both of us here used to drink 7 days a week. Every evening after work, and then on a Saturday and Sunday, starting at lunchtime and drinking all day. Typically Friday night and Saturday were real binges.
When I gave up fags we stopped drinking on Monday-Thursday completely, drank in moderation on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I drink about a third of what I used to.
Thanks Rob.
The support Iāve received here has really helped. When Iāve got some fellas cheering me on, Iām not doing it quite on my own, and that matters. 
Whilst I am not under a medical level ban post my gastric sleeve op (that was only for the first month), the team at the hospital said that how quickly people return to drinking is often a fair indicator of how successful the long term results of the op are likely to be. As such Iāve not had a drink since just before the 8th of June. Having said that, I have never been much of a drinker and had been increasingly finding myself not enjoying the taste of a beer, even stuff Iād enjoyed previously, so itās not been a hugely difficult change.
Pre-retirement Mrs. S. and myself would indulge in pre and post evening meal g&tās. When our indulgence exceeded a bottle or so of gin a week, enough was enough and we stopped, it was so difficult. I donāt know whether it was habit, alcohol induced relaxation or conditioning but boy did we miss it and we donāt/didnāt class ourselves as drinkers.
Rarely touch a drop now, but when I do my fingers get sore, people keep standing on them as I make my way home.
Itās easy to stop the trick is to stay stopped.
My GP told me to stop drinking at the beginning of September (very bad test results) but it still took me until the start of November to actually do it. Thatās the nature of the illness, always something to do tomorrow, which becomes weeks then months.
So the adage isnāt completely true because it isnāt always easy to stop, for everyone. The resolve needed afterwards to stay stopped is certainly the part to work at! 
I have reduced my drinking by 2/3 this year. From around 110 units per week to 30 it has been pretty easy as long as beer is not in the cupboard. I didnāt realise until I just checked that the recommended max weekly number of units is now just 14 I thought it was 27? So I am still exceeding recommendations.
When I drink, I drink. But, I never drink on a School Night (tight alcohol restrictions at work). When Iām off, I will drink, often to excess. But due to shift patterns, I can go 10 days without one, regularly 7.
So far (Iām nearly 58), itās not been an issue.
Good luck with it though.
If youāre still in control of the drink, not the other way around, then enjoy it. Blimey, I would - and have.
Health professionals usually suggest days off as a good thing.
I was drinking every night a few years ago, and I would say that I was alcohol dependent. I never woke up with a clear head. I donāt know exactly what changed things, but not only am I healthier with drinking only 1-3 night a week (and to excess only once a month or less), but I enjoy it more and am generally happier. Not sure which is cause and which effect though!
I used to drink every night and while not really extreme the quantities were rising - two beers became three, 400mls became 500mls, they were 5%. In the end I cut it back because of the impact on my waistline and, I confess, partly to see if I could. I moved to wine (fewer calories per degree-of-pissedness). Two nights a week I donāt drink at all. The other three school nights I measure a half bottle of red into a jug and, along with a single scotch as a nightcap most nights, thatās it. For me this is a properly effective way of stopping creepage. Fri and Sat I drink what I like, but these days itās not very much more than the school night quota. I get out for a pub lunch once a month but otherwise I donāt drink in the daytime at all. As part of the diabetes care I get a basic liver test twice a year. Itās always been a bit noisy but theyāve never been worried, and thereās been no correlation at all with how much Iāve been drinking.
VB
I love how people find a system that fits in with their personality and values - Graeme manages his alcohol issues with a measuring jug! 
Fortunately, I canāt hold my beer so drinking has never been an issue.
The opposite was my problem, I have/had a very high tolerance to alcohol, my father was the same. I regularly drank 8 pints a day + half to a bottleof wine with dinner. At the weekends I really went for it 
I actually gave it up a) Because I realised it was controlling my life, and b) Because I was actually no longer enjoying it.
Effectively lived in pubs in the 90s, and spent the equivalent of a 3 bed semi in London in them.
By 2000 I was up to double figures in pints per night, every night.
Was one of two main reasons I left what was the best job I will ever have and moved out of reach of my former friends and the ingrained drinking, drugs and philandering cultureā¦
Went cold turkey for about 18 months, now drink moderately most of the time - except when Iāve got an annoying twat in the house for days on end with the emotional functionality of an edgy 15YOā¦ Now gone thank fuckā¦
Last liver function test was normal, TF.
FTFY 
I fucking hate you SO much
Same for me, when I was younger I hated being a light weight but now realise itās a good thing. My Dad is the opposite and has a Keef constitution. I hate to think how much he drinks in a week but it is all social - pub / restaurant usually twice a day and without it he would be completely lost.
I get that, when I stopped, once i got past the physical addiction bit it was how to exist when alcohol provided my entire social life and was my only coping mechanism.