Can I ask a 'newbies' question -only on week 3 & been cutting out wine.... But do I have to give it up completely 😢.. Mother of a young child😁..... Sometimes need a glass.... But I make sure I am not programmed to do a run the next day..... Was interested in what u guys do?
Alcohol: Can I ask a 'newbies' question -only on... - Couch to 5K
Alcohol
Written by
Fishgirl
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62 Replies
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ViaMGraduate
Why do you think you should, perhaps, give it up completely?
Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day (a small glass of wine) so if you consume up to this limit, you are fine 
I am very boring, I drink perhaps one glass of wine per week...
I don't drink a lot either -but I do like a 1/2 bottle on a sat Nite-I just wondered if it affected run performance
poppypugGraduate
Everything in moderation is my opinion , as long as you're not swilling it by the bucket , I don't think it's a problem
I only drink tea . Yorkshire Tea , the King of teas xxx
IannodaTruffeMentor
This is a running forum not an alcohol abstainers forum!!
Cutting out alcohol will probably have many benefits and may even improve your running performance, but C25k is designed to get you off the couch, however you can still drink, so long as you can do it standing up.
I certainly haven't cut out alcohol, although I have considered reducing it, but haven't got there yet either. Once you really feel the benefits of regular exercise you probably won't want to clog up your body with crappy food and drink, but hey, we are all human and if a little occasional tipple helps you get through life, then you may be better off with it than abstaining completely.
That's me.... Have really cut it down & when I do have a glass I think ' oh u really didn't need that'
davelinksGraduate
No, you don't have to give it up completely, it's the old saying, moderation, I usually only have only a couple of beers & 2-3 STANDARD glasses of red over Friday to Sunday, (I share a bottle with my wife)and have plenty of water after, that's my rule, kept to a minimum, no alcohol during the week. The odd glass of wine is supposed to be good for us, not 1-2 bottles a night!
I have a couple of Leffes on a Friday night but have loads of water after to flush through then do Parkrun in the morning, it may affect my performance slightly, but hey! I'm captain slow already! 😀
As you get fitter you may feel you don't need it or even want it, but it's nice to have a little drink at the weekend
RachelLewesGraduate
Hi! Of course you can carry on drinking, but you will prob find you naturally start to drink less. Partly because you don't want to run with a hangover or when dehydrated. And partly because you'll start to feel fitter and more healthy overall.
I posted about how I don't crave alcohol as much since I did Couchto5K. I used to have a drink most nights, but now I only do at the weekend. My runs have replaced wine as the relaxation/buzz that I look forward to!!!! That has meant that my tolerance has dropped right down and now I only need a glass or two max to feel the happy glow
OldflossAdministratorGraduate
As my Nan used to say.. and her Mum (my great-nan) too, " moderation in all things".
My nan was 98 when she died, her Mum was 99.... I have always tried to follow that adage... it worked for them. I write this, whilst drinking a small glass of champagne; having read that one glass three times a week may slow down dementia !!!!
Do what feels right for you
Are you sure it wasn't three glass of fizz a day? I only ask out of medicinal interest!
Read the right newspaper!
RealfoodieclubGraduate
I've moderated my drinking since running but still go out and overdo it occasionally. I find if I'm training for an event then I am less likely to over do it as I'm never far away from a training day but I know exactly how much I can drink and run with. for me 2x 125ml red wine with a meal and I can run the next day if needed, more than that and the run goes wrong and I feel like i am putting my body under pressure, but we all have different limits. this time of year I'm more likely to start with a fresh orange juice mixed with soda water when I go out to slow my drinking down a bit but I still like to go out a join in the party at Christmas.
the_tea_fairyGraduate
I don't drink lots and I do notice running is harder if I've had alcohol the previous day, but I'm not obsessive about it - the odd glass seems to be fine. And my friends who run are mostly from out of town and we don't see each other much, so when we meet up we'll quite often sit up til the wee hours with whiskey and/or gin and/or tequila (be kind, I'm still youngish and baby free), then get up and into our PE kits and run out hangovers off whilst continuing the catching up. Usually by the time we get back we're recovered enough for eggs and toast and coffee - so if you do have the odd episode of overdoing it, you can run it off (but take lots of water with you)!
Thanks.... It's great to be young & baby free-enjoy
Hoping it might not be for too much longer (the young but because time exists, and the baby-free but because that's a bit complicated for us and we don't want to leave things too long), so I'm taking care to enjoy it especially-much at the moment.
UllyrunnerGraduate
Give up wine? Are you mad woman?
An occasional glass will not do any harm and sometimes can be quite helpful!
Good luck with the running!
Ha ha😂😂I needed that.... But have noticed that I have cut down a lot since I started spin earlier in the year.... But sometimes u just gotta have some thru the week
alcohol and exercise do not mix...give it up altogether!!
Gra
Hardcore!
Oh for goodness sake, why not give up cake while we are at it !!! Couch to 5k ok. Couch to total abstinence I don't think !!!!
Fishgirl in reply to
I just wondered if it 'slowed/hindered'-but I have not gave up cake either 😂
in reply to Fishgirl
In fact you can even allow yourself extra cake if you run far enough
Fishgirl in reply to
Now there's a thought👣🍰👣🍰👣🍰👣🍰👣🍰👣🍰😄
My husband reckons we should all find a cake shop that's about 2.5 k from home and run there, buy cake and run home with it - or eat it to fire the old cylinders for the return 2.5k!
Brilliant idea! Cooplands should set up shop at 2.5 k intervals up the a64!!
Are you from Yorkshire OT ? xxx
Yup! The hilly part!! actuslly they are only pretend hills as they are up and over railway lines but I can't avoid them whichever direction I run!
Yay another Yorkie ! Theres loads of us on here . We are going for world domination next , tha' knows , 'appen xxx
Be reet!
lol yYes and for those drinkers out there a pub !!
I have drastically cut down alcohol to an average 1 glass a week. I have also cut down cake, choc, lattes, processed food and cut crisps out completely. I think once you graduate and start running further you start thinking about your diet too. It kind makes you not want to fill it with crap once you start seeing the benefits of running.
Moderation in all things, and plenty of it is my motto.
I have been an alcoholic (inter alia) for 30+ years. My relationship with alcohol comes and goes. I have periods of complete abstention, and in truth, my athletic performance is much better during those times, but probably as much from all the peripheral things (drinking a lot more water, getting up earlier, concentrating on deiverting myself with exrecise etc) than the direct effects of the alcohol per se. I have periods of telling myself I can drink sensibly and in moderation, and my athletic abilities generally don't suffer much in those times, although my maniac drive to exercise wavers slightly - probably because exercise is replacing one addiction with another. And then I have periods when I drink way too much. They tend to be shorter and fewer and further between these days and I curb them quicker. I would say they do have a noticeable detrimental effect both on my drive and performance though. Jumping out of bed to do a pre-dawn 5k at 5.30 AM when you have killed a few bottles of decent red the nght before can see less appealing than when you've been religiously on the green tea and water. I did a 10k earlier this year, and, having not had a drop for some months, drank two bottles of wne and a few (approx a bottle) G&Ts the night before, and my time suffered somewhat for it, I must confess - I was 25% slower than I had been the week before in training.
if you just drink like normal people though, if we are talking a glass or two now and then, and not at 9AM every day, and assuming your running ambitions are not to break world records, then no, it's not going to adversely affect you at all.
Awesome reply Rig. Well done on somehow managing to let the exercise gremlin overcome the alcohol gremlin sometimes- a lot of the time 😀
I'm having to abstain due to meds at the moment and it is socially difficult but probably very good for me😉
What an 'honest' post..... & yes just talking a few glasses-not the night before a wee run.... But I am just starting out & feeling my way
runswithdogsGraduate
Running post-drinking can be a great cure for a hangover. Or a nightmare.
Usually both, in my experience. The nightmare but stops more quickly when you can hop in the sea partway round, I've found, but you need a nice location and a friend mad enough to join in when you decide the Atlantic in April in your pants is right where you need to be! Otherwise, the cure but overtakes the nightmare bit around 4 miles in.
*bit
NorniGraduate
I am sure it does affect performance but maybe it's a price worth paying, we all need to relax sometimes. Do take huge care though, it's well worth putting 'boundaries' on because it's too easy for one glass to turn to one bottle, (says the voice of experience) and the next day we have less patience with the little ones, never mind the running.
Sounds as though you have it covered....enjoy and good luck with the running!
JogittGraduate
My running top says Run Now Wine Later, lol, so I think my answer is right there, my next run will be week 8 run 1, getting near to the end, what will I do then
ju-ju-Graduate
Do you want to give up? I do drink too much but the running offsets the calories 
However i did do Go Sober for october and felt good, and last year didnt drink for 6 weeks as part of my marathon training. I would do what feels right for you but dont have a drink THEN run!!!!!
ewangeeGraduate
I just finished week 9 today and I didn't give up. Didn't make any difference to me.
Curlygurly2Graduate
I drink far too much, not even gonna tell you all how much! Exercise is my way of off-setting it - better to drink to much and exercise than drink too much and do no exercise...
rmnsukGraduate
Stopping alcohol is the first priority if you want to lose weight - well for me at least. problem is I really like real-ale, malt whisky and neat absinthe. So I compromise. I eat and drink to excess when I'm on holiday, but only allow myself a small drink occasionally when at home. Strangely I love running while I'm on holiday, and I've never seen any interaction between drinking and running.
Watch out for Absinthe. Van Gogh and his mates used to drink it to oblivion and VG ended up cutting his ear off. It is potent stuff.
Yeah but that's because of some of the stuff they used to filter it through and process it with. It's a cleaner drink these days and no nearly as ear-cutty-offset. Also, surely smaller servings = less calories? Feel like absinthe is a better diet drink than ale if only because of the quantities consumed.
*'not nearly as ear-cutty-offy' - autocorrect doesn't approve of my expressionist approach to English grammar.
nhs2015Graduate
I have never drank much alcohol anyway. Don't like beer, don't like spirits, however I have cut down on my wine drinking to lose weight. Summer was so easy to have a couple of glasses of wine on Sundowners. Now I only drink on special occasion or if invited at friends but I fill in my glass to half only and add on lot of ice cubes to the top. It works for me. Depending on the wine, I may have sore joints the next day so I do not run on that day. It is really trial and error.
KerryT72Graduate
For me the whole point of running is that I can enjoy the odd glass or slice of cake without so much guilt.
Yes heavy drinking is never a good idea, but in moderation why should you give up. You are already giving your health a huge boost by running so you deserve a glass of wine now and again.
Old_troutGraduate
A little of what you fancy...however do moderate it. Try spritzers to make the drink a long one and never drink alcohol when you are thirsty. Have a good drink of water first and then your alcoholic drink will last longer
CoddfishGraduate
I write this assuming you do not have health or addiction problems related to drinking; if you do, you need professional advice rather than our views.
A little alcohol is unlikely to make much difference to how you run at this stage. I am sure it's different for an elite athlete. Obviously running in a hungover and dehydrated state would be a different matter.
Many people take up running alongside other changes to their lifestyle with the aim of becoming healthier, and it's worth looking holistically at what you eat and drink as well as how you move. Changes to lifestyle have to be something you can sustain over the long term. I personally wouldn't want to give up being able to share a bottle of wine on weekday evenings, but a fizzy, sugary soft drink would never get past my lips. Overall I am happy with the balance I have in my life and the role alcohol plays. If you are wanting to change your drinking habits along with starting running, make sure those around you understand and are supportive.
Hi, no addictions to wine just had a dinner invite that I needed to go to (dont get out much for dinner these days) & I wanted to have a glass or 2 of wine but need to run next day (w3r1)
Nell90Graduate
Don't drink just before or you may not run straight! Seriously I do think you find it harder if you've drunk the night before so it's a good time to cut down. I'm a mother of teenagers believe me you need the odd drink then!!
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