There may be a slight problem

[P3nT4gR4m]

Something possessed me to click on the drink aware website today. Apparently the recommended daily consumption (for men) is 3-4 units per day (about the equivalent of a couple of cans  )

So through the week I'm prolly going to have 5 or 6 cans a night and then maybe double that friday and saturday. Sometimes Sunday too. "Binge Drinking" is defined as

drinking more than double the daily recommended units of alcohol in one session.

So, by this token I'm Binge drinking monday-friday, chased down with double binges at the weekend. God help me if there's a party - I'm easy double that again.

Okay so it's prolly mostly propaganda and scaremongering but at the same time I was wondering why I'm tired and depressed pretty much all day every day until I get a beer in my hand so, in the interests of science I'm going to try and cut down a bit just to see if it actually kills me.

Wish me luck... 

[Suu]

Good luck, dude. Giving up addiction is hard work. You can do it.

[P3nT4gR4m]

It's not addiction! Beer is food - I'm going on a bit of a diet is all 

[AFK]

The way I typically see binge drinking defined is for men 4-5 drinks in a two hour time span.  It's 3-4 for women.  At least, that's how we usually define it in surveys. 

Funny thing though, I did these focus groups a few years ago and that was one of the questions I asked.  To define "binge drinking", and of course it was all over the map, though a good chunk basically put it where someone was sitting in a chair and taking care of a whole case before the lights go out. 

[Luna]

However it's defined, if you're thinking it might be a problem, cutting back to find out is not a bad idea.

[Suu]

Precisely, you came to the conclusion to cut back. That's a huge step.

[Cain]

Recommended daily allowances are all over the place, full stop.  There was a good program the other day about it (it may have been the news, now I think of it, but I doubt it since it involved original research and fact-checking).

Anyway, going by the standards of many European countries, the UK weekly allowance is a fair bit higher.  Yet going by Russian and Australian standards (IIRC), the UK is full of lightweights who cant hold their beer (which is true anyway).  I think the Australian weekly recommendation is a full 12 units higher than the UK one.

So shop around, and find a standard you like.

[AFK]

However it's defined, if you're thinking it might be a problem, cutting back to find out is not a bad idea.

THIS. 

[Elder Iptuous]

huh... i always thought that binge drinking was about getting drunk and staying drunk for an extended period of time. (more than the night)
i thought drinking till you were loopy for the night was just called a party.

at any rate, i had a room mate for many years that drank probably around 8 cans a night.  he wasn't really drunk on a continuous basis, but he definitely had a problem.  and it went up over the course of time that i knew him.  it slowly became an albatross, and eventually destroyed him.  a creeping drinking problem like that is, perhaps, more dangerous than a boldfaced bender habit, in the sense that it can be swept away without thought.
It is heartening to see someone examine the issue, before it causes them harm!  Good luck.

[LMNO]

What's a "session", anyway?  If I have a couple of cocktails with friends for two hours, then go to a club and drink four beers in four hours, then go to an afterparty and have three more in another two hours, is that three sessions of several hours, or one 8-hour session?

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

i think that classes as an 8 hour session.

[LMNO]

Hmm.  So, "typical Friday" puts me in the danger zone.  Well, no surprise there.

[Suu]

But you're not doing that EVERYDAY.

[AFK]

There are so many conventions out there for measuring binge drinking that after awhile, it becomes pretty meaningless.  For an adult person, the more important thing is whether or not their pattern of drinking is negatively impacting their life.  Socially, physically, etc.  

[LMNO]

But you're not doing that EVERYDAY.

But then it wouldn't be binging, right?

There are so many conventions out there for measuring binge drinking that after awhile, it becomes pretty meaningless.  For an adult person, the more important thing is whether or not their pattern of drinking is negatively impacting their life.  Socially, physically, etc. 

This is the part I've been paying attention to of late.  I've reached the point where if I drink like I did when I was 25, the following day is a complete waste, rather than just needing a handful of Advil and a beer.  So, gradual scaling back, using SCIENCE to see what works best.  I know I should be drinking less than I do now, but I'm making progress.