oh! Well that explains some things, now doesn't it! two different worlds as far as measurement goes! guess you're not girly!
I think your drinking has something to do with your slow recovery time and difficulty in increasing. Your liver probably has a hard time cleaning up all the alcohol and all the lactic acid. Can you fix some stuff that looks like alcoholic beverages (juices, teas, soda water mixtures) and drink that instead? I think if you want to be serious about your body you need to forgo most alcoholic drinking. Of course that's your decision.