How to cope with repressing that strong desire for a 2nd beer

[eugenep]

I don't know if anyone experienced the same issue and if they can give advise on how they cope with it. 

 

When I have one beer, it's good and it's like I suddenly have this desire/interest to have another one. 

 

I mean...it's not like I have one piece of pie, that was good, and then I want another piece of pie. 

 

It's not the same feeling or desire for pie or other good foods. It's like different, like it's a stronger type of desire that really pushes me and it's like I have to resist with some amount of will power.  

 

In cigarettes we know it's nicotine but I wonder if it's something they put into the beer sometimes? 

 

Beer is fermented so I'm guessing that's responsible for its yummy complex and unique taste. 

 

But so is cheese, prosciutto, and so on. And it's not like I have the same strong desire to have another piece of cheese or ham. 

 

So..you think there's something in the beer they put in it that gives it that strong pull for another one? 

 

In potato chips, I believe it's the msg chemicals that create that strong push. 

 

I read in a book, "Salt, Sugar ,Fat...?" or something that corporate farmers create some kind of sugar fat carb mixture and feed it to pigs and the animals go crazy and keep eating beyond the point that is natural for their bodies. Corporations found they could do the same to humans (just like pigs) so they do similar things with your junk food to make it irresistible good and make you reach for another one. 

 

The only way I cope with the beer problem is to tell myself "just one beer and when that desire for the 2nd comes ignore it." 

 

Like..I don't have the desire for 2 or more beers but just one at first. But that....desire...for the 2nd will come after I finish the first and I know it's coming bc of that first drink for some reason. 

 

I don't think this desire is natural to foods like pie, cheese and so on. And it's not nicotine. So I wonder..what?? 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Smithy
Capitalisation (log)

[Alex]

For potato chips, it's indeed the fat and salt (and, secondarily, the carbs). For beer, it's the alcohol, which acts on several neurotransmitters, especially GABA and serotonin, in a way that most people experience as pleasurable and rewarding. Essentially, your brain has been "short-term" hijacked. And you're correct that fermentation has something to do with its taste appeal; a sobriquet for beer is "liquid bread."

 

Other than avoiding that first beer, the most practical suggestion I have is to either buy your beer in seven-ounce bottles ("pony") and drink it a little slower than usual. That way you can still drink two bottles but consume only two ounces more than one regular-size bottle. (I'm assuming "regular size" is 12 oz, not 40 oz. ) If a pony isn't available, you could pour half of your first 12-oz bottle into a suitable glass container (maybe an empty bottle from before), cap or otherwise seal it, then put it back in the fridge until you're ready for your "second."

[Katie Meadow]

If you have a second beer do you then want a third? I would say that the desire for more alcohol is not the same as the desire for another bowl of chips. Before taking advice from a lot of eGulleters I suggest you talk to someone....more professional. Not that we don't have good intentions here, but.....your question reflects some conflicts about the amount of beer consumption that's good for you.

[Alex]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

If you have a second beer do you then want a third? I would say that the desire for more alcohol is not the same as the desire for another bowl of chips. Before taking advice from a lot of eGulleters I suggest you talk to someone....more professional. Not that we don't have good intentions here, but.....your question reflects some conflicts about the amount of beer consumption that's good for you.

 

Good advice, Katie. Mine was "unofficial" advice, of course, but in my non-eG life I'm a (retired) psychologist who specialized in addiction treatment.

[Duvel]

Do you feel the same after one alcohol-free beer ..?

[eugenep]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Do you feel the same after one alcohol-free beer ..?

never tried alcohol-beer yet bc it feels too unnatural - like fat-free cream etc. 

 

but - i'm sure it tastes good for some also 

 

hmmm...but it might be purely the alcohol that's responsible for that increased desire 

 

I mean, introspectively, Alex seems right and agrees with my experience 

Edited May 16, 2019 by eugenep (log)

[gfweb]

I’m of no help with this one. 😁

 

I would say that wanting a second beer and actually having a few more are different things. 

Edited May 16, 2019 by gfweb (log)

[liuzhou]

8 hours ago, eugenep said:

it might be purely the alcohol that's responsible

 

What else could it be?

 

Presumably you don't have the same reaction with a glass of water. Beer is nearly all water, with some flavoring. And ALCOHOL!

[Anna N]

I can thoroughly enjoy one beer. But I have no desire for a second beer for at least a month. Obviously my brain is not the same as the poster’s brain. 

[eugenep]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

I can thoroughly enjoy one beer. But I have no desire for a second beer for at least a month. Obviously my brain is not the same as the poster’s brain. 

it's like there's this pleasure from drinking beer that's similar to eating food 

 

but there's not just that 

 

it's like this second feeling of pleasure that you get from alcohol - almost like it makes things brighter and much more exciting than they otherwise would be 

 

and more beer does increase this 

 

but - here's this strange part - I know having more beers or alcohol after a point doesn't increase pleasure but makes you feel worse 

 

but that pull for more is still there. 

 

I always thought it was strange - that pull for more - even in the absence of pleasure or anything positive 

 

It's like I have this self awareness about it and then I stop but that pull is strange 

 

like I wonder what it is? I think some label it as "addiction" but it doesn't really explain things 

[blue_dolphin]

I only drink beer (or wine) with food.  If I manage to get my bites and sips out of sync and end up with a bit of pizza or fish & chips, or a bite of burger on my plate and an empty beer glass, then I will certainly wish for another splash to wash down that last bite.  

But once the food is gone, no, I don't want another beer.  

[Anna N]

28 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

But once the food is gone, no, I don't want another beer.  

Pretty much the way it works with me. Except in the summer when I might enjoy a beer without food.

[scubadoo97]

All I know is I’m usually jonesing for a 2nd beer after the first.  But based on the higher ABV of most craft beers 6.5 -9 % abv  1 beer equal around 4+ oz of alcohol or~ 2-3 drinks.  I know if I’ve had a second I’m more buzzed than if I’m drinking high proof spirits 

[gfweb]

On 11/12/2019 at 9:32 AM, eugenep said:

It's like I have this self awareness about it and then I stop but that pull is strange 

 

like I wonder what it is? I think some label it as "addiction" but it doesn't really explain things 

 

It isn't addiction if you resist the urge.

[lindag]

On 11/12/2019 at 7:32 AM, eugenep said:

it's like there's this pleasure from drinking beer that's similar to eating food 

 

but there's not just that 

 

it's like this second feeling of pleasure that you get from alcohol - almost like it makes things brighter and much more exciting than they otherwise would be 

 

and more beer does increase this 

 

but - here's this strange part - I know having more beers or alcohol after a point doesn't increase pleasure but makes you feel worse 

 

but that pull for more is still there. 

 

I always thought it was strange - that pull for more - even in the absence of pleasure or anything positive 

 

It's like I have this self awareness about it and then I stop but that pull is strange 

 

like I wonder what it is? I think some label it as "addiction" but it doesn't really explain things 

It might be important where and with whom   this happens.

Are you with friends in a bar or restaurant?  Or are you home by yourself.

I'm more likely to have a second if I'm out for lunch.  If I'm home I only want one.

With mixed drinks, at home I'll have one, then I don't want another, but at 5PM I'll follow that drink with a glass of wine (or two).  That's happy hour for me, followed by dinner.  If you have no problem stopping with two I sure wouldn't worry about it.  YMMV

 

 

Edited June 19, 2021 by lindag (log)

[paul o' vendange]

Edited as I fear it was way off.  If you are concerned about this, please don't be hesitant about reaching out for help.

Edited June 21, 2021 by paul o' vendange (log)

[heidih]

Some lines here that have nothing to do with food and drink. Some say having to resist is a sign. On the other hand nobody sits in your brain and can judge. As @paul o' vendange said above, addiction basically sucks and professionals are there if you need clarity.

[SLB]

I am the opposite.  I experience beer as something which is all and only taste, and with none of the urge for more that has nothing to do with taste.  And with that particular taste, I only want a (relatively) little bit.  

 

My experience with spirits is . , . not like this at all.  I always want a second cocktail.  "Want" doesn't even really describe the feeling, it's like something coming from another part of my brain.  It's a feeling that is unconcerned with "want".  [I guess that would be the "jones".]

 

The feeling -- I more want to call it a *thing* -- it goes away if I don't have the second, but it takes a bit and, weirdly, I have to remind myself that it'll pass.  

 

In this way, it's kind of like strenuous fitness activity -- I know the discomfort will absolutely totally pass, each and every time -- plus, the truth is, it isn't really going to get worse, either -- but I have to deliberately recall  this little uncontroverted memory, every single workout, every single steep, every single leap in the heartrate. 

 

Wine is somewhere in between, but much closer to beer than to spirits.  To be sure -- I usually will have more than one glass of wine -- I have possibly raged here about the underutilized quantity in bars and restos, the "quartino", which for me feels basically perfect. 

 

But the point is --  I don't have to remember that I'm sated with the wine -- "satiety" seems to be strictly palate-driven, with nothing else in drive.   

 

[**To be clear -- I realize that this experience may not be the reality.

 

And, in another fact which seems like it could be relevant -- almost all wine begins to taste a bit sweet to me after about a glass, and while I like it alright, there is only so much sweet I can swallow.]

 

However.  Dry, acrid spirits?  Having another feels . . . downright sensible!  

 

I believe in some addiction circles they call this:  "False Evidence Appearing Real."  Many glasses of dry, acrid spirits is not, it turns out, sensible.  

 

Anyway.  I have often wondered what it would be like if I experienced spirits the way I experience beer -- one and done, no mourning -- which is what I think must be true for other people.