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3 beers

Nov 19, 2010
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serious question: Can you be an alcoholic if you have 3 beers a day? I honestly have had 3 beers a night for the past month straight. But i don't have more than that... Is this ok? I run like crazy, cycle a lot.. eat a healthy diet
 
May 23, 2010
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mombus said:
serious question: Can you be an alcoholic if you have 3 beers a day? I honestly have had 3 beers a night for the past month straight. But i don't have more than that... Is this ok? I run like crazy, cycle a lot.. eat a healthy diet

Try not having 3 beers a night for the next month and see..or go all in and have 3 scotches a night for a month and ask yourself if it is ok.
 
Nov 19, 2010
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See that's where that's my issue with it... if I substituted them for 3 shots of Vodka per night, it'd be the same amount of alcohol I guess... but for some reason that seems a lot worse.
 
May 23, 2010
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mombus said:
See that's where that's my issue with it... if I substituted them for 3 shots of Vodka per night, it'd be the same amount of alcohol I guess... but for some reason that seems a lot worse.

3 sounds like a buzz.. Nothing is stopping you ,,You can be a 3 beer a day alcoholic..When 3 doesn't quite do it though and you go for 2 double vodkas or 3 then you won't be far from having any doubt. It is a nice thing to have a few beers or drinks on occasion...Making it a daily routine will take many people to a point where they can never do that without some kind of drama.
 
Jul 4, 2009
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Addiction is a complex issue. Can you be an addict drink a beer a day? Yes you can be. Does drinking 3 beers a night make you one? Maybe yes maybe no. Can you be an addict that drinks once a month? yes.

My concerns while you maybe a cyclist and are bringing up the issue to other cyclists. It seems to me that you are looking for a justification for the amout that you are drinking. The looking for justification for your drinking is more of a red flag than amount you drink.

If you are concerned, most communities have free substance abuse eval's. You may want to look into their opinion over ours.:)
 
Jul 17, 2009
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mombus said:
serious question: Can you be an alcoholic if you have 3 beers a day? I honestly have had 3 beers a night for the past month straight. But i don't have more than that... Is this ok? I run like crazy, cycle a lot.. eat a healthy diet
till you wake up one day in your late 40's and you are 40 lbs over race weight
 

Barrus

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Apr 28, 2010
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mombus said:
serious question: Can you be an alcoholic if you have 3 beers a day? I honestly have had 3 beers a night for the past month straight. But i don't have more than that... Is this ok? I run like crazy, cycle a lot.. eat a healthy diet
It depends whether you are dependant upon them and could not continue without these three beers, in most cases addiction stems not from the amount but from you possible need to have them. So just don't drink for a while, or only drink in special situations and see how you react to that.
 
Aug 4, 2009
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Beer is good for you in moderation.
however I remember while on tour when we had to cart a certain tour leader to bed at night drunk as a skunk. He would get up next day and win the stage.

They had split stages some days and where was he when they were ready to start in the pub having a quiet beer.

It never stoped him but we are not all like that 3 beers a night is good it relaxes you and you sleep better and fresh to go again next day.

I know of several tour riders who have a beer or two with dinner rather than wine.

Good source of Carbohydrate.
 
Jul 10, 2009
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If you are having 3 large full strength beers a day it is probably more like 6 standard drinks a day in terms of alcohol content. In the long term this increases your risk of cancer, stroke, dementia etc. It is unlikely to be enough to give you withdrawal symptoms if you had to stop for any reason though.

Good question because most people think 3 beers a day is OK when it isn't. Probably best to stop at two a day (on average) and have a couple of alcohol free days a week.
 
Jun 28, 2009
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An alcoholic usually has a compulsive urge to drink. It is not necessarily the amount but more the behavior of the person in relation to the drinking. For example, if one person drinks 3 beers a day and functions fine, they are probably not an alcoholic. But, if those 3 beers, when drunk at night, cause a person to stay in bed later in the morning or call into work, then it is affecting them socially. The point is, if alcohol consumption affects you socially or affects your health, but you continue to drink regardless of the outcome, you might possibly be an alcoholic.

Another thing about alcoholism is that some people are perfectly functioning alcoholics. Usually, in this case, the giveaway is the more than average amounts of alcohol that are consumed on a daily basis. A normal, non-alcoholic person would not be able to function properly on a daily basis if that person consumed an amount in quantity similar to the amount the "functioning alcoholic" consumes.

I would not worry about the 3 beers. If you can stop drinking and it does not occupy your thoughts or you don't feel a void, then don't worry about it. Enjoy your beers. If it is affecting your personality, is causing you health issues, or affecting your job, then maybe take a break and see how you feel. Cheers!
 
Jul 6, 2009
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3 beers a night who gives a **** bro thats nothing if you can stay below a 6 pack a night your good. i grew up in an irish family so my views on this are different from others people are kinda wusses about everything these days i feel. one thing to consider is athletes have some of the highest rates of alcoholism/drug use as there brains are very reward based in nature.
 
May 23, 2010
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forty four said:
3 beers a night who gives a **** bro thats nothing if you can stay below a 6 pack a night your good. i grew up in an irish family so my views on this are different from others people are kinda wusses about everything these days i feel. one thing to consider is athletes have some of the highest rates of alcoholism/drug use as there brains are very reward based in nature.

"my views on this are different" Different? there's another word that starts with a D --Denial
 

Barrus

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Apr 28, 2010
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forty four said:
3 beers a night who gives a **** bro thats nothing if you can stay below a 6 pack a night your good. i grew up in an irish family so my views on this are different from others people are kinda wusses about everything these days i feel. one thing to consider is athletes have some of the highest rates of alcoholism/drug use as there brains are very reward based in nature.

The problem is that I have had friends with alcohol and drugs addiction and with all of them it started with a few each day and telling themselves it was fine. This behaviour can over time progress and ensure that someone needs to drink more to attain the same effect. It all depends on how you react to it. So the best manner is to try to go without alcohol for some time, or only drinking sparingly and find out how you react to that
 
Oct 8, 2010
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mombus said:
serious question: Can you be an alcoholic if you have 3 beers a day? I honestly have had 3 beers a night for the past month straight. But i don't have more than that... Is this ok? I run like crazy, cycle a lot.. eat a healthy diet

What a great thread. Hey look, if you don't have anything relevant to say about cycling, why post this garbage?
 

Barrus

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TERMINATOR said:
What a great thread. Hey look, if you don't have anything relevant to say about cycling, why post this garbage?

Can you also make posts that are not insulting other members? This is the cafe, the place of the forum for other things, if you do not like it stay out of it :mad:
 
Feb 14, 2010
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:p I'm sorry, but I just have to ask:
Are these 3 American beers or three real ones? :)
If real ones, I agree with Barrus' posts.
If American beers, relax, you're just hydrating really well. :cool: (just kidding)
 
slartiblartfast said:
If you are having 3 large full strength beers a day it is probably more like 6 standard drinks a day in terms of alcohol content. In the long term this increases your risk of cancer, stroke, dementia etc. It is unlikely to be enough to give you withdrawal symptoms if you had to stop for any reason though.

Good question because most people think 3 beers a day is OK when it isn't. Probably best to stop at two a day (on average) and have a couple of alcohol free days a week.

And, this is the most sensible post of the entire thread.
 
Nov 19, 2010
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In response to some of the above posts:

- These are "real beers" and American beers. I love beer... so sometimes I'll have some good American IPAs, etc. But mostly it's your typical imported stuff... Becks, Amstel, Pilsner Urquell

- To the bitter guy unhappy with my post because it's unrelated to cycling: THIS IS NOT THE PROFESSIONAL RACING FORUM

- I don't really crave the beer. I had 2 last night, 1 the night before, and so on.

- I'm not really someone with an addictive personality so I'm not really that worried. Maybe I'm an alcoholic, who knows... but my personal life isn't being altered
 

Barrus

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- I'm not really someone with an addictive personality so I'm not really that worried. Maybe I'm an alcoholic, who knows... but my personal life isn't being altered

Although I don't think you really are an alcoholic this last statement is an excuse I have heard of many people who were addicted and either did not see or did not want to see the impact of what their addiction had on their personal, professional and just general life. So just the fact that you do not see any chance does not necessarily mean that there is none
 

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