then becomes: what can I drink instead?