But by the end of 2014 not only had I found myself drinking one large glass a night in the week, I was drinking even more at the weekend. All this drinking had led to a rather unexpected (but looking back on it pretty obvious) outcome, I'd gained a stone in weight.
Fearful lest the gradual weight gain continue until I needed new trousers I decided to do 'Dry January' in 2015 and to embark on a diet.
Dry January was as awful as you would imagine, but after successfully completing it I decided that I would not go back to drinking in the week. (for a rather vague definition of 'in the week' which was mainly Monday through Thursday, I think we can all agree the weekend starts when work finishes on Friday and ends when one goes to be on Sunday)
So reading today's news that the UK drinking guidelines have been rewritten I was interested to see how I fitted in.
It seems we (all of us, men and women) now have the same guidelines, regardless of weight, height, age or political party affiliation :-)
We are told to drink fewer that 14 units a week, to have at least a couple of 'dry days' and not to drink all 14 units at once.
Currently I'm doing dry January again (glutton for punishment) but on a 'normal' week I now drink 1/2 bottle of cava on Friday, 1/2 bottle Saturday and a whole bottle on Sunday. (I don't always drink on the Saturday - depends what I'm doing.) I don't drink any alcohol on the other days.
So how many units are in a bottle of cava? 8.6 it appears (same as a bottle of prosecco for those that are wondering) So I am going to be marginally (OK, OK, 3 units) over the 'low risk' amount for a week. Will I change my drinking? No.
Life is full of risk and we take them daily, I drive, I fly to holiday destinations, I eat street food, I cycle, I do all sorts of risky things. I will add drinking 17 units of alcohol a week to my risk list.
Will the new guidelines change your habits? Or maybe you are already teetotal? Let me know via Twitter, or my Facebook page.
