Is having a low alcohol tolerance really a big deal?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have a low alcohol tolerance. I can easily get drunk off a mere 2 alcoholic beverages. I am not particularly small (180 lbs), I suppose my body just doesn’t metabolize alcohol very well or something.

For some reason, it seemed like a big deal to have a high alcohol tolerance back in high school. This was ironic, since we weren’t old enough to legally drink alcohol. I remember when I was sixteen, some friends and I went to a drive-in, and brought with us a case of beer. I had about 3 beers but it made me so sick I threw up. For a year I was teased about it, and for some reason I felt insecure about having a low alcohol tolerance.

Sometime when I was twenty years old, I went to another friend’s birthday party. For some reason, the comments my former friends had made were still with me. I look back on it now, and I kind of think about how idiotic it was for me to be so insecure about the whole alcohol tolerance thing. When I went to my friend’s birthday party, there was alcohol now, and for some stupid ass reason, I decided to test my alcohol tolerance. I hadn’t done any stupid underage drinking since the drive-in fiasco. But it was still in my memory. So I binged that night. I had seven shots of vodka, 5 of tequila, 2 beers, and 2 margaritas. I nearly killed myself that night- I feel that it was only a friend who kept me propped up while I threw up constantly who kept me alive.

At that point I didn’t give a shit about my alcohol tolerance. So much as looking/thinking about hard liquor gave me an intense sensation of nausea for a long time afterward. Now that I’m legally old enough to drink, I do enjoy beer/wine/mixed drinks, though still easily get intoxicated off 2 drinks. There is a very fine line with me between ‘drunk’ and ‘sick’ as well. I’ve tried to limit myself to not getting sick but still being happily drunk during the occasional party I’m at. A few times I crossed that line, and got sick a few more times. Basically, if I feel drunk, and have any more alcohol, it will almost certainly make me sick.

In a way this is a good thing, I suppose- I’m still alive, and am able to limit how much alcohol I drink at any given time (since I know if I go overboard I will be VERY sick, not fun). Also, its a lot more inexpensive for me to get drunk, since two beers can easily get me tipsy (as opposed to my mom’s boyfriend, who seems to be able to down an entire CASE of beer and remain totally unfazed)

2

Having low alcohol tolerance is great, because it is cheap and it keeps you from being able to drink enough to get into the real bad stuff (blackouts and the like). More power to you.

3

Hey! you have my tolerance! Wee!

I have no problem with it, and my friends, who love me, don’t give me crap about it and know better than to let me have more than I want.

That and I have yet to get ill from alcohol, or experiance a hangover. I don’t put that much in, so it doesn’t do that much damage. All fun, no crap. Or vomiting.

4

That’s not a bad thing… it’s a GOOD thing.

While some of us have to drop a 20 in a bar or nightclub to even get a buzz, you’re set with one or two beers… feel blessed.

And, you’ll never have to worry about extra calories from drinking, because you’re automatically limited.

Lucky bastard…

5

I envy you.

6

:eek:

Wow, I never imagined how much this has wound up being in my favor…I guess…I guess I feel a lot better about myself! :slight_smile:

7

Actually, in certain very dominant and very familiar cultures, alchohol tolerance is a measurement of your manhood. Sorry.

8

I also have a low tolerance. It suits me just fine. The only time it’s a problem is when others say “have another drink” and I say no.

They think I’m trying to stay in control, but I know that I’m already starting to feel the affects of the last 2 drinks. They say things like “come on it’s Friday night, you don’t have to work tomorrow” or " don’t be a square, drink up". I get annoyed because in my books I AM drinking-up and having quite a good time no thanks to them!

What’s worse is when poeple tell you to ‘smile’ when your in a bad mood. Makes me want to punch 'em in the face right there and then.

:mad:

9

I don’t even understand this whole thing about drinking at all.

I don’t drink. I never have, except for a few sips now and then. I probably have a low tolerance (I’ve never tested it) but I decided a long time ago I had no need for drinking. I don’t think there’s anything that terrible about it, but I’ve seen it abused (a close family friend was an alcoholic) and I’m just not interested.

So why do some people (not all the time, just sometimes) have to “grill” me about why I don’t drink? As if it’s something to them? As if my not drinking affects them? It doesn’t. In fact, it’s a good thing; it means that they always know who will happily be their designated driver.

I think this alcohol tolerance “stigma” (if there is one, which I think there is) branches from the same mindset. That there is some meaning or significance to drinking. There is not. Either you want to drink or you don’t, and someone else’s not drinking (or drinking less) shouldn’t mean anything. So why does it?

I sure don’t get it.

10

Alcohol tolerance is a strange thing - important, perhaps, in the undergrad years, but even knowing what it is now smacks of irresponsibility. I recall with very little fondness the evening back in my second year of university in which I consumed TWENTY-TWO bottles of beer. These days, I’m quite content with four or five at maximum.

Know your limits, and act responsibly. It’s not a contest.

-FK

11

Your’e right Yose… it’s not your problem that you don’t drink, but theirs. When you are drinking around a non-drinker you feel bad about yourself. And start to put these uncomfortabe feelings onto the non-drinker to make your self feel better. And make them feel like shit.
I know I’m the non-drinker!

12

I used to be a 2 drink man myself. Sadly those days are gone due to ‘practice’. Alcohol tolerance is something that is built by lots and lots of regular exposure to alcohol.

13

I went out with my husband - I’ve never been a big drinker - and I ordered a “martini” that was vodka and midori. It was good (sweet), and I was looped after half of it. We spent an hour or longer eating and talking, and I drank the whole thing and was quite comfortably tipsy.

I talked to my mother later and she said “oh yeah, you are like me - a cheap drunk.”

It is nice - as said, you don’t spend a lot of money. You don’t drink a lot of calories.

Some hints for drinking with the guys. Drink slowly. Drink water. Drink beer out of a beer bottle (so no one can see how fast or slow you are drinking). Don’t try and “keep up” just drink as fast as you are comfortable. Alternate your alcohol with water or pop. But best of all, definately try and feel comfortable with your choices. It isn’t a contest and anyone who cares that you get drunk off two beers is an immature jerk.

And if you really do want to increase your alcohol tolerance so that you can go to a bar and drop twenty (or more) to get a buzz - you do it gradually and consistantly. Three nights a week, go to the bar and drink. Each night drink a little more until your tolerence is where you think it should be. I wouldn’t think its much of a self improvement plan though - and I can think of things about myself I’d rather spend my time and money improving (like fitness, or my mind).

14

That’s because they’re probably insecure about their own drinking habits. Our friend Ryan doesn’t drink, and sometimes he gets questioned about it. He’s had people actually get mad about it, as if by not drinking he’s judging them. The rest of us don’t really care though, because like you said, he can always drive us if necessary. It’s stupid.

As far as tolerance, I envy the OP. I developed a high tolerance long ago, and that’s one of those things that doesn’t change no matter how long you go without a drink.

15

It is an advantage, you can drink till merry and not get liver damage, or a hang over. The only problem is that drink-driving laws are too lax for people with very low tollerance.

I have a naturally quite hig tollerance for alcohol, but after mt pancreatitis I had to avoid alcohol for 6 months. Once that period of abstanance was over, I slowly started drinking again (I never drink very much, and the Pancreatitis was not alcohol related). I found that I was dangerously intoxicated on only a glass or two of wine, yet was perfectly legal to drive according to the rules on blood alcohol limits. So I could have if I wasn’t sensible have driven whilst intoxicated, yet totally legaly according to the law.
So it is important if alcohol effects you greatly to be very careful about driving after even just one drink.

16

I have no tolerance; I hardly ever drink, and I only weigh about a hundred pounds, so it’d get to me faster anyway. I have absolutely no desire to increase that tolerance. It’s a source of amusement, actually, since I start feeling it after drinking a ridiculously small amount. I am a VERY cheap drunk. :slight_smile:

17

Incubus said, “I have a low alcohol tolerance…I had seven shots of vodka, 5 of tequila, 2 beers, and 2 margaritas. I nearly killed myself that night”

Yeah, no shit, kid. You may have low tolerance but you have great determination :smiley:

I have a high tolerance and that is more than I would drink unless, as Crunchy Frog would say, I wanted flammable breath in the morning.

Seriously, I think the important thing is not how much or little you can, or do, drink, it’s knowing your limit and not overstepping the bounds. It takes some of us longer to figure it out.

18

Only drink every 2-3 week. About 150lbs, Asian (huge disadvantage) - I can’t even finish a beer without going beet-red. Oh and the bloodshot eyes, dialated veins and the pounding headaches while drinking should be a dead giveaway too.

Behold! Rabid Squirrel: Super Designated Driver Man!

19

Another with low tolerance for alcohol. I think women get off easier than men, but I’ve still gotten some strange looks and snarky comments at parties.

It takes half a drink to give me a buzz.
One drink makes me tipsy.
Two drinks, and I’m eating salad with my fingers. In public.
Three drinks, and I complain that the room is spinning, then fall asleep.

20

I haven’t gone beyond that one drink, phouka, but I suspect it’d be similar. One full drink and I’m noticeably tipsy. Not long ago at a brunch buffet I had two small glasses of champagne and found that when I’m tipsy I DON’T SHUT UP. So I don’t want to drink more than one drink, or even half a drink, at once…I would rather not make an idiot of myself in front of other people. I’m easily embarrassed and I’m not sure I could live something particularly stupid down…