
Ask HN: How Much Alcohol/Coffee Do You Drink? - Madawar
I have recently started drinking up to 6 coffees per day. I don&#x27;t feel any less healthy but I feel it doesn&#x27;t seem healthy. Alcohol Every Friday after work.<p>How much do you drink and does it affect your Work&#x2F;Family and social life?
======
lsiunsuex
5-6 years ago, I was drinking about a pot of coffee a day between buying it
from the coffee shop down the street or just making it at the office. Now I'm
down to 2 cups during a work day and maybe 1 at night if I'm feeling tired.
Usually just 1 on a weekend day. I can go without it and not get a headache
which is nice.

Alcohol wise; I try not to drink during the week unless it's at dinner for
business or a special event (birthday, anniversary, etc...) - on the weekend,
either a glass of wine or a couple whiskeys on the rocks casually with the
wife while watching a series or movie.

The only thing it's ever effected was money. Buying coffee at Starbucks or Tim
Hortons on a regular basis is a waste IMO. Same with alcohol - cheaper to buy
a bottle at home and drink it slowly then at a restaurant. Conversely, as you
get older, it becomes (or has become for us) more important what you drink
then the quantity - good stuff is expensive so you don't really want to blow
through it quickly.

------
twobyfour
No coffee. 2 cups of tea per day. No more caffeine than that, and none after
lunch, or I won't be able sleep easily or soundly. Caffeine crashes and the
exhaustion from caffeine-related sleep deprivation are both so much worse than
just not consuming caffeine at all. It's not worth it.

Alcohol: up to two beers at a date, happy hour, or other event. Three if it
lasts more than 4 hours. A glass of wine if eating dinner with someone else.
Probably averages 2-3 nights per week with any alcohol consumption. No
negative effect on social life (though I do enjoy social events more when
self-medicating for social anxiety with those beers). More than one drink does
affect my sleep that night and energy levels for a couple days, but I haven't
been hung over in a decade except for after that one wedding...

~~~
mrits
I can drink coffee up until I go to bed and have no issues sleeping. However,
if I drink more than a few beers I wake up after a couple hours and can't get
back to sleep.

------
partisan
1 - 3 cups of tea per day. About to make my second one now. I worry about
potential health effects, but I am striking a happy balance here in contrast
to when I was drinking twice as much tea.

In terms of drinking, we usually have a bottle of wine or prosecco 1 - 2 times
a week. I get one or two drinks whenever we go out for dinner so that is once
a week. I don't think I see an impact, but I don't ever get drunk. I just get
sleepy and I usually give in to the call.

------
asidiali
I just had to quit drinking coffee cold turkey due to stomach issues.

I was drinking around 2-6 lattes on any given day for maybe the past 2 years.
Never had a problem. About 1 month ago I started having horrible acid reflux
and general stomach pains, would wake up vomiting, etc. I went to the ER,
discussed my habits, did some scans - and they told me to stop drinking
coffee.

First week was hard. Second week I had no cravings and was feeling great. By
week 3 (last week) I had lost weight (this was my only dietary change), I was
feeling sharper mentally and I was no longer still half-asleep in the morning
before that first cup. In short - felt a worlds difference.

I'm not against coffee now, but cutting it out of my life, even if it's
temporary, definitely was the right decision for me.

(As for alcohol, I don't drink.)

------
mswen
5 to 7 cups of black coffee a day sometimes with a shot of espresso. Research
on health and coffee is mixed though I think the overall current conclusion is
that the benefits outweigh the risks. However, I admit to being biased because
I really enjoy coffee.

Almost no alcohol - 1 every few weeks or months depending on circumstances.
Party/reception or business dinner at high-end restaurant. And, then it is
just one drink.

I am not against alcohol but very cautious around it. I have lost a friend to
a drunk driver and had family members lose custody of their kids because abuse
of alcohol ruined their ability to drive, work and function as responsible
adults.

On the other hand I know plenty of people who drink alcohol much more
regularly than I without any notable effect.

------
xtiansimon
Large bowl-o-latte in the morning. 10 oz of strong French Press coffee when I
get to work, and another 10 oz after lunch ~3pm. Then one 12-16 oz
beer/ale/porter at home to bring my plane in for a landing.

How does this effect others? Heck with them, this is the minimum functioning
me.

------
dvanwag
I'm in tech management,so my days tend to be pretty stressful. I also may or
or may not fit the profile of a typical dysfunctional veteran.

The easiest way to answer your question is like this: If drinking alcohol was
an Olympic sport I'd have a few gold medals, and I drink enough caffeine to
keep the entire Chinese Red Army awake for a week.

------
soloadventurer
2 double shot espressos, one early morning, and one late morning. No coffee
after noon.

1 glass of watered red wine with dinner (my only meal each day). When going
out, I will have 2-3 glasses of wine, but only once every two weeks or so. The
rest of the time I'll drink Perrier or soda water.

3-4 glasses of water a day. More on workout days, but I find on a ketogenic
diet my water requirements are less. I don't add salt to my food, and I cook
all my meals. I don't use condiments either.

I don't drink tea, energy drinks, juice, smoothies, or pop. What I enumerated
above is what I drink.

------
Slaul
Anywhere from 3-8+ coffees a day depending on how I'm feeling that day and
what my workload looks like.

I always have a coffee first thing in the morning, another in my travel mug on
my drive to work, and usually make another when I get to the office.

Some mornings/extremely busy days I'll sub in a caffeine pill for that extra
boost.

I usually cycle down my caffeine use a few times a year, going from my usual
3-8 down to about 2 coffees a day. I find this helps me from building too much
of a tolerance and needing to constantly increase the dosage.

I really only drink alcohol on the weekends and even then not very much.

------
gubsz
I generally don't drink coffee, it makes me jittery and anxious.

Alcohol...once a month but in large quantity. Usually go on a bender while
barhopping/at a party with friends. Definitely need to shake that habit.

------
Arcsech
Almost no coffee, but a fair bit of caffeine - maybe 3 or 4 cups of tea with
an occasional soda mixed in. I'm working on night classes for a graduate
degree as well, so towards the end of the semester mix in some energy drinks
too - definitely not healthy but the only way I can make it through.

Very little alcohol, 1-2 drinks once every other week or so, often with
stretches of a month or more with none at all. I just don't seem to enjoy it
as much as many people do, although it is nice sometimes.

------
bigzen
3 - 5 cups of coffee per day. And an average of 3 beers per night.

Once or twice per year I tend to take 1 - 4 weeks off from alcohol and taper
down on caffeine significantly. .. sometimes down to no caffeine. It's rough
going for a few days but afterwards I feel that I can't tell the difference
between not consuming and consuming

------
csnewb
2 cups of coffee a day. One after breakfast, but the coffee making process is
a morning ritual. I buy specialty coffee (Verve, Four Barrel, etc), grind the
beans myself, and brew them using a pour over method on the Chemex device.
I'll have whatever coffee we have at work in the afternoon for another energy
boost.

------
orange_county
I used to drink coffee occasionally but if I take a break or drink too much I
get really jittery and sick. So I'm not longer drinking it. Though I might
have a half cup before the gym as a boost.

As for alcohol, it's always present at work and it's hard to not drink. I
can't say no to free beers ;)

------
duren
French press (~35g of beans) or 2 consecutive double espresso shots in the
morning. Another double espresso shot in after lunch.

I drink a fair bit of alcohol; probably 3-10 servings during the week and
10-20 servings most weekends. _Not_ drinking would affect my social life.

------
throwaway12a123
2-3 Cups of coffee per day and 3-5 pints of beer (5-7% alcohol) per week.

This is considered low for myself and times in my life I have had about 2x
this amount of alcohol/coffee. I am not saying my current consumption is
healthy, that is just what it is.

------
tjalfi
I drink 2 or 3 cups of coffee per day. I stopped drinking alcohol about 12
years ago. I'm sure it has affected my social life but it's only one of many
factors.

Edited to change the wording of the third sentence.

------
amjaeger
0-3 cups of coffee per day (with 3 being rare) 3-16 drinks/2 weeks. I just
graduated so that number was even higher cause of celebrations, but it was
usually pretty low.

I wish there were more comments here, would be a cool survey for HN

------
spoonie
I try to limit my coffee to around 3 cups per day, or else it starts to affect
my sleep.

I drink, on average, 6 standard drinks per week (all beer). Usually after work
and, in the last 3 three years, no more than 2 at once.

------
MichaelBurge
Usually 24 cups if I'm drinking coffee that day. But it's sporadic: I'll keep
that rate for a month or two, and then nothing for 2-3 months.

I'll have a beer or wine or something once every 6 months or so.

------
michaelflux
2-3 double shot flat whites. Typically before 2pm - most of the time with MCT
or Brain Octane oil and a bit of unsalted butter mixed into the milk while
steaming it.

Another 2-3 cups of black tea. No alcohol.

------
bbcbasic
I go decaf for coffee and avoid caffeine. I think I feel better for it.
Typically 4 or so beers a week, more if there is a night out but that's rare
nowadays

------
bobbba
coffee free for the last 30 days (used to drink about 2 cups per day) and
alcohol free for the past year (used to drink about 3 glasses of wine every
evening and more on the weekend) Feel great - work/family and social life
definitely massively improved.

------
samblr
One coffee a day after breakfast. Have gone alcohol free for a good 5 years
now! Feels better.

------
fooYou
1-2 cups of coffee. No alcohol. Trying to stay youthful into old age.

------
soneca
No alcohol. 1 or 2 drip coffees each day I make myself at home.

------
wayn3
None, except for the very occasional glass of wine.

------
asdf33323
No alcohol. 1-2 coffee a day.

------
crispytx
none

------
milquetoastaf
Shot of espresso in the morning. Probably like 10-12 beers a night?

