"I’ve only been rip-roaring drunk once in the last couple of years; the hangover was hideous and I’m in no hurry to repeat it."
It’s easy to notch up too many units, just out of habit. Here’s what happened when writer Miranda Levy consulted an alcohol coach.
My drinking isn’t a problem – in fact, I rather enjoy it. A cold gavi when I throw myself through the kitchen door on my return from work; a plummy malbec with bolognese on a winter’s Sunday night. An alcoholic drink marks the day-to-evening switch after a shift on this newspaper, which can tend to be busy.
For me, it’s the equivalent of putting on silky pyjamas when I get home (I do that as well). There’s also something of the glamour of “fixing” a cocktail, as Betty Draper did for her husband Don in the TV show Mad Men – although, from recollection, Betty did, in the end, go a bit too far.
I wish I could be one of those people who “reward” themselves with a spin class or a healthy glass of kombucha – but I’m not. I like the texture and the taste of a nice glass of wine and, I’ll admit it, the transient, fuzzy buzz of this most grown-up method of relaxation.
In mitigation, I rarely have more than two glasses – in fact, it’s often just the one – and the occasional G&T. It’s unusual for me to drink past 8.30pm these days. Sometimes I wake up earlier than I need to, but mostly I sleep pretty well; my performance at work isn’t affected. I’ve only been rip-roaring drunk once in the last couple of years; the hangover was hideous and I’m in no hurry to repeat it.
But I can barely remember a night without a drink (apart from a bout of Covid, and the evening of that hangover). Unlike many people who swear they never drink alone, I often do; my partner lives in the States and my children are at university. So, is this a problem?
I’m in my mid-fifties. My cardiac risk scores (cholesterol, blood sugar, etc) are creeping up. Even though I eat healthily and exercise regularly, I’m not as skinny as I used to be. I’m aware that alcohol is full of “empty calories”.
Like many people, I know that the official NHS advice – for both men and women – is to drink no more than 14 units a week on a regular basis. This was changed in 2016 to be the same for both sexes; it used to be 21 units for men and 14 for women. You are told to spread your drinking evenly over three or more days.
Yet there are still confusing messages around alcohol. In March this year, Professor Tim Spector of King’s College London claimed studies have “consistently shown” that red wine is different to other types of alcohol, going as far to say that it has “magic properties” that are beneficial for the heart. On the other hand, advice from the Chief Medical Officer in 2016 stated clearly that there’s: “no level of regular drinking that can be considered as completely safe in relation to some cancers,” and that: “the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption are an old wives’ tale”.
Then, earlier this month, a major study published in the journal Nature Medicine revealed that drinking any amount of alcohol may raise the risk of 60 diseases. To add to the well-known conditions such as liver disease and cancer, the study claimed there was a greater chance of disorders from lung disease to fractures and even cataracts.
We know who we want to believe about alcohol, but who should we believe?
I’m pretty sure I’m bang on the NHS recommendation of 14 units a week. But is this accurate, and even if it is, is it too much? In the pursuit of a longer life and a lower dress size, I decide to call on the experts.
“I can’t think of one person I’ve worked with whose life hasn’t improved after they started to drink less,” says my cheery alcohol coach, Rob Burns from DrinkCoach, on our Tuesday night Zoom call. “Their health, their work, their money situation, their relationships – they all get better.”
I like Rob’s approach: he isn’t judgmental, hectoring, or insisting that the only solution is to be teetotal and abstinent in an Alcoholics Anonymous sort of way.
We discuss my drinking patterns. “Wine is a common problem,” says Rob. I’m alarmed to discover that my “only a glass” of wine is actually quite a large glass (roughly 175ml) which equals 2.25 units and 158 calories. If I have two of these, it’s 4.5 units (and 316 calories). I work out that a “good” week is 16.1 units and 1106 extra calories, and a “bad” one is 20.7 units and 1422 calories. That’s much more than I thought.
Next, I download the DrinkCoach app and take their Two Minute Test. This is a digital version of the World Health Organisation’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and considered the “gold standard” alcohol screening tool. The 10 questions range from “how often do you have a drink containing alcohol?” (four-plus times a week) to: “how often during the last year have you had guilt or remorse after drinking?” (never), and: “how often in the last year have you needed a drink the next morning to feel better?” (never).
We go through my test score. On only one glass of wine a night, plus the reassuring answers about my behaviour around alcohol, I would be a “low-risk drinker” – there’s no such thing as “no risk” any more. But if I teeter over that into two glasses, I’m at “increased risk” of having problems with cancer, liver disease, my memory, even my eyesight. It’s quite sobering.
Rob asks me the reasons why I drink. I tell him how I link alcohol with relaxation, winding down after a stressful day. This has become a hard-to-break habit; a reflex action on getting home, I say. Occasionally, the evenings can be long when my partner is out of town, and that slosh of wine while cooking can easily turn into two.
Rob’s first suggestion is straightforward and practical: I’m to switch from drinking wine to two (accurately measured) single gin and tonics. These will be easier to quantify and cut down, while still ticking the “grown-up drink” box. In week two, I’m to cut back to a single measure and from week three, to tonic water alone (on the nights when I don’t want to drink alcohol).
He tells me I need to change my “learnt behaviour” – coming straight home from work and popping that cork. Instead of going immediately into the kitchen, I should do something else first. According to Rob, a craving lasts only about 10 to 20 minutes – if you sit it out and distract yourself, it will pass.
Rob shows me a function on the DrinkCoach app where you can record the duration and intensity of your cravings and see how they decline over time. (The app also has an alarm you can set to go off when you are 100m from a wine shop. As I live within 100m of a wine shop, this probably isn’t a good idea.)
“You need to change your reward system,” says Rob. “What else de-stresses you, apart from alcohol?” I shriek inwardly when he suggests taking up a “hobby” or “evening classes”, but I do know that reading fiction takes me mentally away from my work and sends my brain down a different, fulfilling path. I’ve been neglecting my books a bit lately. I also enjoy a lovely warm bath.
Finally, Rob says to record and refer to my motivation for cutting back – and refer repeatedly to my progress for encouragement. The app will keep track of how much I’ve drunk, which is broken down into units, calories and how much money I have spent.
I don’t buy any wine this week, but I do order a £4.99 spirits measure from Amazon. It’s surprisingly easy to switch from wine to gin and (slimline) Fever-Tree tonic – just 97 calories a glass. But instead of needing the nightly two gins Rob suggested, I find I’m happy with just the one. If I’m thirsty, I top up on tonic water. I do this even when a friend comes over for dinner on Saturday night.
At a work-related social event, I have two tiny glasses of prosecco, then stick to fizzy water for the rest of the evening. On Sunday night, I have a bath instead of an evening drink, and don’t have any alcohol at all that day.
One of Rob’s tips is to vary my journey home – again, to break the cycle. As the weather has turned warmer, I’m finding it pleasant to walk the last bit of my commute, instead of taking the bus (which stops outside the off-licence). A couple of times, when I get the urge for a drink, I have a large glass of water – that does the trick.
On Wednesday night, I really do fancy a glass of wine – so I measure out 125ml, and that’s it. Then I start the new Kate Atkinson short stories.
I’ve easily gone half the week without drinking at all; the other nights, I have a carefully measured G&T, or a 125ml glass of wine. Some nights I walk from the station, others I get the bus. I’m taking more care of my diet – being healthy begets being healthier.
It’s almost as if being made aware of how much I was drinking – being mindful, if you like – has done the trick.
Another interesting consequence: drinking less alcohol means I am not as tempted to reach for a snack close to bedtime. Result: I’ve lost three pounds (1.3kg) in weight and saved 60 in cash. Extrapolated over a year, that’s £1040 (NZ$2120) – enough for a smaller pair of jeans and two flights to New York to see my boyfriend. Drinks are on me!
* Miranda Levy is a writer and editor for the Telegraph
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