Can you lose weight without cutting alcohol/coffee with sugar?

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  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    I drink every weekend and had no problems losing or maintaining weight. If it fits within your goal, you're good.

    I wouldn't log cleaning and carrying the baby as exercise, though. That's just part of your daily routine. And beware of MFP telling you've burned more than you have. I usually cut the calories they give me in half, because they're notorious for being too high.
  • jlcbooth
    jlcbooth Posts: 35 Member
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    NikiChicken wrote: »
    New exercise is also infamous for causing water retention to help heal sore muscles. That water retention can show up as a gain on the scale. To combat this, continue to be consistent in your exercise, drink lots of water and yes, be patient.

    Thank you - I did not know this!

  • FitnessTrainer69
    FitnessTrainer69 Posts: 283 Member
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    Yes, you can!
  • jlcbooth
    jlcbooth Posts: 35 Member
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    hollyboremaly wrote: »
    Haven't read through the other reply's so sorry if this is a repeat.. but for me when starting out I had to cut things gradually. To just eliminate everything I love would have been a definite setup for failure. Even now that I eat mostly clean and healthy I still allow myself a treat a few times a week. My fitness coach says, " a food is only as good or bad as the diet it is contained in." I so love that quote!! We don't have to be perfect but we should try to fit our "treats" into our health/fitness goals. I track my calories and macros using MFP, and as long as my treats fit my macros/calories for the day then I dont feel guilty about it. Also love my friend Aimee's philosophy of eating 80/20 during the week. She has 80% of what she eats as strictly whole "Clean" food, and the other 20% is to help her stick with it and stay human lol :)

    Let me know if you want more info about tracking macros, and feel free to add me as a friend, would love to help.

    PS: I am a mom of 2 - 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 girls :)

    Thank you - I have been trying to do 80/20 too. Love the quote from your coach too!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    simple answer yes...check my diary. I drink coffee everyday.....morning and afternoon, I drink when I want (not a big drinker but wait for summer) and eat chocolate...I fit it in.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    jlcbooth wrote: »
    Wow, lots of good info here. Let me clear some things up though.

    1. I'm using 1200 cal/a day before exercise as my goal, as set by MFP, to help me lose 1.5lb/week. I could change it to 1lb/week. I track exercise here (jillian michaels and also things like cleaning, carrying the baby, etc) and eat those calories I gain, so this means that most days of the week, I am eating about 1500 calories.

    1500 is better than 1200 for sure. I think you'd feel better on 1lb/week instead of 1.5lbs/week, personally. But that might be closer to your true loss rate, since as others have noted, MFP overestimates calorie burns. So it could come out to about the same in the end. Agree that you shouldn't log cleaning, carrying the baby, etc. as exercise, since that's what MFP assumes you already do as part of your normal daily activity and if you log it, you're double-counting those calories.
    jlcbooth wrote: »
    I have eaten "clean" for about 5 years now, as a lifestyle change. Even before that, I was never a junk food/fast food lover. I am not a processed food kind of person so it's not hard for me to eat fresh, whole foods. I cook at home 5-6x a week and rarely have anything from a box except for rice or cereal. I'd say I eat clean 80% of the time - not because it's trendy, but because I know it's better for me, because I can eat more food that way and because I do not like the taste of processed foods. Sugar, alcohol and the occasional ice cream are my vices - and ice cream I enjoy rarely.

    Then by all means, continue. Just count your coffee and creamer and wine as part of the other 20%.
    jlcbooth wrote: »
    3. EWJLang, I am not nursing any more. I nursed for 6 months and then weaned. It was then that I saw a change in the way my clothes fit - as in, they didn't anymore :) - and when I decided it was time once and for all to watch portion sizes and drink less and get back to a comfortable weight for me. I am at the same weight I was when I first got pregnant, but as we know, pregnancy changes your shape.

    Yep, and the media is full of images of celebrity women who have miraculously regained their six-pack abs a month after giving birth. Yeah, right. Without some combination of highly-paid personal trainer, judicious use of Photoshop, and/or plastic surgery, that's pretty unrealistic.
    jlcbooth wrote: »
    Thanks for the TDEE info too - I will be looking at that more. I am also getting a fitbit soon to truly track what I expend. I have a feeling that the calories given to me by MFP for doing 20 min of circuit training - which is what I put in for Jillian Michaels work - isn't right. Could be too much, could be too little.

    Very likely. Just be aware that the Fitbit won't necessarily be accurate for things like circuit training either. Fitbits can measure step-based exercise only. The newer models with heart rate monitors can also measure some steady-state cardio. But they're pretty useless for interval training, weights/strength training, or anything other than steady-state cardio. You may have to just guesstimate and then track actual results.
    jlcbooth wrote: »
    I think I will continue to have my wine at night, and drop the coffee/tea with sugar. I am drinking a protein shake daily with coffee in it, so I've got my caffeine fix there.

    If that works for you, then go for it. Personally, I couldn't survive without my morning coffee, but then, I drink it black or with a bit of milk, so that's me. We're all different.
  • stacerenea27
    stacerenea27 Posts: 14 Member
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    I am about the same height and weight as you are and I love my coffee as well. I have switched from Splenda to Stevia and I now measure my creamer. I just make sure that it fits into my calories. Good Luck!
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    I drink several coffees a day and I'm losing weight. I only have milk with it as I weaned myself off sugar in tea/coffee about 8 years ago. I'm losing after my third baby (she's 10 months) and I lost 66lbs after my 2nd still drinking coffee. I don't really drink alcohol, but if I wanted to and it fit into my calories I would do.

    I have MFP set to lose 1lb a week, so my calorie goal is 1660 calories, although I prefer to eat fewer calories.

    I found with my other 2 babies that weight loss really sped up once they reached 1, so I hope that's true again!
  • Ellaskat
    Ellaskat Posts: 386 Member
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    yep - I've lost 11 pounds in 8 weeks, and I only had 18 total to lose.... I also started at my heighest weight in the normal bmi range. I drink about once a week, and usually have 1 day of lovely desserts. keep your calories in line and it's fine.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    Yup! No way I could live without my creamy, sweet coffee.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    1200 is too low already, there is no way you're eating the nutrients your body needs if you're spending calories on alcohol and sugar, IMO.
  • jlcbooth
    jlcbooth Posts: 35 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    1200 is too low already, there is no way you're eating the nutrients your body needs if you're spending calories on alcohol and sugar, IMO.

    I added a post that said I eat about 1500 after exercise. I track macros through MFP and I'm usually eating about 100-120g of protein per day and am lower than MFP suggests on carbs and fat.

  • loratliff
    loratliff Posts: 283 Member
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    There's nothing much to add here other than personal experience... I, too, love my coffee with creamer and my nightly cocktail, BUT I measure out my tablespoon of creamer every morning and carefully measure my gin & tonics too. They work within my daily intake goals and I enjoy them—you should too. (I will say that I've swapped my afternoon coffee for a cup of unsweetened green tea instead, but that's more for a caffeine cutback than anything else.)
  • jlcbooth
    jlcbooth Posts: 35 Member
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    loratliff wrote: »
    There's nothing much to add here other than personal experience... I, too, love my coffee with creamer and my nightly cocktail, BUT I measure out my tablespoon of creamer every morning and carefully measure my gin & tonics too. They work within my daily intake goals and I enjoy them—you should too. (I will say that I've swapped my afternoon coffee for a cup of unsweetened green tea instead, but that's more for a caffeine cutback than anything else.)

    Thanks loratliff. I've decided that it's easier for me to forgo the tea or coffee with sugar in the am than to abstain from that glass of wine at the end of the day. Both are rituals of course and I need neither, but because I'm drinking a protein shake with coffee in it, I can get away with not drinking it hot too. At night, after a long day of work and cleaning/cooking/working out/carting my son back and forth and all over the house, I want to relax with a glass of wine. I measure too!

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