Alcohol and Dieting

zchastain

I'm all for it. I tend to have more success when I don't drink at all but sometimes an occasion or meal just calls for a good quality beer, glass of wine, or cocktail. I definitely stick to the "good stuff" when I do imbibe.

Smashleypants027

viclrstew wrote: »

I like my 2 martinis in the evening. I just save enough calories for them. Still losing though perhaps not as fast, but one has to live, right?

That's me and wine. I enjoy my wine after a long day so if it means I'm walking home to help offset, so be it.

earlnabby

My first year, I rarely drank alcohol. Like many others, I would much rather eat my calories. Since I started exercising more, I needed to up my calories a little several days a week but I really am eating enough so the easiest way to get 100-200 extra calories in on those days is to have a nice glass of wine before dinner.

I always allowed myself a drink or two on special occasions and family holiday dinners.

jpaulie

depends what your goals are. Just losing weight, sure fit 1-2 in here and there. Bulking and adding muscle, have to be more careful

CoriannMichelle

I always like to include a drink of wine or beer in evenings. I do include it as part of my plan. One of the biggest motivator to exercise! I think wine or beer is more reasonable to have part of your daily life versus hard liquoer as one serving is 1 oz and this can easily rack up caloric intake. So I do hard liquoer occasionally. Everyone has their own thing that they need to relax/chill with such as coffee in evening, can of pop, etc. This is my "coffee/pop".

mburgess458

I have a glass of wine with dinner most days. Only 125 calories.... and current thinking is that red wine in moderation is actually good for you.

eibhlinpayne

Beer and wine tend to make me gain weight so when trying to lose I stick to Gin or vodka with diet drinks . Vodka and soda with a twist of lime is sugar free , refreshing and only about 60 cals

sarahlifts

I used to kill a 5th alone or 2 bottles of wine every weekend when I was obese. When I decided to lose I cut out liquor and wine for 6 months. Now I may have a drink once a month if that. I can't wake up early to train if I drink after work. I would rather eat my calories and avoid the bloat I get from drinking. Everything in moderation tho. if you can make it fit then do so. I wouldn't advise people to cut it all the way out.

Cutting it out was helpful to me bc I was abusing it IMO. I was drinking bc I was sad and consuming way too much.

radonskies

viclrstew wrote: »

I like my 2 martinis in the evening. I just save enough calories for them. Still losing though perhaps not as fast, but one has to live, right?

Same for me - I allocate it into my calories. I know I'm not losing as fast as I probably could, but I'm looking at this as lifestyle change, not a diet. For now, I can still enjoy a drink or two and continue losing

radonskies

7lenny7 wrote: »

I also tend not to drink unless I've "earned" it by getting my step count above 10k.

That's a great suggestion!

colors_fade

I do what's realistic. I can't imagine cutting alcohol completely; that's not a realistic life-long goal.

I just account for the calories.

What has helped me most is planning ahead of time. If I know the wife and I are going to have a date night out, I can plan my food calories for the day so I have room for drinks later that evening.

257_Lag

I work out for drink calories and I will admit sometimes that is the ONLY reason I work out.

yasminbower1991

I save calories for a drink in the evening, i rarely if ever drink a lot in one go so i dont see a problem with having one a day as long as i have the calories left

tulips_and_tea

viclrstew wrote: »

I like my 2 martinis in the evening. I just save enough calories for them. Still losing though perhaps not as fast, but one has to live, right?

Mmmm. Love a good martini! I agree with this. If it fits your calorie goal and doesn't cause you to over eat then it's fine. Up to each person to decide though.

Need2Exerc1se

I'm not giving up alcohol forever so I might as well learn to drink it without over consuming calories now.

juggernaut1974

You will have to pry the beer out of my cold dead hands.

If that means I'll never have the body of a 22 year old fitness model, so be it.

Scarlett_ptista

257_Lag wrote: »

I work out for drink calories and I will admit sometimes that is the ONLY reason I work out.

Everyone has their reason to hit the gym, that's not a bad one

Scarlett_ptista

Echoing a lot of other comments; I usually try to fit it into my calorie allowance. For the most part that means I just don't drink unless it's a cheat day, or I have worked out, because I struggle to stay under 1200 cals. Everyone's allowance and needs are different.

I am trying to log everything now, even cheat days and mistakes, and I do really eat waaaay too much when I drink. It throws me off too much when I get the munchies, so if I can I will try to plan for it and eat very light for the rest of the day.

Hoop4la

Sadly .. alcohol and diet do not mix ! Not for me anyway - but I am an all or nothing type girl But good to see many of you are managing to achieve it - well done

bwogilvie

I lost 65 pounds in two years (47 the first year, and then another 18 the second year) while having a cocktail and a glass of wine most nights, and sometimes more on the weekends. I factored them into my goals and meal plans. I also exercise an average of 400-500 calories a day, which makes it easier to fit a drink or two into the daily goal.

Asher_Ethan

I drink 5+ drinks 3x a week... I fit it in my macros and I'm still losing!

dmt4641

I limit drinks to social occasions and to 2 drinks that are not too sugary. A gin with diet tonic is not that many calories. And I make some good skinny margaritas. I don't really count a weigh in the day after drinking - I am either dehydrated so lose weight or bloated and gain. I give it is a day to even out.

zanne54

galgenstrick wrote: »

It also blocks fat oxidation so your body preferentially burns the alcohol off before it can burn fat.

This happened to me one summer. I was burning a ton of calories through exercise so I could drink a significant portion of them back. I thought it would be the same as eating a portion of them back and that I'd continue to lose weight as I was still at a deficit. Boy was I wrong. I pretty much plateaued for that entire summer from the solstice to Labour Day. And then 3 weeks later, when the booze had worked its' way out of my system, I magically started losing again.

I get better results when I don't drink. But that's not a viable long-term choice. So I'm trying my best to limit drinking as much as I can during the weight loss portion. But I do still cave once or twice a week and have a drink or two.

Alligator423

Just limit it to social events these days.

Dead_Darling

I tend to limit my drinking only to going out (club) - and that's only if I can fit it into my calories. I barely go out anyway, and there have been times when I was the sober one! It wasn't because I was a designated driver, I just wasn't in the mood for a lot of drinking.

Because my stomach can't handle alcohol as much as it used to, when I do have a drink, it's normally vodka and orange juice or JD and Coke.

mk2fit

I've lost 52 lbs. since October while fitting in a couple vodka and diet tonics every day. Just save the room calorie-wise. I guess it is like chocolate lovers saving room for chocolate. Reading all the previous makes me wonder what would happen if I stopped alcohol altogether. Nope

Hulbert0089

I love IPA's, good wine and Captain Diet Cokes. Sometimes in the same evening . Safe to say their calories can be a diet killer for me. More often it's not the calories in the drinks but the insatiable appetite I get the day after. I'm determined to continue the string of successful days logging. I see some people have done so for hundreds of days which is more than a streak it's a lifestyle change and that's what I'm after. Ive gone out a few times and managed to find a better balance and make sure to keep on a cardio routine to burn calories. I'm down over 25 lbs so far and a side affect is that my tolerance is much lower!

bidwork

"Here's the problem with all alcoholic beverages, and the reason I recommend refraining from alcohol consumption on the diet. Alcohol, whenever taken in, is the first fuel to burn. While that's going on, your body will not burn fat. This does not stop the weight loss, it simply postpones it, since the alcohol does not store as glycogen, and you immediately go back into ketosis/lipolysis after the alcohol is used up.

If you must drink alcohol, wine is an acceptable addition to levels beyond the Induction diet. If wine does not suit your taste, straight liquor such as scotch, rye, vodka, and gin would be appropriate, as long as the mixer is sugarless; this means no juice, tonic water; or non-diet soda. Seltzer and diet soda are appropriate."

~ Robert C. Atkins

Hulbert0089

Karen_libert wrote: »

I have found that there is a very negative pattern to drinking and my weight loss. Once I have had a couple of glasses all control goes out the window and a massive binge is the result. I have regularly wiped out an entire weeks weight loss in one night. I know it's not fat but I can gain large amounts of weight that take a whole week to loose again. I drank on Friday night last week and I literally gained 7lbs over night. I've lost 2 back but I know I will be heavier this Friday morning than I was last Friday morning. when will I learn? I think, for me, the answer is all or nothing. I have decided several times to stop but come Friday night I feel the sence that I deserve a 'treat'. It's the last part of my old hedonistic 'I want it so I'll have it' lifestyle that go me so overweight in the first place.

Exactly the same thing for me sometimes!

shadowfax_c11

I enjoy a drink now and then. Maybe 1-2 times a week on average. Just one is enough. I just track it along with all of the other calories.