I have no idea if you are an alcoholic. I can say that most non-problem drinkers never ask "am I an alcoholic?" Perhaps you can try no drinking for 30 days. If this is easy for you, then maybe you are ok. If not, you may want to consider getting some help while it's still manageable.

I don't particularly care for labels myself. But as mentioned, the fact that you are asking yourself if the drinking is healthy and "worth it" speaks for itself. It sounds like Carr's "Stop Drinking the Easy Way" might be a good read for you.

25# in 2 years is alot. As I have discussed in earlier posts, I have been drinking consistently for probably 15 years and I can't tell you how much weight I have gained because my digital scale does not go that high! Yikes! Please don't follow in my footsteps, it is miserable. I suggest getting off that train at the next station!

Dan and Texas, thank you so much for your response. I will look into that book and yes, it can be a slippery slope. My husband thinks that I am trying to punish myself for a terrible mistake I made 2 years ago. I do have his support although he gets frustrated when I ask him not to let me drink but I do anyway. I know that I wont be 115 lbs again but to know that I am doing everything I can to be healthy would be so great and that includes not drinking. I need to other ways to make myself feel good.

Sounds like you have a few issues here that span beyond alcoholism.

Only you know if you have a drinking problem.

If it isn't clear yet, it may become clear as those 2-3 drinks a night potentially become 3-4 or 4-5 or bingeing here and there.

But you may live the rest of your life and not find you have a problem.

I know if alcohol gave me a stomach ache, I'd lay off. If you can't workout and drink, then expect the weight gain.

Having health issues can really bum a person out. Perhaps you are having bad self-image issues, and you are trying to tie the alcohol into it.

On the other hand, I never hurt my kids, never missed work, and paid all the bills, and I am an alcoholic. I have an allergy. If I start drinking today, I would wake up in Vegas tomorrow with my boss's wife.

I wish you the best. Keep us updated on your journey.

For me the alcohol was how I coped with life

I used it to cope with the bad , the good and basically everything

Alcohol hid me from myself

I found help in the rooms of AA. It is possible to live and cope without booze. I also have made new friends that are counting on me. As well I count on them.

1is2many

Hello mommasub74,

The following from Alcoholics Anonymous Is AA For You may be of some help to you.

Am I An Alcoholic?

Nobody in A.A. is able to answer this question definitively.
The only person who is truly able to determine this is you.
What we can say, concerning this very personal decision, is that we were all faced with one, if not both, of the following two conditions:
If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely,
or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic. (Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 4, Page 44.)
Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.
We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.
Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 3, Page 30.

Try not drinking for 30 days and see what that does for:
1. Tummy issues
2. Your desire to drink...can you do it?

...when I quit the drinking... all the issues slowly but surely faded away... the weight, the anxiety, the restless nights... my bank account got fatter. All these good things started to happen.
Who knows if your an alcoholic or not. But imagine if u had 2 Big Macs from McDonald's everyday. Or 2 cans of soda everyday. Eventually, U R gonna pack on the pounds. Gaining weight would be a huge motivation for me to quit drinking. Besides, no one cares what u r drinking except U.
Do read The Easy Way To Stop Drinking by Allen Carr. That book sealed the deal for me.

Thanks for all your support. I am going to do as you suggest. 30 days. We have my Dads birthday celebration coming up next month and I won't drink until then. Then I will stop again for another 30 days. An excellent test.

I also had a wonderful discussion with a very good friend who is also a fitness instructor and a clean eating guru. She said I can lean on her for support too. The plan is gym in the AM and then painting projects and reading in the afternoon. When I substitute teach, I will use breaks to walk the track and after school, I will do yoga to relax before doing my mom duties. I feel good about this plan.

Sounds like a good plan, except maybe for deciding to drink at the BD party. Be careful thinking of alcohol as a treat or reward, or you may think you deserve a treat more and more often!

I've also become a firm believer that when stopping alcohol, something else in your life needs to change in order to shake up your routine and give you something else to focus attention rather than just the absence of alcohol.

Sorry, did not complete my thought... Sounds like you have a good plan for activities to keep you focused on other things...

I think you may start having a problem soon if you continue to drink despite the negative effects alcohol has on you. I'd rid yourself of it early. Hugs