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How to Cut Back on Drinking: 9 Steps to Take to Be Successful

April 2020 by Reid Hester Ph.D. Leave a Comment

This is the fifth of a series of posts on moderate drinking. If you’ve come here after searching on this issue, it’s likely that you’re wondering about your drinking and whether or not you should cut back to reduce alcohol-related problems or risks for problems. If you’ve not read the previous post we recommend doing so as they build on each other.

The first post covered definitions of moderate drinking based on solid empirical research over the years. It also addressed instances where moderate drinking or a goal of pursuing moderate drinking could be hazardous to your health and well-being. If you haven’t yet read it, we recommend that you do so first.

The second post focused on what’s really the first step or question to answer about your drinking? Would it be a good thing for me to change it?

The third gives you a way to compare different kinds of alcohol and encourages you to use a standard drink (Standard Ethanol Content or SEC to use research terms) and gives you a calculator for it.

The fourth post addresses your chances of success in cutting back.

The sixth post addresses your options when your efforts to cut back on your drinking aren’t working.

Now onto the topic at hand. Concrete steps for moderating your drinking.

The Steps We Recommend

Here’s a summary of the steps we recommend you take:

  • “Doing a 30”
  • Setting Limits
  • Make a list of Drinking Rules
  • Keeping Track of Drinking
  • Identifying Triggers
  • Developing a Plan to Manage Triggers
  • Keeping Track of Urges and Developing a Plan to Manage Them
  • Developing strategies for a Healthier Life
  • Dealing with Lapses and Relapses

“Doing a 30”

For many people, especially those who drink daily, drinking is a well-established habit they’ve had for years. And one powerful way to break a habit is to avoid it entirely for a period of time. Psychologists call this “breaking the behavioral chain.” So consider taking a break from drinking for 30 days.

There are other good reasons to take a break.

  • Doing so reduces your tolerance (a good thing) so that when you do resume drinking, you’ll feel the effects of alcohol at lower blood alcohol levels.
  • Not drinking for a while can free up your time that you can use to enjoy other activities that you enjoy or used to enjoy or have wondered about trying but haven’t taken the time.
  • One way to moderate drinking is to not drink every day. So this gives you a head start with that.
  • While it may seem scary to consider not drinking for a while, you might discover, as many people do, that they enjoy feeling better, sleeping better, having more free time, and decide to continue with not drinking at all.

Remember, your ultimate goal is to reduce or rid yourself of alcohol-related problems or risks. And not drinking is just as valid a way of getting there as moderate drinking. And if 30 days seems unrealistic to you, consider 15, or 10, or 7.

The next step in taking this break is to write out an agreement with yourself. State the start and end dates and, most importantly, print it out and sign it. And if that feels silly, counter that with the solid empirical research that says that writing out and signing an agreement to do something significantly increases the chances of it happening.

Then, consider sharing the agreement with someone who you’ll think will be supportive of your doing this. That can also increase your chances of success.

Setting Limits

Whether you decide to “Do a 30” or not, the next step is setting limits on your drinking. It’s a critical step in achieving moderation. We recommend setting limits on:

  • The number of standard drinks per occasion.
  • Your peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) per drinking occasion.
  • The number of days per week that you drink.

For the number of drinks and peak BACs, we recommend setting two types of limits:

  • A regular limit for drinking on a typical day of drinking.
  • A higher, absolute limit for drinking on special occasions when you choose to exceed your regular limit.

Drinks per Day

Here are some recommended guidelines for setting limits on drinks per day.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recommends the following limits:

  • 2 drinks per day for men.
  • 1 drink per day for women.
  • NIAAA also recommends lower limits for adults over 65.

Moderation Management, a self-help group supporting of moderate drinking, recommends these limits. Click here for more information on how these limits were developed.

  • 4 per day for men, no more than 14 per week.
  • 3 per day for women, no more than 9 per week.

NIAAA’s Physician Guide indicates that people may be at risk for alcohol-related problems if they exceed the levels recommended by Moderation Management. Click here for the Physician’s Guide.

Yes, these limits may seem low to you and may be unrealistic given your current level of drinking. If so, we suggest you set a limit that is higher but realistic for you, then revise it when you’ve had some success in achieving your first, higher limit.

Peak BACs

Your peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) affects you more than how much you drink. You’ll be much more intoxicated (and at greater risk for problems) if you have 4 drinks in 1 hour than if you have 4 drinks in 4 hours.

If you keep your BAC under .055 or 55mg%, you’re more likely to experience the things people like about drinking: feeling relaxed, etc. while at the same time minimizing your risk of alcohol-related problems.

When your BAC goes above .055, your risk of experiencing alcohol-related problems increases. The higher your BAC, the greater your risk. So to minimize your risks, consider setting your BAC limit at no more than .055.

Your BAC will vary depending on:

  • How much you drink.
  • The amount of time you spend drinking.
  • Your weight and gender.

A personalized BAC chart that takes into account these variables is in our Moderate Drinking module of Checkupandchoices.com.

Drinking Days Limit

Here are some reasons to not drink every day when you’re trying to cut back.

  • Most moderate and social drinkers in the U.S. don’t drink every day.
  • Limiting your number of drinking days per week can help you break the habit of over-drinking. It disrupts your pattern if your pattern has been to drink every day. In this way it’s similar to doing a 30.
  • It encourages you to use other ways to get some of the good things you like about drinking.

Once you’ve made these decisions, again, write them down, print them out. That also helps you be mindful of the concrete steps you’re taking to cut back on your drinking.

Drinking Rules

We recommend creating a short and simple list of situations where you agree to abstain entirely. For instance, the only safe BAC for driving is a 0 BAC. Also, there is no safe level of drinking if you’re pregnant. Other situations should reflect your “weak spots.” Take a minute and think of situations when you’re most likely to drink heavily. These situations may take some time to learn how to manage without over-drinking.

Come up with that short list, write it down, and yes, print it out as an agreement with yourself.

Keeping Track of Drinking

Keeping track of your drinking while you are drinking is an important step in achieving and maintaining moderation. Keeping track of your drinking while drinking is the best way to tell if your efforts to cut back are working.

Also, the more you are aware of your drinking, the better your chances of staying within your limits. You’ll also know when you’ve reached the drink limit you’ve set for yourself.

We call keeping track self-monitoring because you’re keeping track of what you’re doing. Our moderate program in our app has a digital drink tracker but if you’re not subscribed you can come up with your own system. In either case, enter your drinks into your or our drink tracker each time you drink. If you subscribe to our moderate protocol you’ll be able to:

  • Give you detailed feedback about your progress towards your goals
  • Help you begin to see the patterns in your drinking
  • Help you identify triggers to over-drinking
  • Help you to develop ways to manage your triggers to over-drinking

Your self-monitoring data is an important part of increasing your self-control and achieving your goal of moderate drinking.

If you’re keeping track on your own, these are the variables to track:

  • Date
  • Time (before the start of the drink)
  • Kind of drink (beer, wine, etc.)
  • Amount of alcohol in standard drinks
  • Where you are
  • Who you’re with
  • Your feelings at the time.

As you accumulate drink tracking cards or data you’ll be able to start to see patterns in your drinking that can help you identify triggers to overdrinking.

Identifying Triggers

Here’s a list of potential triggers to over drinking.

  • People
  • Places
  • Times of day/days of week
  • Activities
  • Feelings
  • Physical Conditions (e.g., hunger, headache)
  • Family
  • Money
  • Life Events
  • Types of alcohol

Make a list of the triggers and add to them as you continue keeping track of your drinking and discover other triggers you haven’t listed.

Developing a Plan to Manage Triggers

Being aware of your triggers will only be helpful if you develop and use a plan to better deal with them.

Consider each trigger on your list and set up a plan for dealing with that trigger. Some triggers are easier to figure out how to deal with than others though. For instance, figuring out how to deal with depression can be a complex task. So instead of trying to have all the answers we’ll recommend other resources to help you get where you want to go (e.g., reduce or eliminate symptoms of depression). We’ve put those resources in an extensive resource list.

There are two aspects of dealing with triggers:

  • Your external responses: what you say to others, what you do, your problem-solving skills, communication skills, etc.
  • Your internal responses: how you think about the situation and your emotional reactions.

You can improve your external responses by learning problem solving skills, communication skills, and interpersonal skills. You can improve how you respond internally through a process called “stress innoculation.”

See our resources section for links to improve your skills in these areas.

Keeping Track of Urges and Developing a Plan to Manage Them

There are 4 good reasons to keep track of your urges:

  • Keeping track can help you identify your triggers to drinking if you’re either “doing a 30” and taking a vacation from drinking or if you’ve chosen to abstain.
  • Keeping track can help you identify your triggers to over-drinking if your goal is moderation.
  • Keeping track can help you realize that they aren’t always there or getting worse. Urges come and go. Fortunately, while urges may make you uncomfortable, they can’t hurt you.
  • You can sometimes use urges to your benefit. For instance, if you have an urge to drink when you’re feeling anxious, the urge can be a signal to figure out better ways to manage your feelings of anxiety and how you deal with stress.

We suggest you keep track of your urges in a way similar to how you keep track of your drinking.

The next step is to develop plans to manage and reduce your urges. This is a complex bit and we refer you to that section in our Checkupandchoices.com moderation module.

Developing strategies for a Healthier Life

Other ways to get the Desired Effects of Drinking

People often drink to achieve some desired effects like to relax, to change your mood, or to escape. The desired effects themselves are often positive. Achieving them may help you cope with life.

What we’d like you to do is to consider how you can get some of the desired effects of drinking without over-drinking or without drinking at all. If you don’t have ways of getting these effects, other than by over-drinking, you’ll continue to be at risk for relapse when you need to relax, change your mood, etc..

  • First list what you like about drinking.
  • Then make up a list of situations that would trigger your desires. These could be feelings (e.g., anxious, celebratory) as well as external situations (e.g., Friday afternoon after a stressful week of work).
  • Now the challenging bit: Make a list of some other ways you can get these desired effects in those situations? What did you used to do to relax, decompress, etc.. before you started over drinking? What have you wondered about but not tried out?
  • Finally try out these new strategies and consider how well they worked for you. It might take some time though for the full benefits of a new strategy to happen so be patient. Trying new things can make one a bit nervous at first. But if, after trying out a new strategy, it’s just not working for you, go back to step 3 and consider other ways to get what you like about drinking.
Enjoyable and Meaningful Activities

When people stop drinking heavily they often have a lot of free time. Some people fill that time with more work and catching up on responsibilities. Things they’ve neglected while they’ve been drinking a lot.

This can backfire. Having a balance in your life between responsibilities and things you enjoy doing and/or are meaningful makes sober life more rewarding. The more rewarding your life is without drinking to intoxication (the original meaning of sober by the way), the less likely you are to have a lapse or relapse. Think of it as a balance between things you should do and things you want to do.

And not all activities need be for pure fun. They can be things to do that give you a sense of meaning or fulfillment. What comes to my mind are volunteer activities that help others. Giving back to your community whether it be in person or online can be rewarding and fulfilling.

In this exercise consider increasing the frequency of

  • those fun things you seldom do
  • fun things you used to do before your drinking took their place
  • or trying out some new things you’ve wondered about but haven’t tried.

To start, make a list of some fun or meaningful things you’ve done before, do infrequently and think you might like to do more of, or to try out some new things.

Now consider some additional alternatives. This list is by no means complete and reflects our biases:

  • Ballroom or salsa dancing
  • Cycling (indoors or outside)
  • Hiking
  • Gardening
  • Tutoring others in a specific field (math, English as a second language, etc..)
  • Walking the dog
  • Tai-Chi
  • Playing a musical instrument
  • Knitting
  • Training your dog or other pet
  • Meditation
  • Volunteering
  • Prayer
  • Reconnecting with the church in which you grew up
  • Exploring spirituality through other religions
  • Singing in church services or a community chorale

Now with your list of things to try, consider that there are both rewards and costs involved. (Yes, there’s no free lunch.) Considering both sides of the coin can help you when you encounter challenges with doing the new activity.

For each activity write down answers to these questions:

  • What is the short-term cost? (Examples might include some embarrassment in joining a new group or rejoining a group activity you’ve been away from for a long time)
  • What is the long-term reward?

If you then plan ahead on how to address the short-term costs you may find it easier to start and stick with the new activities. Now consider specifically a plan to deal with the short-term costs. Ask yourself (and write out the answers) these questions:

What specific activities are you going to try?

What are your most important reasons for doing so?

How to you plan to make this happen? What specific steps are involved? When, where and how will you take them?

How can others help?

What could go wrong or undermine your plans? How can you stick with it even in spite of them?

What good things will happen when you’re doing this new activity (both short term and long-term)?

Keeping Track of Your Mood

Over-drinking can significantly affect your mood, reducing your positive mood and increasing your negative mood. The good news is that when you cut back or stop drinking, your mood often improves.

You can do this yourself as there are numerous screeners for anxious and depressed moods online. For depression, consider the Beck Depression Inventory and for anxiety, the GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder screening). Take them weekly, score yourself and then keep track of your scores over time.

We have a mood tracker on our checkupandchoices.com moderate module that will give you graphic feedback on the changes in your mood over time. There are three things to keep in mind though:

  • During the initial period of adjusting to stopping or drinking less your mood may actually worsen for a while. This is usually temporary as you and your body adjust to an absence of heavy drinking.
  • If your mood worsens and does not improve over time you may have an underlying mood disorder. If so, please consider discussing this with your family physician or therapist if you have one.
  • If after you’ve seen improvements in your mood it then worsens in the future, this could be a risk factor for lapsing or relapsing. Addressing this effectively can help reduce your risk for lapsing or relapsing.

To make it easier to track your moods, we’ve made the Mood Tracker available at the end of this section, from your dashboard, and from the main menu. Once you’ve begun tracking your moods, you can see feedback on your dashboard.

Dealing with Lapses and Relapses

What is a lapse? What is a relapse? What’s the difference between the two?

These are not easy questions to answer but we will suggest some guidelines for how you define them.

Perhaps more important than the difference between a lapse and a relapse is what you do when one happens. How you respond during and after a relapse can have a big impact on whether you get back on track with your goals or continue over-drinking. Since goal is to moderate your drinking and be successful, consider the following view which is based on scientific research.

Lapses and relapses are mistakes from which you can learn so that you are less likely to repeat them. Learning new habits like moderate drinking is a process and takes time. You can’t learn all that you need to know to maintain moderation in just a couple of weeks.

Also, rather than focusing on one day of over-drinking, consider it in the context of the total number of days of not drinking and moderate drinking you’ve had since you’ve started making serious attempts using the steps we recommend. One day of over-drinking out of 2 weeks of not drinking or drinking moderately is a 93% success rate.

Taking this view does not mean that it’s OK to continue over-drinking 7% of the time. Every instance of over-drinking puts you at risk for alcohol-related problems. If you learn from your mistakes, you’ll be less likely to repeat them in the future.


About the Author

Dr. Reid K. Hester, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and the Co-Founder of CheckUp & Choices, serving as the Director of its Research Division.

Dr. Hester has published over 60 journal articles on the topic of substance misuse and digital interventions including in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, and The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.

A leader in his field, Dr. Hester is one of the nation’s most sought-after substance misuse experts. His opinions, online resources and research have been featured in The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Vogue, and Men’s Health among others

Dr. Hester received his masters and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Washington State University in 1979.

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Filed Under: Moderate Drinking Series Tagged With: alcohol moderation, Alcohol problems, Alcoholic, cutting back on drinking, Drinking, Heavy Drinking, problem drinking

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  • Storage and Security of Information. The security of your Personal Information is important to us. We use generally accepted industry standards to protect the Personal Information submitted to us from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure, both during transmission and in storage. For example, when you enter sensitive information such as payment information and limited health information, on our Site, we encrypt that information using Secure Socket Layer ("SSL") technology. However, because there are no methods of transmission or storage that are guaranteed to be entirely secure, we cannot guarantee complete security.  If we become aware that your Personal Information has been disclosed in a manner not in accordance with this Privacy Policy, we will use reasonable efforts to notify you of the nature and extent of the disclosure (to the extent we know that information) as soon as reasonably possible and as permitted or required by law.
  • Controlling Your Personal Information. If you are a registered subscriber of the Services, you can modify some of the Personal Information you have included in your profile or change your username by logging in and accessing your account. If you wish to close your account, please email us at info@checkupandchoices.com. We will delete your account and the information in your account as soon as reasonably possible. Please note, however, that we reserve the right to retain information from closed accounts, including to comply with law, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, enforce the Terms of Service and take other actions permitted by law. You must promptly notify us if you become aware that any of your account data is lost, stolen or used without permission.
  • Links to Other Websites. The Services contain links to third party websites with which Checkup & Choices has no affiliation. A link to a non­Checkup & Choices website does not mean that we endorse that website, the quality or accuracy of information presented on the non­Checkup & Choices website or the persons or entities associated with the non­Checkup & Choices website. If you decide to visit a third party website, you are subject to the privacy policy of the third party website as applicable and we are not responsible for the policies and practices of the third party website. We encourage you to ask questions before you disclose your information to others.
  • Updates and Changes to Privacy Policy. The effective date of this Privacy Policy is set forth at the top of this webpage. We will notify you of any material change by posting notice on this webpage. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date constitutes your acceptance of the amended Privacy Policy. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices. The amended Privacy Policy supersedes all previous versions. If you do not agree to future changes to this Privacy Policy, you must stop using the Services after the effective date of such changes.
  • California Residents.  Subject to certain limitations under California Civil Code § 1798.83, California residents may ask us to provide them with (i) a list of certain categories of personal information that we may have disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) the identity of those third parties.  To make this request, California residents may contact us as provided in below (see Contact Us).
  • Contact Us. If you have any comments, concerns or questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Checkup & Choices LLC

Attn: CEO

9426 Indian School Road NE, Suite 1

Albuquerque, NM 87112

Tel: 505.345.6100

Email: info@checkupandchoices.com

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  • Source of funding. Funding for this site comes from subscription fees from individuals and organizations, and private investor funding.
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Last modified on Jun 8, 2020 @ 2:30 pm

Terms of Service
Terms of Service
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CHECKUP AND CHOICES LLC TERMS OF SERVICE

LAST UPDATED: FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Checkup and Choices LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Checkup & Choices”), owns and maintains the website upon which we have placed these Terms of Service for your review (the “Site”).  The Site is made available to you for your personal information and education. The program(s) presented through the Site, and the content, tools, reports, material, information or data downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of this Site (collectively, the “Program”) is educational and not treatment. Your access to and use of the Site and the Program (collectively, the “Services”) are subject to the following Terms of Service. Please read these Terms of Service carefully before accessing or using the Services, so that you fully understand your rights and responsibilities. By accepting these Terms of Service, either by clicking “I Accept” below or by continuing to use the Services, you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree with these Terms of Service, please exit the Site and discontinue use of the Services.   In the event of a medical emergency, call 911. Do not disregard or delay seeking medical advice because of content you have read or information you have received through your use of the Services. The Services are educational and are not medical advice.  Neither the Services nor communications you receive through your use of the Services are monitored for medical diagnostics or emergency health care purposes.   The Program is not a substitute for a full evaluation or treatment by a healthcare professional. While the information provided here is based on sound scientific research, each person is unique. The Program is an interactive version of self-help. Should you have any health care-related or mental health care-related questions, please call or see your qualified health care practitioner promptly. Always consult with local professionals, such as physicians, psychologists, psychotherapists or other qualified health care, spiritual or religious leaders, or their associate practitioners before starting on a program of personal change. Never disregard medical advice or mental health treatment or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or heard on this Site.   You will not be engaging in a therapist-patient relationship in any way when you use the Services. The Services are not directly or indirectly practicing psychotherapy, nor dispensing medical or psychotherapeutic services. Nothing stated or posted through the Services is intended to be, and must not be taken to be, the practice of medicine or the provision of medical care.  
  1. Changes.  Checkup & Choices reserves the right to modify or amend these Terms of Service at any time. All changes will be effective immediately upon their posting. Material changes will be posted conspicuously on the Site. By accessing the Site following posting of changes to the Terms of Service, you agree to all such changes.  The Services may be changed or updated without notice.
  2. Representations Made by You.  You represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age and that you possess the legal right and ability to be legally bound by these Terms of Service. You assume total responsibility for your access to and use of the Services and to comply with your responsibilities and obligations as stated in these Terms of Service. If you are not 18 years of age, you are not permitted to use and the Services and must exit now. You are responsible for the accuracy of information that you submit via the Site. You acknowledge and agree that your use of the Services is at your own discretion and risk.
  3. Restrictions on Your Use.  You may not download, reproduce, copy, forward or otherwise distribute any content, information or materials on this Site without the prior express written consent of Checkup & Choices and the consent of any third party copyright owner, as applicable. Any rights that are not expressly granted by these Terms of Service or any applicable license agreements are reserved by Checkup & Choices. You may not use the Services for any purpose prohibited or restricted by law or in violation of these Terms of Service. You agree not to attempt, through any means, to gain unauthorized access to the Site, or another subscriber’s account on the Site. You will not use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy web pages or the content contained in the Site.
  4. Intellectual Property Rights.  Title, ownership rights, and all intellectual property rights in and to the Services, including, without limitation, patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, shall remain with Checkup & Choices and/or its licensors. The Services are proprietary to Checkup & Choices and are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and international copyright treaties. By making the Services available to you, Checkup & Choices is not providing you with any implied or express licenses or rights, and you will have no rights to make any commercial use of the Services. All material on the Site, including, without limitation, all informational text, design of and “look and feel” of the Site, layout, photographs, graphics, audio, video, messages, files, documents, images or other materials (collectively, the “Materials”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, as well as all derivative works, are owned by Checkup & Choices or other parties that have licensed their material to Checkup & Choices and are protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. Any unauthorized use of any Materials is strictly prohibited, and may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
  5. NO WARRANTIES.  THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED AS-IS, WITH NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND CHECKUP & CHOICES DISCLAIMS ALL SUCH WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT AND ALL WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE IN TRADE. CHECKUP & CHOICES DOES NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION AS TO THE RELIABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, USEFULNESS, ADEQUACY, COMPLETENESS OR SUITABILITY OF THE SERVICES. FURTHER, CHECKUP & CHOICES DOES NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT ANY INFORMATION DOWNLOADED FROM SITE IS FREE FROM VIRUSES.  YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. CHECKUP & CHOICES MAKES NO GUARANTEES WHATSOEVER AS TO THE RELIABILITY, CORRECTNESS OR ACCURACY OF THE SERVICES OR THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICES.
  6. Limitation on Liability.  Neither Checkup & Choices, nor its affiliates, nor any third parties who contract with Checkup & Choices for the Services who may have referred you to the Site (each a “Services Partner”), nor their respective officers, directors, employees or agents are responsible or liable to you under any theory of liability or indemnity in connection with your access or use of the Services.  You agree not to bring, file, or participate in any claim, suit, or complaint against Checkup & Choices, its affiliates, any of its Services Partners or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents as a result of your use of the Services or any decision made in reliance upon, or results obtained from, the use thereof. Neither Checkup & Choices, its affiliates, its Services Partners, nor their respective officers, directors, employees or agents are or will be liable or responsible for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, punitive or other damages of any kind arising out of or relating in any way to the Services, whether such damages are based on tort, contract, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise, even if Checkup & Choices has been advised of the possibility of such damages. The total cumulative liability of Checkup & Choices, its affiliates, its Services Partners, or their respective officers, directors, employees or agents hereunder, for any reason, will not exceed $100.00. Some states do not allow for the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above exclusions or limitations may not apply to you.
  7. Indemnification. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Checkup & Choices, its affiliates and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents from and against all losses, expenses, liabilities, damages and costs, including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from or arising from your use of the Services or any violation of these Terms of Service.
  8. Privacy Policy. Use of the Services is also governed by the terms of the Checkup & Choices Privacy Policy, located at https://my.checkupandchoices.com/privacy, which may be modified by Checkup & Choices from time to time (the “Privacy Policy”), which is incorporated into these Terms of Service by this reference. You hereby grant Checkup & Choices a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to use the information provided by you in your use of the Services in any manner in the sole discretion of Checkup & Choices, provided such use is in accordance with these Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy. Any Personal Information collected on the Site will be used and disclosed only as authorized and directed by you in accordance with the Privacy Policy and your authorization provided in Section 10 below.  Checkup & Choices will use information provided by you, including health information, to produce reports and recommendations for you (collectively "Reports").
  9. By electronically signing or otherwise accepting these Terms of Service, you give your written permission to Checkup & Choices to retain your Personal Information and to use and/or disclose your Personal Information as necessary to provide the Services. Specifically, you agree that Checkup & Choices can use your Personal Information to: enable and customize your use of the Services; provide you with alerts regarding the Services; share information with you regarding other services, products or resources that we think you may be interested in learning more about; provide you with updates and information about the Services; conduct analysis for Checkup & Choices’ business purposes; support development of the Services; and create de-identified information and then use and disclose this information in any way permitted by law. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, if you submit feedback or a testimonial (“Feedback”) using our form, email or otherwise through your use of the Services, then you agree that we may use such Feedback in an anonymized manner in connection with publicizing and promoting Checkup & Choices and the Services or for any other lawful purpose, including publishing the Feedback on the Site and on any successor website that we may operate from time to time in our sole discretion. You further agree that we may edit the Feedback and publish edited or partial versions of the Feedback in our sole discretion, provided that we do not intentionally create a misleading impression of your views. You hereby grant us a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use and incorporate into the Services any suggestion, enhancement request, recommendation, correction or other feedback provided by you relating to the Services.
  10. Checkup & Choices is not a Business Associate.  You acknowledge and agree that Checkup & Choices will only receive your Personal Information, which may include some health information, that you choose to share with Checkup & Choices through your use of the Services and that Checkup & Choices will not receive any of your Personal Information from any third parties, including your health providers or health plans.
  11. Disclosure of Personal Information.  You acknowledge and agree that the Services may allow you to share your Reports and Personal Information (as defined in the Privacy Policy) stored on the Checkup & Choices network with third parties of your choosing (all such shared information referred to herein as your “Shared Information”).  Checkup & Choices will have no control over your choice to provide access to your Shared Information or the persons to whom you provide access. Checkup & Choices will have no liability to you in connection with any access you provide to your Shared Information, including without limitation, liability arising from mistakes that you make in your attempts to provide such access.   
  12. You agree that Checkup & Choices can disclose your Personal Information to: third parties assisting Checkup & Choices with any of the uses described in Section 8 above; a third party as part of a potential merger, sale or acquisition of Checkup & Choices; and our business partners who assist us by performing core services (such as hosting, billing, fulfillment, or data storage and security) related to the operation or provision of the Services.
  13. Security/Passwords. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your access to the Services. Checkup & Choices has no control over use of passwords, and cannot tell whether someone else is accessing the Site under your password. You are solely responsible for any use of your password or other login information by you or any third party. Checkup & Choices has no responsibility or liability for any such use. You agree to immediately notify Checkup & Choices of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security that is known or suspected by you.
  14. Third Party Websites. Checkup & Choices has no liability for any third party website that you may access through the Services. When you access a third party website, you acknowledge that it is independent from Checkup & Choices and that Checkup & Choices has no control over such website or its content. In addition, Checkup & Choices does not endorse any third party whose website may be linked from this Site. Checkup & Choices does not and cannot ensure the propriety, security or accuracy of any third party website and you are encouraged to review the posted policies of any website that you visit.
  15. DMCA. Checkup & Choices™, and other names, trademarks, trade names, service marks, logos, symbols or other source identifiers identified on the Site or used by Checkup & Choices, in addition to other marks not listed herein, are registered service marks of Checkup and Choices LLC. You may not use any of Checkup and Choices LLC's trademarks for any purpose without the express written permission of Checkup and Choices LLC.  Other names, trademarks, trade names, service marks, logos, symbols or other source identifiers identified on the Site may be owned by a third-party. The use on the Site of any name, trade name, trademark, service mark, design, logo, symbol or other proprietary designation or marking of or belonging to a third party, and the availability of goods or services from such third parties, shall not be construed as an endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation of the Site or services provided by Checkup & Choices by any such third party, or the participation by such third parties in the offering of goods or services through the Site.
  16. Unless otherwise specified, the content of this Site is protected under the U.S. Copyright Act, as amended, and the copyright laws of other countries. Copyright © 2015, Checkup and Choices. All Rights Reserved.  You are only permitted to use the content as expressly authorized by Checkup & Choices or the applicable Contributor. Except for a single copy made for personal use, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, republish, upload, post, transmit, or distribute any documents or information from this Site in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Checkup & Choices or any applicable Contributor, and you are solely responsible for obtaining permission before reusing any copyrighted material that is available on this Site.   Checkup & Choices respects the intellectual property rights of others.  If you or any user of this Site believes its copyright, trademark or other property rights have been infringed by any content posted on this Site, you or the user should send notification to our Designated Agent (as identified below) immediately. To be effective, the notification must include:
    1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
    2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
    3. Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as address, telephone number and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
    4. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be subject to infringing activity and that is to be removed and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the materials;
    5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, agent, or the law; and
    6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringing.
      Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. Sec. 512(c), our Designated Agent for Notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached as indicated below. Service of repeat infringers of copyright or of users about whom repeat claims of copyright infringement are received will be terminated. The Designated Agent for Claimed Infringement shall be to info@checkupandchoices.com, or you may also write to us at the address provided below with Attention to: DMCA Agent. ALL CLAIMS MUST BE IN WRITING AND MAY NOT BE MADE BY TELEPHONE.   Except as expressly provided herein, you do not acquire any rights to the Services through the purchase of products or Services or the Site.  You may not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to discern the source code (i.e., the human-readable form of any computer programming code) (“Source Code”) of the components of the Services or Site, or create derivative works based thereon.   You are not permitted to: (a) remove any proprietary notices, labels, or marks on any component of the products, Services or its System (or the Services or Site generally), whether physically, in compiled machine language, or in the Source Code; (b) use the Services to provide a service bureau by which the Services can be accessed by third parties or by which information produced pursuant to the Services is sold or given to third parties; or (c) sublicense, assign, delegate or otherwise transfer this license or an of the related rights or obligations for any reason without the prior written consent of Checkup & Choices (any attempt to sublicense, assign, delegate or transfer this license, either by contract, statute, corporate merger of any sort, regulation or court order, without the prior written consent of Checkup & Choices shall be voidable at Checkup & Choice’s sole and absolute discretion).  Failure to comply with these restrictions will result in automatic termination of any rights provided to you under this Agreement.
  17. Termination.  Checkup & Choices may at any time and for any reason disable, terminate or suspend your access to the Services. You agree that Checkup & Choices will not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to the Services.
  18. Choice of Law and Venue.  These Terms of Service are a binding agreement between you and Checkup & Choices and are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Mexico, exclusive of its choice of law rules. Each party to these Terms of Service submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the County of Bernalillo in the State of New Mexico, and waives any jurisdictional, venue, or inconvenient forum objections to such courts. In any action to enforce these Terms of Service, Checkup & Choices will be entitled to all costs and attorneys’ fees it incurs. This Site is not targeted to subscribers in any particular locality, nor is it intended to constitute the doing of business in any jurisdiction, nor to be a solicitation of business anywhere on behalf of Checkup & Choices or any of its affiliated entities. Any cause of action or claim you have regarding the Services must be commenced within one year after the claim or cause of action arises or the claim or cause of action is barred.
  19. Notices.  Notice may be given to you as a subscriber of this Site by posting information to this Site. You may only give notice to Checkup & Choices in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by prepaid overnight delivery by a nationally recognized courier, in each case addressed to: Checkup and Choices LLC, Attention; CEO, 9426 Indian School Road NE, Suite 1, Albuquerque, NM 87112.
  20. Waiver; Assignment.  The failure of Checkup & Choices to assert any right under these Terms of Service will not be considered to be a waiver of that right, and such right will remain in full force and effect.  No waiver by either party of any breach or default will be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. Checkup & Choices may assign its rights and obligations under these Terms of Service; in this event, Checkup & Choices will be relieved of any further obligation.
  21. Entire Agreement.  These Terms of Service, along with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between Checkup & Choices and you pertaining to the subject matter hereof. If a court deems any provision of these Terms of Service unenforceable or invalid, then the court will modify such provision to the minimum extent necessary to make such provision enforceable and valid. Should such modification prove impossible or impracticable then the provision will be severed and the remaining terms will be interpreted and read to give them maximum enforceability.
  22. Third Party Beneficiaries.  Checkup & Choices Services Partners shall be deemed to be third party beneficiaries of the terms of this Agreement.
 

© 2021 CheckUp & Choices.   All Rights Reserved.  Limitations

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