Two drinks now cost me a whole weekend

2026-10-08 08:59

I train four mornings a week, hit protein, sleep 7–8 hours, and generally avoid shortcuts. But I’ve noticed something since starting reta: alcohol recovery is not what it was.

Two drinks at a birthday dinner Friday left me foggy Saturday and still flat Sunday. Not vomiting, just a headache, zero appetite, a terrible sleep score, and no interest in my usual Sunday meal prep.

My Saturday squat session went from planned top sets to one empty-bar warm-up and a lot of sitting on the bench. I’m not chasing a buzz, but it’s annoying that a couple of drinks now feel like a two-day tax.

For those who drink occasionally, did this level out later, or did you just decide alcohol wasn’t worth the recovery cost anymore?

2026-10-13 22:19

Welcome to the club nobody wants. I’m a daily weigher too, and I’ve had to reframe alcohol as a 48-hour event, not a Friday night thing. My last two-drink dinner: sleep score 61 vs usual 85, resting HR +9, HRV down 18 ms, scale +2.1 lbs Saturday—gone by Tuesday. Trend line barely twitched.

What helps me: don’t fight the zero-appetite day. Protein shake, electrolytes, easy walk, early bed. Log the weight, ignore the number.

Question for you: is it every type of alcohol, or have you tested wine vs clear spirits? Wine is way worse for me. Curious if it’s the booze or the late big meal.

2026-10-16 07:59

Not the vomiting that gets you — it's delayed gastric emptying. Two drinks now sit and peak hours later than they used to, so you're clearing them at 2 a.m. instead of at the table, which wrecks sleep architecture and leaves you flat.

Concrete version: I log resting HR and HRV. Two drinks costs me ~6–8 bpm RHR and roughly half my deep sleep for two nights, with appetite suppressed into day three. The scale lies about it because you're net down from not eating, so it looks harmless.

Curious whether your Sunday flatness reads autonomic (RHR/HRV trashed) or appetite-driven. Different problem, different fix.

2026-10-18 16:57

Honestly, oh man, I feel this. Actually I think it's more like one drink that wrecks me now, not two.

I track my HRV and resting heart rate on my Oura, and even a single glass of wine shows up as a 10–15% drop in HRV and a 5–8 bpm jump in RHR the next morning. The sleep score tanks even if I fall asleep fine.

Have you noticed if it's worse with certain types? I'm curious if it's the sugar or the alcohol itself. Hang in there.

2026-10-20 01:57

I’m a numbers nerd too. Since starting, I’ve basically put alcohol in my spreadsheet next to sodium and sleep. Last Friday: 2 vodka sodas, 6 oz each, ended 11pm.

Oura showed sleep score 58, RHR +7, HRV -18 ms, and my Saturday step count fell from ~9k to 3.1k. Not worth it. Curious: has anyone found the cutoff is time-of-day rather than count? If I stop by 6pm with food + 1L water before bed, Sunday is less wrecked, but not normal.

I’m also wondering if it’s the sugar/tonic vs clear liquor. What are you all tracking post-drinks?

2026-10-20 13:12

Small-town pharmacy worker here—not advice, just my nerdy tracking. I don’t weigh daily, but I wear a ring and log how I feel.

After one glass of wine at our fire hall fundraiser, my overnight HR was up 9 bpm, HRV tanked, and I woke at 3 a.m. with that hollow, zero-appetite feeling.

The weird part: my sleep score stayed crummy a second night even after I felt normal again. So now I volunteer as designated driver and sip diet ginger ale with lime.

Anyone else see that second-night lag in their wearable data, or is it just me?

2026-10-20 14:45

The flat Sunday is the part I hate—not sick, just dimmed. I run a cafe, so Saturday morning is my busiest and most tempting shift (fresh scones everywhere), and after two drinks Friday I’m useless: no appetite, can’t taste, then I graze on pastry all day.

My only useful tracking has been a tiny next-morning note—sleep, appetite, mood, 1–10—plus what I actually drank and when. It’s shown me it’s less about the amount and more about how late I finish.

Does the fog hit you worse if you drink later, or is it the same regardless? And does the zero appetite last just Saturday or bleed into Sunday for you?